The creation of new terraces to expand agricultural land, or for development, is often extremely destructive for archaeological sites as the area is bulldozed flat, removing most, if not all, traces of sites and features. Figure 1 show tombs in the hills around the Greco-Roman World Heritage city of Cyrene in July 2007 (Copyright: Nichole…
The planting of an orchard can cause damage in two ways. Some orchards are composed of trees planted in individual holes a metre deep, destroying the upper level of the site in that area. Other orchards contain very small trees, but need the area to be cleared. As the trees grow, the roots will interconnect,…
Animal trampling moves and breaks artefacts, and affects their visibility by churning up dust. Animals can also cause damage to stone-built structures, increasing the likelihood of collapse. However, grazing can be beneficial. During the conflict in Libya in 2011, shepherds were encouraged to graze their animals on the World Heritage Site of Leptis Magna in…
Many modern methods of agriculture require some form of irrigation in order to meet the needs of an increasing population. One method is to dig large trenches that are lined with concrete to channel the water from dams. This water is then siphoned off into the fields using smaller concrete-lined channels and ultimately small channels…
Many modern methods of agriculture require some form of irrigation in order to meet the needs of an increasing population. One method is called centre pivot irrigation. Water is pumped from a depth of up to 1km to the surface and distributed via a large centre pivot irrigation feed (Figure 1). The large circular fields…
Ploughing sites disturbs any archaeological layers close to the surface, and also allows wind and rain to erode the site as the protective layer of topsoil is churned away. Ancient methods of ploughing created relatively shallow furrows, and were unable to reach many sites as they were too high and steep, or the archaeological soils…
