{"title":"Creating Order or Revealing Disorder? Some Preliminary Results Using Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) in Studying Archaeological Boat Finds from Norway (AD 1050–1700)","authors":"Tori Falck, Nevio Dubbini","doi":"10.1163/16000390-09401050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/16000390-09401050","url":null,"abstract":"This article discusses the use of statistical methods for systematising 96 archaeological ship finds, mainly from the southern and south-eastern coast of Norway. It draws on an article published in 2009 by Jan Bill, where he did a similar investigation of material from the Danish area. The method of multiple correspondence analysis (<jats:sc>MCA</jats:sc>) provides a way to summarise categorical data in a reduced number of dimensions. The results are presented in a geographical space, a plot, that can be used for making interpretations and assumptions of cohesions and divergences in the material. It is a way of analysing continuity and change in boatbuilding techniques that avoids using arbitrary and ambiguous concepts of historical (ship) types. Instead, the building techniques, the ways of ‘doing things’, make the premises for classification. The results in this article can be considered preliminary, its primary function being a discussion on methodology.","PeriodicalId":44857,"journal":{"name":"ACTA ARCHAEOLOGICA","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139761519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"You Can’t Make an Omelette without Breaking an Egg. Surveying Submerged Paleo-terrains with a Mechanical Excavator","authors":"Klara Fiedler, Mikkel H. Thomsen, Kirsti Pedersen","doi":"10.1163/16000390-09401045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/16000390-09401045","url":null,"abstract":"Preserved Stone Age sites and prehistoric landscapes under water can often be challenging to find and access for archaeologists. In consequence, the Viking Ship Museum has, within recent years, frequently used mechanical excavators in archaeological surveys to find and delineate Stone Age sites and prehistoric landscape features. In this article, the authors provide an overview of the introduction of mechanical excavators in maritime archaeology. The respective advantages and limitations of the method are then discussed in light of different scientific and practical considerations. Finally, as a case study, we present our proposed best practice for the method using the recent archaeological survey at the development-led project of Lynetteholmen, Copenhagen. The authors conclude that using mechanical excavators to survey paleo-landscapes is a very effective but potentially destructive method. Most importantly, the method provides access to sediment depths and areas that are inaccessible to divers alone.","PeriodicalId":44857,"journal":{"name":"ACTA ARCHAEOLOGICA","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139761558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Predictive Modelling in Underwater Archaeology. A Case Based on Mesolithic Coastal Settlements in Denmark","authors":"Paschalina Giatsiatsou","doi":"10.1163/16000390-09401044","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/16000390-09401044","url":null,"abstract":"Research on underwater archaeological sites has been adversely affected by various socioeconomic (specialized equipment, lack of know-how, legal framework, etc.) and environmental (weather conditions, site formation processes, etc.) challenges. Interdisciplinary approaches, especially technology integration, can help introduce a methodology to evaluate these factors and mitigate limitations to enhance the information retrieved and assist the interpretation process. One such approach may be predictive modelling while developing methodologies based on predictive models can be assets in research. The work presented in this article is based on this approach and assesses the use of predictive models based on six case studies. It is an effort to evaluate whether targeting sub-areas when excavating on limited time and budget can help clarify the interpretation of the information collected from these areas.","PeriodicalId":44857,"journal":{"name":"ACTA ARCHAEOLOGICA","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139761912","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Interim Report on Gribshunden (1495) Excavations: 2019–2021","authors":"Brendan Foley","doi":"10.1163/16000390-09401052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/16000390-09401052","url":null,"abstract":"We present an interim archaeological report on the shipwreck of the Danish-Norwegian flagship <jats:italic>Gribshunden</jats:italic>. Built in 1485, extensively employed by King Hans as his floating castle, and ultimately lost in June 1495 en route to Kalmar, the ship carried people and material selected to further the political goal of re-unifying the Nordic region. Three field campaigns led by Lund University and Blekinge Museum since 2019 have delivered a compelling assemblage of mundane artefacts and high-status items, some without precedent, and all conveying new information beyond the events of the ship’s loss. Highlights include wooden casks, a milled tankard, a purse of silver coins, artillery and accoutrements, several crossbows and accessories, mail armour elements, and an assortment of exotic spices. Laboratory analyses of these and other finds allow new avenues of inquiry and provide deep insights into the late medieval world. This manuscript is derived from a conference presentation. It delivers an overview of recent scientific results, alerts readers to detailed studies already published, and offers waypoints to ongoing research threads.","PeriodicalId":44857,"journal":{"name":"ACTA ARCHAEOLOGICA","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139761392","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sigurd Arve Baslund Bohr, Otto Uldum, David Gregory
