Recovery of a lost wall painting at the Etruscan Tomb of the Blue Demons in Tarquinia (Viterbo,Italy) by multispectral reflectometry and UV fluorescence imaging

This paper presents the results of a multispectral reflectometry and ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence study on the entrance wall of the Tomb of the Blue Demons in the Necropolis of Monterozzi (450–430 bc ) in Tarquinia (Viterbo, Italy), which is a UNESCO site. The technique is based on the acquisition of a multispectral set ranging from 10 to 25 images, acquired at wavelengths between 370 and 1120 nm, with a spectral width of 50 nm per image, using both halogen lamps for visible and infrared images and high‐purity UV diodes for fluorescence. Blind‐source separation algorithms were then applied to the whole image set to extract from the resulting images the details not otherwise visible in the single spectral images. The multispectral technique presented was tested and improved upon over the last decade on ancient Etruscan and Roman wall paintings and, because of its quickness and cost‐effectiveness, it can now be proposed as a powerful tool for the study of poorly conserved archaeological wall paintings and a preliminary diagnostic survey before any future conservation intervention on them.     

Dative for Accusative Case Interchange in Epistolary Formulas in Greek Papyrus Letters

Greek papyrus letters preserve not only instances of the replacement of the dative case; they also show the use of the dative instead of the accusative case as direct object and disjoint infinitival subject. This interchange is mostly found in epistolary phrases, namely the salutation formula (?σπ?ζομα? σε) and the initial (ε?χομα? σε ?για?νειν) and final (?ρρ?σθα? σε ε?χομαι) health wishes. The phonetic similarity of the pronouns might have created the circumstances for case confusion. Contamination of the constructions reflects the difficulties of the scribes to construct conservative epistolary phrases and, thereby, diachronic phraseological variation might reflect language change. In salutation formulas, the use of a dative Addressee could be explained by analogical overextension from the category of communication verbs taking a dative complement. The decline of the accusative and infinitive construction might be one of the reasons why the accusative disjoint infinitival subject is replaced by the dative case in health wishes.     

论纸莎草纸的兴衰及其历史影响

纸莎草纸的出现是一种进步,表明了人类利用自然之赐,探索新的书写材料的创造力。但纸莎草纸也具有自身不可克服的诸多局限性,其最终被羊皮纸和纸所代替,更是一种历史的必然和进步。然而,纸莎草纸毕竟曾经是多达六种语言文字符号的载体,记录了包括古埃及、古希腊、古罗马和阿拉伯帝国弥足珍贵的历史信息,从而使其成为人类历史上最早的、应用时间最长的、最重要的纸质传播媒介。因此,无论是研究近东和欧洲古代文明史,还是研究人类传播媒介史,都离不开对纸莎草纸及其所承载的文献进行的研究,它是古代文明留给后人的一笔宝贵的文化遗产。     

First ancient bovine DNA evidence from India: difficult but not impossible

Ancient DNA isolation from the tropical countries has been shown to be very difficult in the past. Here for the first time we have been successful in isolating ancient DNA from Indian cattle samples. We were able to obtain DNA and sequence the partial mitochondrial D-loop in 3 of the 15 bovine fossil samples ranging in age from 2000 BC to 1000 AD, and were able to further identify the most recent sample as being of Bos indicus origin. Our results on ancient DNA extraction from India will encourage other researchers in this field to carry out further studies of ancient DNA from Indian bovine samples. Our results represent the first successful extraction and amplification of bovine ancient DNA from India, and thus may pave the road for a better understanding of demographic and historical processes of cattle domestication that has taken place in this region.     

