STONE AXES OF THE CHANNEL ISLANDS: NEOLITHIC EXCHANGE IN AN INSULAR CONTEXT

Summary. The petrology of stone axes found in the Channel Islands is examined. Recent research has resulted in the identification of an axe production centre at Le Pinacle, Jersey, and axes produced there have been recorded on Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. The Channel Island assemblages also include axes of Type A dolerite, flint, jadeite, eclogite and fibrolite, produced at known centres on the European mainland: together, these 'exotic' axes account for around 32% of the total Channel Island sample. A marked fall-off is noted between Jersey and the other islands in terms of the occurrence of these imported axes, and this can perhaps be explained in relation to factors affecting navigation. The social significance of inter-island and island/mainland interaction is explored.     

浙北土墩墓遥感考古研究

环太湖地区包括浙北地区是我国长江流域重要的古文化遗存分布区,仅浙北地区的土墩墓就有上万个。近四年来的遥感考古工作,已获得不少关于土墩墓的影象特征和土墩墓分布规律等的研究成果。航空遥感照片上的土墩墓的影象大小、色调、灰度、形态等是土墩墓解译的基本依据;同时影象所在的地貌部位,海拔高度是土墩墓解译的重要参考依据。浙北土墩墓主要集中在长兴和安吉两县,湖州市郊的西部也有较多分布,而德清和余杭土墩墓较少。浙北土墩墓的分布类型有山脊型、山麓型和平原高地型;浙北土墩墓就形态而言,有卵圆形、圆形;面积也有大中小之分,大者底径可达50余米,小者仅3-5米;另外就土墩墓的组合而言,有串珠型、集群型和离散型。土墩墓集中分布在海拔50-200米的丘陵缓坡上,海拔略高的平原岗地上也有较多分布,这种分布特征与古地理环境是有联系的,从一个侧面反映了古地理环境特征。     

石文化之旅

从古至今,石与人类文明的发展密不可分.人类文化中,石文化作为最古老的文化之一,与人类一起经历了旧石器时代、新石器时代、夏、商、周……直到今天.石见证着人类文明的发展历程,见证着大自然的变化万千.     

河北井陉石头村 倾听坚硬的低吟浅唱

<正>千姿百态的石头文化,淳朴深厚的民俗风情,这就是于家石头村的美妙。"东阁西塞南洞北寨面面皆有古景点,春游夏游秋览冬赏季季都是好风光"便是对石头村的最佳描述!于家石头村,位于河北省石家庄市井陉县中西部,太行山麓一个四面环山的小盆地中,面积约10平方公里,400多户,1600多口人,是于家乡     

深峡庇佑玫瑰城

一座玫瑰红的城市,其历史有人类历史的一半。     

OPTICAL DATING OF GRANITIC STONE SURFACES*

A novel luminescence methodology for dating surfaces of granitoid rocks is presented, with encouraging results for archaeological stone structures. It is based on the zeroing of the latent signal of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) in feldspar and quartz grains of the stone surface during exposure to daylight. When after bleaching the surface is shielded from light, the OSL signal builds up again, such that its intensity provides an age for the event of the last exposure to light. This event could be the construction or the destruction of stone structures or, for example, sedimentary deposition of granitic boulders, such as in fan deposits. The experimental approach utilizes a high spatial resolution detection technique (HR‐OSL) for OSL of minerals that are left in their original petrological context; that is, without any mineral separation. With this approach, steep gradients in microdosimetry at the surface and at grain boundaries become important and are discussed in detail. The new dating technique is successfully applied to a stone wall of the medieval castle of Lindenfels in southwestern Germany and the pre‐Columbian Nasca lines (geoglyphs) around Palpa in southern Peru.     

窥视北美

可以旅行到美国了,加拿大也在争当下一站。北美洲,这片土地,我们了解得很多,不了解的更多。一位作家、一个乐队,就当是开启的小窗户吧。     

AN INVESTIGATION OF STONE CARVINGS IN THE SAMYE MONASTERY

<正>The fame of the Samye Monastery is unique in the history of Tibetan Buddhism.This monastery, dedicated to the Three Precious Ones(Buddha,Dharma and Sangha),w...     

NEOLITHIC AXES FROM ROMAN SITES IN BRITAIN

Finds of Neolithic axes are usually regarded primarily as evidence for Neolithic occupation in the area of the findspot. Neolithic axes from Roman contexts are also usually regarded in this way, often being classed as residual material. However, a study of axes from Roman sites in Britain has shown that they may well have been deliberately collected, in the Roman period, for religious or superstitious reasons. Many have been found on sites of a religious nature (an aspect well documented for temple sites on the Continent) and the beliefs associated with such axes may have been widespread.     

MICROCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF BUILDING STONE FROM SEVILLE CATHEDRAL,SPAIN

Enrichment diagrams for trace elements have been proposed as a useful and straightforward procedure to identify ores and stones. The identification of the diverse stone of the exterior of the Cathedral of Seville has been achieved by this means. Fourteen trace elements have been analysed, from both quarry and building material samples, using atomic absorption and flame emission spectrometry in order to apply enrichment diagrams for identification purposes.     

PROVENANCE OF PUMICES IN THE NORTH COAST OF CYPRUS

With the aim of establishing the provenance of pumices along the North Coast of Cyprus, from Morphou to Kormakiti, chemical analysis, refractive indices determinations and mineralogical examination have been performed. On the basis of the experimental data the pumices can be distinguished into two groups. For the first one a provenance from Santorini can be established, for the second Yali, Kos and Milos can be taken into consideration as source localities.     

DISAPPEARING OF GREEK'S LEGEND IN NORTH EAST OF IRAN

Introduction Achaemenian who introduced Iranian抯the currency4 system, urprisingly, they did not engrave any legends on their imperial issues. The satrapies issues silver specimens, concerning with legends of local official policy. When Alexander invaded …     

ANALYSIS OF LATE BRONZE AGE GLASS AXES FROM NIPPUR—A NEW COBALT COLOURANT

A multidisciplinary study of a unique group of Late Bronze Age (LBA) ceremonial glass axe heads and other artefacts shows that these are the first significant group of glasses coloured with cobalt to be identified from the Near East. The axes were excavated from the site of Nippur, in present‐day Iraq. Several are incised with the names of three kings, which dates the material to the 14th–13th centuries bc . Analysis by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA–ICPMS) indicates that the glass had high magnesia (MgO) and potash (K₂O) associated with a plant‐ash flux and was coloured blue by copper or a combination of copper and cobalt. These glasses are similar, but not identical, in major element composition to blue‐coloured glasses manufactured in ancient Egypt and elsewhere in Mesopotamia in the same period. However, the Nippur cobalt‐ and copper‐coloured glasses exhibit significantly different trace elemental compositions compared to Egyptian glass coloured with cobalt, showing that the ancient Near Eastern glassmakers had clearly identified and utilized a distinctive cobalt ore source for the colouring of this glass. Since it was previously thought that the only cobalt ores exploited in the LBA were exclusively of Egyptian origin, this new finding provides new insights on the origins of glass and how it was traded during the Bronze Age period.     

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF STONE ARTEFACT MATERIALS AND THE EFFECT OF HEAT TREATMENT*

Mechanical testing of lithologies used for stone tool manufacture has shown that fracture toughness is the most objective measure of the quality of raw materials shaped by either flaking or pecking/grinding. Materials amenable to pressure flaking and blade manufacture have low values of fracture toughness, whereas those shaped by pecking/grinding have high values. The fracture toughness test is also the most definitive for quantifying the improvement in flaking properties of materials subjected to intentional heat treatment. Cryptocrystalline and macrocrystalline siliceous lithologies demonstrate a well-defined, gradual reduction in fracture toughness with increased temperature. When heated to optimum temperatures, their fracture toughness approaches that of obsidian, the lithology generally regarded as having the best flaking properties.     

THE EFFECT OF SALTS ON THERMAL AND HYDRIC DILATATION OF POROUS BUILDING STONE*

Fifteen desalinated sandstone drill core samples from Umm Ishrin Sandstone Formation in Petra (Cambrian age) were used for this study. The samples were mineralogically analysed using X‐ray diffraction and their physical properties were also determined. Samples with similar physical properties and mineralogical composition were taken for further experimental work. After desalination, thermal and hydric dilatation coefficients were measured, then three types of salts (NaCl, KCl and Na₂SO₄·10H₂O), which have high solubility and consequently are the most dangerous to building stone (and are also detected in the sandstone monuments in Petra), were introduced into the samples and their contents were calculated. The results show that salt crystallization in the pores of building stones can increase their thermal dilatation and decrease their hydric dilatation to varying extents, depending on the nature of the salt. The average increase in the thermal dilatation coefficient per unit mass of salt is the lowest for the Na₂SO₄·10H₂O‐salted samples with a value of 5.3%, while the NaCl‐salted samples have the highest value with 7.8% per salt mass. The average percentage of the decrease of the hydric dilatation coefficient is 1061% for Na₂SO₄·10H₂O‐salted samples per mass of salt content; the NaCl‐salted samples have a value of 1510% per mass of salt content, and the KCl‐salted samples almost the same value. For the salt‐free samples, it was found that in climatic conditions with a high temperature range, the deterioration of sandstone due to temperature fluctuation is more effective than that caused by change in the moisture content, while samples with high salt content suffer more from hydric dilatation.