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Use of building materials during the construction of Trajan’s Bridge on the Danube
Get PDFCombining different building materials was not uncommon in Roman architecture. The use of various materials for the creation of the Trajan’s Bridge on the former Danube Limes, that is wood, stone, brick and mortar, according to their characteristics, role in the construction, chosen construction methods, and pre-known behaviour of these materials over time, is one of the important features of the design of this building. The reasons for a deeper analysis of architect Apollodorus’ solutions for the bridge regarding the achieved combinations of materials are the importance of the structure, the monumentality of its architecture, as well as the characteristics of the place where the bridge was built. The focus of this study will be on analyses of the bridge’s masonry structures and, more precisely, the relationships between the building materials used
for their construction. When studying the use of building materials, ancient writings were used, as well as analyses of the remains of the bridge in situ on the Danube banks of today’s Serbia and Romania. The realised analyses point to new interpretations regarding the possible ways to span the spaces between the pillars on the riverbanks, and their connection to the choice of building materials.Posle prvog rimskog osvaјanja Dakiјe, car Traјan јe svom arhitekti Apolodoru dao izazovan
zadatak da proјektuјe i izgradi naјveći poznati most u antičkom svetu, dužine preko 1.000 metara,
koјi јe premostio јednu od naјvećih evropskih reka - Dunav. Brzina izgradnje mosta, koјu јe car
morao zahtevati, nametnula јe korišćenje više različitih metoda konstrukcija koје su se odnosilе na
konkretne elemente mosta. Prateći umetničke i istoriјske izvore, in situ ostatke i analogiјe u ostalim delovima Rimskog carstva, u ovom radu su izvršeni pokušaji definisanja izgleda konstrukciјe mosta. Nju čine tri dela: deo mosta na obali reke, deo noseće konstrukciјe u koritu reke i deo mosta preko površine Dunava. Dok јe poslednji deo bio isključivo od drveta, a deo u vodi bio zidan, za izgled obalnog dela su moguće dve varijante, prema kojima je on mogao biti u celosti zidan ili izveden u kombinaciji zidane strukture i drvene kosntrukcije. In situ ostaci na obalnim delovima mosta pokazuјu specifične metode izgradnje ovog dela konstrukciјe. Na delu stubaca u visini temelja registrovani su јasni otisci dasaka, koјi pokazuјu u koјoј meri јe opus caementicium bio nabiјen i kako su temelji građeni. Lica podužnih strana nadzemnih delova stubova, zidana su od opeke. Bočna lica nadzemnih delova stubaca zidana su kamenim blokovima čvrsto povezanim sa ostatkom stubova drvenim rešetkama. Opravdanje upotrebe napred navedenih različitih građevinskih materiјala možemo potražiti u ispitivanju Apolodorove potrebe za brzom izgradnjom mosta. Na danas sačuvanom stupcu kome pak nedostaje lice uočljivo јe da јe nalivanje i nabiјanje opus caementicium-a vršeno sloјevito i u skladu sa periodičnim postavljanjem drvenih rešetki u ulozi armature. Za unutrašnju ispunu stubaca mosta korišćeni su komadi kamena nepravilnog oblika dobro uronjeni u sloјeve krečnog maltera, dok јe ravnomerno sleganje u procesu izgradnje kontrolisano drvenom rešetkom. Sve intervenciјe rimskih inženjera korišćene pri izgradnji zidanih stubaca Traјanovog mosta pokazuјu da јe njihov pristup bio empiriјski, posvećen većini njima poznatih aspekata sigurnosti konstrukciјa. Istovremeno, kombinovanje različitih građevinskih materiјala za konstrukciјu mosta bilo јe verovatno uslovljeno potrebnom brzinom izgradnje, ali i okolnim prirodnim uslovima, odnosno dostupnošću i karakteristikama upotrebljenih materiјala
