Technical Strategies for Conservation of Earthen Archaeological Architecture

The preservation of earthen architectural heritage is extremely complex due to the diversity of its constituent materials and potentially rapid physical deterioration. Interventions on historic earthen architecture throughout the world have shown very distinct levels of success, but there is no single procedure or combination of conservation procedures that guarantee success. One of the problems is the lack of knowledge about the behaviour of soil as the material component, and its relationships both with other materials, and associated natural and cultural environments. This article analyses some technical considerations that have influenced the preservation of earthen archaeological remains, through critical analysis of the existing bibliographic references from the proceedings of specialized international conferences that have taken place in the last twenty years.     

声频应力波法检测土遗址加固用玻璃纤维锚杆锚固质量初探

土遗址锚杆锚固质量一直是土遗址加固工程中关注的重点问题。目前,土遗址领域均采用具有破坏性的拉拔试验对其进行检测。基于土遗址的文物属性,本研究尝试利用无损检测技术评价土遗址加固用玻璃纤维锚杆的锚固质量。通过锚杆无损检测仪与拉拔仪分别对甘肃省红沙堡遗址与永泰城址加固工程中的玻璃纤维锚杆锚固系统进行检测。比较实际测量杆长与仪器测量杆长结果,得出杆长指标可以判断无损检测仪所测结果的真实性。无损检测仪得出的检测波形衰减规律显著,对比相应锚杆的拉拔试验的评价结果,证实了声频应力波法在土遗址玻璃纤维锚杆锚固系统无损检测中的适用性。本研究结果将为评价土遗址加固用玻璃纤维锚杆锚固质量提供可靠的依据。     

土遗址防风化保护概况

土遗址的风化表现为遗址的表面在各种环境因素的作用下,原来因各种因素作用互相结合的土体颗粒之间的结合力减弱或消失,颗粒间距加大以至脱落,使表面减薄、形貌改变,由此造成承载文化信息的表层破坏的现象。探讨土遗址表面风化的原因、机理,以及对防风化保护材料的应用性研究,对保护大批濒临破坏的土遗址具有重要意义。     

Earthen mound formation in the Uruguayan lowlands (South America): micromorphological analyses of the Pago Lindo archaeological complex

The stratigraphic excavation of the Pago Lindo archaeological complex, in central-eastern Uruguay (La Plata basin), helped to propose an alternative model for mound formation that expresses the intrinsic complexity of prehistoric earthen architecture. This model, known as the spatial–temporal discontinuous model, sees mound complexes as multi-functional areas, with diverse earth works occupied and abandoned intermittently. Since earthen mound sediments are homogeneous, resemble natural soils and show evidences of intense bioturbation, soil micromorphology was used to confirm, refute and further investigate issues raised during field work, related with the prime material used for mound construction, detection of major episodes of mound building, identification of activity areas and taphonomic processes. In this paper, we present the results of the micromorphological analyses of two different earth works from the Pago Lindo archaeological complex (a mound and a micro-relief). Analyses proved the recurrent use of surface horizons for mound and micro-relief building throughout the entire period of site occupation. It also demonstrated the difficulty in identifying discrete depositional episodes and occupation surfaces, because of the intense bioturbation. Two activity areas where recognized: a domestic hut built over a platform, ca. 1600 yrs. BP; and an area of plant residue accumulation over a platform, raised almost 800 hundred year after the domestic hut. The practice of cleaning the occupation surfaces was interpreted from the complete absence of bioarchaeological remains (bones and micro-charcoal). The use of micromorphology as a complementary tool in the stratigraphic excavation of Pago Lindo unraveled evidences that corroborate a newly proposed model for mound growth.     

红陶葫芦瓶

The gourd shaped red earthen yase is unearthed from the remains of the Neolithic Age of Long Qin zhuang site,Gao you city ,Made in imitation of the natural gourd,it retlects the wisdom of our ancestors and bears the hope for good luck,its appearance marks the beginning of the production of the gourd-shaped object in China ,In terms of function,this vase may be the wine vessel used by our ancestors,and it reflects the local production level and the ecnomic relationship.     

Mud Brick Metaphysics and the Preservation of Earthen Ruins

In the conservation of built heritage, earthen ruins rank as one of, if not the most, intractable of problems to be confronted. Lacking the very architectural devices originally in place to combat and control weathering, earthen ruins face rapid deterioration without constant remedial and preventive conservation. Often it is the enormous mass of many ancient earthen ruins that explain their persistence; however, even these will collapse over time from differential erosion, or eventually stabilize as formless lumps. The impossible demands of simultaneously preserving architectural form and fabric (materiality) challenge the archaeologist and conservation professional who attempt to manage both for temporary and permanent display.     