Characterisation of the pigments in a Ptolemaic Egyptian <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Book of the Dead</Emphasis> papyrus

A relevant subject of study in the sphere of ancient Egyptian painting technology is given by the evolution of the palette across New Kingdom, Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Functionally to secondary factors such as geographic occurrence of minerals and type of associated surface, the employment of certain painting materials provides relevant insights into particular issues such as relative dating of the object and social rank of the owner. The Book of the Dead of Amenemhet (ROM 978 × 43.1, middle Ptolemaic Period) has been analysed at the Department of Restoration and Conservation of Archivals, Graphics and Book Illumination of the Cologne Institute of Conservation Sciences (Germany). Together with visible reflectance spectroscopy, digital and optical microscopy, devices such as XRD, SEM-EDX and FT-IR have been successfully employed for the characterization of the pigments from the polychrome funerary papyrus displayed at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (Canada). The present research took place within a series of investigations performed at the CICS, devoted to the interdisciplinary study of funerary Egyptian papyri dating from the early 18th Dynasty onwards.     

Mold-deteriorated archaeological Egyptian papyri: Biodeteriogens,monitoring the deterioration,and treatment approach

Fungi play a critical role in the deterioration of ancient papyri due to their organic and hygroscopic nature. Fourteen fungal species belonging to five genera—Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Penicillium, Talaromyces, and Ulocladium—were isolated and identified from 20 Egyptian papyrus artifacts located at the Grand Egyptian Museum—Conservation Center (GEM-CC). The biodeterioration mechanism was evaluated by two analyses: cellulase enzyme activity and acid production assay. The isolated fungus P. lanosum showed potent biodeterioration power as it exhibited the highest enzymatic activity and could produce acid as well. Four different analyses were performed to assess the entity of the biodeterioration phenomenon: scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, colorimetry, and pH measurements. The analyses demonstrated considerable changes in surface morphology, chemical structure (mainly represented by oxidation and hydrolysis of infected papyrus samples), darkness of the papyrus samples (ΔE 3.84–7.33), and pH (which dropped to 5.2 in the case of A. niger-infected sample. This article builds a preliminary perception for monitoring the biodeterioration of archaeological papyri and a trial for in vitro treatment to prevent further degradation, which may lead to loss of our valuable artifacts over a prolonged period.     

Neutron tomography for the assessment of consolidant impregnation efficiency in Portuguese glazed tiles (16th and 18th centuries)

Neutron tomography (NT) has been applied to visualize the inner structure of ancient Portuguese glazed tiles undergoing conservation treatments. Neutrons have the advantage of interacting strongly with hydrogen, so NT is able to map hydrogenous compounds with high sensitivity. The present study explores its potential for assessing the distribution of the consolidant Paraloid B-72 inside tiles, to evaluate the efficiency of two different methods of treatment: brushing and immersion in solution. Using a prototype NT setup at the Reactor Português de Investigação (Sacavém, Portugal), each two-dimensional image is obtained from a 90 s exposure, at a thermal neutron flux of 2 × 10⁵ n cm⁻² s⁻¹ at the irradiation site. The neutron beam has a diameter of 5 cm, so fragments with outer dimensions up to 4.8 cm can be inspected. Samples are automatically rotated by an angle of 0.9° between successive images. Images were obtained before and after the application of the consolidant. The results obtained show that: (i) NT is a useful tool for visualization of the inner structure of ancient glazed tiles, and to assess penetration depth of consolidant and its distribution inside the tile; and (ii) brushing with 10% Paraloid^® B-72 in acetone solution appears to be more efficient than immersion. Neutron tomography showed a greater and more uniform retention of resin inside the tile if the brush is used to apply the consolidant, to increase the cohesion of the object.     

A New Demosthenes Fragment From Kellis

This article presents the first edition of a fourth-century CE papyrus from Ismant el-Kharab (ancient Kellis) presenting Demosthenes’ De Corona 82-83 and 84-85.     

