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Trebsche P, Schlögel I, Flores‐Orozco A. Combining geophysical prospection and core drilling: Reconstruction of a Late Bronze Age copper mine at Prigglitz-Gasteil in the Eastern Alps (Austria). ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION 2022; 29:557-577. [PMID: 37064615 PMCID: PMC10087026 DOI: 10.1002/arp.1872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Prehistoric mines are often too large and too deep for conventional archaeological excavations. Non-destructive and minimally invasive methods of prospection can help to overcome these limits. Our case study of a Late Bronze Age opencast mine (ca. 1050 to 780 BC) shows the potential of geophysical prospection methods combined with core drillings. For the reconstruction of this mine, we combined electrical resistivity and induced polarization (IP) tomography, seismic refraction tomography (SRT) and ground penetrating radar (GPR). The geophysical data were collected based on an orthogonal grid of 10 longitudinal and transverse profiles, laid out over an area of ~330 × 300 m. The profiles allowed a three-dimensional interpolation of the geological units, the mining dumps, the mining areas and the residual mineralization. Additionally, two deep cores were drilled to ground-truth the geophysical prospection results. They provided information about the stratification at intersections of the measurement grid, and this proved crucial for validating the interpreted geophysical profiles. Each geophysical method applied provided different information for the reconstruction of the site: the electrical resistivity tomography offered the best clues as to the locations of the geological units and the dumps, the seismic refraction tomography visualized the transition between the dump or backfill layers and the underlying bedrock, and the IP measurements revealed residual mineralization. The georadar measurements, on the other hand, did not contribute to the interpretation owing to the limited depth of penetration. Based on the combination of borehole and geophysical data, it was possible to develop a hypothetical model of an open-pit mine for copper ore that developed in three phases (mines A-C) during the Late Bronze Age. Without the control provided by the core drillings, one of the mining areas (mine A) could not have been correctly identified in the geophysical prospections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Trebsche
- Institute of ArchaeologiesUniversity of InnsbruckInnsbruckAustria
| | - Ingrid Schlögel
- Applied GeophysicsZentralanstalt für Meteorologie und GeodynamikViennaAustria
| | - Adrian Flores‐Orozco
- Research Division Geophysics, Department of Geodesy and GeoinformationTU WienViennaAustria
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Maixner F, Sarhan MS, Huang KD, Tett A, Schoenafinger A, Zingale S, Blanco-Míguez A, Manghi P, Cemper-Kiesslich J, Rosendahl W, Kusebauch U, Morrone SR, Hoopmann MR, Rota-Stabelli O, Rattei T, Moritz RL, Oeggl K, Segata N, Zink A, Reschreiter H, Kowarik K. Hallstatt miners consumed blue cheese and beer during the Iron Age and retained a non-Westernized gut microbiome until the Baroque period. Curr Biol 2021; 31:5149-5162.e6. [PMID: 34648730 PMCID: PMC8660109 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.09.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Revised: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
We subjected human paleofeces dating from the Bronze Age to the Baroque period (18th century AD) to in-depth microscopic, metagenomic, and proteomic analyses. The paleofeces were preserved in the underground salt mines of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hallstatt in Austria. This allowed us to reconstruct the diet of the former population and gain insights into their ancient gut microbiome composition. Our dietary survey identified bran and glumes of different cereals as some of the most prevalent plant fragments. This highly fibrous, carbohydrate-rich diet was supplemented with proteins from broad beans and occasionally with fruits, nuts, or animal food products. Due to these traditional dietary habits, all ancient miners up to the Baroque period have gut microbiome structures akin to modern non-Westernized individuals whose diets are also mainly composed of unprocessed foods and fresh fruits and vegetables. This may indicate a shift in the gut community composition of modern Westernized populations due to quite recent dietary and lifestyle changes. When we extended our microbial survey to fungi present in the paleofeces, in one of the Iron Age samples, we observed a high abundance of Penicillium roqueforti and Saccharomyces cerevisiae DNA. Genome-wide analysis indicates that both fungi were involved in food fermentation and provides the first molecular evidence for blue cheese and beer consumption in Iron Age Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Maixner
- Institute for Mummy Studies, EURAC Research, Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy.
| | - Mohamed S Sarhan
- Institute for Mummy Studies, EURAC Research, Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Kun D Huang
- Department CIBIO, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo (Trento), Italy; Department of Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via Edmund Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy
| | - Adrian Tett
- Department CIBIO, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo (Trento), Italy; CUBE (Division of Computational Systems Biology), Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Alexander Schoenafinger
- Institute for Mummy Studies, EURAC Research, Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy; Institute of Botany, University of Innsbruck, Sternwartestraße 15, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Stefania Zingale
- Institute for Mummy Studies, EURAC Research, Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Aitor Blanco-Míguez
- Department CIBIO, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo (Trento), Italy
| | - Paolo Manghi
- Department CIBIO, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo (Trento), Italy
| | - Jan Cemper-Kiesslich
- Interfaculty Department of Legal Medicine & Department of Classics, University of Salzburg, Ignaz-Harrer-Straße 79, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
| | - Wilfried Rosendahl
- Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Zeughaus C5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany; Curt-Egelhorn-Zentrum Archäomtrie, D6,3, 61859 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Ulrike Kusebauch
- Institute for Systems Biology, 401 Terry Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Seamus R Morrone
- Institute for Systems Biology, 401 Terry Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Michael R Hoopmann
- Institute for Systems Biology, 401 Terry Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Omar Rota-Stabelli
- Center Agriculture Food Environment (C3A), University of Trento, 38010 San Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy
| | - Thomas Rattei
- CUBE (Division of Computational Systems Biology), Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Robert L Moritz
- Institute for Systems Biology, 401 Terry Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Klaus Oeggl
- Institute of Botany, University of Innsbruck, Sternwartestraße 15, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Nicola Segata
- Department CIBIO, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo (Trento), Italy
| | - Albert Zink
- Institute for Mummy Studies, EURAC Research, Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
| | - Hans Reschreiter
- Prehistoric Department, Museum of Natural History Vienna, Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Kerstin Kowarik
- Prehistoric Department, Museum of Natural History Vienna, Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria.
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