PROVENANCING OF LIGHTWEIGHT VOLCANIC STONES USED IN ANCIENT ROMAN CONCRETE VAULTING: EVIDENCE FROM ROME

This paper presents the geochemical analysis of lightweight scoria and pumice used in concrete vaults from ancient Rome. The geochemical signatures of dark scoria indicates a provenance of the 36–18 ka lavas of Vesuvius, as opposed to the more recent events on which Pompeii was built, as previously thought. The light‐coloured pumices analysed, which were originally thought to belong to the Sabatini volcanic system (north of Rome), corresponded instead to products from Campi Flegrei. These results provoke re‐evaluation of the trade and acquisition of these specialized materials destined for imperial projects in the capital city.     

THE JUDICIOUS SELECTION AND PRESERVATION OF TUFF AND TRAVERTINE BUILDING STONE IN ANCIENT ROME*

The Republican and early Imperial monuments of Rome are, for the most part, built of tuffs quarried from at least seven pyroclastic deposits erupted from nearby Monti Sabatini and Alban Hills volcanoes. Remarks by Vitruvius (2.7.1–5), field observations of the monuments, and petrographic and rock testing studies of samples from Roman quarries demonstrate that Roman builders developed a good knowledge of the diverse material properties of the tuffs over centuries of use and exposure. Measurements of compressive strength, specific gravity, water absorption and adsorption of water vapour confirm that the petrographic characteristics of each tuff lithology strongly influence its strength and durability. Early construction utilized weakly durable, soft or vitric tuffs such as Tufo del Palatino or Tufo Giallo della Via Tiberina that are susceptible to decay, as at Temple C (290 bc ) of the Largo Argentina Sacred Area. Late Republican structures, such as the Temple of Portunus (80–90 bc ), employed somewhat durable, vitric–lithic Tufo Lionato reinforced with travertine, a durable limestone quarried near Tivoli. Roman builders selected the material properties of the tuffs to advantage for specific structural elements within large public monuments of the first century bc and the first century ad , as at the tabernae of the Forum of Caesar (46 bc ), where an upper storey of lightweight Tufo Lionato is supported by robust, lithic–crystal Lapis Gabinus pillars and flat arches reinforced with travertine. The tuffs are not very durable building stones; Romans preserved them with protective stucco, and travertine and marble cladding. Their high water intake, coupled with direct exposure to rain, daily fluctuations in relative humidity and urban weathering at present makes them especially vulnerable to decay.     

Glass Fragments from the Crypta Balbi in Rome: the Composition of Eighth‐century Fragments

Eighth‐century glass fragments from the Crypta Balbi in Rome were analysed by inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy. The samples included fragments of artefacts as well as ingots of raw glass and wasters. All the fragments proved to be soda–lime glasses. Manganese‐to‐iron atomic ratios are highly variable and determine the colour of a large number of samples. Fairly high copper contents, generally associated with relatively high amounts of antimony and lead, were detected in some green and blue–green samples: this suggests recycling of glass in the form of opaque mosaic tesserae. All three elements are higher in eighth‐century than in previously analysed seventh‐century fragments. This may indicate greater recourse to recycled glass, related to a reduction in trade exchanges in the Mediterranean.     

A Hybrid Masonry and Steel Mirror-Type Vault with Lunettes: Survey and Structural Analysis

ABSTRACT

The structural analysis of a mirror-type vault, consisting of a single- or double-curvature perimeter and a nearly flat part, is carried out. The vault is similar to a number of hybrid iron (or steel) and masonry vaults built between the late 19th century and the early 20th century to span large halls. The numerical analyses were preceded by an accurate geometrical survey and mechanical tests aimed at evaluating the properties of the materials. Thermography allowed the complex brick pattern of the vault to be detected. The influence of rib-walls (frenelli) and the material anisotropy on the stress and deformation of the vault is discussed. Eventually, attention is focused on one of the segmental vaults in the central part of the structure: it is found that the stress can be safely estimated by assuming its boundary to be fixed.     