Self-reflection,Egyptian Beliefs,Scythians and “Greek Ideas”: Reconsidering Greeks and Barbarians in Herodotus1

This article addresses the debate between Afrocentrists like Martin Bernal and classical scholars such as Mary Lefkowitz and Robert Palter concerning the origins of ancient Greek civilization. Focusing on the first half of Herodotus’ Histories, I argue that, although Greek cultural developments can be attributed to the Greeks themselves, Herodotus indicates that the conditions that made these developments possible were due to the prior Greek absorption of important aspects of Egyptian religion. Herodotus shows that the Greeks learned from the Egyptians to individualize their gods and to appreciate the humanity of women. This Egyptian influence, Herodotus suggests, is what allowed the Greeks, in contrast to the Scythians, to become an object to themselves within the context of stable city life. I conclude that this habit of self-reflection is the source of the uniquely Greek contribution to the art, philosophy, science and politics of the West.     

Chemical,elemental, and isotopic effects of acid concentration and treatment duration on ancient bone collagen: an exploratory study

Demineralization of bone for collagen extraction is most commonly performed using dilute hydrochloric acid (HCl) despite the fact that little data exists on the effects of differing acid concentration or treatment time on the quantity and quality of collagen extracts and that hydrochloric acid is extremely effective at hydrolyzing peptide bonds. Data on yield, elemental composition, and isotopic signature from bone collagen obtained from multiple extractions performed on two large ancient human bone samples from prehistoric Puerto Rico indicate that there is no meaningful difference between acid treatments ranging from 0.05 to 0.2 M concentration and 24–120 h of treatment. As such, a shorter course of demineralization using more concentrated acid would appear to produce quality results in a shorter time.     

古埃及人的数学成就

古埃及文明的重要成就之一就是科学技术发明 ,其中数学成就引人注目。从保留下来的纸草文献中 ,我们可以了解到古埃及人的数学知识相当丰富 ,他们的数学知识包括算术、代数和几何三个方面。古埃及人的数学产生于生活和实践 ,并广泛应用于生产实践 ,取得了辉煌的成就 ,对人类文明做出了重要贡献。     

The Greek Communist Party (KKE) and the Greek-Italian War, 1940–1: an Analysis of Zahariadis' Three Letters

Abstract

An analysis of the position of the Greek Communist Party (KKE) during the Greek-Italian war is interesting not only because it involves a hitherto unsolved puzzle – how and why the KKE's General Secretary, Nikos Zahariadis, wrote his ‘three letters’ – but also because, it involves background factors that help explain how the KKE emerged, during the occupation period, in possession of an invaluably useful ‘patriotic’ image. Such an image, obtained from Zahariadis' ‘first’ letter, undeniably facilitated the party's successful efforts to build up the country's largest liberation movement (EAM) and, through this movement, to come close to capturing power during the years 1943–4.     

气候对中国古代塔砖材料性能劣化影响的研究

在气候影响下,塔砖材料性能的劣化加剧了中国古塔结构的损伤,减少了古塔的结构寿命。为此,课题选择两个极具代表性的中国古代砖塔—1500年历史的嵩岳寺塔和1200年历史的法王寺塔进行同一性研究,欲证明两塔在地理位置、环境气候、形制、塔体古砖制造原料和制造工艺等方面均具有很强的相似性和同一性。采用X射线荧光光谱法分析了两塔塔砖的材料成分,采用压汞法对两塔塔砖材料的孔隙率、孔隙结构和孔隙分布特征进行了实验。两塔塔砖材料实验结果的差异证明:在公元5世纪到公元8世纪的300年气候影响下(该气候为自然营力而非实验室人工模拟),塔砖材料孔隙率的增大是导致中国古代塔砖性能劣化的主要原因,大约30%左右的孔隙从小于1000nm孔径发展扩大到10000～50000nm孔径是塔砖材料孔隙率增大的主要表现形式。因此,预防小孔径孔隙(小于1000nm)在气候影响下发展扩大的防治措施应该成为中国古代砖塔保护工作的研究重点。同时,对因塔砖材料性能劣化而产生的古塔塔体的表观特征进行了分析,分析结果有利于中国古代砖塔的保护。     

