GM12.1

Stone mounds and water conduits dating from the Nabatean, Roman and Byzantine periods (4^th century B.C. to 7^th century A.D.) can be found on hillslopes over large areas in the Negev Desert, as well as in other parts of the Middle East and North Africa.

Based on results from field and laboratory experiments it is suggested that the ancient farmers were very efficient in harvesting water; they took into consideration the size and position of the stones when clearing the hillslope surface in order to increase the overland flow yield.

A comparison of the volume of stones in the mounds to the volume of surface stones from the surrounding areas indicates that the ancient farmers removed only stones that had been rested on top of the soil surface and left the embedded stones untouched. According to the results of simulated rainfall experiments, this selective removal of stones increased the volume of overland flow generation by almost 250%, for small rainfall events, compared to natural untreated soil surfaces. In addition, they realized that installing closely spaced conduits running in parallel along the hillslope would increase the trapping efficiency of overland flow on its way downslope.

This means that the ancient farmers have been well aware of the mechanisms of overland flow generation on stony soils and of overland flow dis-continuity on arid hillslopes.

How to cite: Lavee, H.: Water harvesting by ancient farmers in the Negev desert, Israel: Overland flow generation and continuity considerations, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-3091, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-3091, 2022.

The intra-mountain Medjerda Valley is located in North Tunisia and is characterized by its namesake the Oued Medjerda. The Valley has been settled since at least the latest Paleolithic period. Archaeologists from the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) have been studying the region since 1965, concentrating on Roman settlements. Since January 2021 the joint research project “Conquest, Ecology and Economy in Islamic North Africa: The Example of the Central Medjerda Valley” focuses on the subsequent Islamic settlement of the middle Medjerda Valley between Late Antiquity and the Early Medieval Period. The overall project aims to understand the economic and social transformations of the region triggered by the Muslim conquests and subsequent regime changes.

As part of this project, we want to focus on sediment archives in the immediate hinterland of the archaeological sites Chimtou and Bulla Regia, which are located in the central Medjerda Valley. We want to increase our knowledge on local changes in environmental conditions to establish a knowledge base on how economic and social change of the region affects the landscape balance and sediment fluxes.

In this presentation we will present a morphometric analysis of the study area: a GIS-based classification of landforms by applying the algorithm Geomorphons and results from a soil erosion model (USPED). Our results show that combing both methods allows us to derive information on landscape sensitivity, increases our process understanding and supports identify areas of erosion and deposition. Although we currently do not have the opportunity to go into the field, we here introduce a methodological framework, which allows a first geomorphological characterization of a study area – nevertheless, ground checking will be a task for future field work.

How to cite: Pagels, J., Bebermeier, W., and von Rummel, P.: Geomorphometric analysis for the hinterland of the roman sites Chimtou and Bulla Regia (Central Medjerda Valley), North Tunisia, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-4961, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-4961, 2022.

The analysis of steroids (stanols and stanols compounds) preserved within Holocene sediment records represents a novel approach to establish past periods of human and herbivore occupation in the Atlas mountains of Morocco. These organic compounds are faecally produced by omnivorous and ruminant mammals; the concentrations and ratios of the compounds are used in this study as proxies for past dynamics of human presence. In this study, stanol analysis is employed in tandem with multiproxy sedimentological, palaeoecological and geochronological data of a lake-margin sediment core to evaluate Holocene human presence around the high-elevation wetland system of the Yagour Plateau, in the High Atlas mountains (31.31°N, 7.60°W, 2460 m.a.s.l.). The site is a vital resource for modern pastoral communities, providing fodder for livestock during seasonal dry periods. Cultural institutions known as Agdals regulate access to this wetland and have been established since early-historic times at least. The Yagour Plateau is well-known for its remarkable abundance of undated petroglyphs, which may relate to the territorial delineation of these Agdals. However, direct dating of archaeological remains is rare and the timing of human presence on the High Atlas rangelands is not well known. Information gained on the dynamics of human presence of remote, high-elevation sites in the High Atlas may be helpful in improving the understanding of the relationships between Holocene climatic, anthropogenic and ecological signals. Here, we present new data from 25 stanol samples spanning the last 13 kyr, complemented by two multiproxy records that include pollen, charcoal and non-pollen palynomorphs. The temporal context of these proxy records is underpinned by high-resolution age-depth radiocarbon chronology. We observe elevated stanol ratios from 6.2 cal ka BP to modern times, likely indicating intermittent human presence on the plateau since the Mid-Holocene. High coprostanol concentrations between 4.9 to 4.0 cal ka BP are similar to modern levels and indicate peak human presence. Faecal biomarkers match well with pollen-based anthropogenic indicators, particularly Plantago pollen abundance. This study supports a significant human presence on the Yagour Plateau from the Mid-Holocene onwards, contributing to the study of long-term human presence and climate dynamics in a sensitive mountain region at the boundary of the Atlantic and Saharan climate systems.

