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.     

Reburial of shipwrecks in marine sediments: a long-term study on wood degradation

Historical shipwrecks in marine environments are continuously decomposed by wood-degrading organisms, adapted to this specific environment. To protect the wrecks from degradation and to preserve the unique remains for future generations, reburial of wrecks using various covering materials has been suggested as a long-term preservation method. The following experiment was carried out to study the bio-protective effect of sediment. Sound oak, pine, and birch samples were buried above and within marine sediment in Marstrand harbour, and retrieved for analysis after 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. Macroscopic as well as light-microscopic examinations were carried out on each occasion. Marine borers (shipworm, Limnoria), soft rot and tunnelling bacteria were wood degraders immediately above the seabed; soft rot, tunnelling bacteria, and erosion bacteria were active 10 cm below the seabed; erosion bacteria were the only degraders at a depth of 43 cm below the seabed. The wood species had different durability towards the decay agents. After 3 years, wood samples above the seabed were totally decomposed, whereas wood was highly protected at 43 cm depth in sediment. In the sediment, decay decreased significantly with depth of burial. The results suggest that reburial of shipwrecks in marine sediment can be recommended as a simple and efficient method for long-term preservation of the wooden cultural heritage.     

Quantifying Ship Shape in Archaeology: Evaluating 3D Geometric Morphometrics

The analysis of the archaeological remains of ships and boats, in particular hull shapes, have been central to wider analysis of performance, function, and significance within past societies. This article reviews established methods of quantifying shape in ship and boat archaeology—linear measurement ratios and form coefficients—and evaluates the utility of 3D geometric morphometrics (GM). The 3D shape of 30 vessels from north‐west Europe dating between 325 BC and AD 1915 are quantified to study how hull shape relates to a vessel's function and intended operating environment. A comparison of the three methods highlights the importance of analysing the complexity of a hull in a holistic manner and demonstrates that 3D GM outperforms the traditional methods.     

Investigating archaeological site formation processes on the battleship USS Arizona using finite element analysis

Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) worked in a collaborative partnership with archaeologists from the National Park Service's (NPS) Submerged Resources Center (SRC) to develop a finite element model (FEM) of the battleship USS Arizona. An FEM is a computer-based engineering model that calculates theoretical stresses, propagation of force, and shape changes to a structure under loads using thousands or even millions of individual elements whose individual responses are well understood. NIST researchers created an FEM of an 80 ft. (25 m) midships section of the Arizona site to analyze archaeological site formation processes on the sunken battleship, in particular to determine the current condition of the wreck and predict its future strength and structural integrity as it continues to corrode. The NIST's FEM study is one aspect of a larger project under the direction of the NPS, the USS Arizona Preservation Project, whose goal is to determine the nature and rate of corrosion affecting USS Arizona, and to model its long-term structural deterioration. The FEM incorporates findings from other key components of the USS Arizona Preservation Project, such as steel hull corrosion rates, structural surveys of the vessel, sediment compaction studies, and analysis of the concretion that covers the ship's hull, into a single tool that is being used to predict how the wreck will degrade in the future.     

The prehistoric pile-dwelling settlement of Stagno (Leghorn,Italy): wood and food resource exploitation

A pile-dwelling settlement, dated to the final Bronze–early Iron Age (XII–XI century BC), was excavated at Stagno, near Leghorn (Tuscany, Italy). The site presented a well-preserved portion of the wooden foundation structure buried by sediments rich in plant remains: both wood and plant remains were subjected to archaeobotanical investigation. The ultimate goal was to improve our knowledge on agricultural economy and wood usage in Tuscany during the prehistoric ages. The results pointed to a farming system based on Triticum spp. (wheat), Hordeum spp. (barley) and Leguminosae cultivation in addition to the gathering of wild fruits, such as Corylus avellana, Cornus mas, Prunus spp., Vitis spp. Many of these plant remains are associated to a wetland context. Mesohygrophilous trees, such as deciduous Quercus, Ulmus minor, Fraxinus cf. excelsior, and Sorbus were used for the construction of the pile-dwelling structures; the choice of these plants indicates a good knowledge of the technological characteristics of timber.     

The origin of the ancient Egyptian drink Shedeh revealed using LC/MS/MS

Ancient Egyptians were buried with the most precious food and drink as sustenance for their afterlife. One of these was Shedeh, the most valued and appreciated beverage in ancient Egypt. The botanic origin of Shedeh remains unclear as no mention of its raw material has survived. Some scholars have proposed that Shedeh was a pomegranate wine, while others, a grape wine. Presented here is the first ever analytical evidence of Shedeh's origin through the analysis of a sample of a residue from an extraordinarily well preserved Shedeh amphora from King Tutankhamun's collection. The previously developed LC/MS/MS wine markers method for archaeological samples was used and our results reveal Shedeh had a red grape origin.     

