The 9th century BCE destruction layer at Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel: integrating macro- and microarchaeology

Physical and mineralogical properties of experimentally heated chaff-tempered mud bricks: Implications for reconstruction of environmental factors influencing the appearance of mud bricks in archaeological conflagration events

“…One possible line of interpretation is that such homogenously fired bricks were produced in kilns prior to building the late Iron I city. Such an interpretation implies that the "red brick city" may have been so before its destruction, and that building with kiln-fired bricks occurred in the southern Levant much earlier than currently suggested (supporting Namdar et al, 2011). Building a whole city from kiln-fired bricks requires large amounts of fuel which may be obtained either through deforestation and/or use of dung as fuel.…”

“…8 in Berna et al, 2007). Namdar et al (2011) studied an Iron IIA destruction level at Tell es-Safi/Gath where they conducted detailed mapping of mineralogical and heat intensity changes across space, in three dimensions in one excavation square (5 × 5 m). They identified that the most intense heat was associated with the roof of a collapsed structure, and that the beaten-earth floor was not exposed to high temperatures.…”

Mid- to late-Holocene archaeology, environment and climate in the northeast Kurdistan region of Iraq

“…However, phytolith research is still limited in some regions, including Iraqi Kurdistan. While there has been extensive phytoliths research in the Levant (for example, Namdar et al, 2011;Ramsey et al, 2016) and Turkey (for example, Ryan, 2011;Laneri et al, 2015), there has been limited research in Iraqi Kurdistan until recently (e.g., Marsh and Altaweel, In Press).…”

Human impact around settlement sites: a phytolith and mineralogical study for assessing site boundaries, phytolith preservation, and implications for spatial reconstructions using plant remains

“…In addition, an analysis of certain absorptions in the clay infrared spectrum can distinguish between clays that have been exposed to elevated temperatures (usually above 500 C) and those that have not (Berna et al, 2007). Finally, we estimated the ratio between clay and quartz in the samples using a quartz index described by Namdar et al (2011). The height of the main clay absorption peak at around 1035 cm À1 was divided by the height of the 797 cm À1 absorption peak, which is much stronger for quartz than for clay minerals.…”

“…Chalk is more abundant in stratum III than in strata II and I, based on macroscopic, microscopic and infrared observations. The clay/ quartz index derived from infrared spectra (Namdar et al, 2011) shows that clay is more abundant in the core area of the site, whereas quartz is more abundant in the peripheral areas and in the control samples (Fig. 4).…”