2021

Trial cosmogenic nuclide pair dating (10Be+26Al) of the archaeo-paleontological sequence from Lunel-Viel cave no. 1, a site dated to the 2nd half of the Middle Pleistocene by faunal fossil remains (relative age). Chronological precision is essential to better understand the fossil fill, refine comparisons with West European sites and better define and compare human activities (socio-economic sense and technology of the ante-Neanderthals) in this cave.

The archaeological site of Tipasa (Algeria), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a major site in the western Mediterranean. This project involves work on a monument in the urban center of the ancient city, the "Thermes du Centre", excavated in 1915 and again in the 1950s. This building, which has not yet been the subject of a detailed study or publication, raises a number of chronological, architectural, town-planning and heritage-related questions. The first step will be to collect and process the archives (digitization, indexing) held at the CCJ, which are essential to understanding the dossier. Secondly, the architectural study and the study of the furniture in the field should lead to an initial synthesis. This work is the first stage of a larger project, and will subsequently enable us to develop other themes and issues concerning this sector, culminating in a proposal for consolidation and enhancement within the framework of CoPaM (B. Sabeg), another project partner. Finally, Training will play a central role in this project.

Partner(s):

• Center national de recherche en archéologie (CNRA - Algeria)
• Office national de gestion et d'exploitation des biens culturels protégés (OGEBC - Algeria)
• University of Tipaza (Algeria)
• Association Co-développer le patrimoine mondial en Méditerranée (CoPaM - Arles)

The project is part of the Submerged Attica maritime archaeological research program (2019-2023). It is characterized by its interdisciplinarity, the aim being to document and study a series of submerged port cities in southern Attica, and in particular in the Lavreotic region, the silver mining area of classical Athens.

The project has three main objectives:

• Interdisciplinary research in underwater geoarchaeology directly associated with training students in maritime archaeology and coastal geoarchaeology;
• Innovative - and even experimental - techniques and methods for data acquisition on shallow submerged sites;
• The valorization of the site - now heavily urbanized - with new approaches being developed for underwater and coastal archaeology in the Mediterranean and Internationally, especially the development of the notion of coastal geoheritage.

Partner(s):

• Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities (Ministry of Culture - Greece)
• National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece)
• National Technical University of Athens (Greece)

This project, which aims to restore both the Roman port of Poreč in Istria (Croatia) and a type of boat sewn in the local tradition, is based on a strong Franco-Croatian partnership. Its objectives are to:

• to study the topography of the port in relation to the dynamics of occupation of the town and territory ;
• reconstruct relative variations in sea level, shoreline modifications and the impact of anthropization (various forms of pollution);
• reconstruct the local and regional paleoenvironment and natural resources;
• to compare the architectural unit represented by the Poreč wreck with six other Istrian and Dalmatian wrecks, from the point of view of architecture, dendrology and the study of protective pitch, in order to characterize a "type" representative of Adriatic shipbuilding traditions of the Roman period and carry out a complete 3D restitution study (structure, form, hydrostatics).

These studies will call on the combined skills and methods of history, archaeology, topography, geography, dendrology and dendrochronology, and palynology. The project also includes a training component.

Partner(s):

• Territorial Museum of Poreč (Croatia)
• Archaeological Museum of Istria (Croatia)
• University of Zagreb (Croatia)
• Department for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, Pula
• Laboratoire Travaux et recherches archéologiques sur les cultures, les espaces et les sociétés (TRACES - Toulouse, France)

This project aims to develop an ANR application (PRCI) to be submitted in autumn 2021. The project associates French laboratories with the National and Capodistrian University of Athens and the Greek Archaeological Service of Phocis. The project concerns a trans-disciplinary and trans-period study of the relationship between fortification and urban fabric at the contact of the Mediterranean and Balkan areas from Antiquity to the contemporary period. This study will focus on the town of Amphissa, for which the results of research on fortifications and urban fabric will be integrated into a GIS once the field surveys and wood analyses have been completed. This collective study will be published in the Études franco-helléniques series (École française d'Athènes).

Partner(s):

• National and Capodistrian University of Athens

A project is proposed for the direct radiocarbon (14C) dating of paleontological remains of glacial mammalian species from southern France. The geochronological program is based on CEREGE's radiocarbon unit, which has demonstrated its ability to date micro-samples of collagen and purified molecular extracts. The aim of the project is to determine the chronology of disappearance and/or extinction of large steppe mammals, as well as the development of temperate species in a geographical area at the confluence of major Late Pleistocene ecosystems: the tundra-steppe and the Mediterranean world. Based on paleontological remains preserved in several museums in the south of France and in the Principality of Monaco, this project is the first program in France devoted exclusively to direct dating of woolly mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, megaceros deer, cave bears, cave hyenas, cave lions and marmots.) Based on the expected results, a discussion on the causes and rates of extinction of these species will be initiated (climate change, anthropogenic pressure on environments) as well as a comparison with archaeological and paleoclimatic data from other European regions.

Partner(s):

• Requien Museum (Avignon)
• Nîmes Natural History Museum
• Toulouse Natural History Museum
• Musée national de Préhistoire (Les-Eyzies-de-Tayac)
• Bordeaux Natural History Museum
• Angoulême Museum of Fine Arts
• Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology, Monaco
• Archaeomaterials Research Institute (IRAMAT - Bordeaux)
• Center for Research and Studies in Prehistoric Art (CREAP - Toulouse)

AQUEDAIX is an interdisciplinary project combining mineralogy, geochemistry and archaeology, with the ambition of reconstructing the hydro-climatic conditions of the Mediterranean environment in Roman times through the study of carbonate concretions deposited on the walls of aqueducts. The climatic context is one of the key parameters closely associated with the management of water resources in past societies.

AQUEDAIX has two objectives: 1) to gain a better understanding of the modes of deposition of carbonate concretions via material characterization and fine-scale geochemical characterization approaches; 2) to date concretions by comparing absolute geochronology and archaeological knowledge in order to gain a better understanding of how these hydraulic systems functioned. AQUEDAIX will draw on a range of cutting-edge skills from the laboratories of CEREGE, the Centre Camille Jullian, CINaM and the Archaeology and Museum Department of the city of Aix-en-Provence.

The existence of promising preliminary results (150 years of laminated deposits in Roman times), as well as local and Internationally recognized scientific expertise on the mode of deposition and Mediterranean climatic archives, reinforce the feasibility of the AQUEDAIX project.

Partner(s):

• Aix-en-Provence Archaeology & Museum Department