‘Everything is made of atoms’: the reprogramming of space and time in post-war London

From the middle of the Second World War until the early 1950s, architects, planners and designers in Britain made an unprecedented investment in reforming the built environment as a means to ensure a stable and secure post-war society. This essay considers the importance of movement, trajectory and repetition within this reconstruction vision and how the organisation of these things provided a basis for imagining a new form of consensual urban community. The essay begins by exploring how the County of London Plan (Abercrombie and Forshaw, 1943) and the Greater London Plan (Abercrombie, 1945) articulated a set of spatio-temporal logics, based on the prescribed trajectory of the individual embedded within a programme of quotidian repetitions. These logics suggested that urban space could be built to foreclose the possibility of historical conflict. The essay then explores the material design of two post-war exhibitions, Britain Can Make It (1946) and the Festival of Britain's South Bank Exhibition (1951), which offered visitors an experiential taster of what these new urban choreographies would feel like. To end, the essay explores the recurrent figure of the atom within post-war public pedagogy. Within this briefly ubiquitous mechanistic image lay an unacknowledged assurance about how hierarchical structures of movement and repetition sustained the material world, just as these things were being invoked to secure London's position across a range of scales from the local urban neighbourhood to the post-war Commonwealth.     

H. L. Hunley Revealed: documentation,deconcretion, and recent developments in the investigation of an American Civil War submarine from 1864

Since 2014, the conservation staff at Clemson University's Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston, South Carolina have been removing the concretion from the hull of H. L. Hunley, an American Civil War submarine lost 1864. In parallel, the archaeological team has been documenting the condition of the hull, the concretion layers, and the hull features revealed by the deconcretion process. This involved photography, direct measurements, and 3D scanning. This article will discuss the strategy for recording the concretion, the techniques used to document the newly revealed hull and its unique features, and the preliminary analysis of their archaeological significance.     

Short-chain n-alkanes (C16–20) in ancient soil are useful molecular markers for prehistoric biomass burning

The incorporation of plant biomass into soil usually leads to long-chain n-alkanes with a relative predominance of odd carbon numbered homologues. Contrastingly, an increase in short-chain even carbon numbered n-alkanes was found in charred biomass with progressing temperatures. We applied lipid analysis to buried ancient topsoils that contained charred organic matter and to corresponding control soils, which were characterized by a lighter color and lower contents of charred materials. Commonly, the proportion of lipid extracts was found to be lower in the ancient soil than in the control samples, which indicated an enhanced degradation of organic matter, e.g., by thermal degradation. All samples displayed a particular pattern of short-chain and even carbon numbered n-alkanes (maximum at n-C₁₆ or n-C₁₈). The ratios CPI (carbon preference index) and ACL (average chain length) for the investigated soil samples matched the ratios found for maize and rye straw charred at 400 °C or 500 °C, respectively. These molecular ratios indicate the presence of charred biomass. The predominance of short-chain and even carbon numbered n-alkanes was a result of thermal degradation of biomass. The degradation products were preserved in ancient soils and could be applied as molecular markers in archaeological or palaeoenvironmental research.     

Study of interactions between polyethylene glycol and archaeological wood components by C high-resolution solid-state CP-MAS NMR

While use of polyethylene glycols, PEG, polymers for archaeological wood conservation has been well established, there is almost no study of such composite materials with carbon thirteen high-resolution solid-sate NMR. We demonstrate that NMR is an useful analytical tool to characterize rapidly samples of conserved wooden objects. By choosing an appropriate value of the contact time (from 3 to 5 ms) for which the PEG component gives only a small residual NMR signal in the CP-MAS experiment, it is possible to edit selectively the spectra of the wood components. It allows one to visualize the degradation extent of the archaeological wood even when the conservation processes have been already applied. Moreover, by studying the kinetics of CP-MAS experiments, the time constants, T_1ρH and T_CH values for PEG moiety were computed. From these data, it is shown that either in the crude commercial product or in incorporated in archaeological woods, two components are present and they are the signatures of crystalline (or ordered) and amorphous (or disordered) molecular domains. Moreover, it was shown in the archaeological woods that almost 30% of PEG was in close molecular interactions with lignins. This study is the first evidence that the PEG in conserved wood can interact at a molecular level with wood components. It also demonstrates that the PEG diffuses inside the residual cell walls of archaeological wood. This data are important for scientists in charge of process development for the conservation of wooden artifacts.     

