The length of time that cemeteries were used provides important insights into the persistence of social identities and how communities situate themselves in the landscape. In Bronze Age Europe, the duration of use of cemeteries is an important line of evidence to assess the role of mortuary practices in a time of social change across the continent. This study presents new dates and a Bayesian model of cremation at a Middle Bronze Age (2000–1500 BCE) cemetery in Transylvania (Romania). The cemetery at Limba-Oarda de Jos-Șesul Orzii is the largest known cemetery associated with the Wietenberg culture in Transylvania during the Middle Bronze Age. Unlike Early Bronze Age cemeteries and other Middle Bronze Age cemeteries elsewhere in the Carpathian Basin where burial activity often continued for over 500 years, the duration of use of Limba-Oarda de Jos-Șesul Orzii was much briefer. The cemetery formed within 160 years; we argue closer to 50–100 years. This use life is similar to the nearby Wietenberg cremation cemetery at Sebeș and stands in contrast to mortuary practices in previous time periods and other contemporaneous regions. The short duration of burial activity, and subsequent abandonment of the site, has ramifications for understanding Middle Bronze Age settlement patterns, mortuary rituals, and the dynamics around emerging inequality in Transylvania and beyond.

Il Grand Tour, viaggio culturale ed educativo intrapreso dalle élite europee tra il XVI e il XIX secolo, ha svolto un ruolo fondamentale nella formazione dell’identità culturale europea. Questo fenomeno, che aveva come meta privilegiata l’Italia, si trasformò progressivamente con l’ascesa della borghesia, evolvendo verso forme di turismo più moderne. William Barnard Clarke (1806–1865), architetto e antiquario inglese, compì un Grand Tour tra il 1838 e il 1840, attraversando Francia e Italia. Fino al 2020, la sua esperienza era poco documentata, ma la riscoperta di 39 disegni ha offerto nuove prospettive sul suo viaggio. Le sue raffigurazioni, incentrate su siti architettonici e archeologici, forniscono testimonianze visive preziose, come nel caso della città romana di Veleia. Clarke, membro attivo della Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, contribuì in modo significativo alla cartografia e agli studi architettonici, con l’obiettivo di diffondere il sapere oltre i circoli accademici. Il suo rapporto con i reperti antichistici si estese anche oltre i suoi viaggi, come testimonia la sua militanza tra le fila dell’Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica di Roma. Il suo viaggio segna la transizione dal Grand Tour aristocratico a un approccio più strutturato e scientifico allo studio del patrimonio culturale, evidenziando il suo ruolo di documentarista e promotore di una conoscenza più accessibile delle antichità europee.

The reuse of information derived from past archaeological investigations is integral to contemporary research practices. Yet, archiving practices of many (but not all) scholars, cultural resource managers, and public agencies often fall short of meeting standard best practices. This limitation impedes efficient and meaningful reuse of information in future research and management endeavors. To alleviate archival and reuse concerns, the development of publicly available, secure, online archives is crucial to improving scholarly research, assisting in land-planning activities and enhancing access to cultural heritage documents for Indigenous communities. In response to these challenges and in collaboration with state, federal, and tribal partners, the Center for Digital Antiquity established the Digital Archive of Huhugam Archaeology. This archive, preserved in the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR), consolidates information from more than 90 years of archaeological investigations in central and southern Arizona. We outline the process of constructing the archive and describe the current methods for assessing reuse (distinguishing between quantity and quality) and the value of reuse. Even though metrics such as page views and downloads are used often, we believe that when used on their own they fail to adequately capture the true value of reused data for academics, cultural resource managers, Indigenous communities, and the public.

This article explores the representations of imperial and non-imperial women on tokens created in Rome and Ostia, exploring what these objects reveal about imperial ideology, local culture and female euergetism. After a brief introduction to tokens as a source, the analysis begins with a discussion of the representations of imperial female family members on both bronze and lead. The representation of imperial women on tokens, which is largely a phenomenon of the first century AD, forms an important precursor, alongside provincial coinage, to the eventual appearance of women on Roman imperial coinage. Similarities and differences between coin and token representations are explored, as is the question of agency; several of these tokens were issued on behalf of the emperor or a male magistrate. The article then moves on to examine the tokens issued by other women in Rome; an appendix lists the known names of these individuals. The evidence suggests tokens were issued in connection with female-sponsored benefactions by different societal groups, although women might also be shown as participants of events on tokens issued by others. The imagery chosen for female-issued tokens is explored; there does not appear to be any gendering of imagery in this class of object. The article concludes by highlighting the relative frequency of women on Roman lead tokens when compared with provincial coinage or the tokens of other regions.

Il presente articolo prende in esame tre iscrizioni sepolcrali custodite presso la biblioteca della British School at Rome (BSR) e, fino ad oggi, rimaste inedite. Si propone, pertanto, una trascrizione, accompagnata da un commento e dall’analisi stilistica delle tre lastrine di colombario, nell’attesa che le iscrizioni vengano registrate, fra gli altri, nell’Epigraphic Database Roma. Una delle epigrafi è un componimento metrico che commemora la sepoltura comune di due coniugi, di cui ci perviene solo il nome del marito, Quirino. Il testo metrico articola numerosi topoi della poesia funeraria romana e suggerisce interessanti considerazioni sul processo di componimento e consumo poetico in ambito epigrafico. Le ulteriori tabelle di colombario, che presentano ancora i fori di fissaggio, ricordano la morte prematura di due bambini, Clado e Cyclas. Riportando alla luce questi importanti documenti, l’articolo si propone di fornire utili informazioni relative alla collezione epigrafica della BSR e di contribuire alla conoscenza del materiale epigrafico lato sensu.

We used AMS 14C dating to determine the age of the composite wedge formation in the Batagay Upper Sand unit. The composite wedges are interpreted as syngenetic structures; they have grown vertically upward with aggradation of the host sandy deposits. The formation of composite wedges in Upper Sand commenced no later than 38.3 cal ka BP and stopped not earlier than 25.5 cal ka BP in the northwestern part of the slump. In the formation of ice wedges within the Upper Sand, frost cracks extended to a depth of 5–7 m, surpassing the normal depth of 3–4 m observed in the Upper Ice Complex. The composite ice wedges in the Upper Sand formed at temperatures ranging from –47 to –54°C, as evidenced by the paleotemperature reconstruction of the isotope composition of the Upper Ice Complex’s ice wedges.

Although culture contact is a well-studied area of archaeological inquiry, complex ancient cross-cultural interactions can be challenging to discern. As zones of innovation in which boundaries are obscure, ancient frontiers offer ideal contexts to analyze the nuances of such interactions. To address the challenges of interpreting a multicultural frontier in the Moquegua Valley, southern Peru, we apply a practice-based approach using foodways to elucidate the complexity of culture contact between Wari-affiliated and Indigenous Huaracane communities during the Middle Horizon (AD 600–1000). Our findings indicate that after Wari colonization of the Moquegua frontier, the Huaracane community at Yahuay Alta began brewing chicha de molle, an alcoholic beverage associated with and central to Wari political and religious social structures. They did not, however, adopt the practice in a completely Wari fashion. Instead, we see Huaracane leaders brewed and served chicha de molle in ways that aligned with their own cultural practices. The material remains of chicha de molle production and consumption at Yahuay Alta should not be seen as a simple adoption of a nonlocal cultural practice by an Indigenous group, but instead an active manipulation of practice as part of frontier cultural negotiations and entanglements.