Post-medieval archaeology in Portugal

Abstract

Portuguese post-medieval archaeology corresponds to the period between the early 16th century and the late 18th century, identified in the archaeological record through several distinct artefact categories, of which ceramics are the most abundant. New products such as thin-walled moulded coarsewares and faience are found together with imports from different European countries, China and other Eastern lands. Although sites and finds are mentioned in Portuguese archaeological and art-historical literature from the late 19th century, it only became a scientific discipline in the 1980s. This paper aims to provide a general view of investigations in post-medieval archaeology for more than a century, focusing on contexts and finds, but also looking towards the discipline’s future.     

The Changing Vernacular: archaeological excavations at Temple End,High Wycombe,Buckinghamshire

Abstract

Excavations beneath and around the late Georgian Glinester House at Temple End, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, revealed the presence of at least three major phases of building. Dating from the 16th century these structures appear to be a succession of farmhouses lying at the centre of wider farm complexes. While these buildings are located within the former lands of Temple Manor, from which the area and farm name derives, no evidence of a medieval manor complex was located within the excavation area. Rather the pattern of development is more indicative of wider transformations in vernacular housing and domestic life between the 16th and 19th centuries.     

The Impact of the First World War and the Polish-Soviet War on the ‘Culture of Suffering’ in Post-1914 Polish Fiction

ABSTRACT

Using Jeffrey C. Alexander’s theory of cultural trauma, this article focuses on the three major types of narratives of suffering which appeared in Polish fiction, after Poland regained political independence in 1918, outside the strong myth-creating narrative of the Polish Legions’ role in the war for independence. It argues that Polish post-1918 fiction developed these three major paths in the face of suffering inflicted on Polish lands, during WWI and Polish-Soviet War. These paths were to: 1) continue the narrative of Polish suffering within the framework of heroic, and selfless, sacrifice for Poland that has been well established since Romanticism; 2) present suffering as the universal fate of humanity outside the notion of national identity, due to the monstrosity of modern bureaucratic systems wherein human beings are treated as objects; and 3) present suffering as the result of modern warfare, but told outside of “patriotic phraseology” – thus suggesting a growing need as to finding a solution to national conflicts outside narrowly defined identities.     

Mercator’s Lithuanian–Russian Borderlands: Russiae pars amplificata (1595) and Its Polish Sources

abstract

This article focuses on the inset on Gerardus Mercator’s large map of Russia cum confiniis [Russia with surrounding lands] that was published in his Atlas (1595), and the map Moscovia [Muscovy] published by Jodocus Hondius in the Atlas minor (1607). Comparison of the contents of Mercator’s inset map, titled Russiae pars amplificata [Part of Russia enlarged] and Hondius’s Moscovia map with the Polish propaganda poem Raid on Muscovy by Jan Kochanowski that had appeared in 1583—just after the war between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Muscovy—led to the suggestion that both Mercator’s and Hondius’s maps were based on Polish–Lithuanian narrative sources as well as on a map drawn by the Polish royal cartographer Maciej Strubicz. To test the hypothesis, a historical-linguistic analysis of the orthography of the map’s toponyms and hydronyms was employed to distinguish their Polish, German and Latin characteristics. The result confirms that the two maps were indeed based on a Polish military map containing a hidden Polish propaganda message.     

Estancias of Buenos Aires Province,Argentina: Rural Heritage,Sustainable Development and Tourism

Rural settlements growing crops and rearing animals are known as estancias in several South American countries. They played a prevailing role in the political and economic history of Argentina, particularly during the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. At present, many estancias are developing alternative activities, as recreation and tourism, in order to be able to subsist. The main problem lies in the fact that a non‐sustainable activity, frequently focused on the greatest economic yield, leads to the destruction of the heritage, instead of achieving its long‐term conservation. The purpose of this paper is to develop and verify a suitable model for the planning, execution and management of recreational and tourist activities in these rural settlements. As regards the scope of the concept of sustainable development, this methodology aims at achieving a balance between the recreational and tourist operation and the conservation of the rich heritage concerned.     

Nuts in the Netherlands: Attalea and other nuts from archaeological contexts,dating from the 16th to 19th century AD

Abstract

This paper describes the use of palm nuts for the manufacture of artefacts in the Netherlands. From the 17th to 19th century buttons were made of nuts of the Brazilian palm tree Attalea cf. funifera. Finds from 17th century shipwrecks suggest that the palm nuts of this species were directly imported from Middle or South America. Coconuts were used for carving, for example for the manufacture of coconut beakers. In the 19th century buttons were also made of 'vegetable ivory' or tagua nut.     

