Medieval shipbuilding in Catalonia,Spain (13th–15th centuries): one principle,different processes

Late medieval shipbuilding in Catalonia followed the Mediterranean trend in adopting a frame‐first shipbuilding principle with planking placed edge‐to‐edge. The predetermination of frame shapes using moulds had modified the construction process, as seen in the 11th‐century Serçe Liman? vessel with the use of a series of moulds, and 13th‐century Culip VI, with the use of a master mould, rising square and rule. Between the 13th and 15th centuries all known Mediterranean shipwrecks were built using the master‐mould method, but other factors caused variation in the construction process—not the principle—as exemplified by the 14th‐century Les Sorres X built with two overlain keel timbers.     

Land selection for irrigation in Al-Andalus,Spain (8th century a.d.)

Abstract

The Andalusi hydraulic systems of the Iberian Peninsula, constructed by Arabs and Berbers between a.d. 711 and the feudal conquest of Al-Andalus (11–15th centuries a.d.), are today among the most productive agricultural areas in Europe. Their current extension is the result of several enlargements made to the original Andalusi design, irrigating lands initially rejected by the first builders. Understanding the reasons that led Arabs and Berbers to select or reject lands for irrigation is essential for documenting the formation processes of these agricultural areas. Here the topic is approached using the hydraulic system of Ricote (Murcia, Spain) as a case study. Through hydraulic archaeology, excavations, and GIS, it is shown that deep, flat, well-insolated (i.e., exposed to sunlight), slightly saline, colluvial soils were preferred for irrigation while slopes, shady areas, floodplains, and highly saline soils were rejected. Optimizing the water supply for irrigation was not a top priority. The results highlight the need to consider topographical features when studying how past agrarian societies introduced irrigated agriculture to new environments.     

泾、浜发展与吴淞江流域的圩田水利(9-15世纪)

自宋代的塘浦系统开始瓦解以来,吴淞江流域的泾浜体系开始发展。泾浜水系和以后溇的出现,基本上人为形成的。在不断的历史发展中,泾浜体系形成具有干枝结构的网状水系,这种结构非常稳定地存在了近500年。这种结构下的圩田水利模式一般是小圩模式。在冈身感潮地区,泾浜体系比较密集,且末端水系有弯曲化现象;在低地地区,为了排水的方便,河道的干枝体系较为顺直。在这种体系下,治水必须与治田相结合。到后期,随着圩田治理的深化,进一步出现了称为溇的末端水系。     

A graph-based analysis for generating geographical context from a historical cadastre in Spain (17th and 18th centuries)

Abstract

The cabreves are notarial documents prepared between the 13th and 19th centuries in the Catalan and Valencian regions of Spain. These historical records were published before the first cadastral maps and contain geographical information that could help spatially reconstruct historical landscapes. However, these documents have not been used to their full potential mainly because of their semi-structured and complex nature. In this article, we propose a new graph-based interactive methodology for partially reconstructing historical landscapes. We have successfully applied this methodology for reconstructing the historical landscape of the Barony of Sella in the 18th century and the methodology has also helped us locate “El Poblet,” a previously unknown archeological site abandoned after the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609.     

15-16世纪欧洲集市的转变——以尼德兰集市为例

在中世纪欧洲商业复兴的背景下,城市的政策是促进集市繁荣并向交易所转变的重要原因。城市当局保障各地商人享有平等的经商权利,建立相关的法律制度并使之不断完善,在生活和宗教活动等方面提供方便,以此吸引国内和外国商人。近代领土国家和中央政府的形成进一步促进了商业制度的成熟。地方政府和法庭为商业发展制定的政策较国家政策更加细致,在集市向交易所转变过程中的作用更为明显,尼德兰集市即提供了一个较佳的例证。     

管窥9—10世纪我国陶瓷贸易的域外中转港现象——以东南亚地区为焦点

9-10世纪时,我国海上对外贸易进入了第一个高峰时期,标志之一就是瓷器的大规模外销。其路线大致可分为两条:一条自东海、黄海至高丽、日本等国,另一条自南海至东南亚、印度及阿拉伯地区等处。关于后者,东南亚地区是一个重要的节点。当时在东南亚地区是否存在中国瓷器外销的中转港,学界众说纷纭。从爪哇海发现的黑石号、印坦和井里汶三条沉船出发,通过梳理相关文献及考古材料,可以认为9世纪前中期在东南亚可能并不存在中转港;9世纪末,在黄巢攻掠广州之后,中转港才得以逐渐形成,其地点很可能是文献记载的"箇罗国"。     

