Evidence for Indo-Roman Trade from Bet Dwarka Waters, West Coast of India

India had a very active maritime trade contact with the Roman world between the 4th century BC and the 4th century AD. In this context recent finds of stone anchors, potsherds, lead anchors and a lead ingot from 5 to 8 m water-depth near Bet Dwarka jetty is significant. The sherds include amphoras, jars, bowls and lids. Archaeological finds along the Indian coast and comparison between amphoras from Bet Dwarka and the Mediterranean suggest that the artefacts from Bet Dwarka may be datable to between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century AD. The numbers of stone anchors suggests that this was an ancient anchorage.
© 2005 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

A group of 20 stone anchors from the waters of Dwarka, on the Gujarat Coast, India

A large number of stone anchors were discovered in a water depth of 10–14 m off Dwarka during the 1998–99 season. The seabed near the anchors consists of a ledge with an average height of 1 in. Several anchors were found trapped between the rocks suggesting an anchorage. Twenty stone anchors of three types were loacted in a submerged channel on the southern side of the site. The grapnel type of anchor is associated with Indo-Arab trade between the 8th and 16th centuries AD. The triangular or composite anchors have a date ranging from 2500 BC to the Modern Period. Therefore, the dating of these anchors at Dwarka is a matter of concern and is discussed.     

The Roman Lighthouse at Akko,Israel

During Roman rule Akko, in Israel, was a major Levantine seaport. Historical, numismatic and archaeological evidence shows that often Roman maritime‐associated activities, in the Levant and elsewhere, included the building or maintenance of lighthouses. No clear indications of a Roman lighthouse in Akko are known. Re‐examination of navigational considerations, coastal archaeological surveys, underwater investigations and numismatic evidence supports the proposition that a Roman lighthouse existed there. It is suggested that the lighthouse was situated on an islet near the harbour entrance. © 2011 The Authors     

A 13th-Century Shipyard at Alanya (Alaiyye), on the Mediterranean Coast of Turkey

Anatolian Seljuks, a territorially-powerful medieval government, held their fleet at bases on the Black Sea and Mediterranean coasts, and constructed permanent stone buildings to protect their navy. Although most of these buildings have disappeared, 13th-century defended shipyard buildings have survived at Alanya, on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. These buildings are not only important architecturally, but can give clues to the types of warships used by the Anatolian Seljuk navy, of which little is known. The dimensions of the shipsheds help us to analyse the construction of these naval vessels.
© 2009 The Author     

A Medieval Pottery Kiln at Audlem,Cheshire

BUILDING ACCOUNTS for 1398–99 give detailed costs of the construction of a circular, brick, free-standing artillery tower. The artillery towers at Southampton and Canterbury were linked to existing wall circuits, and detached forts in France may be more comparable to the tower at Norwich.     

Medieval Maps at Merton College,Oxford

Abstract

À la fin du XVIIIe siècle, dans le processus de fixation de la frontière linéaire entre le Royaume de France et les Pays‐Bas autrichiens, les cartes manuscrites thématiques des traités des limites jouent un rôle fondamental en tant qu'instruments de négociation. Ces cartes permettent de saisir visuellement la complexité des possessions territoriales et de comprendre les enjeux économiques et politiques des transactions pacifiques. Les cartes analysées, de concert avec les actes des traités, mettent clairement en évidence un aspect moins connu, mais fondamental des cartes des limites, à savoir leur rôle en tant qu'indicateurs des enjeux économiques, en présentant avec beaucoup de soin les grands axes de communication par route.     

