Program

Program

Wednesday, 30.5.2018 Sede Boqer Campus, BGU

0930-1000 Registration and Coffee George Evens Family Auditorium,

1000-1015 Greetings

Prof. Steve Rosen, Ben Gurion University.

Prof. Ariel Kushmaro, Ben Gurion University

1015- 1200 Session 1: Archaeology Interpretation

Chair: Prof. Yuval Goren/ Prof. Ariel Kushmaro

1015-1050 A Threatened Heritage Resource: Managing uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Rock Art

Dr. Aron Mazel, New Castle University, UK.

1050-1110 Documentation and Risk Assessment of Rock art Sites in the Negev High Lands.

Lior Schwimer, Israel Nature and Park Authority

1110-1130 Footprints in Rock Art.

Dr. Uzi Avner, The Dead Sea-Arava Science Center

1130-1200

What Animal/Plant is it? A Discussion of the Role of Natural History in the Study

of Rock Art.

Dr. Liora Kolska-Horwitz, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

1200-1330 Lunch KKL Building

1330- 1500 Session 2: Research Methods

Chair: Prof. Robert Armon

The Fund for the Advancement of Humanities and Social Sciences in Israel Workshop on

Science and Negev Rock-art: Application of Novel Scientific Methods to Conservation Research of Open-air Rock-art Sites in the

Negev Desert.

Sede Boqer Campus, BGU, 30-31/5/18

1330-1400 Contributions of the In-situ Microscopy to the Understanding and Diagnosis of

Biodeterioration Processes Associated to Microbial and Lichen Colonization of

Stone-Built Cultural Heritage. Dr. Asuncion de los Rios, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales Spanish National

Research Center (CSIC), Madrid, Spain.

1400-1420 X-ray Microtomography as a Tool for 3D Visualization of Biofilms Inside a Porous

Media. Dr. Tomislav Ivancovitz, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb.

1420-1440 Implementation of Airyscan for the Characterization of Initial Biofilm

Colonization on Calcareous Stone Slabs Laboratory Model.

Dr. Uzi Hadad, Ben Gurion University.

1440-1500 GIS in Rock-Art Studies – An Overview.

Dr. Michal Birkenfeld Israel Antiquities Authority.

1500-1530 Coffee Break

1530-1700 Session 3: Risk Assessment and Management.

Chair: Dr. Liora Kolska Horwitz.

1530-1600 Developing Rock Art Tourism in the Negev: Notes from the IMPART Study.

Dr. Joshua Schmidt, The Dead Sea-Arava Science Center.

1600-1630 Advancements in Petroglyph Documentation and Analysis using the Rock Art

Stability Index (RASI).

Dr. Kaelin Groom, Arizona State University, U.S.A

1630-1700 Safeguarding Open-Air Rock Art in the UK and Ireland: Development of the

CARE Monitoring Toolkit and App. Dr. Aron Mazel, New Castle University,UK.

Thursday, 31.5.2018

0900-1200

Field Work

Fieldwork at Har Michia rock engraving site: In-situ Implementation of

Documentation and Assessments Tools

Dr. Davida Eisenberg-Degen, Dr. Kaelin Groom, Dr. Aron Mazel

1200-1330 Lunch

1330-1430 Session 4: Physical and Biological processes.

Chair: Prof. Moshe Herzberg

1300-1320 Chronology of the Negev Rock Art, Har Michia as a Test Case.

Dr. Davida Eisenberg-Degen

1320-1350 Rock Art Conservation: A Microbiologist Point of View.

Prof. Clara Urzi, The University of Messina, Italy.

1350-1410 Insights to the Microorganisms Communities Associated with Petroglyph Sites

Situated in the Negev Desert, Israel.

Irit Nir, Ben Gurion University.

1410-1430 Interaction between soil bacterium and silicate minerals under iron limited

conditions: as detected by fluorescence microscopy and sol-gel technology

Yair Farber, Faculty of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Technion.

1430-1500 Surface Biodegradation Processes of Monuments in the Negev Desert.

Nimrod Wieler, Ben Gurion University.

1500-1530 Coffee break

1530--1600 Conclusion and Thanks

Rock art in Peril: The Monastery of St. Theoctistus (Deir Muqallik)

Itai Schkolnik, Israeli Caving Club.

A threatened heritage resource: managing uKhahlamba-Drakensberg rock art

Aron Mazel1

1New castle University

Abstract

In 2000, the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park became South Africa’s first mixed, natural and

cultural World Heritage Site. The cultural aspect of the designation was based on its

internationally renowned rock paintings. Primarily made by San hunter-gatherers during the last

3000 years, the rock paintings are celebrated for their quantity, beauty and shamanic meaning.