How to cite: Cornelissen, H., Lupien, R., Fletcher, W., Hughes, P., Bell, B., Rhoujjati, A., Ewague, A., and Fink, D.: Ancient steroids: Human faecal signals and environmental data from a Holocene sediment record of the Yagour Plateau, High Atlas, Morocco, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-13327, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-13327, 2022.

The temple areas in ancient Egypt were most sacred and characterized by a multitude of elements that emphasized their importance and enabled daily cultic activities. Very specific and important features of such temples were sacred water canals or lakes, the so-called Isheru, which provided water for all kinds of purification rites and activities. In addition to textual records, preliminary sedimentological analyses of core drillings and geophysical surveys provided geoarchaeological evidence of a sacred water body at the Temple of Bastet in the ancient city of Bubastis. To further explore the location, shape, or course of the already detected canal and to find evidence on the existence of a second waterway described by Herodotus in the 5th century BCE, 34 drillings and five 2D geoelectrical measurements were carried. Drilling and sediment analyses revealed loamy to clayey deposits with a thickness of up to five meters near the northern and southern enclosures of the Temple of Bastet. 2D electrical surveying confirmed the drilling results, indicating trench-formed layers of low resistivity values. The recovered deposits were interpreted as fluvial sediments, most likely deposited in a very low energy system, e.g. a canal or lake. Evidence of these fluvial sediments in numerous boreholes allows the reconstruction of two separate sacred canals both north and south of the Temple of Bastet. In addition to the course, the width of the canals of about 30 m can also be confirmed according to Herodotus' writings. The presence of numerous artefacts in the fluvial deposits, such as ceramic and limestone fragments, proves the anthropogenic use of the ancient canals. Presumably, these waterways were connected to the Nile via a tributary or canal located west or northwest of Bubastis.

How to cite: Meister, J., Garbe, P., Trappe, J., Ullmann, T., Es-Senussi, A., Baumhauer, R., Lange-Athinodorou, E., and Abd El-Raouf, A.: The Sacred Waterscape of Ancient Egyptian Temples - The Example of the Temple of Bastet at Bubastis, Nile Delta (Egypt), EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-1436, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-1436, 2022.

The geological substrate and its landforms, as main providers of natural resources, have a clear influence on landscape management practices The landscape evolution of the island of Sardinia (Italy) during the Holocene has strongly influenced the populations settled there, especially during the Bronze Age. We constructed a map of the land units in the southwestern corner of Sardinia and compared them with the distribution of known Bronze Age megalithic towers called nuraghes. Our aim is to understand which factors represent relevant criteria for settlement and try to infer possible causes.

The vast majority of nuraghes are located in proximity to river networks at low and mid elevations. Most densely settled areas also show the highest landscape diversity with a variety of land units much higher than the rest of the territory. Another potential factor affecting the location choice for nuraghes is the presence of elevated outcrops, which provide the advantage of a raised position and of stable foundations. The interaction of human dispersal patterns with landscape features can provide useful information on the sustenance strategies of past communities. It can therefore be interesting to consider the combined effect of geodiversity and landscape diversity in order to build more accurate dispersal models.

