Nuts in the Netherlands: Attalea and other nuts from archaeological contexts,dating from the 16th to 19th century AD

Abstract

This paper describes the use of palm nuts for the manufacture of artefacts in the Netherlands. From the 17th to 19th century buttons were made of nuts of the Brazilian palm tree Attalea cf. funifera. Finds from 17th century shipwrecks suggest that the palm nuts of this species were directly imported from Middle or South America. Coconuts were used for carving, for example for the manufacture of coconut beakers. In the 19th century buttons were also made of 'vegetable ivory' or tagua nut.     

Agricultural Research Policy

Abstract

From Galileo's measurement of time by musical beats at about half-second intervals to modern atomic clocks, progressively more accurate instruments have been developed and are here reviewed. Both the mechanical and the pendulum clock were major advances and led to theories of a clocklike universe in the 17th century. Barrow, Newton and Leibniz treated time as mathematical concepts and in the 19th century time as a linear advancement became accepted as evolutionary biology extended the vision of time to millions of years. In modern physics, Einstein's special relativity introduced 'time dilation', an idea somewhat contrary to our common sense intuition but now supported by abundant empirical evidence.     

An 18th-century timber wharf in Copenhagen Harbour

Abstract

An archaeological investigation prior to the building of Copenhagen's new Opera House examined an impressive wooden wharf built in the 1780s around Ankerøen, the island on which the Danish navy stored its anchor stocks. When considered with documentary evidence, the excavated structure can be shown to employ a distinctive method of construction, comparable to that used in the so-called 'Hamburg' type of wharf, with a heavy box-like frame fronted with slanting storm posts. It was abandoned by the mid-19th century, when the shape of ships' hulls changed.     

Nash Mills—The Endless Web Revisited

Abstract

A watermill is known to have existed on the river Gade since the 11th century on the site of Nash Mills, Hertfordshire, where a purpose-built paper mill was constructed in the late 18th century. In 1810 the mill was purchased by John Dickinson, one of the great innovators of the paper industry. The mill evolved significantly during the 19th and early 20th centuries as part of Dickinson's expanding business, which at one stage comprised five mills in the locality. Nash Mills remained in the ownership of John Dickinson and his successors until 1990, ceasing production in 2006, the last of Dickinson's mills to do so. Using documentary and building evidence, this article examines the development of the mill, emphasising the relationships between personalities, events, structures, processes, and changing business and technological influences.     

Glastonbury Abbey: Archaeological Investigations 1904–79

Abstract

Netley Abbey began to attract visitors in the 18th century, of whom John Milner was amongst the first to leave an account of the ruins. Certain carvings he saw in the south transept led him to suppose that Richard Fox, bishop of Winchester (1501–28), had been a benefactor to the abbey church. Subsequent historians then followed Milner's supposition. This paper refutes Fox's patronage and reveals the true identity of the patron of Netley. It discusses the nature of the patron's gift to the abbey church and how his friendship with William Paulet, who was granted Netley after the Dissolution, preserved it. The article concludes by presenting details of some of the carved imagery from Netley that survives and other remains recorded in the 19th century which may have formed part of the final phase of building and ornamentation of the abbey church prior to its dissolution.     

Coastal connections,local fishing,and sustainable egg harvesting: patterns of Viking Age inland wild resource use in Mývatn district,Northern Iceland

Abstract

The 'Landscapes of Settlement Project' has carried out archaeological and paleoenvironmental research in the Lake Mývatn region of N. Iceland since 1996. Animal bone collections dating from the late 9th century to the early 13th century AD have been recovered from five sites in different ecological zones around the lake, and three of these sites provide multiple phases datable through radiocarbon, artefacts, and volcanic tephra. Modern systematic biological and geological investigations in the Mývatn district date to the 19th century and a detailed picture of the recent ecology can be combined with both archaeological and historical evidence for long term resource exploitation by humans in this inland region. Analysis of bird bones and bird eggshell suggests that the locally managed sustainable harvest of migratory waterfowl eggs carried out over the last 150 years extends back to the 9th century. These inland archaeofauna also include significant numbers of marine fish and sea birds, marine mollusca, and a few seal and porpoise bones. Marine fish remains recovered indicate specialised transport of partial skeletons missing most cranial and some thoracic vertebrae, suggesting that a cured fish product was being regularly brought to inland farms during the early years of the settlement. Inter-regional exchange and a pre-Hanseatic artisanal fish trade prior to AD 1000 suggests the importance of preserved marine fish in early Scandinavian economies, and may shed light on the source of the 11th century 'fish event horizon' recently documented in southern Britain.     