Mapping of the Buried Yarmouth Roads Wreck, Isle of Wight, UK, using a Chirp Sub-Bottom Profiler

Remains of the 16th-century Yarmouth Roads wreck, buried in sediments, were imaged using high-resolution geophysical techniques. The remains appear as strong reflectors underlain by an acoustic blanking zone, which was used to create maps of the wreck material. Close survey line-spacing allowed the construction of contour maps and hull sections, which revealed that the bow and stern sections are tilted to port at different angles, implying that they are detached. The seismic data have enhanced our understanding of the site beyond what was known from conventional archaeological investigations and confirms that this wreck was once a large carrack.
© 2007 The Authors     

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.     

Embodying the Colonial Encounter: Explaining New Zealand's ‘Grace Darling’, Huria Matenga

Focusing on the heroine of an 1863 New Zealand sea rescue, this article is concerned with gender, race and the colonial encounter. The rescue became an example of harmonious race relations, advocating Maori service as part of settler society governance. The article analyses Huria Matenga's place in the rescue as white settlers endorsed, rewarded and constructed her in relation to the imperial reference point of British heroine Grace Darling. It is argued that the gendered imperial narrative of Grace Darling combined with transcultural representations of women and the sea to accord Huria Matenga a central place in the rescue. While in the early twentieth century Grace Darling's memory was more entrenched in mainstream New Zealand society than Huria Matenga's, by the beginning of the twenty‐first century, Grace Darling as imperial signifier had disappeared, and the legend of Huria Matenga existed alone in a state of postcolonial irony. The article demonstrates that mythologies of and commemoration for heroines are constantly recast and operate across a complex network of local, national and transnational levels.     

The Ereğli E Shipwreck,Turkey: an early Hellenistic merchant ship in the Black Sea

A shipwreck from the early 3rd century BC was discovered in the Black Sea's suboxic depths off Ere?li, Turkey, during the 2011 E/V Nautilus expedition. Remote investigation revealed the trawl‐damaged remains of a merchant ship carrying multiple amphora types associated with Aegean and Pontic production areas. Also discovered were elements of the ship's hull that show evidence of both pegged mortise‐and‐tenon and laced construction. The wreck provides crucial archaeological evidence for both maritime connectivity and ship‐construction methods during a period of political and economic transition.     

Faunal remains from radiocarbon-dated soils within landslip debris from The Undercliff,Isle of Wight,Southern England

An examination of coastal sections of landslip material forming The Undercliff of the Isle of Wight has revealed the presence of buried soils, in places, within the debris. Critical sections at Binnel Point and St. Catherine's Point have been logged and the contained vertebrate and molluscan faunas analysed. The Mollusca from both sites are very similar and indicate a shaded environment, contrasting sharply with the immediate local environments today. The vertebrates, present only at Binnel Point, again suggest woodland. The presence of red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) and dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) is especially noteworthy constituting their earliest and only secure British fossil records respectively. Some marine shells (Patella, Gibbula) and remains of larger vertebrates (including red deer) possibly represent midden debris. Charcoal from the lower soil at Binnel Point yielded a radiocarbon date of 4480 ± 100 bp (BM-1737) indicating that at least some of the middens at Binnel date from the Neolithic, much earlier than previously demonstrated. The sections at St. Catherine's Point provided no evidence of human occupation but yielded two further radiocarbon dates of 4490 ± 40 bp (SRR-1813) and 3960 ± 50 bp (SRR-1947) from wood incorporated within the landslips. The significance of these dates in relation to the history of landslipping is discussed.     

Tikal timbers and temples: ancient Maya agroforestry and the end of time

Tikal, a major lowland Maya civic-ceremonial center in the heart of the Petén region of Central America, relied heavily on the adjacent lowland rainforest as a resource base for fuel and construction materials. In this study, we analyzed 135 wood samples from timbers used in the construction of all six of the city's major temples as well as two major palaces to determine which tree species were being exploited and to better understand ancient Maya agroforestry practices during the Late Classic period. We found evidence for a change in preference from the large-growing, upland forest species, Manilkara zapota, to a seasonal wetland species Haematoxylon campechianum in A.D. 741 as well as a decrease in lintel beam widths over time. Though M. zapota later returned as the wood species of choice in A.D. 810, beam widths were found to be significantly smaller. These findings concur with models that hypothesize widespread deforestation during the Late Classic period and indicate a declining forest resource base by the 9th century A.D. Because of the many large timbers available for temple construction in the 8th century, some system of forest conservation is indicated for the ancient Maya prior to the Late Classic period.     

