Hannelore Vanhaverbeke

Man and environment in the territory of Sagalassos, a classical city in SW Turkey

Abstract Since 1990 archaeological research by the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) has been carried out at the ancient site of Sagalassos (Aǧlasun, Burdur province, Southwestern Turkey). At first, research focused on the excavation of the city and the study of the immediate vicinity which provided it with raw materials. The main objective was to obtain a clear picture of the history and development of the city. Since 1993 research has also incorporated a study of the territory of the Roman city, from prehistoric to modern times, in order to understand why the site was selected for settlement, why it developed into a middle-sized town, its economy and subsistence, how it affected and exploited the environment, its decline, and what changes have taken place in the district subsequently. The focus has now shifted towards obtaining a better understanding of the linkages between human and environment systems so that inter-relations between the two can be more readily understood. As a result, a number of environmental topics concerning the territory of the Roman city are presently being studied. This territory extended from Lake Burdur in the West to the Aksu canyon in the East, from the Aǧlasun Daǧlari in the North to Mt. Kestel in the South. Interdisciplinary research revealed that for the early Neolithic and the Roman period there was a slightly warmer climate, a richer vegetation and more fertile soils for agricultural practice.

Societal changes in the Hellenistic, Roman and early Byzantine periods. Results from the Sagalassos Territorial Archaeological Survey 2008 (southwest Turkey)

Abstract This contribution discusses the Hellenistic, Roman and early Byzantine pottery collected during archaeological survey in the Bereket valley (territory of ancient Sagalassos, southwest Turkey). This collection contains both pottery imported from as yet unknown production centres and wares produced in the Potters’ Quarter of Sagalassos. Changes in the proportions of pottery produced at Sagalassos and those produced at other locations become visible in the fourthcentury AD material and reflect the evolving relationship between the peripheral valley of Bereket and the regional centre of Sagalassos. Yet, the undiminished quantity of pottery collected suggests that human activity continued without significant changes in habitation density. However, pollen cores from the same valley show that at more or less the same time crop cultivation diminished and was largely replaced by pastoralism. This shift occured at a time when climatic conditions had become more favourable for crop cultivation. A somewhat similar decrease in crop cultivation is also observed in Gravgaz marsh. In both valleys, this shift occured about 300 years earlier than in the rest of the territory of Sagalassos. Although the reasons for these changes cannot be determined on the basis of the study of survey pottery alone, the results presented show the importance of intensive survey and the study of peripheral areas for understanding inter-regional interaction patterns. Özet Bu çalışma, Bereket Vadisi’nde (antik Sagalassos’un teritoryumu, Türkiye’nin güneybatısı) yapılan yüzey araştırması sırasında toplanan Hellenistik, Roma ve Erken Bizans seramiklerini ele almaktadır. Bu koleksiyon hem şuan için yeri bilinmeyen seramik merkezlerinden ithal edilen, hem de Sagalassos’daki Çömlekçiler Mahallesi’nde üretilen seramikleri kapsamaktadır. Sagalassos’da üretilenler ile diğer merkezlerde üretilen seramiklerin oranlarındaki değişiklikler M.S. 4. yy’daki materyalde belirginleşmektedir ve Bereket Vadisi’nin çevresi ile Sagalassos’un bölgesel merkezindeki gelişen bağlantıyı yansıtmaktadır. Zira, az olmayan miktarda toplanan seramikler, insan aktivitesinin yerleşim yoğunluğunda belirgin bir değişiklik olmadan devam ettiğini göstermektedir. Yine de, aynı vadideki polen çekirdekleri neredeyse aynı zamanda tarımın azaldığını ve yerini büyük oranda hayvancılığa bıraktığını göstermektedir. Söz konusu geçiş, iklimsel koşulların tarım için daha elverişli olduğu bir zamanda meydana gelmiştir. Tarımda görülen kısmen benzer bir azalma Gravgaz bataklığında da gözlemlenmiştir. Her iki vadide bu geçiş, Sagalassos’un geri kalan teritoryumundan 300 yıl kadar daha önce gerçekleşmiştir. Her ne kadar bu değişikliklerin nedenleri sadece yüzey araştırmasından elde edilen seramiklere ait çalışmalar üzerinden belirlenemese de, ileri sürülen sonuçlar yoğun yüzey araştırmalarının ve çevresel alanlardaki çalışmaların, bölgelerarası etkileşim modelinin anlaşılmasındaki önemini göstermektedir.

Deceiving simplicity. Balancing the need for ready-to-use research information with the semantic and technical complexity of research data

Abstract KU Leuven, Belgiums oldest university and member of the League of European Research Universities (LERU) generates a myriad of research-related data, managed in different technical environments. Faced with an increased demand for validated key performance indicators to support policy planning at the level of faculties and departments, the universitys Research Coordination Office (RCO) set up an institutional central research information system (CRIS) in SAP Business Intelligence (BI) in close collaboration with the ICT office. The road to providing ready-to-use KPIs in such a way that users were not confronted with the underlying semantic and technical complexity of the data proved to be a long and winding one.