The reburial of mosaics: an overview of materials and practice

Abstract

A significant proportion of the literature on the reburial of archaeological sites concerns mosaics. These publications reveal that a variety of materials have been used for mosaic reburial, including specialized fill and separation layers, from the early 1980s onwards. Although reburial practice often demonstrates an ad hoc and indiscriminate use of fill and separation materials, or the following of trends and anecdotal information favouring certain materials, knowledge of their characteristics is very important in developing an appropriate technical design for reburial of mosaics. The materials most commonly employed in mosaic reburial practice, including geotextiles, are reviewed and an assessment of their positive and negative characteristics within a reburial design is provided. Recent but limited laboratory and field testing, monitoring and evaluation of reburial interventions have begun to provide preliminary evidence about the behaviour of these materials, indicating which ones are most appropriate and how they should be utilized to best advantage. However, their selection and use remains uneven, and positive results continue to be as much a function of adequate maintenance as proper design and execution.     

Bone diagenesis: an overview of processes

This overview is a summary of the state of understanding of processes and states in bone diagenesis, as seen from a chemical perspective. It deals with the significance and usefulness of the measurements of ‘diagenetic parameters’—that is, of measures of diagenetic alteration—and of the theories of physico–chemical processes which are considered to underlie the measured changes. In many ways these two aspects are seen to come together quite well, and some progress has been made in relating different burial environments to the observations of alteration. Such a framework also allows us to ask more penetrating questions, such as how characteristic differences in diagenetic alteration might arise, and how the pre–burial environment might influence the eventual course of diagenesis.     

The public and private history of eugenics: an introduction

Inspired by our experience addressing the legacy of eugenics at California State University, Sacramento, this special issue presents an array of articles representative of diverse approaches to the historical investigation of eugenics. This article provides an introduction to the history of eugenics and explores the ways in which public history is particularly well suited to shape the historical memory of eugenics and encourage dialogue about contemporary biotechnologies.     

罗马帝国时期石头彩饰概述

直到近些年来系统的研究才使人们对罗马帝国时期雕塑上的色彩装饰及其技术有了一定的了解。仔细的分析使一些著名艺术品的色彩得以重现。比如现存于梵蒂冈博物馆的AugustusofPrimaPorta雕像以及the marble revetment of the end wall of the so-called Aula del Colosso in the Augustus Forum in Rome。现在对和平祭坛博物馆颜料的研究也在进行之中。在这个纪念碑中,色彩并不是完全按照现实的方式来标志被塑形象的地位或者来强调救济的政治信息的。不过这并不是一个大致的结论,因为同时代的其他雕塑如在哥本哈根的嘉士伯艺术博物馆里的卡里古拉大帝的肖像,则将注意力更多的放在了色彩的自然效果上。许多有趣的新发现同样来源于对大理石上装饰的关注。在古希腊时代有三种流行的装饰曾经被用到过（尽管在后帝国时期我们可以鉴别出更多的类型和简约化的风格）,尤其是在丧葬礼上。在这个领域,在激光的帮助下,新的保护技术使得重要的发现变成可能。从技术的角度来看有机颜料的重要性比如紫胶染料和湛蓝染料——变得越来越相关。紫色的应用只在亚马逊人的石棺（佛罗伦萨国家博物馆中的公元前四世纪的一个伊特拉斯堪人的石棺）中被发现过。粘合剂知识的进展也同样被关注。以后有必要详细制定一些关于分析和公布结果的标准程序来增加对比以及统计处理的可能性。     

An overview of recent research on modern Chinese economic history

China formally adopted the policy of reform and opening up to the outside world in 1978. Since then, both economic practice and economic theory in China have undergone profound changes, and the academic study of modern Chinese economic history has been encouraged to expand its research horizons under the rubric of “liberating the mind and seeking truth in the facts”. A number of important monographs and essays have been produced and the study of modern Chinese economic history has entered a flourishing period. Current research focuses on two major topics: China's New Democratic economy and the planned economy during the period 1949–78; and, China's socialist market economy from 1978–2006. The study of these two areas shows numerous interconnections, points of comparison and causal links. The many and important lessons to be drawn from these studies both exhibit Chinese characteristics and have universal implications.     

The Perthes geographical archive: an unplumbed resource for the history of geography

Abstract

Starting with the Kondratieff waves, about 57 years in duration, now recognised in the capitalist economy, Schumpeter's insight that each starting point of a Kondratieff wave coincides with a new technology or progress in industrial organisation is discussed. Furthermore, each new wave has been characterised by transport developments, which in their turn shaped urban growth, leading recently, for example, to deconcentration of cities. The rapid growth of telecommunications technology for the information economy has allowed telecommuting, so far to only a limited extent, and will affect the future of all grades of cities, from capitals to provincial and regional conurbations, as the economy adapts to the international age.     

The global history of rabies and the historian's gaze: an essay review

In reviewing three recent books on the history of rabies (hydrophobia), this essay explores ways in which historians can frame, or figure, global histories of this ancient and still-dreaded disease, focusing especially on problems of place, time, and agency.     

Pre-1949 Chinese IR: an occluded history

Chinese scholars have achieved a comprehensive consensus on the disciplinary history of International Relations (IR) in China. However, this collective understanding of the evolution of Chinese IR is problematic because it denies the existence of pre-1949 Chinese IR and mistakenly sets the starting point of Chinese IR to be the mid 1960s, thus providing a progressive image of the IR discipline in China which is historically untenable. This essay rectifies this misunderstanding by reconstructing the history of Chinese IR before 1949. It verifies the existence of pre-1949 Chinese IR by reviewing the IR-relevant institutional setting in Chinese universities before 1949 and comparing the situation before 1949 with that in the mid 1960s, when the three IR departments were established. Further, the essay tentatively explains why pre-1949 Chinese IR has disappeared in the mainstream discourse of the history of Chinese IR. It argues that the interruption of the evolution of IR in China in the early 1950s and the specific power–knowledge interaction mode established in Chinese IR in the late 1950s are the two main causes responsible for the absence of pre-1949 Chinese IR in the history of the IR discipline in China.     

Three head injuries: the Biblical account of the deaths of Sisera, Abimelech and Goliath

Three head injuries are described in the Bible: the death of Sisera at the hands of Jael, the skull fractures inflicted on Abimelech near the walls of Thebez, and the slaying of Goliath by David. The various attempts to understand the mechanisms of these head injuries are reviewed. We shall try to identify the site of the mortal blow on Sisera's head, to understand why Abimelech, still conscious, asked to die, and to clarify whether the Philistine giant from Gat was a rugged warrior or just an endocrinological cripple.