The Byzantine‐Period Dor 2006 Shipwreck,Israel: preliminary hull construction report

The Dor 2006 shipwreck was discovered in 2006, 100 m offshore, 800 m south of Dor (Tantura) lagoon. The wooden hull remains included sections of large frames, stringers and ceiling planks, a large number of strakes and wales, some with unpegged mortise‐and‐tenon joints. Among the finds were ceramic sherds, wooden objects, matting, ropes, food remains, and coins. The shipwreck was dated to between the second half of the 6th and the first quarter of the 7th centuries AD. The wooden components of the hull indicate a large ship compared with other shipwrecks of the period, and the largest ever excavated in the Dor area.     

PHYSICO‐CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ACQUALADRONE ROSTRUM

The archaeological discovery of the Acqualadrone rostrum (an offensive naval weapon mounted on the prow at the waterline), off the Italian coast near Messina in 2008, has led to the need for scientific research in order to plan the conservation treatment of this artefact. The discovery is exceptional because of the presence of a wooden section from the original ship. This paper describes the physico‐chemical characterization of a metallic and two wooden samples by inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹³C {¹H} cross‐polarization magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, gas chromatography – mass spectrometry and X‐ray diffraction. The results reveal the use of leaded bronze (Cu, 70%; Pb, 20%; Sn, 10%) in the manufacturing process of the alloy and the use of lead whose isotopic composition is referable to either Spanish or Cypriot mines. The analysis of the results relating to the wooden samples indicates their different state of preservation and, at least in some places, the spreading of caulking on the wood, probably using a vegetable resin.     

The 5th‐Century BC Shipwreck at Tektaş Burnu,Turkey: evidence for the ship's hull from nail concretions

The Tekta? Burnu ship (440–425 BC) sank along a rough and desolate stretch of the Turkish Aegean coast. Archaeological excavation of the shipwreck site by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University resulted in the retrieval of hundreds of small fragments from the ship's wooden hull and its metal fasteners. Recent study of this artefact assemblage suggests that the coastal trader was built with pine planks and made‐frames, and assembled by a shell‐based construction method. Fasteners include pegged mortise‐and‐tenon joints and double‐clenched copper nails, and the ship may have had laced extremities consistent with other contemporaneous shipwrecks.     

Late pre‐Islamic burials at Mleiha,Emirate of Sharjah (UAE)

The history of two monumental grave buildings (nos. 4 and 5), excavated in area P of the late pre‐Islamic city of Mleiha, has been studied in detail. Like all other tombs excavated up to the present day in Mleiha, their chambers had been emptied in ancient times. They were found devoid of human remains and grave‐goods. In the upper parts of the grave fills, however, skeletal remains were encountered. One of the skeletons was radiocarbon dated to AD 623–656, the time of the Islamisation of south‐east Arabia. A radiocarbon date of 384–233 BC for a wooden beam from the same tomb showed that it was built during the late pre‐Islamic period (PIR‐A). These dates and stratigraphic observations made clear that the interments were intrusive. The surrounding sediments were deposited by flooding. Directly underneath the skull of the dated skeleton, a layer of sandy loam was encountered, showing mud cracks. To understand the relationship between the burial and these deposits, micromorphological analyses of the surrounding sediments were conducted. The microstructural organisation of the sedimentary components implied that the skull was interred as part of a burial, and not deposited by natural processes.     

A 15th‐Century Wreck of an Ordnance‐Carrying Ship from Atlit North Bay,Israel

In 1977, a shipwreck assemblage was discovered off Atlit, Israel. Finds included three iron anchors, a large bombard, four swivel guns, stone and lead shot, and bronze helmets. The bronze bombard (2210 kg, 3.247 m long) contained a wooden wad and remnants of what may have been gunpowder. The swivel guns (each 185 kg) were bronze, with swivels and the tillers of iron. Twenty (or 21) bronze helmets were recovered. The findings provide rare evidence for the mounting of heavy ordnance on the bow of a galley or ship in the 15th century.     