There are over 40 000 individually recorded rock paintings in more than 600 rock shelters. The

management authority for the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park is Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal

Wildlife.

Concerns about the deterioration of rock art were raised as early as the 1870s, but it has only

been during the last 40 years that there has been a reasonably sustained focus on the safeguarding

of this heritage resource. This presentation will mostly focus on the management of the rock art

during the last decade. It will address issues such as the threats to the resource, the updating of

site records with recommendations regarding site monitoring, the fact that insights derived from

heritage science research are not being integrated into management recommendations, and that

public interpretation continues to be ill-informed and out-of-date. It also expresses concern that

Ezemvelo has not appointed a cultural heritage specialist to oversee the management of cultural

resources.stracts.

ליאור שוימר

בע והגנים ואוניברסיטת בן גוריוןרשות הט

לפי פנלים של , במהלך הסקר התגלו א2017-2012התבצע על ידי המחבר בין השנים סקר חרותות הסלע בהר הנגב

חרותות שלא נסקרו בעבודות קודמות .

השטח הנסקר במרכז הר הנגב כולל את רמות המשאר, עבדת, מטרד וברנע. רמות אלו בנויות מסלעי חבורת עבדת

מיליון שנה טרם זמננו. 56-34שהורבדו בהצפה הימית של עידן האיאוקן

רוב הסלעים הללו בשטח גיאוגרפי נרחב זה ניתן למצוא בין היתר סלעי גיר בהירים המכוסים בקרום כהה,

יתר וניצנה. אופן הפיזור של סלעים אלו אינו אחיד והם קיימים בכל מתאר נמצאים בתצורות הגיאולוגית מטרד, נחל

ימים הם מופיעים כשכבות ובאזורים אחרים כמקבצי גיאומורפולוגי, מראשי הרמות ועד לערוצי הנחלים. באזורים מסו

סלעים מבודדים.

הבדלי הגוון בין הסלע גירני הבהיר לקרום הכהה יצרו פני שטח אידיאלים להעברת מסרים, שבירה מכוונת של

בטכניקות של חריתה או הקשה, חשפה את הגיר הבהיר ויצרה חרותת סלע ברורה הנראית למרחוק. הקרום

כימיים והביוגנים פועלים על הסלע ללא הפסק ועם הזמן קרום חדש נוצר ומכסה בתהליך הדרגתי את התהליכים ה

הצלקת הבהירה.

תהליך הדרגתי זה יוצר הבדלי גוונים ואלו בשילוב עם סופר פוזיציה של האלמנטים השונים מאפשרים לנו לקבוע איזו

חרותה על גבי הפנל עתיקה יותר.

בים חוזרים ביחס לגוון הפטינה שנוצר עליהם .המחקר בודק הופעת מוטי

ליאור שוימר

רשות הטבע והגנים מנהל מחו"ה רמון

Footprints in Rock Art

Dr Uzi avner1

1Dead Sea-Arava Science Center

Abstract

Footprints (including shoe-soles and sandals) are very common in rock art worldwide, beginning

in the Neolithic period (Saudi Arabia). In the Negev footprints are probably the second most

common symbol, after the ibex. they occur either as single, pairs or in clusters, horizontally or

vertically, and they often recurs with other symbols, mainly with the ibex, “balloons” and

“orante” figures. In literature, at least ten different interpretations were offered to footprints,

mainly- symbol of fertility, ownership, pilgrimage, ancestors and deities. Since footprints are

also common in other types of art, and mentioned in ancient texts, it is possible to offer a leading

interpretation of footprints in rock art- symbols of deities. A few example are given here:

In Ancient written texts large footprints imbedded in rock or sand are described as those left by

deities (Herdotus IV:82, Lucian 1:7, Nonnus XLI:118). In the temple of Nephthys at Dakhla,

Egypt, engravings of footprints are identified by the goddess’ hieroglyph. In the LB temple of

‘Ein Dara‘a, north Syria, large footprints on the thresholds are related to the goddess Ishtar. In

the Far East, numerous engraved footprints represent Buddha, while large footprints represent

Hanuman. In Norse mythology, footprints are related to the deities Njord and Freyja. Several

footprints in the Near East and the Mediterranean sphere are related to Jesus. In the field, two

Late Neolithic open-air sanctuaries in ‘Uvda Valley, southern Negev, are shaped as a shoe-sole

and five Iron Age cult enclosures in the Jordan Valley and the Judaean desert were built in a

shape of a shoe-sole, the largest is 90 m long.