SOUSA VITERBO AND THE IDEA OF INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGY

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of Sousa Viterbo's contribution to industrial archaeology. This Portuguese historian and archaeologist not only employed and printed both the terms ‘archaeology of industry’ and ‘industrial archaeology’ in the late 19th century, but also left behind a number of writings which secure his place as a true ancestor of the current industrial archaeology. Selected excerpts of three of Viterbo's texts written between 1896 and 1902 are here translated into English for the first time.     

Excavations at Houndhill,near Barnsley,Yorkshire

Abstract

A ‘cottage’ weaving industry was established at Houndhill, family seat of the Elmhirsts in Worsbrough, near Barnsley, during the mid-16th century. It ceased early in the 17th century but excavation has shown it was revived under new ownership in the late 18th century. During the 19th century the mill became a general farm store and was totally demolished in the 1930s to permit a garden extension. The excavation was planned to retain any remaining features for conservation as part of the historical interest of the residence.¹     

Conformity and resistance in the Victorian penal system: archaeological investigations at Parliament House,Edinburgh

Abstract

Archaeological investigations at Parliament House in Edinburgh included the recovery of artefacts from a void discovered during building works. This space had been used as undercourt jail cells in the late 19th century, a time of penal reform. The assemblage contains items representing domestic, light industrial and clerical activities, as well as personal items such as children's toys and women's clothing. The Victorian penal code, contemporary accounts of prisoners, warders and chaplains, and historical and criminological studies suggest that they reflect not only the Prison Board's attempt to enforce conformity but also prisoners' and prison employees' resistance to the system.     

Post-medieval archaeology in Portugal

Abstract

Portuguese post-medieval archaeology corresponds to the period between the early 16th century and the late 18th century, identified in the archaeological record through several distinct artefact categories, of which ceramics are the most abundant. New products such as thin-walled moulded coarsewares and faience are found together with imports from different European countries, China and other Eastern lands. Although sites and finds are mentioned in Portuguese archaeological and art-historical literature from the late 19th century, it only became a scientific discipline in the 1980s. This paper aims to provide a general view of investigations in post-medieval archaeology for more than a century, focusing on contexts and finds, but also looking towards the discipline’s future.     

A Study on the Evolution in Design and Calculation of Iron and Steel Structures over the Mid 19th Century in Western and Central Europe

ABSTRACT

The design of metallic structures in the 19th century is a subject topic of much admiration, as many emblematic structures that are currently withstanding the test of time have become part of our built cultural heritage. Knowledge on the assumptions and design procedures available at that time is of importance to structural engineering nowadays. It allows for the understanding, maintaining and safe extending of the service life of historical metallic structures. The goal of this article is to describe the evolution in the design and calculation of metallic structures during the second half of the 19th century, with focus on Western and Central Europe. Special attention is paid to the similarities and differences between the 19th century design rules and the current structural design standards. Based on a literature survey, the evolution in terms of load definition, calculation methods, material properties, and verifications are described. Different design aspects are illustrated through a case study: The Garabit viaduct in France.     

Post-Medieval Archaeology in Periodical Literature, 1966

Abstract

This paper describes the marked clay pipes found in the Barbican area of Plymouth, and lists all the unmarked types found. The deposits are rich in pipes of Dutch manufacture, particularly of the early 17th century. New light is thrown on local pipemaking from the 17th to the 19th century. The influence of London and southern England is strong both in the styles of Plymouth-made pipes and in the imports to Plymouth. Few pipes from Bristol were found and none from Broseley or the North.     

