Lived monuments: a microarchaeological study of monumental architecture in the tell-site of Arslantepe (Malatya, Turkey)
- Author(s)
- Susanna Cereda, Erich Draganits
- Abstract
Inspired by concepts of monumentality and materiality, this article discusses the results of the first micro-stratigraphic study conducted on the monumental buildings of the pre-and early historic site of Arslantepe (Malatya, Turkey). The earthen surfaces (floors and fixtures) of three monumental buildings-two belonging to the 4th and one to the 1st millennium BCE-were analysed by means of micromorphology, sometimes in combination with chemical spot-tests. Sampling strategies were adapted to these contexts, which are part of an open-air museum and required minimally invasive procedures. The results show a recycling of tell-construction material and the use of selected plasters for specific features, as well as the different maintenance practices and activities traced in apparently homogeneous surfaces. This revealed a multifaceted picture of how these mon-uments were experienced and given meaning to. Ultimately, by following a deposit-oriented approach, monu-ments go from representing mere embodiments of ideology and inequality to being understood as the multi-layered outcome of practices and different forms of material engagement with the built environment.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Geology
- External organisation(s)
- Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck
- Journal
- Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
- Volume
- 41
- No. of pages
- 23
- ISSN
- 2352-409X
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103318
- Publication date
- 12-2021
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 105101 General geology, 601021 Prehistory, 107010 Geoarchaeology
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Archaeology, Archaeology
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/4470cd56-0738-4e38-9b93-b70de02f126f