Building and tanning in the 18th and 19th centuries: an analysis of cattle horncores from Greenwich High Road (London)

SUMMARY: The assemblage from Greenwich High Road has interesting implications for our understanding of 18th- and early 19th-century tanneries and also of the use of bones as building material. The study of the age at death of the animals revealed that the horncores are mostly from fully adult individuals, probably culled draught animals. This hypothesis is supported by biometrical analysis. The comparison of the Greenwich horncores with modern data and archaeological evidence suggests that the Greenwich assemblage is predominantly composed of oxen. The horncores were used to line a drain on the site and are likely to represent waste material resulting from the activities that took place in the nearby tannery. Skins and horns were removed for craft purposes, while the bony cores, with no economic value, were simply used as cheap and ready material to help the construction of the drain.     

东爪哇韩氏家族：企业精神与政治舞台（18—19世纪）

本文通过对韩氏家族两个支派的华文和马来文族谱和相关地方文史资料的研究,分析阐述了18世纪中叶到18世纪末爪哇韩氏家族的人物关系、社会结构、融合情况及其在当地经济中的作用,旨在更好地了解东南亚华人移民家族的融合与文化适应模式。     

Orientation of the Romanesque churches in the region of Val d’Aran,Spain (11th–13th centuries)

This study examines an ensemble of Romanesque churches in the region of Val d’Aran in the Spanish Pyrenees, built between the 11th and 13th centuries. Seven topographical studies performed between 2014 and 2015 examined these churches systematically using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) as a data‐acquisition technique. The data obtained allowed for a geometrically accurate analysis of the orientation of these churches based on four Romanesque liturgies: Gemma animae (c.1120), by Honorius of Autun; Rationale divinorum officiorum (c.1150), by Jean Beleth; Mitralis de Officio (1190), by Sicard, Bishop of Cremona; and Prochiron, vulgo rationale divinorum officiorum (1291), by Guillaume Durand.     

潮汐灌溉与江南的水利生态(10-15世纪)

从宋代至明代,江南地区的潮汐灌溉在技术体系、地域范围上都发生了巨大变化,其原因在于江南地区的水利环境发生了重大变化:塘浦圩田体系的崩溃,使得潮汐灌溉的作用上升,但潮水带来咸水入侵、泥沙淤积等种种危害,使得闸坝的设置与管理日益重要。这一变化趋势自宋代开始,至明代黄浦江取代吴淞江的地位之后,整个江南的水利环境为之一变。感潮区在享用潮水之利的同时,也不得不承受浑潮泥沙的危害,由此最终导致这一灌溉方式的衰落。潮汐灌溉技术与水利环境这种互动的关系,典型的反映了江南感潮区水利生态的变化。     

Severe vertebral collapse in a juvenile from the graveyard (13th/14th–19th centuries) of the São Miguel church (Castelo Branco,Portugal): differential palaeopathological diagnosis

Diseases that culminate into vertebral collapse are of intricate diagnosis both in palaeopathology and modern clinical practice. When analysing human skeletal remains from the archaeological record this difficulty is amplified due to the absence of complementary medical diagnostic information. This is especially evident when the distinction between tuberculous and pyogenic spondylitis is intended. Taking into consideration this challenging task and based on the macroscopic and radiological study of the skeleton number 8, a specimen exhumed from the East necropolis (13th/14th to 19th centuries) of the São Miguel church, at the Portuguese city of Castelo Branco, the aims of the work here presented are to discuss the range of possible aetiological factors, especially infectious ones, ascribable to the striking pathological changes noticed on this 12‐year‐old individual. These included alterations on the axial skeleton, namely extensive vertebral destruction, presenting as a gibbus deformity, and correlated thoracic deformities. Consubstantiated on palaeopathological and clinical research, tuberculous spondylitis seems to be the most probable cause for the reported lesions. However, the scrutiny between this condition and other pyogenic spinal infections is of extreme complexity when analysing ancient human remains and deserves in‐depth future investigations. Within the framework of the Portuguese archaeological record, the specimen here presented is of major relevance since the pattern and severity of the spinal osseous changes observed were not previously reported. Further, if tuberculous spondylitis is assumed as the most probable diagnosis, the case here presented represents one of the earliest skeletal evidence of this condition in Portugal. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A survey of British metamorphic hone stones of the 9th to 15th centuries AD in the light of potassium-argon and natural remanent magnetization studies