Let no space go to waste: comparing the uses of space between two Late Classic centers in the El Paraíso valley,Copan, Honduras

Phosphorus analysis of earthen and plaster floors has been used in Mesoamerica to locate and identify activities at ancient sites. This study uses phosphorus analysis to discern if the inhabitants of two Late Classic coeval and proximal sites located in the El Paraíso Valley of Honduras were different culturally from each other. The buried earthen and plaster surfaces of both sites were systematically sampled and analyzed for phosphorus remains. The patterns of elevated phosphorus from these open spaces were subsequently compared to determine if differences in the habitual use and treatment of open spaces could be discerned. These differences are evaluated as a function of behavioral norms, functional responses, and cultural dispositions in order to evaluate the extent to which these two populations were indeed different from each other.     

成都市新都区新石器时代晚期土坑墓提取与保护

2008年1月,成都文物考古研究所与成都市新都区文物管理所在对一新石器时代晚期聚落遗址进行的考古发掘中,清理出土了二座竖穴土坑墓,其中M1墓葬人骨基本完整,具有较高的研究价值,但因年代久远和有害环境的影响,骨质已粉化,不便于直接提取人骨。为了有效地保护这一新石器时期人类骨骸,为后期的科学研究保存下这一珍贵的实物资料。决定采取套箱法对整座土坑墓进行提取的方式保护人骨,经过多方试验,确定采用A305黏结剂修复骨架裂纹,用GSA-102保护剂,B365作加固进行保护。经观察表明,本次土坑提取与保护取得了良好效果,并制定了一套科学的保护方案。该土坑墓的成功提取和科学保护,为今后在潮湿环境中的古遗址保护提供了可供借鉴的经验。     

我国东北地区的高句丽封土石室墓

分布于我国境内的众多高句丽墓葬,总体上可分为积石墓和封土石室墓两大类。大型的封土石室墓,不仅规模大,而且室内多绘有壁画。大量的中小型封土石室墓,石室与墓道合成的平面多为刀形和铲形,墓顶结构有平盖顶、叠涩顶和抹角顶不等。连云港地区发现的唐代封土石室墓与此相似,其墓主人,在以往推测为百济移民或新罗移民的同时,高句丽移民也要考虑在内。     

THE APPLICATION OF CLIFF DEGRADATION MODELS FOR ESTIMATION OF THE INITIAL HEIGHT OF RAMMED‐EARTH WALLS (POR‐BAJIN FORTRESS,SOUTHERN SIBERIA,RUSSIA)

The main objective of this study is to recover the initial geometry of earthen walls from the shape of wall remains. The original parameters of the walls have been estimated by fitting the field‐measured profiles with the theoretical shape predicted by the model. We estimate: (i) the initial wall height (between 2 and 3 m); (ii) their shape (vertical or nearly vertical); and (iii) the time for complete degradation (between 250 and 400 years, depending on wall orientation). We show that this approach yields the best results when the main degradation factor is the temperature gradient, as it is for south‐oriented wall faces.     

Midwest Archaeological Conference 2014 Distinguished Career Awards

This paper presents and contextualizes the results of recent research at the Cedar Creek Earthworks (AaHq-2) in Essex County, Ontario, one of the few remaining Late Prehistoric earthen enclosures in the western Lake Erie region. First documented in the 1930s, the site consists of a unique semicircular berm and ditch feature to which has been appended three earthen projections or “nodes.” Despite a combination of remote sensing, testpitting, and targeted test excavations both within and beyond the earthworks, a dearth of material culture remains and subsurface features (including evidence for a palisade) suggests the site did not serve as a village and raises questions regarding the role(s) Cedar Creek played in the lifeways of past aboriginal populations.     

江西靖安县李洲坳东周墓葬

李洲坳东周墓葬位于江西靖安县水口乡水口村李家自然村,是在2006年12月30日偶然发现的。在报经国家文物局批准后,江西省文物考古研究所对这座墓葬进行了抢救性发掘,田野工作于2007年1月6日正式开始,至10月25日基本结束。目前,墓葬出土文物的清理工作还在继续。现将该墓发掘的基本情况和一些初步认识简要介     

硬度测量在土遗址保护中的应用问题

硬度试验是材料机械性能试验中最简单易行的一种试验方法。硬度值可以基本反映材料的强度特性,但它并非材料独立的基本性能,而是取决于其所采用的试验方法。各种硬度试验方法使用条件要求各异,如何根据土遗址特点,选择合适的硬度检测方法,保证检测精度是目前土遗址保护中需要解决的一个问题。本文在综合分析各种试验方法的基础上,给出了土遗址保护中硬度检测需要遵循的基本原则。     

