Optically-stimulated luminescence profiling and dating of historic agricultural terraces in Catalonia (Spain)

Kinnaird, Tim; Bolòs, Jordi; Turner, Alex; Turner, Sam

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2016.11.003

Cited by 55 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…When OSL dating is applied to terrace soil profiles, it is often evident that many terraces have a long and complex history (e.g. Brown & Walsh 2016;Kinnaird et al 2017). Using entire OSL datasets further sheds light on this history.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using OSL Measurements to Decipher Soil History in Archaeological Terraces, Judean Highlands, Israel

et al. 2017

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Archaeological terraces are a prominent feature of the agricultural sphere in hilly landscape throughout the Mediterranean, and dating of these simply built features is of utmost importance. Excavations and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of the soil fill of terraces were previously carried out on Mt. Eitan, the Judean Highlands, Israel. Archaeological surveys showed that Mt. Eitan was almost continuously settled from the Middle Bronze Age until modern times. However, OSL dating showed that all extant terraces were constructed 500–200 years ago, during the Ottoman Period, while older ages (Hellenistic to Mamluk periods) are limited to the base of several terraces. Many samples dated to the Ottoman period contain older quartz grains, indicating partial bleaching at the time of terrace construction; these grains might preserve older episodes of terrace building. To test this, we calculated ages for all measured aliquots and used the finite mixture model on the dataset to identify age components not apparent in the OSL age spectrum. Results show that aliquot ages cluster into only a few periods, of which four distinct components fall within the 14th–19th centuries (Christ era). The Hellenistic–Roman and Early Islamic periods are also represented, even in areas where terraces with such ages were not found, while the Persian Iron and Bronze Age periods are not represented at all. The unbleached grains thus preserve episodes of terrace building no longer represented in the landscape. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using OSL Measurements to Decipher Soil History in Archaeological Terraces, Judean Highlands, Israel

et al. 2017

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“…Using an innovative luminescence profiling and dating technique, we were able to demonstrate conclusively for the first time that terrace systems in Catalonia originated in the Middle Ages and the early modern period (Kinnaird et al, 2017). Furthermore, we were able to show that different types of terraces originated and developed in different ways.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Laboratory profiling and conventional quantitative quartz OSL dating were completed at the SUERC laboratories in accordance with established protocols (Ghilardi et al, 2015;Kinnaird, Sanderson, & Bigelow, 2015). A full description of the methods and results of the dating programme are published in a separate paper (Kinnaird, Bolòs, Turner, & Turner, 2017).…”

Section: Osl Profiling and Datingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changes and continuities in a Mediterranean landscape: a new interdisciplinary approach to understanding historic character in western Catalonia

2017

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a Mccord centre for Landscape, school of history classics and archaeology, newcastle University, newcastle upon Tyne, UK; b department of history, University of Lleida, Lleida, spain; c ceRsa Luminescence, school of earth and environmental sciences, University of st andrews, st andrews, UK ABSTRACTTo understand why historic landscapes changed in the past researchers need to identify when and where changes took place, but in rural landscapes, the origins and development of many historic elements including field systems, roads, terraces and other earthworks remain poorly understood. This paper outlines a practical interdisciplinary method using GIS-based historic landscape characterisation (HLC) to integrate data from different sources and model how historic character varies in space. It pilots an innovative approach using luminescence profiling and dating that can underpin the HLC with significantly improved knowledge of historic processes of change. We focus on four case studies of terraced agricultural landscapes in western Catalonia and demonstrate for the first time that existing terrace systems often have medieval or early modern origins.

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“…And yet, because of the nature of the data, our chronological categories for the wider landscape are more imprecise because, for now, we rely on relative chronologies for their interpretation. Innovative techniques, such as OSL dating pioneered recently for terraces (Kinnaird et al 2017), might be applied to help refine the chronology of field boundaries, with the possibility of establishing absolute dates in areas such as the strip fields between the mounds at Çatalhöyük that have been protected by the designation of the archaeological site.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taphonomies of landscape: investigating the immediate environs of Çatalhöyük from prehistory to the present

Jackson

Moore

2018

Anatol. Stud.

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The landscape immediately surrounding the site of Çatalhöyük preserves topographic and ceramic evidence dating from prehistoric times to the present day. This article presents the results of a programme of investigation of the landscape conducted through analysis of remote-sensing, map and field-survey data, with particular emphasis on the first and second millennia AD. The concept of taphonomy, usually defined in archaeology as the process of change after deposition, is applied to the transformation of the settled landscape from its Neolithic origins to its present status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Taphonomy serves as a linking concept as we explore how past landscapes are mobilised and translated into the ever-changing present.

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Optically-stimulated luminescence profiling and dating of historic agricultural terraces in Catalonia (Spain)

Cited by 55 publications

References 21 publications

Using OSL Measurements to Decipher Soil History in Archaeological Terraces, Judean Highlands, Israel

Using OSL Measurements to Decipher Soil History in Archaeological Terraces, Judean Highlands, Israel

Changes and continuities in a Mediterranean landscape: a new interdisciplinary approach to understanding historic character in western Catalonia

Taphonomies of landscape: investigating the immediate environs of Çatalhöyük from prehistory to the present

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