Notes on the Identification of the Roman Masts Found in the Port of Olbia,Sardinia

This paper presents both archaeological evidence and technical features that allows the identification of two of the wooden objects discovered in 2001 at the site of a 1st‐century‐AD shipyard in Olbia, Sardinia, as masts. The structure and dimensions of the objects are presented and compared with similar artefacts which have been interpreted as rudder‐stocks in order to establish their specific and distinct features. Possible retaining and lowering systems for the masts, and evidence of wooden mast‐ladders are discussed through examination of archaeological parallels and Roman iconography.     

STUDY OF ROMAN ANCHOR FROM THE DEAD SEA SHORE*

A wooden Roman anchor was discovered at the retreating shore of the Dead Sea, north of Ein Gedi. The anchor's wood material was coated by a thick veneer of aragonite and gypsum crusts. The wood was dated by radiocarbon to the early Roman time in the Levant. Lead isotope analyses carried out on the Pb–Fe–Cu anchor material (remains of the anchor's metal parts) yielded ratios that indicate origin of the metal in Italian ores (maybe Tuscan). For the wooden part of the anchor a local tree was used.     

An African Cuba? Britain and the Zanzibar Revolution, 1964

This article examines the response of the British government to the revolution in Zanzibar in January 1964. It demonstrates that, once the safety of British nationals had been assured, British concerns centred upon the possibility that the new regime might become susceptible to communist influence. These fears appeared to be realised as British influence in Zanzibar diminished and the new government welcomed communist aid and advisers. In the aftermath of successful military interventions in support of moderate regimes in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, and under pressure from Washington to take decisive action, the British prepared a series of plans for military action in Zanzibar. None of these was enacted and the final plan was scrapped in December. The paper examines the range of factors that undermined British diplomacy and inhibited the government from taking military action in Zanzibar. In doing so it illustrates the complexity of Britain's relationship with postcolonial regimes in East Africa and the difficulties that it faced when trying to exert influence in a region recognised by both London and Washington as a British sphere of influence.     

AN ARCHAEOMETALLURGICAL STUDY OF 13TH‐CENTURY ARROWHEADS AND BOLTS FROM THE CRUSADER CASTLE OF ARSUF/ARSUR

Selected iron arrowheads and bolts retrieved from the destruction layer of the Crusader castle of Arsur/Arsuf, which was taken down by the Mamluk army (headed by Baybars) in late April 1265, were studied. Being the only site within the boundaries of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem that has thus far yielded more than 1200 iron arrowheads, an archaeometallurgical characterization was performed. The aim of this research was to study the warfare methods and manufacturing technologies used by the Mamluk and Crusader armies. Examination included optical microscopy, SEM and SEM–EDS, XPS and microhardness tests. Analysis was performed on both the metallic iron and iron oxides. Ferrous wooden ‘fossils’, which were found on and within the bolts, were dendroarchaeologically tested. The microstructure analyses show that the weapons were made of wrought iron. These results are correlated with the function of the weapons. The different microstructures of the arrowheads and the bolts indicate dissimilar manufacturing processes. The graphitization of the ropes on the bolts and the oxide phases on their surfaces both provide evidence of high‐temperature fire. The ropes support the archaeological findings that these devices were used by the Mamluks to set the Crusader castle on fire.     

Say What You Like: Dress,Identity and Heritage in Zanzibar

The paper considers the significance of dress to identity and power among women living on the island of Zanzibar. Drawing on her own preliminary fieldwork in Zanzibar (June 2004) and on the work of Laura Fair (2001 Fair, L. 2001. Pastimes & Politics: Culture, Community, and Identity in Post‐abolition Urban Zanzibar, 1890–1945, Oxford: James Currey.  [Google Scholar]), the author discusses the ways in which dress (in general), and the wearing of kanga fabrics in particular, offers women a means of communication in an image conscious and historically stratified society. It is argued that kangas are still an integral part of ritual and social activities in Zanzibar and that they shed light on the complex history of the Swahili coast. Placing the ethnography in a broader and contemporary context, the author states that kangas contribute to the intangible heritage of Zanzibar in their encapsulation of the island's oral history, art, social commentary and concepts of beauty. The author concludes by outlining some of the challenges that heritage regimes face in the Indian Ocean region and potential strategies for preserving or managing its mixed cultural resources.     