植物对土遗址的保护作用初探——以内蒙古东部地区土遗址为例

位于内蒙古东部的土遗址上普遍长有植物,由于植物本身对土遗址具有双重作用,既有保护作用,也有破坏作用,采用植物保护土遗址就是最大限度的发挥其有利的一面,故此研究植物在遗址中发挥的保护作用尤为重要.选择应昌路故城、元上都遗址和辽上京遗址作为研究对象,采用现场调查的方法从植被覆盖度、根系分布情况两方面研究植物对土遗址的作用.结果表明,遗址顶面普遍被以羊草、冰草、紫羊茅、马蔺、旋覆花为主的低矮草本植物覆盖,其覆盖度集中在30％～60％;这些植物对防止降水冲刷遗址有明显的作用,对遗址的整体外貌影响也比较小.因此,针对长有植被、雨蚀病害严重、其他保护手段技术还不成熟、达不到理想的保护效果的遗址,可采用植物保护土遗址,并且其思路是可行的.     

Soils and Earthen Building Materials Used for the Buddhist Temple Complex

This article presents a comprehensive study of the local soils and historic earthen building materials used in Nako temple complex in Western Himalayas. On-site and laboratory investigations followed a holistic approach to characterize materials and identify historic manufacturing formulas. The interdisciplinary and novel methodology used for analysis of the earthen building materials combine geological, chemical, mineralogical, geotechnical, and mechanical approach. The results presented in this article enable a better understanding of material culture and advance the study of damage and decay processes found in the temple buildings. In addition, a suitable conservation and preservation strategy is presented.     

土遗址病害的评估体系研究

土遗址病害评估是对土遗址进行科学保护、管理、利用的一项基础性工作,但土遗址病害评估的体系还没有建立。为此,通过对土遗址病害的分析,借鉴地质工程、岩土工程的相关理论和方法,采用逐次分析的方法评估土遗址的载体和本体病害,探讨了土遗址病害评估体系。通过研究认为,可以从地质灾害、稳定性、表面风化三方面对土遗址病害程度进行评估。地质灾害和稳定性有其它学科相对成熟的理论和方法可以借鉴和采用。表面风化评估应考虑到风化剥蚀速率、遗址保存程度和文物价值三个方面,引进风化度和文物价值权重系数的概念,利用模糊数学原理对表面风化的危险程度进行综合评估是一种新思路。     

江苏金坛县薛埠镇上水土墩墓群二号墩发掘简报

2005年南京博物院考古研究所在金坛县薛埠镇上水村发掘了4座土墩墓,其中二号墩发现的遗迹包括器物群、墓葬、土台和房址。墓葬和其中3个器物群出土有硬陶坛、瓿、碗、施釉硬陶豆和夹砂陶鼎、泥质陶瓿等,年代为西周晚期,其他5个器物群含商代早期陶器,推测为修筑土墩墓时有意放置的。     

潮湿环境下土遗址加固保护材料筛选研究——以福建昙石山遗址为例

长期以来,由于土遗址保存环境的复杂性和特殊性,潮湿环境下的土遗址保护一直是困扰我国文物保护和考古界的难点,至今尚没有成熟的规范可以参考.福建省昙石山遗址作为我国东南沿海地区典型潮湿环境下的土遗址,近年来在遗址加固保护过程中,通过大量室内和现场试验,在适用材料的筛选研究等方面取得了一定经验和成效,是对我国潮湿环境下土遗址保护工作的一次有益尝试和探索.     

植物覆盖技术保护潮湿地区土遗址探讨

潮湿地区降雨量大,土遗址普遍风化严重,室外保护难度大,表面防风化技术还不成熟。基于土遗址表面普遍生长有茂盛植被的现象,充分发挥植物对遗址的保护作用,减少不利影响,采用植物覆盖技术保护遗址十分必要且可行。本工作通过调查植物对遗址影响和植物覆盖技术保护实践的分析,论证了植物覆盖技术的可行性,提出针对封土、墙体等不同遗址,充分考虑遗址风化程度和保存状态,选用适合植物物种实施植物覆盖技术,植物物种选择应首选当地适宜优势物种,应充分评估植物对土遗址的不利影响。研究结果表明,植物覆盖技术保护遗址十分必要且可行。     

西安鱼化寨遗址仰韶文化土坑墓发掘简报

一、遗址概况鱼化寨遗址位于西安市雁塔区鱼化寨街道鱼化寨村西北侧,皂河西岸的二级台地上,今西安外事学院北校区西北部。遗址东、北两侧被皂河环绕,地势中心高,周围低(图一)。2002年～