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

Abstract

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.

Lithology and the distribution of Early Roman-era tombs in Jerusalem’s necropolis

“…Our study is compatible with previous research showing that the archaeological landscape history of Israel is based on the interaction between human activities and the physical structure (Ackermann, 2007;Ackermann et al, 2017;Aviam, 2004;Ben-David, 2005;Davidovich et al, 2012;Porat et al, 2017;among others). On the basis of our examination of the distribution of burial caves relative to the geological formation, we conclude that there is a strong correlation between rock type, location, and tomb frequency.…”

Agricultural Terraces Special Issue Preface

“…Furthermore, terraces abandoned for a short time (less than 25–30 years) resulted in the most hazardous land use class, showing erosion rates that were approximately 2‐ and 3‐times higher than terraced slopes abandoned a long time ago (more than 25–30 years). Porat, Davidovich, Avni, Avni, and Gadot () presented a study on optically stimulated luminescence measurements to decipher soil history for archaeological terraces located in the Judean Highlands (Israel). Archaeological surveys showed that Mt.…”

Agricultural terraces in the Mediterranean: medieval intensification revealed by OSL profiling and dating

“…But buried soil horizons are often missing, bulk samples tend to yield overestimates of ages due to the presence of older carbon fractions in the environment, and interpretation can also be complicated by problems of 'old wood' (Puy et al 2016;Ferro-Vasquez et al 2019). Luminescence dating, which can be used to determine when certain minerals were last exposed to light or were heated, has also been used to date terrace soils and constructional fills (Davidovich et al 2012;Porat et al 2018). Nevertheless, luminescence and radiocarbon dating both have an Figure 1.…”