BUILDING MATERIALS OF THE THEATRE OF MARCELLUS,ROME*

The building materials of the Theatre of Marcellus, 44–11 bce , reflect Roman builders' careful selections of tuff and travertine for dimension stone and volcanic aggregates for pozzolanic concretes. The vitric–lithic–crystal Tufo Lionato tuff dimension stone contains a high proportion of lava lithic fragments, which increase its compressive strength and decrease water sorption, enhancing durability. Sophisticated installations of travertine dimension stone reinforce the tuff masonry, which is integrated with durable concrete walls and barrel vaults. The pozzolanic mortars of the concretes contain harenae fossiciae mainly from the intermediate alteration facies of the mid‐Pleistocene, scoriaceous Pozzolane Rosse pyroclastic flow. They have pervasive interpenetrating pozzolanic cements, including strätlingite, similar to high‐quality, imperial era mortars. Concrete walls are faced with refined Tufo Lionato opus reticulatum and tufelli, and opus testaceum of fired, greyish‐yellow brick. The exploratory concrete masonry, which includes some of the earliest examples of brick facings and strätlingite cements in Rome, and the integration of these materials in complex architectural elements and internal spaces, reflect the highly skilled workmanship, rigorous work‐site management and technical supervision of Roman builders trained in republican era methods and materials.     

Trace Element Classification Diagrams of Pyroclastic Rocks from the Volcanic Districts of Central Italy: the Case Study of the Ancient Roman Ships of Pisa

Identification of the volcanic material (pozzolan) stored in a Roman ship of the fourth to third century bce , wrecked in the ancient harbour of Pisa (central Italy), was based on ratios of selected trace elements. The compositions of the major volcanic products erupted by the volcanoes of the Roman province, including the volcanic districts of Latium (Vulsini, Vico, Monti Sabatini and the Alban Hills) and Campania (Roccamonfina, the Phlegraean Fields, Ischia, Procida and Vesuvius) are compared with the pozzolan from the Pisa ship. Superposition of the Zr/Y, Nb/Y and Nb/Zr ratios of the pyroclastic material from the wrecked ship (computed from the published literature) allows correlation with the products of the Onano eruption from the Vulsini Volcanic District. The Vulsini rocks outcrop extensively in a sector drained by the hydrographic network of the Fiora River, which has been a well‐developed commercial water trade route since Etruscan times, with a river port and a sea port connected to the important town of Vulci, and, since 273 bce , part of the larger Roman harbour system of Cosa.     

The Siting of Medieval Castles and the Influence of Ancient Places

THIS PAPER EXAMINES the ways in which the siting of castles in England was influenced by the remains of monuments and landscapes from the prehistoric and Romano-British periods. It explores the character, distribution and scale of ancient monument reuse as evidenced through the archaeological and documentary record, in an attempt to discern patterns in peoples’ responses to monuments from the ancient past. It considers the ways in which these places were perceived by both the ruling elite and the local community: exploring how inherited landscapes were used in castle building to structure concepts of belonging, constituted through memory and genealogy. The conclusion is that ancient places were reused by castle builders from the 11th to the 14th century as part of an evolving narrative aimed at enhancing rights to people, place and power.     

The Geochemical Fingerprint of Tufo Lionato Blocks from the Area Sacra di Largo Argentina: Implications for the Chronology of Volcanic Building Stones in Ancient Rome

We use trace element discrimination diagrams to provide a geochemical fingerprint for Tufo Lionato, the volcanic rock most commonly used in the ancient Roman dimension stone technique. Based on the comparison of their geochemical signatures, we identify different rock facies of Tufo Lionato employed since the fourth to third centuries and through the second century bce in the construction of the temples of the Area Sacra di Largo Argentina. These rock facies correspond to two previously identified building stones: Aniene Tuff and Monteverde Tuff, named after their supposed source areas located in the Aniene River Valley and in the homonymous locality of the Tiber River Valley, respectively. However, the results of our study demonstrate previous misidentification of these volcanic rocks in the different construction phases of Temple C, providing a revision of the dating system currently accepted for the diffusion of Tufo Lionato architecture. We show that the Aniene facies has been exploited since the end of the fourth century bce and that it was employed along with Tufo Giallo della Via Tiberina in the podium and staircase of Temple C, whereas observations at Largo Argentina suggest that the ‘Monteverde Tuff’ was only sporadically used in the early phases of the dimension stone construction technique.     

Dwelling(s) in a north‐west Arabian oasis: decoding residential architecture at Taymāʾ

The definition of an ancient, autochthonous north‐west Arabian residential architecture is still a major void in the archaeology of the region. This preliminary case study is intended to shed some light on this “blind spot” by presenting and analysing the architectural complex E‐b9 from Taymā? (c. fourth/third century BCE until the first/early second century CE). A meticulous study of the architecture identified a modular concept as a key to understanding the complex. Furthermore, underlying patterns of household organisation can be deduced from the architectural remains resulting in the definition of potential household units. Those are indicated by a set of activity areas which are congruent with patterns of accessibility and the use of specific wall types. These findings provide insights into the organisation of households and daily life in the oasis of Taymā?, and may help to define local or regional traditions in the future.     

