M. Kars

Abstract: Aan de basis van de lange onderzoekstraditie waarin de chronologische fasering van Merovingische grafuitrustingen tot stand is gekomen, staat het concept ‘individueel onvervreemdbaar bezit’, dat een statische relatie tussen mens en object verwoordt. Het theoretische debat legt echter de nadruk op de betekenis van rituele objectdepositie in graven. De betekenis en dynamiek van materiele cultuur in de wereld van de levenden blijft in beide onderzoeksrichtingen nagenoeg buiten beschouwing. Een uitzondering is het onderzoek naar de uitwisseling en doorgifte van exclusieve objecten in door mannen gevormde elite-netwerken. Mirjam Kars’ analyse van het formele vroegmiddeleeuwse huwelijk op basis van overgeleverde wetteksten laat zien dat men ook in andere lagen van de bevolking bekend was met geschenkuitwisseling en overervingspraktijken. De expliciete verwijzingen naar gereguleerde doorgifte hebben echter vaak betrekking op grondbezit en laten zich interpreteren als het veiligstellen van het 'economisch kapitaal' van familiegroepen. De stelling dat de intergenerationele doorgifte van objecten rituelen in de private sfeer begeleiden die verbonden zijn aan de individuele en familiale levenscyclus, wordt ondersteund door de observatie dat het merendeel van de grafobjecten een sterke correlatie vertoont met specifieke leeftijdsgroepen. Het beeindigen van de doorgifte door depositie in graven kan verklaard worden door het voortijdig overlijden van tijdelijke en toekomstige 'schatbewaarders' (zowel mannen, vrouwen en kinderen), die verantwoordelijk waren voor de succesvolle doorgifte van objecten die een andere rol vervulden dan het economisch kapitaal. Chronologisch onderzoek naar Merovingische grafvelden, zoals naar het Vrijthof-grafveld en het Pandhof-grafveld uit Maastricht, vanuit een cultureel perspectief legt het accent op de variatie aan circulatietrajecten en de achterliggende oorzaken en creeert een veelzijdig beeld van het rijke materiele Merovingische verleden.

Abstract: Objects in graves have been a traditional focus of burial archaeology. Conventional interpretations of their meanings revolved around religion (equipment for the hereafter, Charon’s Penny), legal concepts (inalienable possessions) and social structure (status display, ostentatious destruction of wealth). An interdisciplinary perspective drawing on archaeological literature, anthropological evidence and sociological theory widens the range of possible interpretations. Textual sources of the Roman and early medieval periods highlight the importance of gift-giving to the deceased, but also to deities. Anthropology shows the importance of the disposal of polluted items in the grave, and of protecting the living. Ethnographic cases also underpin theoretical considerations concerning the role of biographical representations (metaphors) during the funeral, as well as emphasising the desire and the need to forget the dead. Textual and archaeological evidence from the Early Middle Ages suggest that these m...

Abstract: In this work, data fusion of multi-element XRF results from archaeological feature soils and regional background soils was applied to assess the complementary value of geochemistry and machine-learning on predictive modelling in archaeology. Our principal aim was to integrate multiple data sources, train learning models for classification of archaeological soils and background soils, and compare model predictions for three validation areas with current archaeological interpretation and established predictive models. This was done using three supervised machine-learning algorithms (k-nearest neighbors, support vector machines and artificial neural networks) which were trained, cross-validated and tested. The validation areas included a high archaeological potential area (n = 247 samples), the Dutch province of Zeeland (n = 261 samples) and an excavated imprint of an ancient farmhouse (n = 38 samples). The predictive models showed good overall performance and correctly classified about 95% of all test instances. According to the learning models, the first validation site has a top soil horizon that shows limited parallels with archaeological horizons used in model training, whereas features of high archaeological probability become more apparent below this horizon. This is in good correspondence with geochemical depth profiles and current archaeological interpretation. As for the second validation site, the models highlighted several archaeological hotspots that to some extend spatially coincide with areas of high archaeological potential as indicated by established predictive modelling. Reversely, the classifiers attributed high archaeological potential status to the most southern region of Zeeland, thereby complementing established modelling results. For the third validation site none of the instances were correctly classified and these results clearly show the limitations of geochemical predictive modelling of significantly different soil types (fine-to-coarse sands) compared to the training set (clayey sands). Present proof-of-concept study shows that modelling of multiple-source geochemical soil data using machine-learning algorithms can be successfully accomplished and that model predictions nicely complement current interpretation and/or established archeological predictive modelling of areas of archaeological interest. Limitations of our approach were found to reside in lithological differences between sites used for model training and prediction sites.

