Archaeology, Museums, Heritage and Material Culture Seminar, 4 October
Dr Jamie Fraser | The University of Sydney
The archaeology of olive oil: new excavations at Khirbet Ghozlan, Jordan.
When large, fortified, mounded settlements were abandoned in the mid 3rd millennium BC, the economy of the southern Levant is thought to have reverted to agro-pastoral subsistence. However, the appearance of several small, enclosed sites in upland areas suggests that post-collapse communities maintained a complex rural economy through the exploitation of different environmental zones.
In early 2017, a new project by the British Museum commenced excavations at Khirbet Um al-Ghozlan, Jordan, to test the hypothesis that these enclosure sites were processing centres for upland fruit crops, such as olive and grape, which were enclosed to protect seasonally-produced caches of oil and wine. Although Khirbet Um al-Ghozlan is only 0.4 ha in size, it is enclosed by a monumental circular wall. Excavations uncovered remains of at least two EB IV architectural complexes containing botanical remains that suggest the site served as a specialized production/storage site for olive oil in the late 3rd millennium BCE.
………
The Department of Archaeology hosts a lively departmental research seminar series. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Where
Seminars are held in the Refectory from 4-5pm, and are followed by drinks and discussion.
Refectory H113
Quadrangle A14
Click here for map
2019 Seminar Series convenors:
Alix Thoeming, Katherine Woo, and Simon Wyatt-Spratt
Click here to email
The Department of Archaeology is part of the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry (SOPHI).