Topographical evolution and C age dating of the construction of the Eurimji reservoir (Jecheon,Korea)

The Eurimji site in Jecheon City, Chungcheong Province holds major importance for Korean cultural heritage because it is assumed to be the oldest man-made reservoir for rice field irrigation in Korea. A multiproxy study provides the first scientific dating of the levee construction. The authors retrieved two sediment cores from the levee (core ER-1, 18.00 m long) and the reservoir bottom (core ER-3-1, 6.98 m long). Several plant fragment layers were observed between layers of dark gray clay–silt sediment in unit 2 of both cores. The spacing and thickness of these plant layers was relatively uniform (from 50 to 90 cm, and 5 to 6 cm, respectively). These features are interpreted to represent part of a man-made sedimentary sequence created using the consolidation-settlement drain method (tamped-earth or rammed-earth method) commonly used for dam or fortress construction in ancient times, as the features are not characteristic of natural river sedimentary processes. In this alternating sequence, bulk carbon from the sediment yielded AMS ¹⁴C dates of 2000–1400 ¹⁴C yr BP, and the plant materials yielded dates of 1300–1200 ¹⁴C yr BP. If workers at that time used two different materials such as available plant materials and clays for levee construction, the plant material is preferred for ¹⁴C age dating. This is because the origin of the carbon in the sediments is ambiguous, but the source of the plant materials has been confidently determined to be equivalent to the time of the levee construction. Therefore, the levee was constructed between 1200 and 1100 ¹⁴C yr BP (AD 800–900), which is later than previously thought (i.e., AD 300 or AD 550). The results of our study also indicate that wetlands existed in the area before the construction of the Eurimji levee.     

Antifungal activity of some plant extracts and essential oils against fungi-infested organic archaeological artefacts

The determination of the antifungal activities of nine kinds of powdered plant extracts and five essential oils was studied in vitro against four of the most common fungal species (Aspergillus flavus, A. versicolor, Penicillium sp. and P. purpurogenum), which were isolated from different organic materials from archaeological artefacts such as papyrus and linen. The essential oils showed greater efficacy than the powdered plant extracts, where thyme and lemongrass oils were the most potent. Also, the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum fungicidal concentration of these oils were determined. Furthermore, their chemical components were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. In vivo, studies were performed using biodeteriorated samples for applying treatment, in which the microbiological test revealed that both oils can eradicate both tested fungi completely after exposure time, ranging from two weeks for papyrus samples to 14 weeks for linen. A scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and colorimeter were used to assess the treatment process, leading to the final results, which suggest that the essential oils could be useful sources of fungicidal preparations for the disinfection of biodeteriorated linen and papyrus artefacts. Nevertheless, further studies are strongly recommended to introduce these sources into practical use in preventive conservation.     

Literacy in the Byzantine World

Abstract

The historian Nicephorus Gregoras, writing of the Patriarch Athanasios I, dismisses him scathingly as <inline-graphic href="splitsection4_in1.tif"/><inline-graphic href="splitsection4_in2.tif"/>. Yet we know that Athanasius, who came from the countryside near Adrianople, was reading the Lives of Saints before the age of twelve. And his surviving writings—homilies, encyclicals, canonical decisions, letters, etc.—fill the 204 folios of codex Vaticanus graecus 2219. Most of these writings still await publication. But the recent edition by Mrs. Alice-Mary Talbot of 115 of Athanasios' letters shows that he wrote fluent literary Kaine Greek, without the archaizing affectations of Byzantine Atticism and with occasional voluntary or involuntary lapses into the spoken language of his time. He was no stylist: for him it was the matter, not the manner, that counted. He had little acquaintance with classical Greek literature. But in addition to the Scriptures, which he constantly quotes, he was familiar with the more widely read works of the fourth-century fathers, knew the basic texts of civil and canon law, and could quote the Epanagoge. Clearly he was no illiterate, but a professional user of the written word.