The Misuse of Area in Mapping Census-Type Numbers

Abstract

Polish lands in 19th century are usually located in the economic peripheries of Europe. However there are no usable datasets of Polish GDP for this period to verify this hypothesis. The main problem is lack of reliable and comparable macroeconomic data from country divided between Russia, Austria and Prussia. The main goal of this research was to propose the method based on the urbanization data set to estimate the GDP of Polish territories and to verify the hypothesis on the peripheral development of Polish lands. In result the new estimates on GDP per capita were established, that allowed to confirm the hypothesis of semi-peripheral development of Polish territories in 19th century and slow process of catching-up with the core economies.     

The Protestant Garden Tomb in Jerusalem,Englishwomen, and a Land Transaction in Late Ottoman Palestine

Abstract

In 1894 the Garden Tomb Association concluded the purchase of a small property outside of the Old City of Jerusalem. The site in question was known as 'Skull Hill' or 'Gordon's Calvary' and was reputed to be the real site of the burial place of Jesus. This case study of a land transaction in Ottoman Jerusalem reveals several important themes from the period. The purchase by foreigners of sites in Palestine was a circuitous process that sometimes involved the intervention of foreign consuls and it sheds light on the Ottoman land laws. The Garden Tomb, a unique property, was part of a larger process of the development of new holy places in Palestine by Europeans. Lastly, the association that purchased the site was primarily funded, initiated and run by notable English women, illustrating their increasing involvement in 19th century religious and activist movements.     

Polesworth: a north Warwickshire country pottery

Abstract

In 1986 excavations for house foundations at Polesworth in northern Warwickshire (SK 263 980) uncovered a pottery waster dump. Fine wares, lead glazed and unglazed coarsewares, including a number a horticultural vessels, were recovered, together with kiln furniture. An archaeological excavation adjacent to the construction site revealed stratigraphy relating to the backfilling of a clay pit with potting waste early in the 18th century. Documentary and other evidence shows that the pottery was in production from the late 17th to early 19th centuries.     

A map of Germany made after the Swedish Campaign of 1630–48

Summary

The Elizabethan small‐scale maps of towns, beginning with Cuningham's Norwich (1559) and ending with Speed's collection in his Theatre, are often underrated by historians. If used intelligently, these maps, which combine a ground plan with perspective drawing, can give much useful historical information, particularly about the main street pattern; fortifications or other buildings, since demolished; and the extent of suburban development. Large‐scale maps of this and later periods provide not only a reliable record of the changes in the street plan, but often depict the structure of houses or the various kinds of industrial undertakings, and give historical or statistical details of great importance. Many have borders filled with accurate engravings of buildings, since demolished. From the time of Leake's great survey of London (1665), but especially in the second half of the 18th century, an increasing number of towns had accurate surveys made at a scale of approximately 1: 5,000. The best of these show the house plots in detail, the relation of the built‐up area to the open spaces, and land use in the environs. In the first decades of the 19th century plans of the greatest detail and reliability were made for some of the larger towns on a scale of 1 : 2,500. All are valuable material for the student of social and economic history.     

The Meeting-Places of Parliament in the Ancient Palace of Westminster

Abstract

The importation into England of church furnishings of most kinds has been going on since the early Middle Ages. The focus of this study is on wooden furnishings and the early 19th century, when a specific group of patrons scoured mainly France and the Low Countries for the furniture that had been prised from churches, as a direct and indirect result of the French Revolution. The taste for such material was fuelled by a Romantic enthusiasm, although ironically much of it was in the Baroque style. The historical setting for this nostalgic explosion in interest is briefly sketched, as well as an account of its development into the early 20th century.     

THE 20TH-CENTURY REVOLUTION IN TEXTILE MACHINES AND PROCESSES. PART 1: SPINNING AND WEAVING

Abstract

This paper reviews the textile revolution of the mid-20th century, a subject little studied by archaeologists, unlike the developments of the 18th and early 19th centuries. The consequences of this revolution pose new challenges to the industrial archaeologist, since the legacy is not distinctive buildings and urban landscape, but the machinery and fabrics themselves. This is the first instalment of a two-part study, looking at the development of the spinning and weaving in the period 1950–85.