Altogether, the data allow interpretation of footprints, sandals and shoe-soles in rock art as

symbols of deities. Further interpretation, based on the attached symbols, is still possible.

What Animal/Plant is it?

A Discussion of the Role of Natural History in the Study of Rock Art

Liora Kolska Horwitz1

1The Hebrew University

Abstract

Natural history is the scientific study of animals and/or plants through observation rather than

experimentation. I have used this term, rather than zoology and botany in the title since, in the

study of rock art, we “observe” animals and plants depicted in order to extract information about

them, such as identification of their genus/species, and for animals - determination of their sex,

what they are doing in the depiction etc.

In rock art depictions, there are however, many inherent problems in identifying an animal/plant

species (as any object that is portrayed) and these will be briefly outlined in this presentation and

opened to discussion to participants of the workshop.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, what can natural history offer rock art research?

Should animal/plant species identification be perceived as an end in itself ?

or, does the identification of a particular animal /plant and its attributes ascribe, or infer, a

particular /deeper meaning to the motif?

This point too will be opened for discussion to workshop participants.

X-Ray Microtomography as a toll for 3D visualization of biofilms inside a porous

media

Tomislav Ivankovic1

1Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb

Abstract

The widespread use of biofilters in wastewater treatment is to greatest extent limited by the

absence of reliable models of biofilm growth in such a media. The biofilter can be simplistically

described as a tube filled with beads through which the liquid flows and as such is essentially a

porous media. The 2D and 3D structure of biofilm grown on flat surface can be reliably

determined using techniques such as confocal microscopy, but determination of 3D structure

inside the porous media remains an open challenge. An experimental protocol for 3D

visualization of biofilm inside the porous media was developed and it uses X-Ray

Microtomography. The biofilm was grown inside a porous medium, visualized and the temporal

development of the biofilm was characterized. The reliability and repeatability of the protocol

was validated by multiple experiments using model biofilter filled with glass beads. In addition,

the protocol was tested on biofilters filled with grains of natural mineral which relates to

environmental conditions. Experiments confirmed that X-Ray Microtomography could be used

to visualize biofilms inside the natural porous media such as sand or soil.

GIS in Rock-Art Studies – an overview

Dr. Michal Birkenfeld1

1Israel Antiquities Authority

Abstract

Spatial archaeology is an important part of archaeological research in general, and rock-art

studies in particular. This is because in most cases, among many other uncertainties, rock-art

retains its’ original locational context. With the technological advancements of the past decades,

our ability to store and analyze spatial data have advanced critically. Notably, cutting-edge

applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have become an integral tool in

archaeological research, whether at the single-site or landscape level. The ability of GIS to store,

question and analyze spatial data not only enables new techniques of inquiry, but also advance

existing, well-established analytical methods and techniques, allowing new ways of

understanding the archaeological record. GIS also hold a great promise as an advanced tool for

resource management, conservation and preservation.

A brief review is presented in this talk, of various GIS methodologies that have been applied in

rock-art research in recent years. The potential, as well as possible impediments, of GIS

applications will be presented and discussed

Developing rock art tourism in the Negev: Notes from the IMPART study

Joshua Schmidt1

1Dead Sea and Arava Science Center

Abstract

The bi-national (Israel-Italy) research project “Integrative Multilateral Planning to Advance

Rock Art Tourism” (IMPART) was jointly funded by the Israeli Ministry of Science,

Technology and Space and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and combined researchers

from the Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Department of

Hotel and Tourism Management, Ben-Gurion University and the Higher Institute on Territorial

Systems for Innovation (SiTI), in Torino, Italy. IMPART focused on the urgent need to establish

an interdisciplinary management plan to ensure the future protection and conservation of Negev

rock art, a unique and vulnerable cultural heritage resource that currently is being threatened by

an exponential increase in public interest and aggressive plans to develop the region for tourism.

The IMPART study involved two concurrent research streams: archeological and socio-touristic.

Over the course of the two-year study, the archaeology unit conducted in-situ fieldwork in Har

Hanegev and used digital mapping technologies to survey rock art located at Ramat Matred. The

survey assessed both rock art and other manner of archaeological remains and the results enabled

the researchers to establish a baseline for contextualizing forthcoming conservation-cum-

development efforts for Negev rock art.

