Tells are multi-layered, archaeological mounds representing anthropogenic landforms common in arid regions. In such contexts, the preservation of the archaeological record is mined by ongoing climate changes, shift in land use, and intense human overgrazing. Such natural and human-driven factors tune the response of archaeological soils and sediments to erosion. Geomorphology offers a plethora of tools for mapping natural and anthropogenic landforms and evaluating their response to unremitting weathering, erosional and depositional processes. Here, we present a geomorphological investigation on two anthropogenic mounds in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with a special focus on the ongoing erosional processes mining their slope stability and threatening the preservation of the local archaeological landscape. Applying the revised universal soil loss equation model for soil loess derived from UAV imagery and implemented with geoarchaeological investigation, we assess the erosion rate along anthropogenic mounds and estimate the risk of losing archaeological deposits. We argue that a large-scale application of our approach in arid and semi-arid regions may improve our ability to (i) estimate the rate of soil and/or archaeological sediments loss, (ii) propose mitigation strategies to prevent the dismantling of the archaeological record, and (iii) schedule archaeological operations in areas of moderate to extreme erosion risk.
Geomorphological assessment of the preservation of archaeological tell sites / L. Forti, F. Brandolini, V. Oselini, L. Peyronel, A. Pezzotta, A. Vacca, A. Zerboni. - In: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. - ISSN 2045-2322. - 13:(2023), pp. 7683.1-7683.14. [10.1038/s41598-023-34490-4]
Geomorphological assessment of the preservation of archaeological tell sites
L. Forti
Primo
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
;V. OseliniWriting – Review & Editing
;L. PeyronelFunding Acquisition
;A. PezzottaWriting – Review & Editing
;A. VaccaPenultimo
Writing – Review & Editing
;A. ZerboniUltimo
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
2023
Abstract
Tells are multi-layered, archaeological mounds representing anthropogenic landforms common in arid regions. In such contexts, the preservation of the archaeological record is mined by ongoing climate changes, shift in land use, and intense human overgrazing. Such natural and human-driven factors tune the response of archaeological soils and sediments to erosion. Geomorphology offers a plethora of tools for mapping natural and anthropogenic landforms and evaluating their response to unremitting weathering, erosional and depositional processes. Here, we present a geomorphological investigation on two anthropogenic mounds in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with a special focus on the ongoing erosional processes mining their slope stability and threatening the preservation of the local archaeological landscape. Applying the revised universal soil loss equation model for soil loess derived from UAV imagery and implemented with geoarchaeological investigation, we assess the erosion rate along anthropogenic mounds and estimate the risk of losing archaeological deposits. We argue that a large-scale application of our approach in arid and semi-arid regions may improve our ability to (i) estimate the rate of soil and/or archaeological sediments loss, (ii) propose mitigation strategies to prevent the dismantling of the archaeological record, and (iii) schedule archaeological operations in areas of moderate to extreme erosion risk.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
Forti et al_Sc Reports_2023.pdf
accesso aperto
Tipologia:
Publisher's version/PDF
Dimensione
3.86 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
3.86 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
Pubblicazioni consigliate
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.