A Preliminary report of recording the Stella 1 Roman River Barge,Italy

The remains of a Roman barge were found in 1981 in the River Stella, Udine, Italy. Its cargo consisted mainly of roof tiles. It was excavated in 1998 and 1999, and detailed recording of the hull, and a second wooden structure, was achieved in 2011. A spread of material upstream of the wreck has been investigated 2012–2015. The barge was originally dated to the first quarter of the 1st century AD by the in situ cargo. This article describes the bottom‐based sewn‐plank hull construction and examines it in the light of local boatbuilding traditions. The second wooden structure is also described, along with recent finds and new dating evidence from the dispersed material. The Stella 1 excavation was part of the Anaxum Project, a wider study of the Stella River's cultural landscape through time.     

Preservation,storage and display of waterlogged wood and wrecks in an aquarium: “Project Aquarius”

A test aquarium containing water and waterlogged historical wooden material was observed during a three-year period at Vänernmuseum, Sweden, to test the feasibility of preserving and exhibiting archaeological wood or shipwrecks in a way accessible to the public. Experiments were also set up in a laboratory environment, to provide information on single factors that could influence the long-term preservation state of wood, and other processes that may occur in the water.     

Fracture spacing during hydro‐fracturing of cap‐rocks

Layered low permeability rock units, like shales, represent seals or ‘cap‐rocks’ in a variety of geological settings. A continuous increase in the fluid pressure gradients across a virtually impermeable rock layer will ultimately lead to hydro‐fracturing. Depending on the boundary conditions, such fracturing may lead to the formation of a set of sub‐parallel cracks oriented more or less perpendicular to the cap‐rock layer. In this article, we propose a new numerical model that describes interactions between multiple cross‐cutting fractures in an elastic low permeability rock layer. The width of each fracture and the spacing between them are modeled as a force balance between the fluid pressure and the elastic forces in the cap‐rock and between each fracture. The model indicates that the system of fractures evolves toward a spatially periodic steady‐state distribution with a fixed fracture spacing and aperture. The results are similar for incompressible and compressible fluids. The steady‐state conditions depend on only two dimensionless parameters, and the fracture spacing is only weakly dependent on the cap‐rock thickness. This is in contrast to fracturing produced by simple extension of an elastic rock layer beyond the fracture strength, in which case fracture spacing is proportional to layer thickness.     

志丹苑元代水闸遗址霉菌及防霉剂抑菌效果的再调查与评估

志丹苑元代水闸遗址中处于潮湿环境条件下的木构件经IPBC(碘代丙炔基氨基甲酸酯Iodopropy-nyl Butyl Carbamate)处理已有8年,2012年时测得其细菌总量及真菌总量比2007年分别减少89.25%和55.56%,且木构件中微生物主要类群也在变化。可近年发现IPBC药物的药效在缩短,为了更加有效地治理志丹苑元代水闸遗址饱水木构件上生长的霉菌,对遗址木构件霉菌种类再次进行调查,并对防霉剂IPBC抑菌性能进行再评估。本研究从遗址木构件中分离到8类高丰度霉菌,通过菌落形态特征、培养特性和DNA-ITS序列分析等方法进行菌种的鉴定,发现种类与前几次有明显不同。例如,本次在遗址广泛分布着的一种盘菌科下未分类的菌及绿色木霉都是前几次未曾发现过的。用滤纸片抑菌圈法对这些菌进行IPBC抑菌试验。分析结果发现,木质文物霉菌的防治药物有待升级。     

Portuguese Blue‐on‐Blue 16th–17th Century Pottery

Blue‐on‐blue (‘berettino’) sherds have appeared in numerous production and consumption archaeological excavations in Lisbon and other archaeological sites in Portugal (dated from the mid‐16th century to the beginning of the 17th century). The abundance of this interesting faience led us to compare it with similar pottery from other well‐known production centres in Italy, namely Liguria (Savona and Albisola), Spain (the Triana kilns) and the Low Countries. Differences in the diffraction patterns of the sherds' pastes from the four countries were observed. In most samples, cobalt blue silicate (cobalt olivine) was identified in the dark blue or light blue glazes through the use of micro‐Raman spectroscopy and diffuse reflectance spectra. A remarkable difference in the calcite contents of the Lisbon and Seville pottery sherds was observed, in accordance with previous observations of high calcite contents of Seville ceramics. A comparison was also made for all of the blue‐on‐blue sherds studied here with many other 16th–17th century sherds from Lisbon using bivariate plots of K/Si versus Ca/Si. Lisbon and Seville pottery behave very differently, whereas sherds from Italy and the Low Countries occupy intermediate positions.     