Double-edged swords and polearms of western origin in the territory of present-day Serbia: an overview and reinterpretation
Get PDFFindings of weapons of western – Late Carolingian origin are not a common occurrence in the territory of today’s Serbia. Around twenty examples are known, with approximately half of them being double-edged swords, and the rest axes and spearheads. The weapons are primarily concentrated in Vojvodina and the Serbian part of the Danube valley; these territories
represent the furthest south-eastern periphery of the appearance of Carolingian weapons in Central Europe. Items we will discuss here have mostly been already published in catalogues, review papers, or individually in professional articles, but they have not been gathered in one place before. Several of the swords have been analysed by Z. Vinski and L. Kovács in the 1980’s and 1990s, and in the meantime, I. Fodor, D. Mrkobrad and M. Aleksić focused their attentions on a number of other specimens of swords and battle axes. Most recently, A. Sajdl wrote about winged spearheads.The goal of this paper is to provide a complete overview of all the weapons, with their typological and production characteristics, for a wider scientific public and possibly discuss new details where necessary (in accordance with capabilities i.e., current availability of the material). Considering the fact that those were accidental or insufficiently documented findings from graves, there are no conditions for contextual analysis and a closer interpretation of the socio-symbolic role
of the weapons. On the other hand, available specimens represent evidence of political events and broader interregional contacts in the period between the 9th and the 11th century. In this sense, pieces with an earlier dating, otherwise few in number, can be interpreted in the context of the expansion of influence of the Carolingian Empire, and indirectly, the Principality of Great Moravia as well, while pieces from the second half of the 10th and the 11th century are thus linked
to the expansion of the Hungarian state towards the Balkans.Knjiga apstrakata nema ISBN broj. Ima Amicus azonosító: 388425
Неолитска пољопривреда централног Балкана пре и после развоја металургије
No full textСавремена агрономија учи нас да је пољопривредна производња
комплексан социо-еколошки систем у ком делују друштвени, економски
и природни фактори. Успех производње и висина приноса подложни су
природним утицајима који су ван контроле земљорадника; то су, рецимо, климатски услови, адаптивни потенцијал култивара, биљне болести
и паразити. Економски циљеви земљорадника одређују обим и организацију производње, пре свега у зависности од тога да ли је производња
намењена задовољавању основних потреба или представља и извор
прихода. Као и други облици производње, и пољопривреда је организована у складу са друштвеним нормама и принципима, почев од нивоа
домаћинства као најмање производне јединице, до нивоа друштва као
целине.
Винчанску културу одликују разноврсни облици материјалне производње и експлоатације природних ресурса, те убрзани развој и ширење мрежа комуникације и трговине. У односу на претходни период,
земљорадња винчанског периода располагала је широким спектром
пољопривредних култура као и, вероватно, ефикаснијим алаткама, а
свакако потпунијим познавањем локалних природних услова те могућности и ограничења култивара и обрадивог земљишта. У целини гледано, пољопривреда је била у успону. Може се претпоставити да су томе
допринели и контакти у оквиру и изван територије насељене винчанским заједницама, те мреже размене метала и других сировина, којима
су вероватно преношене и нове пољопривредне културе и технике.