A Bioarchaeological Investigation into the Human Remains Discovered in the Chloorkop Area,South Africa

In November 2008, human skeletal remains were discovered during construction works undertaken by Carlop Properties in the Chloorkop industrial area, Kempton Park, Gauteng. The Forensic Anthropology Unit of the University of Pretoria, Forensic Anthropology Research Centre (FARC) was notified, and rescue excavations of both the exposed and the undisturbed remains were undertaken. The skeletonised remains of at least 18 individuals were recovered and sent to the Department of Anatomy at the University of Pretoria for standard anthropological analysis. The identity and the time period of these human remains are unknown, and during social consultation, no relatives could be identified. Excavations revealed a formal burial pattern, which suggests a formal cemetery, probably associated with a historic institution. All individuals were buried in wooden coffins in an extended, supine position. The remains consist of both adult and juvenile remains. Some of the remains were found in a commingled state because of disturbance caused by construction work. The minimum number of individuals was determined by the visual pair matching of skeletal elements on the basis of similarities observed in bone morphology, age and sex, trauma and pathology and taphonomic alterations. Bioarchaeological techniques were used, and the following results were obtained. Of the 18 individuals, at least 15 were identified to be males, one possibly female and two juveniles. At least five of the adult male individuals presented with cut marks associated with standard autopsy procedures. No reference to the individuals' identity or to the context of the cemetery within the historical span of the Chloorkop area has been located. However, the burial pattern observed, as well as the demographic profile and pathology observed on the skeletal remains, suggests that these individuals could be linked to the Klipfontein Organic Products Factory (ca 1941s–1970s), which employed many migrant labourers, most to whom lived in compounds on the factory premises. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Maʻagan Mikhael B,Israel: a preliminary report of a Late Byzantine–Early Islamic period shipwreck

The Ma?agan Mikhael B shipwreck was found in 1.5m of water, beneath 1.5m of sand, 70m off the Mediterranean coast of Israel. The hull remains are in a good state of preservation, comprising the endposts, aprons, framing timbers, hull planks, stringers, and bulkheads. The finds comprise rigging elements, wooden artefacts, organic finds, animal bones, glassware, coins, bricks, stones, ceramic sherds, and complete amphoras. The shipwreck was dated to the 7th–8th centuries AD; which makes it an exceptional source of information regarding various aspects of ship construction, seamanship, and seafaring in the area in Late Antiquity.     

Performance evaluation of a multi-image 3D reconstruction software on a low-feature artefact

Nowadays, multi-image 3D reconstruction is an active research field and a number of commercial and free software tools have been already made available to the public. These provide methods for the 3D reconstruction of real world objects by matching feature points and retrieving depth information from a set of unordered digital images. This is achieved by exploiting computer vision algorithms such as Structure-From-Motion (SFM) and Dense Multi-View 3D Reconstruction (DMVR). In this work, we evaluate the performance of a low-cost commercial SFM–DMVR software by digitising a Cycladic woman figurine. Although the surface properties of the specific artefact are considered 3D laser scanner friendly, its almost featureless white-grey surface composes a challenging digitisation candidate for image based methodologies as no strong feature points are available. We quantify the quality of the 3D data produced by the SFM–DMVR software in relation to the data produced by a high accuracy 3D laser scanner in terms of surface deviation and topological errors. We question the applicability and efficiency of two digitisation pipelines (SFM–DMVR and laser scanner) in relation to hardware requirements, background knowledge and man-hours. This is achieved by producing a complete 3D digital replica of the Cycladic artefact by following both pipelines.     

The IJsselcog project: from excavation to 3D reconstruction

The 15th‐century IJsselcog was lifted in 2016 from the river IJssel near Kampen (the Netherlands). From stern to bow and from starboard to portside about 70% of the original wooden hull is preserved. The combined approach of analogue documentation and photogrammetry enabled the research team to reconstruct the original ship in 2D and 3D, followed by a comprehensive study of its nautical characteristics. The hull volume and height were maximized by the shipbuilders using previously unknown construction elements in cogs, such as wales and vertical riders; shipbuilding traits that are generally applied to 16th‐ and 17th‐century carvel‐built cargo ships.