志丹苑元代水闸遗址木构件侵蚀微生物的防治研究

为研究志丹苑元代水闸遗址木构件免受微生物危害的方案,本工作采用碘代丙炔基氨基甲酸酯(Iodopropynyl Butyl Carbamate,简称IPBC)处理的方法解决志丹苑元代水闸遗址木构件侵蚀微生物的防治问题。将遗址中处于潮湿环境条件下的木构件经IPBC处理5年后,测得其细菌总量减少89.25%,真菌总量减少55.56%,且木构件中微生物主要类群发生了很大的变化。研究表明,IPBC对于可能导致潮湿环境条件下木构件材质软腐的微生物的生长具有明显的抑制作用。本研究为控制志丹苑元代水闸遗址木构件的微生物危害提供了有效的备选方案。     

浙江省平湖庄桥坟遗址出土石犁的保护修复

浙江平湖庄桥坟遗址出土的石犁是史前考古的新发现,属于痕迹文物。出土时木构件痕迹饱水,为暗褐色、开裂严重、整体呈腐蚀状,非常脆弱。针对器物的保存状况,因地制宜地制定一系列保护方法:木构件痕迹的脱水保护、底托的加固制作、木构件粘贴复原等,使文物得以长期保存。     

CHEST BURIAL: A MIDDLE ANGLO‐SAXON FUNERARY RITE FROM NORTHERN ENGLAND

Chest burials, in which the body is interred in a wooden chest with a hinged lid, are one of the most characteristic funerary practices of the middle Anglo‐Saxon period in northern England. The majority are dated to between the seventh and ninth centuries, and are found at 19 different sites located within the contemporary early medieval kingdom of Northumbria. The collation of a corpus of chest burials, and examination of their form, context and the identities of the individuals they were afforded to, have revealed that these interments seem to have been made in reused pieces of domestic furniture and provided to both sexes, but rarely afforded to infants or young children. The individuals buried in chests also shared an extremely physically active lifestyle and in some cases met a violent death, further distinguishing them from their contemporaries.     

明清古建筑木结构典型抗震构造问题研究

为保护古建筑,采用分类统计方法,研究了我国明清古建筑木结构的典型抗震构造问题。基于大量工程现场勘查结果,对古建筑木结构的典型抗震构造问题进行了归纳汇总,分析了原因,提出了加固建议;基于典型算例,对古建筑木结构加固方法进行了深入论证。结果表明:我国古建筑木结构的柱子、斗棋、榫卯节点、梁架、屋顶等各部位都容易产生开裂、糟朽、变形、拔榫等抗震构造问题并影响结构的抗震性能,而这些问题的产生原因主要与木结构的构造特征、木材材料性质及施工保养等因素有关;对这些抗震构造问题及时采取合理有效的加固措施,可减轻或避免结构产生的震害。     

Reframing Bi‐nationalism in Palestine‐Israel as a Process of Settler Decolonisation

This paper examines some of the emerging critical civil society debates in relation to the one‐state solution being the most appropriate geo‐political arrangement for the articulation of freedom, justice and equality in Palestine‐Israel. This is done with reference to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions’ 2012 statement in support of a bi‐national state and the ensuing critiques it attracted from Palestinian supporters of the one‐state position. Drawing on these debates which have largely revolved around Jewish Israeli rights to political self‐determination in Palestine‐Israel, this paper proposes that alternative versions of self‐determination as cultural rights for the established Hebrew‐speaking national community represent a more inclusive form of self‐determination in the eventuality of decolonisation.