How to cite: Mariani, G. S., Brandolini, F., and Melis, R. T.: Insights into the role of geology in human occupation strategies in Bronze Age Sardinia (Italy), EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-9549, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-9549, 2022.

Developing more sustainable agricultural systems represents a challenge and urgent global venture. A sustained collaboration among researchers from diverse fields, policymakers, and the public at large is necessary to deal with this complex global emergency. Landscape archaeology can actively contribute to this movement by exploring the interactions of social and environmental systems over long periods of time and generating insights for potential future applications. Environmental sustainability and historic landscape conservation are typically treated as two separate fields. Still, this research proposes a new way to embrace cultural and natural values as components of the same landscape management plans.
Over the long term, rural activities have given rise to a wide variety of historic landscapes. Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC) uses a qualitative but formalised method to map historic landscapes' chronological and spatial complexity. Each HLC study uses GIS to map 'historic landscape character types' (HLC types) based on distinctive characteristics which result from known historical processes. Meanwhile, in environmental studies, the diachronic land-use-land cover (LULC) analysis has helped illustrate how different anthropogenic activities have altered the soil erosion rate in specific areas. Modelling can provide a quantitative and consistent approach to estimating soil erosion under a wide range of conditions. GIS integration with the RUSLE (Revisited Universal Soil Loss Equation) model has been applied to estimate soil loss at a regional scale. It has resulted in implementing soil management and conservation practices to reduce soil erosion in fragile ecosystems. In previous HLC studies, LULC has been evaluated from the perspective of cultural heritage. In contrast, RUSLE modellers have used it as a proxy for the LULC of an area (i.e. absence or presence of tree canopy) and its effect on soil erosion. 
This study proposes an innovative methodology that combines both the historical/cultural and the environmental values of LULC to inform the development of a model to evaluate the increasing/decreasing soil erosion rate. From a cultural heritage point of view, the diachronic analysis of historical features (mapped as HLC types) informs understanding of the LULC, which characterised a landscape. At the same time, these features had an impact on local soil erosion rates. In this study, the HLC types have been employed to define the C and P factors, the two most challenging factors to be determined in the RUSLE equation. In literature, the C factor is usually derived from automatic satellite detection (e.g. CORINE), resulting in a low detailed characterisation of the LULC types, especially in the case of local agricultural activities. Conversely, the P factor is often taken equal to 1 because of the lack of geospatial data about the conservative practices adopted regionally (e.g. occurrence of terraced systems, hedgerows or contour ploughing). 
The methodology proposed has been tested in the Tuscan - Emilian Apennines historical landscape (Vetto - Italy) with the aims to assess: i) how the changes in the LULC in the past 70 years impacted the soil erosion rate, and ii) which HLC types perform better in term of soil erosion mitigation.

How to cite: Brandolini, F. and Turner, S.: A landscape archaeological approach to estimate the cover-management and conservation practice factors for RUSLE models., EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-83, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-83, 2022.

       The traditional view on Mesopotamian resources strategies is understood as “resource hunting” in which Mesopotamian empires would have spread to neighbouring regions (Zagros, Taurus, Levant…) to monopolize their resources. Indeed, Mesopotamia lacks some resources/raw materials such as copper, iron, wood, obsidian, and others. Our RessourceCultures approach, developed in SFB 1070, aims to define resources in a wider spectrum, to propose new interpretations on cultures development in this region. By investigating new patterns rules of resources appropriation and uses in peripheral areas, we hope to bring interesting new results. Our survey covered an area of 4.400 km² from the western foothills of the Zagros mountains to the eastern riverbank of the Tigris. 

