Proto-Urban Establishments in Inner Asia: Surveys of an Iron Age Walled Site in Eastern Mongolia

Abstract

Walled sites attributed to the Xiongnu steppe empire (2nd century B.C.-1st century A.D.) constitute the earliest investments in explicitly non-mortuary built environments among pastoralists of the Mongolian Steppe. These permanent constructions are important precedents to the medieval towns of subsequent steppe empires, yet very little of the complete layouts and surrounding remains of the large enclosures are understood. Our investigations of the walled site at Kherlen-Bars in eastern Mongolia are among the first surveys to fully document all aspects above and below ground across an entire Iron Age walled site area. In addition to detailed documentation of the large structures, our geomagnetic prospections and digital elevation modeling brought to light numerous small sub-surface and subtle-surface features that show such early walled sites, often deemed virtually empty, to be far more complex and diachronic in their formation processes and possible functions.

What over 100 drillings tell us: a new method for determining the Koenigsberger ratio of soils from magnetic mapping and susceptibility logging

“…As suggested by the equivalence principles of potential field theory, simplified magnetic source distributions (Miller et al, 2019; Wilken et al, 2015) are capable to explain observed anomalies in a satisfying way in many cases. However, our downhole measurements have shown that the assumption of a polygonal zone of constant susceptibility contrast would be an oversimplification of the filling of the neolithic pits.…”

“…Case studies often approach a quantitative interpretation of magnetic anomalies using the assumptions of a simplified source geometry and induced‐only magnetization. To explain the observed data, the susceptibility contrast between the source and the surrounding subsurface matrix is then determined for this geometry by linear inversion (Miller et al, 2019; Schneider et al, 2014; Wilken, Wunderlich, Majchczack, Andersen, & Rabbel, 2015).…”

Rethinking the Landscape: Emerging Approaches to Archaeological Remote Sensing

“…Even conventional geophysical surveys, when conducted over very large areas, enable new insights into ancient urban planning, architectural traditions, and movement through cityscapes, with numerous examples from the Near East and Mediterranean (e.g., Branting 2013, Casana & Herrmann 2010, Keay et al 2009). The emergence of large-array geophysical and drone-based imaging allows such studies to be more easily executed, as in a survey of a medieval walled site in eastern Mongolia that has revealed a wealth of otherwise invisible architectural features (Miller et al 2019). Similarly, a large study at Tiwanaku, Bolivia, combined drone-based surface mapping with extensive geophysical survey to reveal new insights into the urban layout of residential and ritual areas in the sprawling ancient city (Vella et al 2019).…”

Defining Suitability in Mixed Agropastoral Societies: A Case Study from Bactria in Northern Afghanistan

“…Beyond these overlaps, both agricultural and pastoralist communities often benefit from and rely on each other for services and resources arising from exploitation of these different ecological niches (Brite et al 2017;Honeychurch and Makarewicz 2016;Rouse and Cerasetti 2018;Wu et al 2015). In a more pronounced case, such as which frequently arose in Bactria, expansive nomadic states emerged that incorporated agricultural societies, which continued to thrive within these nomadic states (Alizadeh 2010;Honeychurch 2014;Miller et al 2019;Soucek 2000: 41-45). The emergence and persistence of settlements within these distinctly nomadic contexts, in both steppe and lowland areas, shows the dynamic nature of these subsistence strategies and social interactions (Honeychurch and Amartu̇vshin 2007).…”