У овом раду ћемо представити археоботаничке податке који омогућавају поређење одлика и обима пољопривредне производње у времену пре и након појаве металургије на централном Балкану, односно
– земљорадњу ранонеолитских, старчевачких заједница с једне стране,
и каснонеолитских, винчанских с друге стране. Неолитску пољопривреду централног Балкана ћемо делимично упоредити са ситуацијом у
суседним регијама, у покушају да реконструишемо кретање „пољопривредних утицаја“ у континенталној зони Балкана. Осврнућемо се и на
природне факторе коју су вероватно утицали на развој локалних облика
земљорадње
Pottery Function in the Archaeology of the Continental Balkans: An Overview
Get PDFPottery function and use are one of the most complex issues in pottery studies because they comprise the study of different interactions,behaviors, and activities related to ceramic vessels. In the early days ofarchaeology as a discipline, pottery studies were focused on the classification of pots and the establishment of sequences to understand chronological and spatial relations between pottery groups, as the most prominentmarkers of archaeological cultures. Therefore, pottery usage did not attract attention as an important segment of research, except in the earlydays of American archaeology: in the pioneering attempts of pottery classification, evidence of use, such as layers of soot suggesting cooking, weretaken into account (Nelson 1916). Apart from sporadic considerationsabout function, it was not until the ‘80s that studies of pottery functionachieved full recognition. It seems that stressing an obvious fact – thatthe pots are tools (Braun 1983), designed to be used (Skibo 2013, 27), wasnecessary to bring about a shift in considerations about pottery. With theseminal works of D. Hally (1983a,b, 1986), and especially of J. Skibo andM. Schiffer (Schiffer and Skibo 1987, 1989, 2008; Skibo 1992, 2013; Skiboand Blinman 1995), examination of pottery function was theoreticallygrounded, and its methods were fully established, including experimentaland ethnoarchaeological research. In the study of pottery function and use, making a division betweentwo aspects of function – intended and actual use, is of great importance,especially because focused studies aimed exclusively on pottery functionare still rare. Intended function refers to the technical choices potters make related to function (Skibo and Schiffer 2008, 18; Skibo 1992, 35-37; 2013,27) or, in other words, the determination of the suitability of ceramic vessels for specific functions depending on their performance characteristics.These are defined as the “behavioral capabilities that an artifact possess tofulfill its functions in a specific activity” (Schiffer and Skibo 1987, 599), oras the ability of a vessel “to do certain things” (Hally 1986, 268), and theyare mostly related to resistivity to mechanical and thermal stresses duringuse. These mechanical and physical properties depend on vessels’ formalattributes, usually recorded during pottery data processing: fabric, surfacetreatments and decoration, wall thickness, and shape.The significance of shapes was early recognized as important for theconsiderations about function (Linton 1944; cf. Hally 1983b). Some of theperformance characteristics are exclusively connected with vessel forms:capacity (Smith 1985, 273, table 11.2), stability, ease of access, and transportability (Shepard 1956, 237; Rice 1987, 225), among others. Contoursof the vessels’ walls also affect performance, especially its thermal properties: for example, the presence of a low neck – constriction – reducesevaporation and prevents boiling over, and is, therefore, suitable for simmering for longer periods (Smith 1985; Rice 1987, 240; cf. Vuković 2019a)in contrast to open pots, suitable for boiling. Metric parameters (height,volume, and rim, shoulder and base radii) and different indexes – calculated ratios between some of the metric parameters – were also examinedas important indicators of suitability for specific functions (Smith 1985;Hally 1986). Besides the fact that indexes enable strong empirical data,their numerical values are especially useful for comparative analyses ofdifferent assemblages or vessel classes.The potential function or suitability of a vessel for a specific functiondoes not reveal how the vessels were actually used. The actual functionrefers not only to traces of use – use alterations (use-wear and surfaceaccretions), but also to use-related activities, and it is based on the identification of traces and the examination of their distribution and frequency(Skibo 1992; 2013; for an overview, see Forte, this volume). Considerations of some kinds of surface attrition, i.e. mechanical damage, are alsouseful for the identification of re-use and extended use of pots.The analyses of function, including