Establishment of conservation,design and construction criteria for protective shelters at Fort Selden State Monument,New Mexico

Abstract

Foit Selden State Monument, located in southern New Mexico, consists of the exposed adobe ruins of a military post that was occupied from 1865 to 1981. A management plan for the site is currently being developed in which an option being considered for preservation is the construction of a protective shelter.

The process of establishing conservation, design and construction criteria for a potential shelter at Fort Selden involves the assessment of technical issues and the evaluation of public support for the criteria and purpose of the monument. The conservation concerns are based upon accepted standards for conservation and construction criteria while the design and construction standards involve a higher degree of Public concern, particularly the public expectations exerted on a historic site in the United States.

The criteria for Fort Selden are currently being codified. This paper outlines the preliminary criteria as well as the process by which these criteria will be established and meshed with the public expectations of the site. The planning process is presented and the underlying philosophies of deciding to shelter, designing the shelter and constructing the shelter. Future evaluations of the shelter's success can be gauged against these original criteria and mindset.     

Partial reburial of West Ruin at Aztec Ruins National Monument

Abstract

Aztec Ruins National Monument is a World Heritage Site in northwestern New Mexico, USA. More than 50,000 visitors come to the site each year, specifically to visit West Ruin, a 12th–13th century, multi-storey Ancestral Pueblo an (Anasazi) village with over 400 rooms. West Ruin was excavated in the early 1900s and was intentionally left exposed for public access and interpretation. The walls, constructed of shaped sandstone blocks set in mud mortar, have gradually deteriorated, despite years of stabilization and preservation efforts. In 1999, park management began to partially rebury portions of West Ruin as a reversible long-term preservation treatment. While partial reburial allows for presentation of the site to visitors, it also results in uneven fill levels in many rooms. Differential fill levels can increase the area subject to migration and capillary rise of moisture through the walls, and can accelerate stone and mortar deterioration on the exposed wall faces. Differential fill levels can also lead to structural instability from unequal pressure exerted between filled and non-filled areas. To mitigate moisture migration and structural instability from differential fills, a soil retention system was designed and tested using layers of synthetic three-dimensional earth confinement cells. This paper discusses the design and implementation of the soil retention system within the larger context of a multi-phased reburial project underway at Aztec Ruins National Monument.     

A programme for the conservation of architectural plasters in earthen ruins in the American Southwest: Fort Union National Monument,New Mexico,USA

Abstract

Plasters constitute an important component of many ruined architectural and archaeological sites. Methods for their in situ conservation have lagged far behind the field treatment of other materials due to their ephemeral nature and the lack of programmatic laboratory and field research. A preservation strategy involving documentation, stabilization, interpretation and maintenance offers a methodological approach adaptable to most contexts. A pilot conservation programme is described for the stabilization and interpretation of the lime plasters within the nineteenth-century adobe ruins of Fort Union National Monument in New Mexico. Methods of documentation, emergency stabilization, injection hydraulic lime grouting and mortar repairs are described.     

Excavations at Tilbury Fort,Essex

Tilbury Fort is situated on the N. bank of the Thames 25 miles doumstream from London (TQ 651 754) (FIG. 1). It is the best preserved example of late 17th-century military engineering in England and has been in guardianship since 1950. Plans by the Department of the Environment to alter the visitor access to the site from the riverfront to the landward approach necessitated excavations to establish the original construction of the earthworks, redan and ravelin and to identify the routes and levels of the roadways. Excavations were undertaken in 1973 by Jerry Pratt, concentrating on the ravelin, and in 1980 by the Passmore Edwards Museum. The results of both excavations are presented in this report.     

Parameters in the use of pXRF for archaeological site prospection: a case study at the Reaume Fort Site,Central Minnesota

Field portable/hand-held x-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analyzers have been characterized as potentially useful for archaeological site prospection, but little has been published on the parameters of their use in this manner. The purpose of this study is to explore whether the variability of surface geochemistry as characterized with a pXRF analyzer corresponds with subsurface archaeological features at a site subsequently excavated, and what conditions influence the success of this endeavor, including feature depths, soil moisture, and sample processing. A 520 m² within-site area was systematically surveyed on a 2 m interval, within which several types of archaeological features were excavated (chimney bases, wall trenches, and a bonebed of faunal waste), taking readings in situ and collecting samples for ex situ testing (undried, dried but not powdered, and dried/powdered). The four different tests of each grid location, analyzed through univariate and multivariate tests, showed that the pXRF surface data does correspond with some types of subsurface features when those features are very shallow (within 5 cm of surface level) and are associated with clayey fills. Further, the data from the subsurface samples provides excellent distinction of feature fills from other sediments, regardless of sample preparation. In situ surface survey with pXRF analyzers may however be adequate for sites with a thorough baseline geochemical database.     

Reconstructing the massacre at Fort William Henry,New York

Fort William Henry, in upstate New York, was the site of a legendary siege and massacre in 1757 during the French and Indian War. As part of the terms of surrender, the British garrison was to retreat with all their arms and possessions, thus denying the Indian allies of the French their spoils of war. Contemporaneous and fictionalized accounts of the resulting massacre have often been regarded as exaggerations of actual events. Five men buried in a mass grave within the fort, known as the crypt, however, were clearly victims of the massacre. These men were among the sick and wounded who were unable to make the 15 mile (24 km) journey to Fort Edward and were left in the care of the French. Four of the five men sustained pre-mortem leg trauma that would have resulted in their hospitalization and prevented them from walking. The other massive perimortem trauma on these remains vividly depicts the results of the massacre. Three of the five men were shot in the knee; two of these three were shot elsewhere as well. One man was decapitated. Both the front and back of all the bodies bear cut marks, probably from the use of both axes and long-bladed knives as weapons. The numerous gashes in the thoracic and pelvic regions indicate the men were mutilated. Our analysis of the remains from this mass grave confirms and enhances the historical accounts of the massacre at Fort William Henry. The skeletons of these five men provide gruesome testimony of the assault to which they were subjected.     