VIEH,LAUB UND VERSAMMLUNGSPLATZ: SOZIALE ORGANISATION IN DER BRONZEZEIT,BEISPIEL BRUNDE/EGELUND

In 2009, a site containing multiple so‐called cooking pits with fire‐cracked stones was excavated at Egelund near Rise, four kilometers northwest of Aabenraa, southern Denmark (Site Id HAM 4791 Egelund III) (Note/Anmk. 1). The excavation has led to a larger research project focusing on the material remains from the Bronze Age within a 30 km radius of the site (Fig. 1). The ancient community of Rise is characterised by a wide range of material evidence that has been excavated and well documented during the last twenty years. It was therefore considered as relevant to carry out a comprehensive study of the entire archaeological collection from this area and to include as many different sources as possible (Note/Anmk. 2). The article presents an integrative approach that combines different find categories from dwelling remains to pottery production in an attempt to provide a proper interpretive background for the distribution of cooking pits in the Rise micro‐region. One of the most significant results is the demonstration of continuous use of a gathering place attested at Egelund during a period of 1000 years, from the 15^th to 5^th century BC. Different communities combined their resources and effectuated such projects as the building of barrows or dwellings.     

THE MATERIALS OF HOYSALA TEMPLES AND SCULPTURES: A PETROGRAPHIC CHARACTERIZATION

Talcxhlorite schist is the material commonly used by the sculptors and builders of the Hoysala dynasty, which ruled i n the western part of India south of the Deccan from the eleventh to the mid-fourteenth century. Forty-one samples from seven Hoysala sites were examined by petrographic microscopy and electron beam microprobe analysis. Although it is difficult to distinguish between some of the rocks from the different sites. many contain minerals that can be valuable in distinguishing between different possible quarry sources.     

MOSAIC GLASS FROM ST PETER'S,ROME: MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES AND RAW MATERIALS EMPLOYED IN LATE 16TH‐CENTURY ITALIAN OPAQUE GLASS

A recent restoration of late 16th‐century mosaics in one of the vaults beneath the dome of St Peter's Basilica in Rome allowed sampling and analysis of a group of glass tesserae. The aim of this work is the characterization of opaque coloured glasses possibly produced in Rome. The characteristics of the glass from St Peter's were compared with those of Venetian and Tuscan production, in order to assess possible common origins. Chemical analysis of 30 samples was carried out by electron microprobe, while the nature and morphology of opacifiers were determined by X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Almost all the opaque samples were characterized by the presence of SnO₂ crystals. In addition, depending on the colour of the glass, other crystalline phases were identified: lead‐tin oxide (PbSnO₃) in yellow glass, cuprite (Cu₂O) in orange glass and two calcium‐tin silicates with different stoichiometry (CaSnSiO₅ and Ca₃SnSi₂O₉) in the green‐yellow variety. A frame of reference for identifying raw materials and glass‐making techniques is provided by textual sources, here examined in comparison with the compositional characteristics of the tesserae from St Peter's.     

THE ALPS—A BARRIER OR A PASSAGE FOR CERAMIC TRADE?*

The Alps as a barrier : ceramic remnants of the so‐called Laugen‐Melaun culture (c. 11th to c. sixth centuries bc ) can be found in the northern Italy (Trentino/Alto Adige)—eastern Switzerland—Liechtenstein and western Austria region. A petrographic study of 454 sherds from this area covering a time span of 500 years reveals the following. (1) The pottery from the Trentino/Alto Adige contains a predominantly volcanic temper, which can be linked to the volcanic rocks of the Bolzano area—in other words, to the core region of this culture. This material is therefore of a local/regional production. (2) These ceramics were imported from the Bolzano region to southeastern Switzerland (the Inn Valley) and the amount of imported pottery decreases markedly from the 11th century bc (approximately 70% imported) to the seventh to sixth centuries bc (approximately 10% imported). (3) No imported pottery can be detected north of the Alpine crest in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria, and in this region serpentinite temper was preferred by ancient potters. These results demonstrate that long‐lasting contacts and ceramic trade existed between the populations of the Inn Valley and the Trentino/Alto Adige. Such contacts could have been motivated by intermarriages between the two populations and/or economic exchange. The potters north of the Alpine ridge adopted the Laugen‐Melaun style and produced such pottery locally. The use of serpentinite temper is puzzling and not related to any technological advantage. (Could it be recycled material? Or does it have any sociocultural specificity?) The Alps as a passage : 59 fragments of a black gloss ware, the so‐called Campana, unearthed at 11 Late Latene sites (second to first centuries bc ) in Switzerland and neighbouring Germany were analysed chemically by X‐ray fluorescence. The results revealed: (1) that all of them were produced either in Italy or Lyon and then exported to the north; (2) that two principal south–north exchange routes existed, (a) fluviatile, along the Rhône–Rhine corridor and (b) trans‐Alpine, using the Alpine passes, such as the Simplon and the Grand St Bernard.     