At the same time, in conjunction with their Italian partners, the socio-tourism unit combined

theoretical research on rock-art conservation and tourism development with applied ethnographic

fieldwork to ascertain a ‘best practices’ benchmark for the development of rock art tourism in

Har Hanegev. To this aim, the researchers gathered extensive ethnographic data via Key

Informant Interviews (KII) and a series of questionnaires disseminated among central

stakeholder-informants from the public and private sectors as well as national and international

tourists.

The presentation discusses the IMPART research findings, suggesting ways for effectively

integrating the public-private sectors in the successful planning, conservation and management

of rock art tourism development in the Negev.

Chronology of the Negev Rock Art, Har Michia as a test case

Davida Eisenberg-Degen1

1Israel Antiquities Authority

Abstract

The past decade has marked the start of a renaissance in Negev Rock Art research with renewed

extensive surveys and documentation projects being carried out through the Negev Highlands.

One such research project was the comprehensive documentation conducted at Har Michia which

consisted of 965 panels and over 5000 elements. Based on the data, different engraving phases

were defined. These are roughly anchored; forming a chronological frame work for the Negev

rock art.

The prevailing style, linear, simplistic and static, remained throughout all engraving periods.

Defined differences are noted in the overall subject matter depicted within the engraving periods.

Several of the cultural and technological advances that took place and affected the Desert

societies are mirrored in the Negev rock art.

Har Michia is the first rock art site to be opened to the public. The site is free of admission, it is

not fenced off, nor is there a permanent supervisor overlooking the site. Paths lead through some

of the more dense rock art concentrations of Har Michia. The Har Michia data base and photo

files may serve future monitoring and conservation needs; such as recognizing new rock art (not

always a simple task). As not all of the rock art of Har Michia is visited, it will be possible, in the

future, to see the effects of tourism on the rock art, rate of patina formation, stability of the

boulders and the effect of the visitors on the surrounding areas (esp. vegetation).

Rock art conservation: a microbiologist point of view

Clara Urzì1

1Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences

Viale F. Stagno d' Alcontres, Messina, Italy

Abstract

Rock varnish constitutes a unique long-term microscale sedimentary archive of past

environmental changes in deserts. It is essentially a grey (Pb), black/orange thin layer of Mn and

Fe oxides and hydroxides with embedded clay minerals.

Its formation is not completely known, but there are strong evidences that microorganisms

(bacteria, cyanobacteria, fungi) able to thrive in extreme environments play a key role in its

formation. It is related to environmental conditions and in particular, Fe-rich layers are formed

during dry conditions while darker Mn-rich layers are formed during wet periods. Precipitation

and solubility of Mn are also controlled by pH and Eh. In addition to this, humidity is essential

for the growth of microorganisms with consequent release of acid metabolites and increase of the

EPS volume (up to 300%) due to the entrapment of H2O molecules The EPS allows the

concentration of minerals clay particles at close contact with the cells and later to the patina/crust

formations.

Liu and Broecker (2000) reported that rock varnish grows at rates ranging from <1 to 40 µm/k.y.

on subaerial exposed rock surfaces and that its thickness rarely exceed 200 µm independently of

the time of formation.

Due to the color of rock varnish very different from the original rock, the petroglyphs obtained

by its engraving made by prehistoric man are particularly vivid and still visible after such long

time. These signs on the rock witness the presence of Man in a territory with the expressions of

his mind, soul and heart (Anati, 2004).

Unfortunately, prehistoric art is vulnerable to natural processes of wear, obliteration and

destruction, which are further accelerated by human acts (pollution, vandalism, negletting, war,

human activity in general, etc) that can hardly be stopped.

For conservative purposes what a microbiologist can do for the preservation of rock art?

In the conservation of rock art, beside scholars that work to document, record and monitor the

current status, microbiologists can help by studying the microorganisms and the microbiome

involved in the rock varnish using classical and novel analytical tools and foresee the eventual

changes in the colonization in relation to climate changes.

Rock varnish is an ongoing process even if it is slow, and microorganisms-mediated lamination

can occur also in the engraved part, especially because wet and dust can be easily concentrated

there. Thus, strategies how to protect rock art should be planned in synergy with conservators;

well planned long–term monitoring could be useful for conservative purpose by using a

multistep approach

Insights into microbial communities associated with petroglyph sites from the

Negev Desert, Israel.