Fort Ancient-Mississippian Interaction and Shell-Tempered Pottery at SunWatch Village,Ohio

Abstract

The use of mussel shell for tempering pottery vessels by Fort Ancient societies is poorly understood. Suggestions have included both diffusion from neighboring Mississippian social groups and local developments, although no studies have investigated whether shell-tempered pottery is non-local or associated with Mississippian features and artifact types within Fort Ancient sites. This study begins to remedy this deficiency by examining the social and temporal contexts and petrographic composition of shell-tempered pottery at the Sun Watch site, a Fort Ancient village located in sw Ohio that was occupied during the height of neighboring Mississippian developments (ca.A.D. 1150–1450). Our findings indicate that shell tempered pottery was not produced locally and is linked with a village leader and Mississippian-inspired architecture.     

Ohio Hopewell Ceremonial Bladelet Use at the Moorehead Circle,Fort Ancient

In the past twenty years, lithic use-wear studies have been used to determine the function of Hopewell bladelets. These studies have uniformly shown that the bladelets were multipurpose, utilitarian tools in domestic contexts. Debate arises as to their function in ritual or ceremonial contexts. The question of bladelet function in ceremonial contexts remains unanswered because use-wear studies of bladelets have not been extensively applied to well-provenienced ceremonial assemblages. Microwear analysis was conducted on a sample of bladelets recovered from the Moorehead Circle within the Fort Ancient Earthworks in order to comment on the above debate as well as to determine the activities that occurred there prehistorically. The Moorehead Circle was a center of intensive activity as evidenced by the high rate of utilization and numerous tasks performed with bladelets. Intersite comparison indicates that the Moorehead Circle bladelets were utilized for the same range of tasks as bladelets from other sites in Ohio.     

On a Newly Recovered Runic Monument at Kirk Braddan,in the Isle of Man

The medieval wall-paintings formerly in the south aisle of St Andrew's Church, Headington, Oxford, have not hitherto been either comprehensively or accurately recorded. This paper seeks to remedy this, especially as one of the subjects, the legend of the Miraculous Cornfield on the Flight into Egypt, is otherwise unknown among surviving English medieval wall-paintings. Another of the subjects has never been satisfactorily identified, and it will be suggested that it represents one of the miracles of St Clement of Rome, another unique subject.     

Survey and Excavation of the Anglo-Zulu War Fort at Eshowe,KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

Abstract

A programme of topographic and geophysical survey was combined with metal detecting and trial trenching at the site of the British fort at KwaMondi, Eshowe, KwaZulu. Evidence was recovered of the buildings used by the British troops in 1879, together with artefacts from the siege. In addition, the results provided an insight into the history of the site after the end of the British occupation.     

Historical Documents vs. the Archaeology: Lunette Blockades at Fort Bridger,Wyoming

Historical Archaeology - A comparison of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data and available historical records on U.S. military fortifications at Fort Bridger, Wyoming, provides an opportunity to...     

The Gallo-Roman sanctuary at Grand,France: I Its development and management for tourism

Abstract

The Gallo-Roman site at Grand (France, Département des Vosges) is famous for its amphitheatre and mosaic remains. Grand's development project (1990–9) has been made possible by its inclusion in the ‘Five-year Programme (1988–92) for French Monuments’. In 1990 hydrogeological work discovered that the original function of the site, until then a mystery, was as a water sanctuary, a major religious centre in eastern Gaul. The development project, having seen visitor numbers rise steeply, has addressed issues of visitor reception and management, and the provision of information in various forms. The aims of the project locally are to promote cultural tourism in a remote rural area and to develop the economy of the village of Grand.     

The Gallo-Roman sanctuary at Grand,France: II The protection and development of the amphitheatre

Abstract

The amphitheatre at the Gallo-Roman sanctuary in Grand (France, Département des Vosges) is an outstanding example given its non-Mediterranean location. The clearing of rubble from its remains, between 1963 and 1977, led to the masonry deteriorating rapidly due to weathering. The installation over part of the monument of a protective covering, incorporating tiers of seating, constitutes a technological first, as it is made of glued-laminated softwood constructed to demanding specifications. The covering serves to protect and reconstruct part of the amphitheatre, in which it is now intended to hold cultural events. This type of development requires careful planning regarding practical arrangements, marketing strategy and artistic issues.     

苏州剧装扮靓戏曲大舞台——苏州剧装戏具制作技艺国家级传承人李荣森

<正>苏州自古以来就是歌舞、戏剧繁荣之地,苏州也由此成为中国剧装戏具制作的发源地,尤其明代昆曲的形成更促成了剧装戏具制作业的规模化生产。至今,苏州规模化生产戏衣已有500多年的历史。清同治以后,由于徽剧和京剧的兴起,苏州戏衣不仅要供应昆曲,还要供应徽剧和京剧,销路遍及苏、浙、皖等