      To unravel the patterns that define a ResourceCulture we combine both archaeological and geoarchaeological data into a machine learning approach. Many features (topography, water, soil type, resources availability, climate…) influence the founding and location of settlements in different ways and degrees of importance. The trend of these influences can be analyzed through machine learning models in predictive archaeology. Letting the machine run predictive models and underline the relationship between each feature and settlement dynamic will potentially help us to better understand how resources were used in a cultural and economic context through time and space.     

           Our poster will present the first ideas derived from the machine learning approach: Is there any trends appearing and what can we say from them? Can we redefine the ResourceCulture in Northern Mesopotamia through these new interpretations? 

How to cite: Bellat, M., Glissmann, B., Rentschler, T., Schmidt, K., Sconzo, P., Pfälzner, P., and Scholten, T.: Unraveling archaeological settlement, landscape, and resource use patterns with machine learning in Kurdistan (Iraq), EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-6021, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-6021, 2022.

The Cerro Colorado Cultural and Natural Reserve is located on the north-eastern slope of the Sierras Pampeanas, Córdoba mountain sector, Argentina (30° 05' S 63° 55' W). This locality is well known for the impressive archaeological legacy recorded in rock art, almost 4200 painted and engraved motifs preserved inside sandstone shelters, made from ca. 400 AD until the arrival of the Spanish conquers in the XVI century. While previous research in the study area has focused mainly on archaeological sites, this work describes the sandstone landforms diversity. In this sense, some of the most geodiversity sceneries on Earth are supported by sandstones, solely or dominating over other rock types, and protected by different institutions as UNESCO. This study aims to characterize the geodiversity of Cerro Colorado by documenting the variety of sandstone morphologies and understanding their possible process origins within a global context. This contribution offers theoretical and applied knowledge that is of interest to different areas of environmental reconstruction and geoarchaeological research. The methodology includes 1) field survey and data collection, 2) sandstone landform inventory, 3) the estimation of the morphological component of geodiversity through the geomorphodiversity index (GmI). ALOS PALSAR DEM at 12.5 m spatial resolution was used as primary data. GmI = S + A + Dv + Ch + Cv + TPI + TWI + TRI; where, S: slope, A: aspect, Dv: deep valley, Ch: horizontal curvature, Cv: vertical curvature, TPI: topographic position index, TWI: topographic wetness index, TRI: topographic roughness index. The GmI was carried out on SAGAGIS through Rao's Q diversity index tool. The landforms are the results of the weathering and erosion processes caused by regional climate changes throughout the geological past (from the Mesozoic to the present day). The GmI considers five classes. The very low and low classes predominate in the study area (55%). The very low diversity refers to plains and eroded short sandstone hills connected with planation surfaces, pavement, and massive domes. The low range is associated with undulating and smooth sandstone shapes. The medium class shows undulating surfaces and the transition to moderately-strong slopes (8-14º). The high diversity is characterized by the middle slopes (14-20º), dominated by cavernous forms as tafoni and caves carved on the cliffs and standing out the presence of tors and rock balance. The very high class comprises steep slopes and deep valleys related to the highest sandstone heights (880 m.a.s.l.). The shelters (high class) contain native rock art paintings which conservation requires geomorphological knowledge to prevent degradation. The sandstone geodiversity of Cerro Colorado is one of the most attractive assets of the central Argentina region. Moreover, taking into account the pre-Hispanic archaeological legacy, this site presents a unique geomorphological and cultural heritage. Hence, the reserve needs special attention for geotourism promotion, scientific and educational uses, world heritage. This contribution allows (i) bridging the relationship between human interaction and sandstone landscapes which research line has not been developed yet for the study area, and (ii) considered an integrated management plan for geocultural conservation.

How to cite: Boretto, G., Cioccale, M., Gordillo, S., Carignano, C., and Recalde, A.: Geodiversity and Geoheritage of sandstone landscape: Cerro Colorado, Córdoba, Argentina, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-9325, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-9325, 2022.