Burial mounds and settlement patterns: a quantitative approach to their identification from the air and interpretation

Abstract

The author describes a process of systematic integration of aerial and satellite imagery, which has provided a huge increase in the number of known burial mounds in the area where the Danube meets the Black Sea. Careful evaluation of newly acquired and archival imagery from satellites and lower level platforms shows where data is comparable and how visibility varies with imagery type. Excavations to date suggest the majority of the mounds are of Greco-Roman date and associated with the large towns and their road networks. Clusters of barrows exist, hinting at associated settlement aggregation, but a large proportion are single tumuli, raising interesting questions about their social role in this period. Above all, the large numbers revealed by the survey must invite new thoughts on whether, or in what way, the mounds reflect social ranking.

Cultural monuments and nature conservation: a review of the role of kurgans in the conservation and restoration of steppe vegetation

“…Bromus sterilis, Carduus acanthoides and Onopordum acanthium), terrestrial reed (Phragmites communis), native woody species (Crataegus monogyna and Sambucus nigra) and invasive woody species (especially Robinia pseudoacacia and Elaeagnus angustifolia) were reported as major biotic threatening factors (Tóth and Tóth 2003;Moysiyenko and Sudnik-Wójcikowska 2008;Barczi et al 2009). We found that most of the threatening factors, even the biotic ones, were associated with some kind of human activity, and mostly linked with the intensification of land use (Rowińska et al 2010;Kuksova 2011;Sudnik-Wójcikowska et al 2011, 2013Rákóczi and Barczi 2014). Accordingly, there was a decreasing trend from the west to the east in the presence and intensity of ploughing, establishment of orchards, use of chemicals, soil extraction, building of settlements and roads.…”

“…The proportion of kurgans covered by arable lands decreases from west to east and from lowland to upland regions. Horticulture on kurgans is mentioned from Hungary and Bulgaria (Tóth 1998;Oltean 2013). The presence of settlements on kurgans is typical in the western regions (Hungary and Romania; Bede 2012; Oltean 2013).…”

“…The construction of settlements, roads or the excavation of material for building purposes is identified as causing the destruction of kurgans across the whole of their range (Sudnik-Wójcikowska et al 2011;Oltean 2013;Tóth et al 2014). Construction of buildings, statues, electric pylons and geodetic objects generally did not cause the complete destruction of the kurgan, but often led to a partial loss of the soil and degradation of the vegetation (Tóth 2004).…”

“…Agriculture Almost all studies highlighted that ploughing has been a major threat both to the structure and to the natural vegetation of kurgans since the nineteenth century (Moysiyenko and Sudnik-Wójcikowska 2008;Rowińska et al 2010;Kuksova 2011;Oltean 2013;Sudnik-Wójcikowska and Moysiyenko 2013;Medvedev 2014;Rákóczi and Barczi 2014;Tóth et al 2014). As a consequence of agricultural intensification, many of the smaller or less steep kurgans were levelled and ploughed.…”

The Yamnaya Impact North of the Lower Danube: A Tale of Newcomers and Locals

“…Estimating their total number seems impossible and those not registered as archaeological sites are continually facing destruction. (1) Systematic mapping studies using old cartographic documents and field surveys are exceptions and only cover small regions, such as northern Muntenia (Frînculeasa et al, 2017a) and Dobruja (Topoleanu et al, 2008;Oltean, 2013). Still, the number of existing mounds is probably closer to several thousand.…”