Possible fossil impression in sandstone from the late Palaeoproterozoic-early Mesoproterozoic Semri Group (lower Vindhyan Supergroup), central India

The Lower–Middle Ordovician Zitai Formation of the South China palaeoplate consists of a succession of purple red, nodular argillaceous limestones. Palaeogeographically, it is distributed along the southeastern margin of the Yangtze Platform, and is of late Floian to Dapingian age, correlative with the Dawan Formation of the Middle and Lower Yangtze Platform. In Shitai County, Anhui Province, East China, the Zitai Formation is rich in conodonts, enabling the recognition of four biozones based on first appearance data. Detailed palaeontological and biostratigraphical study of these conodonts reveals that the Ordovician conodont radiation in the Lower Yangtze Platform attained its first diversity peak low in the Oepikodus evae Biozone. This diversification is generally consistent with macroevolutionary trends of brachiopods of South China and graptolites of the Upper Yangtze Platform, but was earlier than that of trilobites and acritarchs of the same palaeoplate. Correlation with the sea-level curve for South China suggests that conodont diversity change during the Ordovician radiation was mainly controlled by regional sea-level fluctuations.     

A Possible Case of Hydrocephalus in a Medieval Child from Doonbought Fort,Co. Antrim,Northern Ireland

Hydrocephalus is a condition that is rarely found in the palaeopathological record. It has been demonstrated in a modern study of untreated cases of hydrocephalus that 50 per cent of children suffering from the disease die within the first 18 months of life. It is probable that the situation was the same in archaeological populations and that the delicate nature of neonatal and infant crania accounts for the paucity of palaeopathological evidence. As far as the author is aware there are approximately 30 possible cases of hydrocephalus known in the archaeological record throughout the world and only two of these cases originated in the British Isles. The following report presents evidence of a case of possible hydrocephalus in a 6–7-year-old juvenile from Northern Ireland. The skeleton was recovered from a post-thirteenth century context during excavations at the secular medieval fort of Doonbought, Co. Antrim. The diagnosis of hydrocephalus has been made on the basis of the abnormal and enlarged morphology and increased cranial capacity of the cranium. The only other palaeopathological lesion present in the remains was cribra orbitalia.     

Excavations at the Medieval Village of Wythemail,Northamptonshire

EXCAVATION of a single enclosure revealed a sequence from early 13th-century timber buildings to structures with stone foundations, or completely stone-built, in the later 13th and 14th centuries. A two-roomed long-house was replaced by a more complex four-roomed long-house built on a different alignment. Also in the enclosure were a sequence of six outbuildings rebuilt in various positions. In the 13th century there were changes in property boundaries and in the 14th century a road was cut obliquely across the enclosure leading to fundamental changes in planning. Evidence for climatic deterioration was given by the increasing use of drains and of paved and cobbled surfaces in the early 14th century. Finds included metal objects, animal bones, local shelly pottery, and 12th- to 14th-century sherds from Lincolnshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.     

The Medieval Village at Garrow Tor,Bodmin Moor,Cornwall

SUMMARY

The site chosen for excavation in the medieval village at Garrow proved to be a platform-house, a variant of the long-house, a widespread form of peasant dwelling. Both types provided for the shelter of man and his beasts under one roof; in its early form, as here, it consisted of a living-room and byre separated by a passage connecting with an entrance in each long side. The platform-house was suited to meet the hard conditions of life in a hilly country of heavy rainfall. It was built on an oblong platform constructed with its long axis at right angles to the contours of the hillside. Thus the house gained considerable protection from wind and rain.

Two outstanding features were the hearth with fireback centrally placed on the floor in the upper room and the manger which was in situ in the byre. Near the house was a small barn. The two buildings stood in a small enclosure. Pottery found in the house and barn and in the fields connected with the settlement showed that there was occupation from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. Inhabited farmhouses of this type can still be seen in Cornwall.¹     

Precision GPS Surveying at Medieval Cottam,East Yorkshire,England

Abstract

To help promote the use of centimeter and sub-centimeter level GPS for surveying archaeological Sites, a series of tests was conducted at the deserted medieval village of Cottam in East Yorkshire,England. In order to understand the capabilities of the technology, the GPS system was tested for speed, accuracy, and reliability and the results were compared with those from a conventional total station. Using the capabilities of the total station as a benchmark, the GPS system's accuracy and reliability were found to be acceptable. The test system, however, was found to be considerably slower than the total station and much more difficult to use with equivalent levels of accuracy