Papers by Isaac Ogloblin
Journal of Maritime Archaeology, 2024
Underwater excavations require an immense amount of logistics and have inherent time limitations.... more Underwater excavations require an immense amount of logistics and have inherent time limitations. Underwater challenges such as nitrogen toxicity, underwater color change, and dive time limits increase with working depths, affecting the interpretation of archaeological contexts. Thus, underwater excavations involve methods and approaches to extract the maximum information from small areas while providing a comprehensive understanding of the archaeological record. Here, we present the benefits of using an on-site laboratory comprising a microscope, binocular microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and blue light inspection device. Three case studies are presented, focusing on the identification of stratigraphic boundaries, as well as the preservation and identification of archaeological materials. The results show a complex stratigraphic sequence containing seven layers divided into four mineralogical units: (1) Calcite, (2) Calcite and aragonite, (3) Aragonite, and (4) Dolomite. Additionally, the use of an on-site laboratory is effective in preventing the misidentification of archaeological materials, which could affect the final interpretation of the archaeological site (e.g., glass, lead, bone), and enabling the identification of materials invisible to the naked eye, such as opaline phytoliths. In the case of the Antikythera shipwreck, the on-site laboratory facilitated the examination of stratigraphy and quality of the archaeological context while streamlining excavation practices and documentation. Furthermore, the on-site laboratory allowed for the assessment of material preservation and provide crucial insights to inform post-excavation treatments and analysis of artifacts.
The investigation of submerged archaeological sites faces numerous logistical challenges in the r... more The investigation of submerged archaeological sites faces numerous logistical challenges in the recovery of stratigraphic sequences and, as a result, is often restricted to surface deposits limiting the application of geoarchaeology. This paper outlines a new integrated field and microanalytical methodological protocol to investigate deep stratigraphic sequences (up to 2 m) within the submerged Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) site of Atlit-Yam (9267-7970 cal. B.P. [calibrated years before the present]). A new coring method for the extraction of deep underwater stratigraphy was developed to extract three cores: two between architectural remains within the site and one outside the site. The cores were analysed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, phytolith and pollen analysis and archaeological micromorphology to detect anthropogenic signals and undertake paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Our results indicate anthropogenic evidence at 95 cm depth based on the presence of heat-altered sediments, high phytolith concentrations and micromorphological observations of archaeological remains. Radiocarbon analysis indicates the oldest anthropogenic layers date to the Mid Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) and Late PPNB (9859-9323 cal. B.P.), bearing implications for reassessing the emergence of the first coastal Neolithic villages in the Mediterranean. Our integrated field and multiproxy micro-geoarchaeological protocol offers a new approach to detecting and studying submerged archaeological sites worldwide.
Geoarchaeology
Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is frequently used for archaeological studies rela... more Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is frequently used for archaeological studies related to fire, allowing, among other things, researchers to distinguish between unheated and heated clay minerals. However, heat signatures are not always clear‐cut in infrared spectra of bulk sediments, as spectra occasionally appear with ambiguous absorbance bands attributed to hydroxyl (OH) in clay minerals. This paper presents an experimental study addressing this interpretational problem by considering the effect of mixtures of heated and unheated clay, a phenomenon expected in archaeological sites. After creating experimental mixtures and testing them using bulk FTIR spectroscopy, our results indicate that even a relatively small amount of unheated clay—only ca. 5%–10% mixed into a fully heated deposit—will result in ambiguous infrared spectra that are difficult to interpret. For comparison, ambiguous bulk FTIR spectra from two archaeological contexts—an ashy fill within a pit instal...
Geoarchaeology, 2023
Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is frequently used for archaeological studies rela... more Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is frequently used for archaeological studies related to fire, allowing, among other things, researchers to distinguish between unheated and heated clay minerals. However, heat signatures are not always clear-cut in infrared spectra of bulk sediments, as Geoarchaeology. 2023;1-8. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/gea | 1 This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Scientific Reports, 2021
We present here the earliest evidence for large-scale table olive production from the mid-7th mil... more We present here the earliest evidence for large-scale table olive production from the mid-7th millennium BP inundated site of Hishuley Carmel on the northern Mediterranean coast of Israel. Olive pit size and fragmentation patterns, pollen as well as the architecture of installations associated with pits from this site, were compared to finds from the nearby and slightly earlier submerged Kfar Samir site. Results indicate that at Kfar Samir olive oil was extracted, while at Hishuley Carmel the data showed that large quantities of table olives, the oldest reported to date, were prepared. This process was most probably facilitated by the site’s proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, which served as a source of both sea water and salt required for debittering/pickling/salting the fruit, as experimentally demonstrated in this study. Comparison of pit morphometry from modern cultivars, wild-growing trees and the archaeological sites, intimates that in pit morphology the ancient pits resemble...