A Study on the Evolution in Design and Calculation of Iron and Steel Structures over the Mid 19th Century in Western and Central Europe

ABSTRACT

The design of metallic structures in the 19th century is a subject topic of much admiration, as many emblematic structures that are currently withstanding the test of time have become part of our built cultural heritage. Knowledge on the assumptions and design procedures available at that time is of importance to structural engineering nowadays. It allows for the understanding, maintaining and safe extending of the service life of historical metallic structures. The goal of this article is to describe the evolution in the design and calculation of metallic structures during the second half of the 19th century, with focus on Western and Central Europe. Special attention is paid to the similarities and differences between the 19th century design rules and the current structural design standards. Based on a literature survey, the evolution in terms of load definition, calculation methods, material properties, and verifications are described. Different design aspects are illustrated through a case study: The Garabit viaduct in France.     

The Meeting-Places of Parliament in the Ancient Palace of Westminster

Abstract

The importation into England of church furnishings of most kinds has been going on since the early Middle Ages. The focus of this study is on wooden furnishings and the early 19th century, when a specific group of patrons scoured mainly France and the Low Countries for the furniture that had been prised from churches, as a direct and indirect result of the French Revolution. The taste for such material was fuelled by a Romantic enthusiasm, although ironically much of it was in the Baroque style. The historical setting for this nostalgic explosion in interest is briefly sketched, as well as an account of its development into the early 20th century.     

Excavations at Rockley Smithies,a water-powered bloomery of the 16th and 17th Centuries

Abstract

Between about 1500 and 1640 iron was smelted by the direct, bloomery, process on the lands of the Rockley family at (N.G.R.) SE/340023, to the south-west of Barnsley, Yorkshire, using charcoal and ore from the well-wooded outcrops of the Tankersley ironstone, adjacent to the site. Evidence for operation early in the 16th century was limited to accumulations of hearth-cinder and of debris from ore-roasting, minor structures and traces of a dam. About 1600 a major rebuilding involved the construction of a bloom-hearth and probably two stringhearths, with bellows powered by waterwheels, and an unpowered hammer. Minor rebuilding took place early in the 17th century, and archaeological and documentary evidence combine to place abandonment at about 1640. Demolition and stone-robbing could well have provided material for the blast-furnace built a short distance away in 1652. The bloomery site was abandoned to pasture and perhaps a cottage, and at some time early in the 19th century was occupied by two houses and a workshop for an adjacent colliery tramway. It was covered by a road embankment in 1966.

Evidence was found of techniques at a comparatively advanced bloomery, in operation at a time when English ironmasters were, however, increasingly favouring the use of the blast furnace.     

THE 20TH-CENTURY REVOLUTION IN TEXTILE MACHINES AND PROCESSES. PART 1: SPINNING AND WEAVING

Abstract

This paper reviews the textile revolution of the mid-20th century, a subject little studied by archaeologists, unlike the developments of the 18th and early 19th centuries. The consequences of this revolution pose new challenges to the industrial archaeologist, since the legacy is not distinctive buildings and urban landscape, but the machinery and fabrics themselves. This is the first instalment of a two-part study, looking at the development of the spinning and weaving in the period 1950–85.     

The Forging of the Polish Army, 1918-1919

ABSTRACT

With the regaining of independence by Poland in November 1918 it was essential to create a unified homogenous army, the more so that Poland was faced by conflict from its neighbours at a time when the borders of Poland were by no means formed let alone finalised. There were at least four seperate Polish armies and a plethora of local formations springing up all over the country. From these four formations: the Polish Military Organisation, the Polnische Wermacht, the Greater Poland Army and the Polish “Blue” Army in France. Moreover, the officer and NCO corps came from four distinct traditions. Those of the wartime Legions (Polish tradition) and of the three partitioning powers. All had different military traditions and training. An important factor was also that many of the them had only a rudimentary knowledge of the Polish language having served in garrisons far from the Polish lands. Faced with wars with the Ukrainians for Lwów and the south eastern lands, with the Germans over the Province of Greater Poland, Pomerania and Silesia, with the Czechs over Teschen and above all with Bolshevik russia in the east it was essential that the Polish Army unified as quickly as possible. That this was done within the year and eventually resulted in Poland winning the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1919-1920 and securing its borders and independence was in no small measure a result of the rapid unification and creation of an homogenous Polish Army with a single command structure and organisation. The binding glue was the deep rooted sense of national pride and desire to live and work in a free Poland.     