ethnoarchaeological research,were first developed to primarily understand prehistoric pottery. In contrast to assemblages from prehistoric sites, considerations about potteryfunction within the ceramic assemblages from the historical periods arequite rare. Due to many primary sources, which contain data on vesseltypes and their use, the course of ceramic studies was mainly based onissues of typology, production centers, especially in the case of fine wares,and chronology, both of individual types and whole assemblages. Therefore, the issues of function were approached primarily from the aspect offormal attributes and morphology. Along with the shape and wall curvature, much attention was paid to the fabric, i.e. the types of inclusions, andthickness of the vessel walls, as clear indicators of their function.Among the pottery assemblages from historical periods, namely, theClassical era, use-wear analyses were sporadically done. In this regard,Margaret Ward’s (1993) functional analysis of terra sigillata (Samian ware)from the Roman fort at Piercebridge (United Kingdom) is rather representative. The Samian ware collection revealed evidence of frequent andextended use, most probably in a process of mixing ingredients (spices),based on the presence of heavy abrasion on the bases and walls (Ward1993, 19; Peña 2007, 60, Fig. 4.2). The function of Batavian hand-madepottery in the Roman military context of the Augustan castrum in Nijmegen (Netherlands) was also examined (Stoffels 2009, 147-149). Basedon the presence of soot and secondary burning, it was established thatthese pots had actually been used as cooking pots. The presence of twoother functional groups (tableware and storage), and the spatial distribution of vessels, suggest the usage of locally made pottery for cooking,presumably to fulfill the eating habits of the native Batavian auxiliary soldiers in the Roman fort (Stoffels 2009, 153). On the other hand, P. Arthur(2007b) examined cooking-pot types in relation to food resources, including archaeozoological and archaeobotanical remains, to determine thedistribution and application of different cooking techniques in the centuries between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. He put forwardan interesting thesis that a change in cooking pots, from predominantlyclosed with flat bases to predominantly open forms with convex bases,should be seen as a consequence not only of regionally available meat,cereals, and vegetables but also migrations of people, that is, a culture offood preparation and cooking habits. A similar assumption was made inthe case of tableware, primarily African Red Slip ware, which changed interms of size and typology during the same period. However, the use ofceramic vessels in historic sources, i.e. old cooking texts, challenges Arthur’s model due to a different nomenclature, primarily when it comes tothe function of olla and caccabus (Donelly 2015, 143–144). On the otherhand, during the 5th and 6th centuries, a decrease in the variety of potterytypes, i.e. profiles and sizes (volumes), was recorded. This was largely dueto the economic regression and the disappearance of large-scale potteryproduction (Arthur 2007a, 164-165). This phenomenon, clearly visible inthe archaeological record, coincides with the data in the texts. Nevertheless, Arthur’s model showed that cooking pots can be evidence of cultural(gastronomic) boundaries in antiquity, although due to the unreliability of his conclusions, it was suggested that other methods should be included,primarily analyses of use-alterations and residue analyses (Arthur 2007b,146). Concerning the modes of cooking in late antique pottery, according to the distribution of sooting clouds, it was assumed that pots withrounded bottoms were probably placed on some kind of metal base, trivet,or grid that allowed equal heat distribution, while closed, flat-based cooking-pots were placed by the fire and in front of the hearth or stove; theirthin walls allowed heat to be distributed more evenly on one side without constant mixing (Vroom 2008, 299–301, Figs. 13,15). In contrast, latemedieval cooking-pots, glazed as well as unglazed, exhibit visible sootingclouds on the outside. Although it was suggested that they were placeddirectly in the fire (Vroom 2004, 286), these use-accretions rather indicatethe position of the pot at a distance from the heat source.In early medieval archaeology, the need to examine pottery from theaspect of use was first recognized in the research of the old Slavic settlements. Excavations in Central Europe in the 1970s and ‘80s yielded,among other things, large ceramic assemblages containing whole vessels.They provided a deeper insight into the technological style, but also theuse of pottery in the early Middle Ages. One of the best examples is thesite of Březno