HOW NINETEENTH‐CENTURY GERMAN CLASSICISTS WROTE THE JEWS OUT OF ANCIENT HISTORY

This essay considers why Jewish antiquity largely fell outside the purview of ancient historians in the Germanies for over half a century, between 1820 and 1880, and examines the nature of those portraits that did, in fact, arise. To do so, it interrogates discussions of Jewish antiquity in this half‐century against the background of those political and national values that were consolidating across the German states. Ultimately, the article claims that ancient Jewish history did not provide a compelling model for the dominant (Protestant) German scholars of the age, which then prompted the decline of antique Judaism as a field of interest. This investigation into the political and national dimensions of ancient history both supplements previous lines of inquiry and complicates accounts that assign too much explanatory power to a regnant anti‐Judaism or anti‐Semitism in the period and place. First, the analysis considers why so little attention was granted to Jewish history by ancient historians in the first place, as opposed to its relative prominence before ca. 1820. Second, the essay examines representations of ancient Judaism as fashioned by those historians who did consider the subject in this period. Surveying works composed not only for the upper echelons of scholarship but also for adolescents, women, and the laity, it scrutinizes a series of arguments advanced and assumptions embedded in universal histories, histories of the ancient world, textbooks of history, and histories dedicated to either Greece or Rome. Finally, the article asserts the Jewish past did not conform to the values of cultural ascendancy, political autonomy, national identity, and religious liberty increasingly hallowed across the Germanies of the nineteenth century, on the one hand, and inscribed into the very enterprise of historiography, on the other. The perceived national and political failures of ancient Jews—alongside the ethnic or religious ones discerned by others—thus made antique Judaism an unattractive object of study in this period.     

3. SIMA QIAN AND HIS WESTERN COLLEAGUES: ON POSSIBLE CATEGORIES OF DESCRIPTION

This article comments on some of Professor Huang's theses by looking at ancient historiography. It deals with the significance of history in its respective cultural contexts; the kind of orientation that historical thinking and historiography provide; and the relationship between concrete examples and abstract rules in historical argumentation. Distinguishing between ancient Greece and Rome, it shows that Huang's explicit and implicit East‐West oppositions are more valid with respect to ancient Greece than to ancient Rome. on important points, the situation of Rome is surprisingly close to that of china. thus not only in China but also in Rome, tradition and history are highly important as a life‐orienting force (as opposed to the importance of speculative thought in Greece); and not only in China but also in Rome the orientation that historical thinking and historiography provide is to a great extent moral (as opposed to orientation through intellectual insight that, for a historian such as Thucydides, is placed in the foreground). As to the relationship between concrete examples and abstract rules in historical argumentation, the paper takes up Professor Rüsen's category of “exemplary meaning‐generation,” but suggests a distinction between example in the sense of “case/instance” and example in the sense of “model/paragon.” Though the two corresponding modes of exemplary meaning‐generation are mostly entwined, it appears that in Chinese and Roman historical works (in accordance with their stress on moral effect) there is a tendency toward meaning‐generation by example in the sense of “model/paragon,” whereas in Greek historiography (in accordance with its stress on intellectual insight) the tendency is toward meaning‐generation by example in the sense of “case/instance.”     