Abstract: This article examines the wide range of grave disturbance practices seen in Viking-age burials across Scandinavia. It argues that the much-debated reopenings at high-profile sites, notably the Norwegian ‘royal’ mounds, should be seen against a background of widespread and varied evidence for burial reworking in Scandinavia throughout the first-millennium ad and into the Middle Ages. Interventions into Viking-age graves are interpreted as disruptive, intended to derail practices of memory-creation set in motion by funerary displays and monuments. However, the reopening and reworking of burials were also mnemonic citations in their own right, using a recurrent set of practices to make heroic, mythological, and genealogical allusions. The retrieval of portable artefacts was a key element in this repertoire, and in this article I use archaeological and written sources to explore the particular concepts of ownership which enabled certain possessions to work as material citations appropriating attributes of dea...

Abstract: La presence de seaux en bois a armature metallique dans certaines sepultures de la fin de l’Antiquite tardive et de la periode merovingienne en Gaule du Nord-Ouest intrigue les scientifiques depuis le xixe siecle. Cet article propose de dresser un etat de la question base sur plus de deux cents exemplaires recenses de l’embouchure du Rhin au nord de la Seine. Une typochronologie a d’abord ete etablie pour les recipients dates de la fin du ive siecle a la fin du viie siecle. L’examen du bois et des elements metalliques en documente en outre la fabrication. La typologie et l’analyse de la repartition spatiale de ces seaux permettent d’aborder les thematiques de la production, de la diffusion et des echanges. Les caracteristiques morphologiques de quelques objets decouverts au-dela des rivages de la Manche temoignent ainsi parfaitement des contacts etablis entre les populations anglo-saxonne et merovingienne. De l’examen des contextes funeraires ressort la richesse de certains assemblages mobiliers. La synthese de tous ces elements conduit finalement a s’interroger sur la fonction de ces recipients.

Abstract: Desktop micro-CT scanner has become a standard piece of equipment for many materials science laboratories and is increasingly popular in the field of archaeology for the study of archaeological soils and small archaeological artefacts. The technique does have limitations which are reviewed. Then, the usefulness of desktop Micro-CT scanners for the study of archaeological artefacts is demonstrated in a non-destructive study of manufacturing methods of Roman and Early Medieval monochrome and polychrome glass beads. Differences in glass colours show up in these scans as differences in attenuation. The presence and distribution of bubbles and various inclusions (metal, opacifier) are also well visible. Shaft shapes and patterns of bubbles inside the glass make it possible in most cases to distinguish between drawn, wound and constructed (millefiori) beads and to study shaping methods. Shafts shapes also reveal shapes and dimensions of the mandrels used in bad manufacture. Decoration and construction methods are be visualized and studied in virtual cross-sections and semi-3D rendered images of selected glass colours. Visible degradation processes - including fissuring, leaching (especially of opaque yellow glasses) and dissolution processes - are highlighted. The micro-CT scans demonstrate how quality of raw glass, base design and workmanship ion bead manufacture have improved with time. Moreover, it shows how these scans may serve as basis to discuss the organization of workshops where simple or more complex objects were made from non-metallic raw materials, and the availability and distribution of different qualities of raw materials for these workshops.