The development of all-metal water towers

Abstract

This paper discusses the development in Britain and Ireland of all-metal water towers as used for water supply. Although concentrating on those provided for bulk public water supplies, an outline is given of parallel developments, especially in railway engineering, during the 19th century. After 1900, panel tanks formed of steel flanged plates generally supplanted earlier forms of tank construction found on water towers and it was not until the 1950s that other, more pleasing, styles came to be erected, although these found little favour in the water industry and few were ever built. The aesthetic and long-term maintenance problems associated with all-metal water towers are also considered. The data contained in this paper is part of a larger study into the development of all forms of water tower being undertaken by ICE's Panel for Historical Engineering Works.     

YNYSPENLLWCH: THREE CENTURIES OF TIN MAKING IN SOUTH WALES

Abstract

This paper reviews three centuries of tin making at Ynyspenllwch. As the first tin works in Glamorgan, established in the 17th century, and one of the oldest in South Wales, the development of the site from 1647 down to its closure in the early 20th century is an instructive example of the power requirements and output for this type of metalworking complex. The study takes the form of a landscape and historical assessment of the site, supported by detailed analysis of the main wheel pit.     

Nash Mills—The Endless Web Revisited

Abstract

A watermill is known to have existed on the river Gade since the 11th century on the site of Nash Mills, Hertfordshire, where a purpose-built paper mill was constructed in the late 18th century. In 1810 the mill was purchased by John Dickinson, one of the great innovators of the paper industry. The mill evolved significantly during the 19th and early 20th centuries as part of Dickinson's expanding business, which at one stage comprised five mills in the locality. Nash Mills remained in the ownership of John Dickinson and his successors until 1990, ceasing production in 2006, the last of Dickinson's mills to do so. Using documentary and building evidence, this article examines the development of the mill, emphasising the relationships between personalities, events, structures, processes, and changing business and technological influences.     

Cavafy in Poland

Abstract

Despite the diversity of Modern Greek poetry available in Polish translation, Cavafy's work has eclipsed the achievements of other poets, just as the shadow of his lifelong translator, Zygmunt Kubiak, has inhibited other attempts only starting to surface in the twenty-first century. While external factors have determined Modern Greek anthologies in Poland, Cavafy translation has been mostly driven by personal passion. Apart from translation, this article reflects on various reasons why the Alexandrian's work should be so attractive to the Polish literary scene. Cavafy's seminal place within Polish literature stimulates further reflection on rewriting Cavafy in Poland.     

Post-Medieval Archaeology in Periodical Literature, 1966

Abstract

This paper describes the marked clay pipes found in the Barbican area of Plymouth, and lists all the unmarked types found. The deposits are rich in pipes of Dutch manufacture, particularly of the early 17th century. New light is thrown on local pipemaking from the 17th to the 19th century. The influence of London and southern England is strong both in the styles of Plymouth-made pipes and in the imports to Plymouth. Few pipes from Bristol were found and none from Broseley or the North.     

Excavations at Houndhill,near Barnsley,Yorkshire

Abstract

A ‘cottage’ weaving industry was established at Houndhill, family seat of the Elmhirsts in Worsbrough, near Barnsley, during the mid-16th century. It ceased early in the 17th century but excavation has shown it was revived under new ownership in the late 18th century. During the 19th century the mill became a general farm store and was totally demolished in the 1930s to permit a garden extension. The excavation was planned to retain any remaining features for conservation as part of the historical interest of the residence.¹     

‘China-ware in the skies’: overlapping identities in the ornamental use of plates in Uruguay

Abstract

This is the study of a church where tableware manufactured in Great Britain was used to decorate the façade in the early 19th century. An argument is made that this one surviving case points to a larger regional tradition, now lost, whose greatest exponent was Montevideo Cathedral, Uruguay. The hypothesis presented here is that the use of British plates in religious façades shortly before the South American Wars of Independence was part of a search for identity in a region trying to break away from Spain, and in the process of becoming a small republic between the two larger countries of Argentina and Brazil.     

THE 20TH-CENTURY REVOLUTION IN TEXTILE MACHINES AND PROCESSES. PART 2: TEXTURED YARNS AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract

This is the second of a two-part study on the archaeology and technological development of the machine textile industry in the 20th century. The previous paper, Part 1 (IAR, 35·2), described the changes in two long-established textile technologies: the production of yarns from short fibres such as cotton and wool; and the weaving of fabrics. The main part of this paper describes completely new technologies that resulted from the manufacture of new continuous filament yarns. Other technologies are also mentioned.