{"title":"Monitoring Erosion of a Submerged Stone Age Site and Its Implications for Managing Underwater Cultural Heritage. A Case Study at Tybrind Vig, Denmark","authors":"Sigurd Arve Baslund Bohr, Otto Uldum, David Gregory","doi":"10.1163/16000390-09401046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/16000390-09401046","url":null,"abstract":"Known locations with submerged and well-preserved Stone Age sites in Denmark are, in most cases, under constant threat of erosion. The results presented here have been gathered at Tybrind Vig by surveying a 165 m-long transect at 5-metre intervals from the shore, by measurements taken with a total station. To supplement this, the surrounding area was surveyed with an echo sounder/sonar unit that yielded 3D coordinates post-processed in <jats:sc>GIS</jats:sc> to investigate volumetric changes in the seabed over time. The transect data was used to calibrate the elevation data from the echo sounder, following the correction of sea level change with data gathered from the Danish Coastal Authority. It was established that sediment transport – both erosion and accumulation – has occurred, but from the methods used, it cannot be determined how much of the archaeologically rich gyttja layers have been eroded at Tybrind Vig.","PeriodicalId":44857,"journal":{"name":"ACTA ARCHAEOLOGICA","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139761557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Managing Data from Maritime Archaeology Investigations: AIR at Gribshunden","authors":"Paola Derudas, Brendan Foley","doi":"10.1163/16000390-09401053","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/16000390-09401053","url":null,"abstract":"Maritime archaeology excavations, even in a more complex environment, have the same objectives and requirements as terrestrial ones: documenting digging operations to analyze data in the best way, interpreting it, and producing new knowledge for the benefit of multiple communities. 3D documentation and management methodologies have spread widely among practitioners; however, 3D comprehensive tools for scholarly publications still require development. This article contributes to the discussion on archaeological data management and its need to encompass every aspect of the archaeological practice (Kansa & Kansa 2021). It presents the evolution of the documentation and data management strategies employed within the multidisciplinary project at the shipwreck site of <jats:italic>Gribshunden</jats:italic> (Rönnby 2021), profoundly conditioned by the project’s goals to optimize collection and analysis of its multidisciplinary nature. The use of the <jats:italic>Archaeological Interactive Report</jats:italic> (<jats:sc>AIR</jats:sc>) represents the most suitable solution for achieving such goals, as it addresses the issue of scattered data and allows for maintaining the connection between archaeological datasets and their interpretation and publication, which is crucial for performing archaeological Digital Data Curation (Dallas 2015a).","PeriodicalId":44857,"journal":{"name":"ACTA ARCHAEOLOGICA","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139761393","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Apollo and Maria: Two 17th-Century Warships Found at Vaxholm, Sweden","authors":"Patrik Höglund, Jim Hansson","doi":"10.1163/16000390-09401054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/16000390-09401054","url":null,"abstract":"In October 2019, the wrecks of two warships were found in the inlet to Stockholm. According to historical sources, <jats:italic>Vasa</jats:italic>’s three so-called sister ships might have been sunk in the area to block off a strait. These large ships were launched in the years 1629–1634 and built by the same master shipbuilder who participated in the construction of <jats:italic>Vasa</jats:italic>. However, after further archaeological investigations, the two ships were identified as <jats:italic>Apollo</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Maria</jats:italic>, two medium-sized warships launched in 1648. The wrecks shed light on a twenty-year period when ships of this type were prioritized because they were considered more practical and offered more value for money. The ships were heavily constructed and could carry heavy armament for their size. They could be at sea in difficult conditions and be used for a variety of purposes. Despite the fact that the investigations did not match initial hopes of finding <jats:italic>Vasa</jats:italic>’s sister ships, important results were achieved. In 2021, <jats:italic>Äpplet</jats:italic>, one of <jats:italic>Vasa</jats:italic>’s sister ships, was found in the vicinity of <jats:italic>Apollo</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Maria</jats:italic>.","PeriodicalId":44857,"journal":{"name":"ACTA ARCHAEOLOGICA","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139761451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marja-Liisa Petrelius Grue, Sjoerd van Riel, Elling Utvik Wammer