Unveiling the Use of Creta in Roman Plasters: Analysis of Clay Wall Paintings From Brixia (Italy)

The paper describes the analysis of a particular kind of plaster from the walls of the Roman Sanctuary (first half of the first century bce ) in the centre of Brixia (now Brescia, Italy), which is an outstanding example of Roman Republican architecture. The walls were plastered and painted with different patterns, imitating marble panels and curtains. Optical microscopy on thin sections, X‐ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy were performed on several samples of the plaster in order to reveal the execution technique. The palette consisted of glauconite, celadonite, Egyptian blue, and red and yellow ochres. In some cases, an organic compound, possibly a lipidic compound, was present in the external paint layer, as a surface treatment. The plaster contains two superimposed coats: the render coat with lime binder and sandy aggregate; the finish coat with a clay fraction (illite, chlorite, kaolinite), together with calcite from slaked lime and grains of quartz, silicate and carbonate rocks. Although Vitrivius' De architectura reported the use of creta (clay) as daub smeared on reed vaults, the Sanctuary of Brixia represents the first documented use in Roman buildings in a painted plaster laid on a stone masonry wall.     

丝路撷英 旅顺博物馆藏丝绸之路文物展(上)

<正>丝绸之路是从中国出发,横贯亚洲,进而连接欧洲和北非的古代陆路交通的总称。这条古道将古老的中国文化、印度文化、波斯文化、阿拉伯文化和古罗马文化连接起来,促进了东西方文化的沟通与交流。本展览中的展品以旅顺博物馆藏古     

A THOUSAND AND ONE COLUMNS: OBSERVATIONS ON THE ROMAN GRANITE TRADE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA

Summary.   Provenancing and archaeological information on Roman granite columns in the Mediterranean area has been collated from a range of published papers by the author and others, together with new analyses for Rome, to produce an integrated dataset comprising 1176 columns. This dataset allows an overview of Roman granite trade in seven regions across the Mediterranean area. Examination of the data indicates that columns made from Troad (Turkish) granite are the most numerous observed overall (compatible with Lazzarini's earlier (2004) observation that this is the most widely distributed type), followed by Aswan, then Elba and Giglio, and Kozak Dağ ( Marmor Misium ). In the city of Rome, Mons Claudianus columns predominate. In geographically peripheral parts of the Roman world (Spain, Israel), granite columns are mainly from local sources, and are generally of smaller sizes than those seen in Rome and Tuscany. Analytical data can be used to suggest multiple extraction sites within some quarries, and have the potential for identification of specific intra-quarry provenance. Dating evidence for primary use of columns from the quarries considered is relatively sparse, but suggests early (first century BC) exploitation of Spanish and Elba granites, while column production at Aswan and Troad persisted into the fourth century followed by reuse within later antiquity, in the fifth and seventh centuries AD.     

New Architectural Models and Building Tradition: A Dialogue in Early Modern Sardinia – The Jesuit Church in Sassari

Architecture in early modern Sardinia is characterized by a strong continuity with previous practices. In the second half of the 16th century, new models join the Gothic building tradition, linked in particular to trends in military engineering and Classicism of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. The Jesuit church in Sassari offers an interesting example of the intertwining of these architectural modes, which originated with a sudden change of leadership at the site. Giovan Maria Bernardoni, an Italian Jesuit architect, initially modeled the church after the Gesù in Rome, and it was partially built under his direction. After his departure from Sardinia, local master builders finished the construction, following the Gothic tradition and possibly some external influences. This article analyzes the church, particularly focusing on the challenges presented by its articulated vaulting system completed between 1587 and 1609.     

History of Deforestation and Reforestation in the Dinaric Karst

The term karst derives from the Kras plateau, which is in the northwestern part of the area now known as the Dinaric Karst. The landscape consists mostly of Mesozoic carbonate rocks and stretches along the Adriatic Sea coast for a distance of 600 km. Although the region lies parallel to the sea, the Mediterranean temperature influence is limited to a narrow coastal belt, except for the amount of precipitation, which can reach 5000 mm yr^?1. Forests belonging to the Mediterranean and Euro‐Siberian – North American region, covered the primary Dinaric Karst. Human deforestation of the Karst began during the Neolithic period, 6500–6000 BC. Throughout history there have been two main reasons for deforestation; economic (the requirements of new land, pastures, timber use and trade), and social (local increases in population, mass migration, wars, raids). Mankind's perception of forest protection and preservation can be traced through documents going back to the 12th century. Reforestation is mentioned in some of them, but successful reforestation did not begin until the 1850s. Nowadays dense natural forests, extensive forest plantations, dry karst shrublands and also completely barren karst areas can all be found on the Dinaric Karst.