near Louny (Czech Republic), a Slavic settlement dated tothe 9th century. Relying on ethnographic studies, an extensive experimentfocused on building old Slavic huts and living in them, including foodpreparation, was conducted (Pleinerová 1986; Pleinerová and Neustupny1987). The research revealed that the pots were placed in front of the ovenopening because of the need for frequent stirring; therefore, half of thecooking pot was exposed to open fire. Additionally, the correlation between mode of use of certain oven types, cooking technique, and the formand size of the vessels was established (Curta 2001, 286, 289–290), revealing some aspects of the household organization of old Slavic communities.Finally, secondary use, reuse, and recycling are important parts ofthe artifacts’ life cycles (Schiffer 1987, 13-15, 271) or use-lives. Reuse – achange in the user or use or form of an artifact following its initial use(Schiffer 1987, 28), or use of an object in a secondary context when it canno longer serve its original function (Deal and Hagstrum 1995, 111), arean important part of dynamic interactions between people and pottery, aswell as an important aspect of formation processes. Recycling – the returnof the artifact to the manufacturing process (Schiffer 1987, 28-32), in thecase of pottery needed to be redefined, and it was proposed that recyclingshould refer to the usage of fragments of pots, as tools, building material,or raw material (Vuković 2015). Important ethnoarchaeological research(Deal 1998) revealed the complexity of ceramic vessels’ use-lives, but theseissues were more rarely examined on pottery revealed from archaeological contexts (for example Sullivan 1989). The usage of ceramic sherds astools attracted some more attention in the research of archeological assemblages (López Varela et al. 2002; Van Gijn and Hofman 2008). An extremely important contribution regarding these stages of vessels’ use-liveswas made by T. Peña (2007), who examined numerous secondary uses ofRoman amphorae, including their reuse in burial customs, and the recycling of their fragments (props for cooking vessels, tools, gaming pieces,weights, etc.).The issue of extended use is usually connected with repairs of thepots. The most frequent ways of mending ceramic vessels were makingperforations along the breakage, and tying together the vessels’ fragmentswith some kind of string, rope, and even with metal wire (Dooijes andNieuwenhuyse 2007, 2009). Roman terra sigillata, for example, was oftenrepaired with rivets and staples (Ward 1993, 19–20), while amphorae weremended using the hole and clamp technique with the use of lead (Peña2007, 237–249) or by filling the cracks with wax, resin, gypsum, crushedceramics or glass, using animal glue, beeswax, or pine resin as adhesives(e.g. 213-215). The repairing of pots was usually connected to their highvalue, and a statistical method, the so-called frequency-of-mending (FreqMend), describing the frequency of repair per pottery type, was developed(Senior 1995). This is why analyses of secondary use, reuse, and extendeduse reveal a deeper insight into lifestyles and common practices of communities of the past
Glačano i abrazivno kameno oruđe sa lokaliteta Pločnik (istraživanja 2012–2013. godine)
Get PDFAnaliza glačanog i abrazivnog kamenog oruđa sa lokaliteta Pločnik sprovedena je na kolekciji od 72 artefakta pronađenih 2012. i 2013. go¬dine, tokom arheološkog istraživanja Sonde XXIV. Arheološko istraživanje je vršeno u okivru međunarodnog projekta „Razvoj metalurgije u Evroaziji“ u saradnji više domaćih i inostranih institucija nauke i kulture. Analiza materijala vršena je sa tehnološkog aspekta i podrazumevala je tehnološku, funkcionalno-tipološku i petrološku analizu. Rezultati analize, iako na relativno malom uzorku, upućuju na zaključak da je na Pločniku vršena produkcija glačanog i abrazivnog oruđa koje svojim tehnološkim karakteristikama i tipološkim repertoarom u potpunosti odražava vinčanske standarde, od čega ne odstupa ni izborom sirovina. Kolekcija se sastoji od glačanih alatki – tesli i dleta, potom fragmenata glave buzdovana, privezaka, fragmenta jedne posude; zatim abrazivnih alatki – mahom bruseva, glačalica, tučkova, čekića, rastirača, nakovnja. Glačano oruđe sa sečicom je izrađeno pretežno od sivozelenkastih sedimentnih i kontaktno metamorfnih ste¬na, kao i od „lakih belih stena“ tipičnih za vinčansku kulturu, dok su za abrazivno oruđe korišćeni različiti varijeteti kvarcnog peščara. Tehnologija izrade oruđa je takođe standardna. Glačano oruđe sa sečicom je izrađeno tehnikama okresivanja i glačanja, dok je u izradi pojedinog abrazivnog oruđa korišćena tehnika ozrnjavanja. Zabeleženi su primeri reparacije i reciklaže. Međutim, iako tipičan, materijal sa Pločnika ipak odražava pojedine osobenosti koje je potrebno istaći: nekoliko abrazivnih alatki čiji oblik i funkcija (tragovi upotrebe) do sada nisu zabeleženi u neolitu Srbije i čije se za sada najbliže analogije nalaze u Grčkoj i na Levantu; potom jednu ostavu izduženih tesli od „lake bele stene“ od kojih neke nose jasno prepoznatljive tragove upotrebe, i par čekića, odnosno multifnukcionalnih alatki koji su mogli biti korišćeni i u obradi bakarnih predmeta. U radu će biti predstavljeni rezultati analize kamenog oruđa iz Sonde XXIV, sa akcentom na njegovim specifičnostim
