Academic literature on the topic 'Urban archaeological sites'

This study explains the Greco-Roman urban form as it relates to the geological basis at selected sites in the Mediterranean basin. Each of the sites--Argos, Delphi, Ephesus, and Syracuse among them--has manifested in its physical form the geology on which it stood and from which it was made. "By demonstrating the dependence of a group of cities on its geological base," the author writes, "the study forces us to examine more closely the ecology of human settlement, not as a set of theories but as a set of practical constraints..." Exacting attention will be given to local geology (types of building stones, natural springs, effect of earthquakes, silting, etc.) The findings are based on site publications, visits to the sites, and the most recent archaeological plans. The book is illustrated with original photographs and geological maps indicating the known Greco-Roman features--the first such maps published for any of the sites. Sequel to Water Management in Ancient Greek Cities, now available by Publication on Demand

Figurines of the Indus Civilization (c.2600–1900 BC) provide unique insights into technological, social, and ideological aspects of this early urban society. The Indus script has not yet been deciphered, so figurines provide one of the most direct means to understand social diversity through ornament and dress styles, gender depictions, and various ritual traditions. This chapter focuses on figurines from the site of Harappa, Pakistan, with comparative examples from other sites excavated in both India and Pakistan. Anthropomorphic and zoomorphic terracotta figurines, and special forms with moveable components or representing composite or fantastic creatures, are found at most sites of the Indus Civilization, with rare examples of figurines made of bronze, stone, faience, or shell. The raw materials and technologies used to make figurines are discussed, along with the archaeological contexts in which they have been discovered. These figurines provide an important line of evidence regarding Indus society and religion.

This article draws upon archaeological evidence of settlement and enclosure sites as key indicators of social complexity in agro-pastoral societies of Central Asia and Inner Eurasia during the Late Iron Age–Late Antique periods. Large fortified enclosures (kalas) were the political capitals of mobile states and empires, embodying and displaying the power, status, and prestige of ruling elites. Low-density “urban” sites were located in dispersed settlement zones associated with rivers or water management systems in the Eurasian steppe and oases. These capitals were an alternative form of urbanism suited to the political organization of mobile ruling elites. This analysis provides insights into the varied modes of settlement utilized by agro-pastoral and mobile societies in extreme environmental zones.

Archaeological sites of this period reveal the continued existence of a very ruralized society. The countryside, subject to a significant strengthening of economic control, was the primary source of wealth and success for the middle and upper social strata that invested in it. Choosing to optimize the exploitation of agricultural land led defining settlements in a more urban way. Since rural sites were the spaces where the labour force was ‘anchored’, they were often fortified to protect assets. Examples include both large lay and ecclesiastical aristocratic landowners and more local elites all over Italy. In the vast majority of cases we have fortified villages that are, in fact, agricultural holdings (manorial estates). In any context, the signs of material power exercised by a dominant figure include the management and a very pronounced control of activities, goods, foodstuffs, and labour, which find their counterpart in features and topography of rural centres. Settlements where production is aimed at wealth accumulation, often defended even from insiders by separating the spaces of power from those of the peasant masses, are frequently observed archaeologically. This is evidenced by the structural changes taking place both in the villages and in the single residential building types, serving as signs of a significant effort devoted to the centralization of production means (animals, tools, craft-shops), in order to increase what appears to be the main objective of landed elites: managing territorial resources in order to store foodstuffs, not only for personal consumption but also for to sell them in urban markets; in other words, to produce wealth.

The neglected topic of Mid-Republican building technology prior to the advent of concrete in the mid-second century is treated here. A close reading of Vitruvius’ De Architectura in combination with study of archaeological remains helps document two major technological changes: the strategic blending of building stones according to each stone’s physical properties, and the proliferation of lifting machines to raise heavy loads at building sites. Such developments depended upon close knowledge of building stones imported from Central Italy to Rome, and there are reasons to think that knowledge traveled with masons themselves. Thus, technological change speaks to labor migration, and relates similar shifts in the urban labor supply during the third and early-second century as those described by the previous chapter.