{"title":"Reconstructing the Underwater Topography in the Medieval Harbour of Oslo","authors":"Marja-Liisa Petrelius Grue, Sjoerd van Riel, Elling Utvik Wammer","doi":"10.1163/16000390-09401049","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/16000390-09401049","url":null,"abstract":"Many known factors are continuously affecting and changing the landscape. This can lead to challenges in interpreting archaeological remains found underwater, or in areas that used to be underwater, when their depth below the water surface at the time of deposition is unknown. This article is an attempt to investigate if it is possible to reconstruct how the underwater (submarine) landscape might have looked in Oslo in the Late Middle Ages based on data gathered in an archaeological excavation at site B8a. Calculating the known parameters that affect the underwater topography in Oslo – land uplift, sea level change, subsidence of the ground, and technical adjustment of mean sea level – resulted in a model. This model of the seabed around <jats:sc>AD</jats:sc> 1400 is based on up-to-date information and shows that it is possible to create a relevant framework for archaeological interpretation. Yet, there are challenges like the degree of inaccuracy of the data used, where our calculations end up with an uncertainty range of around ± 0.64 m.","PeriodicalId":44857,"journal":{"name":"ACTA ARCHAEOLOGICA","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139761632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Neptunus and To Løver: An Archaeological, Archival, and Dendrochronological Survey of Two Danish Prize Ships, Scuttled in the Stockholm Archipelago in 1659","authors":"Aoife Daly, Niklas Eriksson, Jim Hansson","doi":"10.1163/16000390-09401055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/16000390-09401055","url":null,"abstract":"We report the archaeological survey, dendrochronological analysis, and archival research concerning two shipwrecks located in shallow waters outside Vaxholm in the Stockholm Archipelago, Baltic Sea. According to oral tradition, the two wrecks are the remains of <jats:italic>Neptunus</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>To Løver</jats:italic>, two former Danish warships that were taken as prizes at the battle of Fehmarn in 1644. The Swedish navy then used the two ships until 1659, when they were reportedly scuttled as a blockage along the sea route towards Stockholm. Before being intentionally scuttled, the two ships drifted away and sank. The work presented in this article confirms the substance of the tradition and reports that substantial portions of the two ships are preserved. Moreover, the two wrecks shed light on the scuttling process and the construction of an underwater barrier.","PeriodicalId":44857,"journal":{"name":"ACTA ARCHAEOLOGICA","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139761636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"In-situ Artefact Documentation of Underwater Cultural Heritage Using Third-Party Data","authors":"Mikkel H. Thomsen, Matko Čvrljak","doi":"10.1163/16000390-09401047","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/16000390-09401047","url":null,"abstract":"Large underwater construction projects generate hundreds of potential cultural heritage objects requiring archaeological assessment and – potentially – mitigation. Some can easily be avoided in planning, whereas others cannot. Singular objects tend to present a dilemma in heritage management: their archaeological significance tends to lie in their association to an – at the time of finding – unknown context rather than in the object itself. Though these objects may be protected by heritage legislation, they are often undesired in museum collections, and even if destined for disposal, they can only be salvaged and documented at significant cost. Their cultural heritage ‘value’ is often, though mostly tacitly, considered low or at least undecided. We argue that <jats:italic>in-situ</jats:italic> preservation by record can be a viable solution for such objects, provided that appropriate documentation methods are employed. Fortunately, these objects are often targeted by other types of pre-construction surveys and inspections, usually conducted using remotely operated vehicles (<jats:sc>ROV</jats:sc>s), making hours of third-party video footage available to the archaeologist. This article examines if existing third-party video inspection data can be used towards acceptable archaeological recording without compromising the cost-efficiency so crucial to the industry. Hence, the focus of this article is the typical industry-standard inspection-, work class-, or even low-end hobby-<jats:sc>ROV</jats:sc> (from where the jump to legacy data or, indeed, crowdsourcing is obvious), suggesting a few simple amendments to data acquisition specifications which may potentially save the cost of a dedicated archaeological inspection campaign.","PeriodicalId":44857,"journal":{"name":"ACTA ARCHAEOLOGICA","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2024-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139761831","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}