Nir Irit1, Barak Hana

1, Yifat Baruch

1, Esti Kramarsky-Winter

1 and Kushmaro Ariel

1,2,3

1Avram and Stella Goldstein-Goren Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of

the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Be'er Sheva 8410501, Israel; 2National Institute of Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva,

Israel 3The Ilse Katz Center for Meso and Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the

Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel

*Correspondence: Ariel Kushmaro, Avram and Stella Goldstein-Goren Department of Biotechnology

Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Be'er Sheva 8410501, Israel.

arielkus@bgu.ac.il.

Abstract

Rock art sites at the form of petroglyphs are found in the Negev Desert in southern Israel. These

petroglyph sites include thousands of images depicting the life and culture of prehistoric peoples

in the region. As they are part of the desert environment, these petroglyphs are exposed to

natural and anthropogenic weathering processes. Therefore, in order to develop tools for

preservation and remediation, it is imperative to ascertain the diversity of surface inhabiting

microorganisms, and their possible roles in rock degradation. To do so we undertook to identify

the microorganisms found in these sites and to try to clarify the roles that they may play in the

weathering of Negev rock surfaces and petroglyphs panels. Next Generation Sequencing

technologies (NGS) were implemented on samples of rock surfaces to identify the microbial

communities found on and in the rock surfaces. Results showed that the most common

microbiota components of rocks at the sites studied included Actinobacteria (33%),

cyanobacteria (30%), proteobacteria (15%) and bacteriodetes (7%). We then undertook to isolate

and identify rock inhabiting cyanobacteria. The laboratory isolation and identification study

revealed at last three different cyanobacteria strains related to the Leptolyngbyaceae,

Microcoleaceae, and Pseudanabaenaceae families. This study provides an important first step in

understanding the dynamic communities of microorganisms associated to the petroglyphs.

KEYWORDS: Petroglyph, bacteria, cyanobacteria, biofilm, Negev Desert.

Interaction between soil bacterium and silicate minerals under iron limited

conditions: as detected by fluorescence microscopy and sol-gel technology

Yair Farber1 , Robert Armon

1

1Technion, Israel Institute of Technology,Haifa,Israel

Abstract

The sol-gel process provides a ceramic matrix to be doped with thermosensitive organic or

bioorganic constituents at room temperature without thermal or chemical alterations,

consequently retaining their physical and chemical properties. Free iron is inaccessible in soil, in

spite of being an essential element. To resolve this contradiction, soil bacteria secrete

siderophores with iron high affinity molecules to bind iron and ingest it into cells. In this study,

iron had been entrapped in sol-gel matrices and followed for iron release with confocal laser

scanning microscopy (CLSM) using Calcein Blue as an indicator. Via this method applied on

bacterial iron uptake resulted in fluorescence emission. Sol-gel technology and substrate

fluorescence were combined in order to obtain visible detection of microorganisms and their iron

extraction activity. This combination can serve as a powerful instrument with microorganisms

and visual detection of their activity on soil particles, very much needed for research on soil

bacteria.

Surface biodegradation processes of monuments in the Negev Desert

Wieler N1, Cappitelli F

2, Angel R

3, Erikson-Gini T

4, Gillor O

1

1Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion

University, Israel

2Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano,

Italy

3Institute of Soil Biology, Biology Centre CAS, České Budějovice, Czechia ,Israel Antiquities Authority

Abstract

Biological rock crusts (BRCs) cover exposed rock surfaces in rocky deserts, yet the development

of the BRCs has never been dated. Therefore, it was impossible to reliably determine the biofilm

development rate and related biodegradation processes. In this study, archeological,

microbiological and geological methods were combined to characterize and date the BRC in an

arid environment. To that end, rocks from a well-documented Byzantine archeological site and

from the nearby slopes were sampled. Shivta, a well-preserved archeological site in the Negev

Desert, was constructed of two lithologies, limestone and chalk and the BRCs were retrieved

from the two lithologies in both sites. The BRC samples were characterized using high-

throughput sequencing of the small subunit rRNA gene (SSU-rRNA), light microscopy and

stable isotopes composition. Shivta’s architecture and archeological dating suggest that it was

built in the early to mid Byzantine period, i.e., between the 4rd and 7th centuries AD.

Interestingly, the chalk blocks bear marks of extensive milling while the limestone blocks are

unmarked and were probably roughly assembled. In accordance with the archeological findings,

the community composition of the limestones’ BRC was similar between sites, while the chalk

communities diversified in composition and biovolume. The combined results suggest that the

BRC on chalk retrieved from the archeological site could not be more than 1700 years old thus

dating BRC development rate for the first time. Moreover, this estimate is at least three times

faster than any previous desert rock biogenic coating estimation and could be developed into a

dating tool in hot deserts’ archeological sites.