We present here the earliest evidence for large-scale table olive production from the mid-7 th mi... more We present here the earliest evidence for large-scale table olive production from the mid-7 th millennium BP inundated site of Hishuley Carmel on the northern Mediterranean coast of Israel. Olive pit size and fragmentation patterns, pollen as well as the architecture of installations associated with pits from this site, were compared to finds from the nearby and slightly earlier submerged Kfar Samir site. Results indicate that at Kfar Samir olive oil was extracted, while at Hishuley Carmel the data showed that large quantities of table olives, the oldest reported to date, were prepared. This process was most probably facilitated by the site's proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, which served as a source of both sea water and salt required for debittering/pickling/salting the fruit, as experimentally demonstrated in this study. Comparison of pit morphometry from modern cultivars, wild-growing trees and the archaeological sites, intimates that in pit morphology the ancient pits resemble wild olives, but we cannot totally exclude the possibility that they derive from early cultivated trees. Our findings demonstrate that in this region, olive oil production may have predated table olive preparation, with each development serving as a milestone in the early exploitation of the olive. Throughout the Mediterranean Basin, the olive tree is considered an emblematic and economically important species (e.g., 1-3). The domesticated form (Olea europaea subsp. europaea var. sativa), commonly known as Olea europaea, has given rise to hundreds of cultivars in different geographic areas 4,5. Its main wild progenitor, commonly known as oleaster (O. europaea subsp. europaea var. sylvestris [Mill.] Lehr.), is a typical but a minor component of the natural Mediterranean garigue, maquis and forest landscapes. Identification of the earliest domestic olives has proved to be complex. Genetic research has demonstrated that reciprocal gene flow regularly took place between wild and domesticated types 6,7 , while oleaster plants have served as stock material onto which cultivated clones are grafted 8-10. This might partly explain why genetic studies have reached dissimilar conclusions regarding the number of domestication events and geographic origin of Olea domestication 11-15 .
This paper presents the first microarchaeological study of pottery from two coastal (now submerge... more This paper presents the first microarchaeological study of pottery from two coastal (now submerged) sites, Neve Yam and Tel Hreiz, representing coastal settlements of the late Pottery Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic (PN/EC) Wadi Rabah culture. Pottery from these sites was retrieved during underwater surveys conducted since the 1980s following winter storms which exposed the sites. The total amount of sherds collected from Neve Yam is 1,120, and 220 from Tel Hreiz. Of these, 44 sherds of different types and fabrics were selected for analysis. Analyses focused on petrography and bulk mineralogy. The results were interpreted in comparison to potential raw materials (soils/sediments) from the Carmel coast region sampled in a radius of 10 km around the sites. Six petrofabric groups were identified. Two represent local coastal raw materials, two non-local raw materials, and two consist of raw materials from both coastal and inland regions. Three main technological choices were identified, including (a) paste based on chalk/marl was fired in reducing conditions, (b) firing temperatures did not surpass 700ºC, and (c) stylistic variation expressed via color. This study contributes new technological and socioeconomic knowledge about the unique micro-regional procurement system operated by the coastal Wadi Rabah society.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Technological and social practices can be deciphered by deployment of multiple techniques that ha... more Technological and social practices can be deciphered by deployment of multiple techniques that have been developed in the last years for the study of sun-dried and heated mud bricks. This research analyzed for the first time the chain of operational processes involved in the manufacture of heated mud bricks in the Neolithic of the Southern Levant. Heated mud bricks (and associated soil/sediment controls) were studied from four Neolithic sites in Israel; the submerged Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (PPNC) site of Atlit-Yam, the coastal PPNC site of Bene Beraq, the submerged late Pottery Neolithic/ Early Chalcolithic (PN/EC) site of Neve Yam and the coastal PN/EC site of 'Ein Asawir. In all sites, the bricks have been found in open areas within the settlements, in semi-circular concentrations of either pits or piles. The bricks have been characterized macroscopically (shape, size, color pattern) and a variety of micro-geoarchaeological techniques have been used to characterize the mud brick materials (and control soils/sediments) from the four sites. These included, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Electrical Conductivity (EC), pH analysis, calcite content measurements, Loss on Ignition (LOI), phytolith analysis, and petrography. The results show that all bricks have been produced from sediments from the sites' vicinities. PPNC mud bricks are generally devoid of any type of temper and have been heated to a relatively wide range of high temperatures (600-900°C) under heterogeneous atmospheric conditions. PN/EC mud bricks are enriched in calcite and include vegetal temper, and have been heated to a relatively narrow range of temperatures (500-700°C) that is lower than that observed in PPNC mud bricks, and under standard oxidizing conditions. The grass component of temper in the PN/EC bricks may originate from emmer wheat, based on phytolith morphological analysis. Interestingly, FTIR criteria for heated clay minerals preserve underwater for millennia, and so do phytolith assemblages; these observations indicate that micro-geoarchaeological proxies can (and should) be utilized in studies of marine submerged prehistory. Overall, a diachronic perspective on the operational chain of PPNC and PN/EC mud bricks, from raw material procurement through tempering, moulding and firing is provided, which may be translated into developing pyrotechnological practices in light of increasing social complexity during the Neolithic. We propose that purposeful tempering by emmer wheat (agricultural by-products) may be related to socioeconomic factors such as symbolic addition of domestic surplus and that temper diversity in the PN/EC may also mirror sedentary life where domestic waste accumulated on local soil/sediment and thus incorporated into mud bricks. Furthermore, we propose that the more standardized pyrotechnological characteristics of PN/EC bricks are related to increased social control over this skill/craft.
Maritime and Coastal Archaeology by Isaac Ogloblin
JAS Reports, 2023
Geoarchaeological research at coastal urban sites in the Levant focused until recently on two res... more Geoarchaeological research at coastal urban sites in the Levant focused until recently on two research directions: the identification of ancient harbors and the study of occupation deposits in settlement portions that are located well above sea level (i.e., ’dry’ excavations). Here we present a geoarchaeological study of the southern maritime waterfront of Tel Dor following a coastal excavation at an elevation that is close to current sea level. The research addresses stratigraphic relationships between underwater, coastal and fully terrestrial architectural features (wall remains) and these provide the context for deposits found within the site’s perimeter. These coastal deposits were then studied using sediment micromorphology as well as stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis.
Three depositional units have been identified. The lower was found to be coastal deposits earlier than the Iron Age IB (Ir1b, 11-10th c. BCE). The middle unit is an ash deposit containing pottery and bone refuse dating to the Ir1b, probably a town dump, that became indurated due to sea level rise and resembles beachrock. The upper unit is composed of tell occupation deposits, including phytolith-rich layers and evidence for wood ash and compacted livestock dung as in stabling deposits. The latter, dated to the Ir1b – Ir2a (i.e. up-to and including the 9th c. BCE), reflects dumped refuse and livestock keeping in a terrestrial (i.e. non-marine) environment. Overall, this study provides initial insights into site formation processes and human activities at Dor’s maritime interface during the Iron Age.
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Papers by Isaac Ogloblin
Maritime and Coastal Archaeology by Isaac Ogloblin
Three depositional units have been identified. The lower was found to be coastal deposits earlier than the Iron Age IB (Ir1b, 11-10th c. BCE). The middle unit is an ash deposit containing pottery and bone refuse dating to the Ir1b, probably a town dump, that became indurated due to sea level rise and resembles beachrock. The upper unit is composed of tell occupation deposits, including phytolith-rich layers and evidence for wood ash and compacted livestock dung as in stabling deposits. The latter, dated to the Ir1b – Ir2a (i.e. up-to and including the 9th c. BCE), reflects dumped refuse and livestock keeping in a terrestrial (i.e. non-marine) environment. Overall, this study provides initial insights into site formation processes and human activities at Dor’s maritime interface during the Iron Age.
Three depositional units have been identified. The lower was found to be coastal deposits earlier than the Iron Age IB (Ir1b, 11-10th c. BCE). The middle unit is an ash deposit containing pottery and bone refuse dating to the Ir1b, probably a town dump, that became indurated due to sea level rise and resembles beachrock. The upper unit is composed of tell occupation deposits, including phytolith-rich layers and evidence for wood ash and compacted livestock dung as in stabling deposits. The latter, dated to the Ir1b – Ir2a (i.e. up-to and including the 9th c. BCE), reflects dumped refuse and livestock keeping in a terrestrial (i.e. non-marine) environment. Overall, this study provides initial insights into site formation processes and human activities at Dor’s maritime interface during the Iron Age.