The history of the domestic cat in Central Europe
Get PDFA recent study from Central Europe has changed our perception of the cat’s domestication history. The authors discuss how this has led to the development of an interdisciplinary project combining palaeogenetics, zooarchaeology and radiocarbon dating, with the aim of providing insight into the domestic cat’s expansion beyond the Mediterranean
Царичин град: хоризонти 7. века
Get PDFНова истраживања Царичиног града (Justiniana Prima) пружила су нове податке везане за последње деценије постојања некадашње метрополе северног Илирика
Пројекат the FLOW – интеракције-утицаји-транформације: везе централног Балкана и удаљених области у бакарном и бронзаном добу
Get PDFПројекат THE FLOW представља мултидисциплинарни истраживачки оквир који такве предмете анализирати систематски, применом савременох археолошких метода које се темеље на прожимању са природним наукама, и тим путем ће се усмерити на порекло, просторно-временску дистрибуцију и анализе мрежа (трговина, размена, миграције и др.)
Zeus and Hera Souideptenoi: The Sanctuary at Belava Mountain near Turres/Pirot
Get PDFIn the border zone between the Roman provinces of Upper Moesia and Thrace a sanctuary dedicated to Zeus and Hera, defined by the toponymic epithet Souideptenoi, was discovered on the Belava mountain, near Turres (today’s Pirot). The sanctuary presumably encompassed a temenos, an altar and two smaller temples, oriented east-west, with the entrance on the eastern side.
Unfortunately, illegal excavations were conducted on the area of the sanctuary by thieves, who stole the small reliefs offered to the deities venerated in the sanctuary, of which the authors of this paper could obtain the data of 31 fragmented votive plates, most of them inscribed. A variety of iconographic schemas, especially the standing divine couple or Zeus and Hera in quadriga,
as well as the combination of three onomastics stocks (Thracian, Greek and Latin) illustrate the diversity of traditions and the cultural interferences at work during imperial times. It can be presumed that the sanctuary dedicated to Zeus and Hera Souideptenoi existed from the 2nd to the end of the 3rd or the beginning of the 4th century
Typology vs. Technology: theoretical and methodological frameworks for studying tools in Serbian prehistoric archaeology
Get PDFThroughout the 20th century, Serbian prehistoric archaeology was preoccupied with problems related to the relative and absolute chronology, culture contacts and influences, studied predominantly through the analyses of pottery styles. Everyday tools, produced from lithic and osseous raw materials, were largely left aside, furthermore, lithic and osseous assemblages were often selectively collected during excavations. Bone industry was more affected because of the lack of systematic zooarchaeological analyses – broken tools, tools without conspicuous morphology and traces of use, manufacture debris, were often not recognised during field work and not collected. Even when collected and analysed, lithic and osseous assemblages were only briefly described in excavation reports, and simply classified into arbitrary morphological types. Within past two or three decades, the situation changed gradually, and an approach based on technology, widely adopted in other European archaeological traditions, began to be applied in Serbian prehistoric archaeology. The lithic artefacts were the first to gain more attention, and functional, technological criteria and raw materials were included in analyses, while the bone industry followed at somewhat slower pace. The technological approach is used more in the Neolithic archaeology, while assemblages from metal ages are still not sufficiently included in systematic researches. In this paper will be provided an overview of the history of research of tools from different materials, and approach based on the study of technological aspects will be discussed. The author in particular advocates the technological approach based on the works by French authors (including A. Leroi-Gourhan, P. Lemonnier – concepts of chaîne opératoire, technological systems, multiple technologies), but also with more recent theoretical frameworks included.[https://www.e-a-a.org/eaa2022/]
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