A remote sensing-based survey of archaeological/heritage sites near Kandahar, Afghanistan through publicly available satellite imagery.

Due to its conflict-ridden recent history, it has been difficult to launch major archaeological projects and advanced field research in Afghanistan during the last forty years. Lately, the proliferation of remote sensing methods, especially the increasing availability of satellite imagery, has allowed generating a much-needed impetus for documentation and monitoring of the heritage in Afghanistan. In this study, we present novel site data obtained through an examination of publicly available satellite imagery in the southwestern region of Kandahar. The sites presented here consist of a multitude of cultural heritage such as settlement mounds, architectural remains, religious monuments, fortresses, and traditional water management systems. We also discuss the advantages, as well as the drawbacks of remote sensing surveys for archaeological research in Afghanistan, and share our data to be employed in further research and cultural heritage management in the region.

The earliest lead ore processing in Europe. 5th millennium BC finds from Pietrele on the Lower Danube.

Eleven biconical vessels from the Copper Age sites Pietrele and Blejesti (Romania) have been investigated using p-XRF. In most cases, traces of lead could be measured on their surfaces. Samples of slag-like material from two vessels and the clay of one vessel were investigated using laboratory methods, namely SEM, XRD, LIA and optical microscopy. The vessels were obviously used as a kind of crucible in which slag-like remains and galena ore were detected. It still remains unclear as to what final product was gained by smelting galena in this way. The amount of these such vessels in the Pietrele settlement, their appearance as grave goods in Pietrele and Varaști (Romania), and their supposed occurrence in a number of other Copper Age settlements in Romania and Bulgaria show the significance of this phenomenon. It must have been a widespread and more or less well known practice, an important part of cultural habit during a particular period in the Lower Danube region and likely even farther afield. For the first time, extensive experimentation with lead ore can be shown in a clear chronological horizon, ca. 4400-4300 BCE in southeastern Europe.