Episode 6 - F for Formation Processes, Masada Site Visit, and Archaeology News

Into the Dust Archaeology

Website: https://www.intothedustarchaeology.com/
Patreon: patreon.com/IntotheDustArchaeology
Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3q009WBcKIUqR5B3scleEj

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G9HwVkFO8U&list=PLcH4-BWqVM6KHP2Ih6UEq4_G1qRq8MgSn&index=1
ABCs of Archaeology – F is for Formation processes

Formation processes are the natural and human-made changes to a site or artefacts that affect how we find it today. Natural formation processes especially are often overlooked but greatly impact our understanding of a site, which can be totally thrown off if we don’t account for them. Sure, we’re archaeologists – not geologists, meteorologists, soil scientists, etc. – but we do need to have an understanding of them. If not, we can fall for the “Pompeii premise” trap, which is when archaeologists wrongly assume a site they find is just as it was long ago, frozen at a moment in time, just like Pompeii.

Living Archaeology Site Visit – Masada

Masada is the most iconic archaeological site in Israel and one of the most incredible places I ever visited. Other than Pompeii itself, Masada is the closest I’ve seen to a place being frozen in time, left as it was thousands of years ago. However, the site is by far simple. Often seen as a focal point for the past-present continuity of a Jewish homeland in Israel, the site is more complex and nuanced than has been portrayed, with a lot of elements that do not support the nationalistic narrative. Whatever the politics, it is certainly an arresting place to visit and a great study for the uses and misuses of historical and biblical material with respect to archaeology.

Sources:

https://www.academia.edu/25836648/Capturing_a_Beautiful_Woman_at_Masada

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1040/

https://en.parks.org.il/reserve-park/masada-national-park/

https://israel-tourguide.info/2010/11/25/food-discoveries-masada-garum/#:~:text=For%20here%20had%20been%20stored,king'%20%E2%80%93%20referring%20to%20Herod.

Archaeology News – Today we have stories in the good, bad, ugly, and beautiful categories.

Good: A Polish team has discovered a whole bunch of Bronze and Iron Age sites in Oman, a country chock full of archaeological wonders. It shows just how much archaeology is out there, and how we need folks like you to join the field and help locate, study, and preserve it.

Source: https://pcma.uw.edu.pl/en/2024/02/12/metallurgical-sites-in-oman/

Bad: Hundreds of Bactrian era sites, which date back to Alexander the Great and beyond, have been looted and destroyed in Afghanistan. This highlights the toll war and poverty takes on archaeology, and the pernicious “pull factor” that the illicit antiquities trade creates.

Ugly: A new interpretation of the bones within the royal tombs of Virginia, mostly belonging to people who were gruesomely murdered, has produced a divergent interpretation versus previous studies. Based on osteological, archaeological, and historical evidence, the new study posits which body belongs to members of Alexander the Great’s family, including his father, Philip II, and his younger half-brother, who succeeded him.

Beautiful: A golden dress accessory way back from the Bronze Age (i.e. at least 3,000 years ago) has been discovered by a metal detectorist in England, just one of seven of its kind ever found. This highlights the extent of ancient trade networks across the Irish Sea as well and the positiv