Work Description

PASH Deep Blue Data Realm 3: Tumulus Excavations (https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/data/dashboard/collections/p2676v94w)
 
*(Note that the realm-level information below is also included in “Documentation for the PASH Collection,” attached to the overall PASH collection record: https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/data/concern/data_sets/6t053g548. Record- and file-level information is included only in this document.)
 
Description:
All databases, field notebooks, unit and profile drawings, photographs, photo descriptions, radiocarbon dates, and geophysical survey data related to the tumuli excavations have been made available in PASH Deep Blue Data Realm 3.
 
The excavation methods employed by PASH at tumuli replicate those employed at settlements. Natural stratigraphy was followed where possible, and arbitrary stratigraphic levels were defined when necessary. Arbitrary stratigraphic levels at tumuli often exceeded the 10 cm interval used at settlements, due to the large number of large rocks that needed to be removed. Due to the numerous rocks, not all mound fill was screened; rather, we screened every third bucket through quarter-inch mesh. By contrast, all soil from features was screened. Soil was sampled for flotation and water screening from every level and feature, but unlike samples from settlements, it has not been processed and analyzed. Each tumulus, being roughly circular, was divided into quadrants along the cardinal directions, and 1-m baulks between quadrants were defined. Quadrants were excavated separately by level. Sometimes quadrants were excavated concurrently. Tumulus unit/level/feature designations are therefore preceded by tumulus (T000) and quadrant (Q000) numbers. Artifact provenience was recorded down to levels and features, with important in situ artifacts sometimes being mapped into level/feature drawings along x-y-z axes. Strata and artifacts were measured cm below surface using a dumpy level. All levels and features were drawn and photographed, individually and by quadrant. 
 
In each mound we followed natural stratigraphy whenever and wherever possible. However, given the steep downward curves of many strata, following the slopes of mound surfaces, this was not always possible. Thus, it is likely that some levels combine artifacts from different mound strata. To control partially for this difficulty, quadrant levels were often subdivided into separate units on the interior or the exterior of mounds (designated “collections units” or CUs). Mound and grave architecture, when present, was left in place until fully defined and documented and then removed if necessary. Baulks were drawn in profile and photographed and removed en masse at the end of each excavation.
 
Prior to excavation, all mounds surveyed in Shtoj and Shkrel were mapped and fully documented. The state of preservation (present day and projected into the future) of each mound was recorded (from poor to excellent, and from fully safe to critically endangered). Given that so many mounds in both regions were already damaged or had been destroyed, or were actively threatened, we decided to excavate mounds that were (1) already completely removed (T-085), (2) damaged by agricultural activities (T-052), (3) going to be removed by a landowner (despite legal prohibitions) (T-088), and (4) previously looted or excavated (T-099). We did not want to excavate seemingly intact, undamaged mounds. Our tumulus excavations can therefore be aptly described as “rescue” excavations.
 
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There are five Works in this collection. The mound survey Work contains data generated by the survey of all mounds in the study region. The other four Works pertain to tumulus excavations at Tumulus 085, 052, 088, and 099.
 
Mound survey

PASH_tumulus_database.csv – All of the tumuli surveyed by PASH in Shtoj and Shkrel are described in a tumulus database, which is provided as a .CSV file, exported from the original FileMaker file. The database includes detailed descriptions of each tumulus, and its location (UTM). 

