Collaborative Research - Investigation of an Ancient Industrial Landscape in Western Rough Cilicia

Rough Cilicia考古项目正在调查Rough Cilicia(土耳其南部沿海)作为古罗马地中海经济生产中心的作用。在古代粗糙的西里西亚等外围地区，当地采用进口经济生产方式的证据提供了一个独特的机会，可以通过当地社会的视角来看待帝国世界制度的发展。除了依赖后殖民经济理论阐明该地区可能的资源生产模式外，我们的调查方法还包括卫星图像遥感；地面、地貌和海洋调查；用于木材鉴定的陶瓷生产残留物的木炭分析；以及保存在沉积物中的区域陆地植被的生物地球化学分析。迄今为止的工作已经确定了与西里西亚山区森林的可再生木材资源有关的经济生产活动的关键指标。为了完善这个问题，该项目正在研究比基奇河流域(现在的土耳其加齐帕沙)作为古代工业发展区。多阶段的考古野外工作包括步行测量以及详细的建筑文件，旨在提供有关建筑特征的分布、规模和风格的信息，以及随着时间的推移土地利用强度的信息。地貌调查正在量化砍伐森林对比基奇盆地沉积物沉积的规模、速度和时间的影响，同时确定沉积区域，用于孢粉学、木炭和木质素分析。根据沿河谷获得的泥沙、地形和水深数据，研究小组正在构建水力、泥沙和土壤侵蚀模型，能够模拟由于砍伐森林和/或农业利用和废弃而导致的这一流域的历史性变化。通过地质岩心采样，项目合作者正在获得能够识别考古木材和木炭的木质和叶组织残留物的微观样本。例如，在沉积物中发现的草、木本被子植物和裸子植物的组织残留物通过地球化学测试进行区分，以区分木质素的化学形式及其化学残留物的稳定碳同位素组成。该小组还通过磁强计检查、螺旋取样和在Bickici窑址收集陶瓷来获取古代木炭残留物的样本。通过实验室分析，该小组正在将这些样本与土耳其船只遗骸和考古遗址中的木材进行比对，以确定古代使用的树木类型及其起源地区。与孢粉学、大型植物学和碳14分析一起，这些策略使研究小组能够获得关于锡里西亚人砍伐森林的形式、规模和持续时间的更准确的数据。与此同时，水下调查正在通过检查沿海平台和浅海大陆架上的造船和海洋设施遗迹来探索古代西里尔人海洋活动的潜力。通过结合这些不同的方法和技术，该研究计划有可能确定罗马时代西方粗糙的西里西亚所采用的显著生产方式和经济一体化，从而更好地理解当原住民社区和外部帝国共同努力开发地区资源基础时发生的经济变迁。

The Rough Cilicia Archaeological Project is investigating the role of Rough Cilicia (south coastal Turkey) as a production center for the ancient Roman Mediterranean economy. In peripheral areas such as ancient Rough Cilicia, evidence of native adoption of imported modes of economic production furnish a unique opportunity to view the development of an imperial world system through the lens of local societies. Apart from our reliance on post-colonial economic theory to articulate a likely mode of resource production for the region, our investigative methods include remote sensing of satellite imagery; surface, geomorphological, and maritime survey; charcoal analysis of ceramic production residue for timber identification; and biogeochemical analysis of regional terrestrial vegetation preserved in sediments. Work to date has identified crucial indicators of economic production activities associated with the renewable resource of timber from Cilician mountain forests. To refine this question, the project is examining the basin of the Bickici River (modern Gazipasha, Turkey) as a zone of ancient industrial development. The multi-phased archaeological fieldwork includes pedestrian survey along with detailed architectural documentation, designed to yield information on the distribution, scale and style of architectural features as well as information on land-use intensity through time. The geomorphological survey is quantifying the effects of deforestation on the magnitude, the rates, and the timing of sediment deposition in the Bickici basin, while at the same time identifying areas of deposition for palynological, charcoal, and lignin analysis. From sediment, topographic, and bathymetric data acquired along the river valley, the team is constructing hydraulic, sedimentation, and soil erosion models capable of simulating historic changes in this watershed as a result of deforestation and/or agricultural use and abandonment. Through geological core-sampling, project collaborators are obtaining microscopic samples of woody and foliar tissue residues capable of identifying archaeological woods and charcoals. Tissues residues from grasses, woody angiosperms and gymnosperms found in sediments, for example, are differentiated using geochemical tests to distinguish among chemical forms of lignin and the stable carbon isotope composition of its chemical residues. The team is also obtaining samples of ancient charcoal residues through magnetometer inspection, auger sampling, and ceramic collection at the Bickici kiln site. Through laboratory analysis the team is matching these samples against wood from ship remains and archaeological sites in Turkey to identify the types of trees used in antiquity and their areas of origination. Along with palynological, macrobotanical, and Carbon-14 analysis, these strategies are enabling the team to obtain more precise data for the form, scale, and duration of Cilician deforestation. Simultaneously, the underwater survey is exploring the potential for ancient Cilician marine activity by examining the coastal platform and shallow continental shelf for remains of shipbuilding and maritime facilities. By combining these various methodologies and technologies, the research program holds the potential to identify salient modes of production and economic integration employed in western Rough Cilicia during the Roman era, thereby achieving a greater understanding of the economic transmutations that occur when native communities and external empires combine efforts to exploit a regional resource base.