image/svg+xml91XII/1/2021INTERDISCIPLINARIA ARCHAEOLOGICANATURAL SCIENCES IN ARCHAEOLOGYhomepage: http://www.iansa.euA look at the regionVIAS – the Vienna Institute for Archaeological ScienceIrmgard Hein*1,2, Birgit Bühler1, Maria Ivanova-Bieg1, Günther-Karl Kunst1, Mathias Mehofer1, Gabriele Scharrer-Liska1, Wolfgang Lobisser1, Wolfgang Neubauer1,3, Immo Trinks1,31VIAS, Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science, Franz-Klein-G. 1, A-1190 Vienna. Austria2Institute for Egyptology, University Vienna, Franz-Klein-G. 1, A-1190 Vienna. Austria3Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology. Hohe Warte 38, A-1190 Vienna, Austria1. Development of the instituteThe Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science (VIAS) was founded in 1992, when the University of Vienna took the initiative for the frst time in Austria to establish an „Interdisciplinary Institution for Archaeology” within the Faculty of Humanities. The intention of the founders was to create a future-oriented, transdisciplinary institution for science-focused, archaeological research subjects. New methods that have become available by technological advancements – in the analytical feld as well as in the exploration and study of landscapes – were to be applied in archaeological research, and above all, developed further.In 1998, the institution initially named IDEA was rebranded as VIAS, which in 2000 became an interdisciplinary research institute, and subsequently from 2006–2013 functioned as an interdisciplinary research platform. Since then, VIAS has been established at the Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies.The management of VIAS was initially headed by the classical archaeologist Fritz Krinzinger, then in 1999, the medieval archaeologist Falko Daim took over the leadership until 2004 and pushed forward many new research impulses. From 2004 to 2011, the Egyptian archaeologist Manfred Bietak was in charge, followed by the prehistorians Michael Doneus until 2013, and then Tim Taylor. Since October 2020, geophysicist Immo Trinks is heading VIAS with Irmgard Hein and Wolfgang Neubauer as deputies.Already the frst phase of the institute was characterised by a combination of bioarchaeological and technically-oriented, research directions. The establishment of research projects from other interdisciplinary felds has led to the afliation of further Volume XII ● Issue 1/2021 ● Pages 91–103*Corresponding author. E-mail: irmgard.hein@univie.ac.atARTICLE INFOArticle history:Received: 20thDecember 2020Accepted: 28thJanuary 2021DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24916/iansa.2021.1.6Key words:archaeozoologybioarchaeologyarchaeometry and archaeometallurgyanalysis of precious metalsceramologygeophysical archaeological prospection on land and underwatergeoarchaeologydigital archaeological documentation methodsexperimental archaeologyABSTRACTThe Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science (VIAS) was founded within the University of Vienna in 1992 as a forward-looking transdisciplinary institution. VIAS aims to develop and integrate methods from the natural sciences in a dynamic relationship with the culture-oriented investigative frameworks of archaeology, and to provide support, knowledge and partnership in multidisciplinary research programmes and projects.VIAS functions as a core facility and it is conducting research in the felds of archaeobotany, archaeozoology, bioarchaeology, archaeometry and archaeometallurgy, analysis of precious metals, ceramology, geophysical archaeological prospection on land and underwater, geoarchaeology, digital archaeological documentation methods, and experimental archaeology.VIAS reaches out beyond the university by developing and collaborating in projects together with the Austrian Academy of Sciences and regional museums and cultural heritage administrations as well as many international partners. VIAS has substantially contributed to the development of efcient high-resolution prospection methods as a founding partner in the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology.
image/svg+xmlIANSA 2021 ● XII/1 ● 91–103Irmgard Hein, Birgit Bühler, Maria Ivanova-Bieg, Günther-Karl Kunst, Mathias Mehofer, Gabriele Scharrer-Liska, Wolfgang Lobisser, Wolfgang Neubauer, Immo Trinks: VIAS – the Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science92disciplines to VIAS. Currently, VIAS’ felds of research cover archaeobotany, archaeozoology, bioarchaeology, archaeometry and archaeometallurgy, analysis of precious metals, ceramology, digital archaeological documentation methods, geophysical archaeological prospection on land and underwater, geoarchaeology, and experimental archaeology.This wide-ranging combination of natural science-oriented subjects together with technically-oriented disciplines in association with a research institute for archaeology forms a dynamic basis for answering a wide range of archaeological questions. In the course of its research projects, various current issues and developments in archaeology form focal points, often in cooperation with regional museums and local authorities, which fnd solutions in the feld of cultural heritage management. The broad reach of VIAS is refected in its cooperation with numerous national and international research institutions, such as the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and museums.VIAS is an important founding partner of the international Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (LBI ArchPro). In addition to large-scale motorised magnetometer measurements, high-resolution ground-penetrating radar surveys, 3-D laser scanning (terrestrial and airborne) and state-of-the-art image-based 3-D documentation of archaeological sites, the LBI ArchPro is developing a new approach to underwater archaeological prospection using high-resolution multibeam and sediment sonar measurements in close cooperation with VIAS.The following brief presentations of the individual departments provide an overview of the research potential of this core facility at the University of Vienna.2. Archaeozoology by Günther Karl KunstAs involvement in archaeological projects with a demanding stratigraphy is a central task of VIAS, so is Archaeozoology. Here, the record of animal bones can contribute decisively to the interpretation of archaeological features. Of special interest in this regard are multi-period sites, which undergo diachronic changes in function, including buildings with a complicated architectural history. Careful collection and archiving of animal remains, close communication with the scholars involved in the analysis of pottery and small fnds, and a professional elaboration and documentation of the stratigraphy in an accessible database are necessary prerequisites for this type of research. A focus is placed on developed cultures of the Near East (Turkey, Egypt), on Roman provincial archaeology and on the Medieval (and early post-medieval) Archaeology of eastern Austria (Lower Austria, Burgenland). The archaeozoology branch of VIAS is currently involved in the following projects (partners): Nerik (Uşak University, FU Berlin), Orth an der Donau, Hornstein (Bundesdenkmalamt Wien), Burgstall Neudegg (VIAS internal), Carnuntum (Archäologischer Park Carnuntum). In particular in the research project focusing on the civilian city of Carnuntum, which also involves a recent PhD project (N.I. Kirchengast), a bottom-up (pattern-recognition) strategy is pursued: Which context types, and consequently, which types of animal bone assemblages do occur, where and why? This approach is meant as a step away from the naiveté of traditional, largely a-historic “bone counting and comparing” without any consideration of the respective archaeological setting. In this sense, at the ICAZ conference in Ankara 2018, together with the bioarchaeology group of the Austrian Academy of