PASH tumulus database data dictionary: 
- PASH ID number – ID number given to each mound surveyed, in the format T-###
- Height – estimated height of the mound
- Diameter – diameter of the mound, usually measured in GIS
- Circumference – circumference of the mound, usually measured in GIS
- Area – area of the mound, usually measured in GIS
- Associated structures – descriptions of any structures next to or on top of a mound
- Associated tracts – survey tract or tracts where mound is located
- Boundary marker – does the mound sit at the corner of one or more fields, or at the border between farm plots?
- Period – period of use (e.g., Early Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age, Iron Age), based on associated artifacts
- Date destroyed – if mound was removed, when was it removed, based on informant testimony or via satellite image
- Date discovered – date mound surveyed
- Date excavated – date excavated, if excavated
- Date recorded – date data recorded regarding a mound
- Northing – UTM northing coordinate
- Easting – UTM easting coordinate
- Description – general description of the mound
- Group – number of the mound group to which a mound belongs
- Subgroup – letter of the subgroup to which a mound belongs
- Informant testimony – any testimony from a local informant regarding the history of a mound
- Landowner – name of the landowner
- Contact – phone number of the landowner
- Koka ID number – ID number of a mound that was damaged or destroyed and appears to have been excavated by archaeologists Aristotel Koka in the 1980s or 90s
- Photo number – photo ID number(s)
- Pottery – description of any associated pottery
- Secondary reuse – description of an reuse of a mound for some other purpose
- Small finds – description of any associated small finds
- Preservation – description of a mound’s current state of preservation, e.g., poor, good, excellent
- Suitability for excavation – based on state of preservation, reuse, etc., should the mound be targeted for excavation?
- Tile – description of any associated tile
- Vegetation – types of plants and/or trees on top of a mound
- Visible on aerial photo – is the mound visible in a satellite image?
- Volume – calculation of a mounds volume based on circumference, radius, etc. 

Tumulus_survey_documents.pdf – PDF of scans of the original paper forms completed during the survey of mounds in the study region.

Tumulus_photos_2010-2014.zip – Photos in .JPG format of most of the mounds surveyed from 2010-2014. Some are labeled with the mound ID number (e.g., T-172), but most have labels generated during tract survey, with team letter, date, and sequence number (e.g. A-090616-014).

Tumulus_photolog.csv – .CSV file with a photo number and ID of tumulus mounds pictured.

TUMULUS_GIS_data.zip – GIS files (database, shape, etc.) necessary to map all of the mounds surveyed from 2010-2014.

TUMULUS_GIS_data.zip - GIS files (database, shape, etc.) necessary to map all of the mounds surveyed from 2010-2014.

 
Tumulus excavation Works (T052, 085, 088, 099)

These data relate to PASH’s excavations at four tumuli: T085, 052, 088, 099. There are four Works, one for each tumulus, with content organized by data type. Each Work includes some or all of the following data: 

> DEMs (Tumulus 052 only) – 3D images of Tumulus 052 based on a digital elevation model (DEM) built using a Total Station. The digital elevation models (DEMs) of Tumulus 052 were created by PASH cartographer Shefqet Lulja using a Total Station. They depict the mound from various directions, showing its size and shape just prior to excavation. The central portion of the mound had been mined for soil. These are JPGs only, not the DEM data.

> Documents – Scans of pertinent documents in PDF format, including e.g., excavation forms, maps of units, and drawings of units and unit profiles.

> Excavation drawings – Scans of drawings of excavation units in PDF format.

> Excavation photos – Photos of each level in each quadrant excavated in each mound, and of features. Photos are labeled with the tumulus number, date taken, and a ID number, e.g., TUM088-05262014-001 = the first photo taken on May 26, 2014 during the excavation of Tumulus 088.

> Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data (Tumulus 052 only) – Raw geophysical data from GPR surveys at T052, reported at multiple depth slices. GPR data were acquired along six profiles using a pulseEKKO Pro 100 (Sensors and Software, Inc.) with both 100 MHz and 200 MHz antennas. The 100 MHz profiles were collected with a 1.0 m antenna separation and a 0.25 m trace spacing, while the 200 MHz profiles were collected with a 0.5 m antenna separation and a 0.1 m trace spacing. \
 
> Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) images (Tumulus 085 only) – Compiled depth slices for T085 based on GPR data in PDF format. [NOTE: raw geophysical for this survey are not available.]

> Notebook – Scans of the notebooks kept by the excavation supervisor in PDF format.

> Photolog – This file is a .CSV export from Excel. The photolog lists each photo taken of a tumulus during excavation in order by photo number, with a description.

> Radiocarbon dates (Tumulus 099 only) – PDF of AMS radiocarbon date data, including calibration curves. AMS samples were analyzed by Beta Analytic, Inc. Report includes sample type (e.g., bone collagen), date, date calibrated, standard deviation, etc.