Hone stone trade and use during the period of Scandinavian-English interaction (9th–15th centuries AD) was dominated by two metamorphic petrological types represented by the “Norwegian Ragstone” (NR) a quartz-mica schist, and the “Purple Phyllite” (PP) a quartz-mica phyllite, and finds are abundant throughout the Viking world. Petrology associates the NR type with the known quarries at Eidsborg, southern Norway, and this has been endorsed by isotopic evidence. The source of the PP type remains unknown, but has been postulated to be a second facies of Eidsberg material, or even a Variscan phyllite from Belgium. It was the purpose of this study to further refine the possible source area of the PP material. Age data now indicate a “Caledonian” source for the PP type. Within Europe the superposition of metamorphic belts has led to the occurrence of both schist and phyllitic metamorphic lithologies. Petrological criteria therefore rarely provide evidence of the source of such rocks. The zonation of Europe by metamorphic belts does, however, allow isotopic age studies to be used as an aid to provenancing. The PP hones exhibit a range of mineralogy which may indicate a variety of sources, although no archaeological sites capable of producing such a quantity of material have been identified within the Viking world. The evidence, however, indicates a source in the Norwegian Caledonides.     

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 cargo of lead ingots from a shipwreck off Ashkelon,Israel 11th–13th centuries AD

Shipwreck cargo of lead ingots, some marked, discovered off Tel Ashkelon, weighed about four tonnes. C14 analysis of charred wood from an ingot dated it to the 11th–13th centuries AD, Crusader times. Lead isotopic ratios provenanced the ingots to Mont‐Lozère, France. Various aspects of the lead trade are discussed, including: lead sources, extraction, casting, lead in the international maritime trade, weight units in medieval trade, prices, transportation, sale and storage, lead cargo and ballast, reconstruction of the wrecking event, salvage after the vessel was wrecked, Ashkelon as a trading coastal town in the 11th–13th centuries AD, and the possible destination of the cargo.     

瑞宝阁藏金铜佛像研究 (四)尼泊尔风格造像(9-18世纪)

尼泊尔位于喜马拉雅山中段南麓,国土面积不大,多为山地。北与我国西藏接壤,西南连接印度。公元前6世纪,佛教创始人释迦牟尼就诞生于尼泊尔西北部迦毗罗卫的蓝毗尼（今尼泊尔南部提罗拉科附近的洛明达）。公元前3世纪,在印度孔雀王朝（约前321-前187年）第三世阿育王的推广下,佛教在尼泊尔正式传播。     

Semantics of learned quackery in the 17th and 18th centuries

In the 17th and 18th century republic of letters the problem of scientific fraud was met with a discourse of charlatanism. Departing from Johann Burchhard Menckes famous treatise on the Charlatanry of the learned the following essay traces how the accusations of academic and scientific misconduct put in terms of 'charlatanry' primarily helped to produce the new species of the erudite 'charlatan'. Facing a growing complexity of scientific culture this new frame of meaning, structured by numerous examples of scientific misconduct offered a new way of orientation in the world of learning. But besides its cognitive impacts the discourse of charlatanry allowed to create symbolic boundaries, which determined decisions upon the affiliation or non affiliation to the new forming scientific community by separating honourable from dishonourable scientific personae. Speaking of charlatanry therefore always implied a social distinction as much as a scientific. The discourses on charlatanry also mirror differentiations within the scientific field. At first dominated by a critique built on courteous or bourgeois values, the scientific field later on developed its own criteria of appraisal like authorship, originality, transparency etc. Attracting the attention of a further growing public sphere, the explicit verbalisation of claims not relating to the value system of a republic of letters primarily concerned with the production and distribution of knowledge finally led up to a more implicit moral economy of science. A change that at a large scale level can be described both as an internalisation of the values of scientific conduct and differentiation between justiciable and unjusticiable transgressions of the norms set up by the scientific community.