Methods
Summary
Our project combines archaeological survey, drone mapping and geoarchaeological analysis of archaeological soils.
In the field, we will document the irrigation canals, cultivated areas and related archaeological features at Ravat using standard archaeological survey, GPS recording and drone-based photogrammetry. These data will allow us to create high-resolution maps of the ancient agricultural landscape and reconstruct the spatial relationship between the settlement, fields and water-management system.
In addition to the agricultural landscape, we will investigate a group of recently identified iron-smelting furnaces located on the edge of the present-day village. Based on our archaeological survey, these metallurgical remains appear to form part of the same historical landscape as the irrigation system and cultivated fields. We will collect targeted samples from the furnaces and their surrounding sediments to investigate the relationship between agricultural production and local ironworking, providing a more complete picture of how this settlement functioned as an integrated economic system.
We will also collect undisturbed soil samples from selected ancient fields, irrigation features and metallurgical contexts. These samples will be taken using standard geoarchaeological protocols so that soil structures remain intact for laboratory study. In the laboratory, we will use soil micromorphology to examine microscopic evidence of irrigation, cultivation, sediment accumulation, burning processes and soil management. Geochemical analyses will help identify long-term patterns of fertilisation, nutrient enrichment, metallurgical activity and human impact on the landscape.
Our team brings together expertise in archaeology, geoarchaeology, soil micromorphology, sedimentology, geochemistry and Central Asian field research. The project builds on our previous peer-reviewed work at Ravat, which demonstrated that the soils of this landscape preserve evidence of ancient irrigation and long-term agricultural management.
The methods are designed to be fully reproducible. Sampling locations will be recorded with GPS, documented photographically and integrated into a GIS-based map of the site. Field photographs, drone imagery and regular expedition updates will be shared through our research platform, www.archeo.kg.
Challenges
The main challenges of this project are related to fieldwork rather than laboratory research. Weather conditions, access to remote parts of the archaeological landscape and the limited duration of the field season may affect the number of samples that can be collected. In addition, archaeological excavations always involve a degree of uncertainty, and some expected features may prove to be less well preserved than anticipated.
We will minimise these risks by building on several years of previous research at Ravat. Our team has already mapped the study area, identified key sampling locations and established close collaboration with local archaeologists, allowing us to adapt our field strategy if necessary. Because the project integrates multiple complementary methods—including archaeological survey, drone mapping, soil micromorphology and geochemical analyses—even if one line of evidence proves less informative than expected, the others will still provide valuable data for reconstructing the ancient landscape.
Most importantly, this expedition builds directly on previously published results rather than testing an entirely unproven idea. The scientific value of the project therefore does not depend on a single discovery but on expanding and refining an existing body of evidence.
Pre Analysis Plan
Our main hypothesis is that the long-term sustainability of the Ravat agricultural landscape was not based on irrigation alone, but on the interaction between water management, soil maintenance, agricultural production and local craft activities such as ironworking.
We will analyse the data at several connected scales. First, drone imagery and field observations will be used to map the spatial organisation of the settlement, irrigation canals, cultivated fields and iron-smelting furnaces. These data will be integrated in GIS to examine how different parts of the landscape were connected and whether agricultural and metallurgical activities formed a single functional system.
Second, soil micromorphology will be used to identify microscopic evidence of irrigation, cultivation, sediment accumulation, trampling, burning and soil management. Third, geochemical data will be evaluated to detect patterns of nutrient enrichment, fertilisation, anthropogenic input and possible metallurgical contamination. We will compare samples from ancient fields, irrigation features, metallurgical contexts and natural background sediments in order to distinguish human activity from local geological variation.
Because archaeological soils are naturally variable, we will not rely on a single proxy. Instead, we will interpret the results through the agreement between independent lines of evidence: landscape position, field observations, micromorphology and geochemistry. If several indicators point to the same process, such as irrigation, fertilisation or burning, we will treat the interpretation as stronger. If the proxies disagree, we will report this uncertainty and consider alternative explanations.
The expected outcome is a spatial and environmental reconstruction of how Ravat functioned as an integrated agricultural and craft-production landscape. The analysis will allow us to test whether long-term productivity was linked to coordinated management of water, soils and other local resources.
Protocols
Browse the protocols that are part of the experimental methods.
