The Odyssey Case: press,public opinion and future policy

The Odyssey Case refers to the dispute between Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. (OME) and the Kingdom of Spain in the US courts to determine the ownership of more than 500,000 coins, as well as other artefacts, that OME recovered from a wreck‐site it had code‐named Black Swan. However, the process was much more than a dispute over the coins. It reflected many of the components involved in the protection of underwater archaeological heritage, especially when economic and political interests are at stake. Written from the perspective of an archaeologist working for the regional authority responsible for developing archaeological policy, this paper tries to assess the case's impact on future policy development.     

Encounters and Questions: An Archaeologist from a Trans-Modern Society

The undeveloped world indigenous archaeologist is absolutely the other in his/her own country; such a condition is a result of a long term process, the process of post industrial revolution in the developed countries which changed the universal actions and reactions towards the undeveloped one. An archaeologist in the undeveloped world is the other because his/her discipline is an imported unindigenous one. His/her context is more problematic and he/she is usually an adherent of his/her western discipline pioneers. As will be narrated below, an indigenous archaeologist has to censor himself/herself and distance from their native context, while there is no place in the developed world for them as that is naturally another world. Their education in an undeveloped country has made them apply methods and adopt approaches which are mostly defined by the propaganda and the regional policies of governments based on nationalism. However, archaeology needs anthropological humanistic principles in order to be effective in a world scale. Four social encounters with an indigenous archaeologist have been narrated in this article; in his own society, in a developed country and in a postcolonial context. These narrations depict the status, the individuality and the contextual conditions of an archaeologist’s.     

Archaeology and conservation at Herculaneum: from the Maiuri campaign to the Herculaneum Conservation Project

Abstract

This article looks at two periods in the history of the archaeological site of Herculaneum (Italy) and the role of the archaeologist there. Amedeo Maiuri was in charge of the first major excavation campaign that uncovered the site from 1927 to 1961, but was also responsible for the site's restoration, presentation and maintenance. Much can be learnt from his approach, particularly with regard to site management – a fixed team of specialists continuously cared for the site – and his creation of what was effectively an open-air museum. The second example looks at the author's experiences with the Herculaneum Conservation Project, where the emphasis is on conservation interventions rather than excavation, but where the archaeologist has an important role in the conservation team and also has the opportunity to make new archaeological discoveries. The article concludes that the role of the archaeologist must evolve to include a professional responsibility for archaeological heritage that extends beyond its excavation.     

Ships and parts of ships on ancient coins. I

Ships and parts of ships on ancient coins. I, ARIE L. BEN-ELI (ed.)
Sir Francis Drake, GEORGE MALCOLM THOMSON
The social structure of crews of British dry cargo merchant ships PETER H. FRICKE
Clay pipes for the archaeologist ADRIAN OSWALD
Field archaeology in Britain, JOHN M. COLES
Estuaries: a physical introduction, K. R. DYER     

Some medieval Yemenite numismatic problems – observations on some recently sold coins

The article addresses some of the problems arising from the publication of a recent numismatic catalogue including coins from all parts of the Islamic world. The problems concern in particular the coins of the medieval Yemen and the article comprises a critique of those coins listed under the Arabian peninsula and the Yemen.
Catalogue nos. 101 and 104 are dealt with in some detail since they are erroneously ascribed to mints in Mecca and Minā, respectively. The former is struck in the name of a Zaydī imam, the latter is Rasulid and labelled as having been struck "for a special occasion". The intriguing question of the mysterious Ayyubid prince, al-'Ādil Abū Bakr, arises too (nos. 125 etc.), although no definitive answer can yet be suggested. Much more information is now available on the striking of coins in Tha'bāt during Rasulid times. A number of other points bearing on the numismatics, the history, and the geography of the medieval Yemen are discussed in the article.     

A coin in the name of Hawfi'amm Yuhan'im and the sequence of Qatabanian coinages

The author presents the first known coins in the name of Qatabanian kings Hawfi'amm Yuhan'am and his son Shahr Yagul. While the first coin is a transitional issue linking earlier Qatabanian coins to the so-called Royal HRB series, the second coin represents the first issue of the Royal HRB series. The numismatic dating of both coins is in agreement with dates provided by K.A.Kitchen for both kings.     

Surroundings,Beginnings and Formation of a Journal – A Dialogue with NAR's Alpha Editor Bjørn Myhre

Bjørn Myhre played a key role in the establishment of Norwegian Archaeological Review. All in all, 17 volumes of NAR were produced under his editorial leadership (1968–1978 and 1985–1990). Bjørn Myhre was born in Stavanger in 1938. He did his degree at the University of Bergen (1964), and has since been engaged in research, editing, culture heritage management, excavations, teaching and administration – in Stavanger, Bergen and Oslo. He has produced important prehistoric overviews, cf. Magnus & Myhre 1976, Myhre 2002a, 2003, and 2004. The Iron Age society in south‐west Norway has been central in his research. Of several important excavations, the Iron Age farm site Ullandhaug (1967–68) is fundamental. He has explored different aspects of Iron Age farms – agrarian development, settlement history, house construction and structure (e.g. Myhre 1973, 1978). His studies include discussions on social and political development (Myhre 1985a, 1987, 1998, 2002b). Methodology and theory became a focal point during his time as professor at the University of Oslo from 1985, e.g. ‘Trends in Norwegian archaeology’ (1985b) and ‘Theory in Scandinavian archaeology since 1960 (1991). In 1993, he was appointed as Director of Museum of Archaeology in Stavanger. In 2008 he formally retired, but is still a very active debating and writing archaeologist.

Initially, Bjørn Myhre was invited to write an article about the establishment and first developments of NAR. Subsequently, this was changed to a dialogue text based on questions and answers communicated by email during the autumn of 2007. The basis for questions and replies is a selection of diagrams prepared for the Editorial in this issue which display trends covered in the 40 volumes of NAR.     

Iron Age Coinage on the Isle of Wight

This paper presents a discussion and catalogue of the Iron Age coins found on the Isle of Wight which have been recorded, or are extant, on the island. These coins show a wide variety of links with the mainland and Continental Europe. Many of the coins are of unusual or unique types, suggesting a political division between the Isle of Wight and recognized major tribal groups for at least some of the Late Iron Age. Links are indicated with the intermediary Hampshire group introduced by Sellwood (1984). Strong links are shown with the Durotriges group to the west, and to a lesser degree with the Atrebates/Regni group to the east of the island. There are also preliminary indications of political and social centralization on the island for the first time, from numismatic finds.     

Yoram Tsafrir,B.A., M.A., PhD (30 January 1938–23 November 2015)

Abstract

The coins attributed to Alexander Jannaeus include a very common type that was apparently struck during the last four years of his 27-year reign, or possibly after his death. The presence or absence of these common coins, at sites where there is a relevant gap in the sequence of the numismatic archaeological finds, can sometimes indicate whether the site was destroyed and abandoned for a period at the end of the second century and/or during the first half of the first century B.C.E. Analysis of this presence or absence can also, in some instances, help to resolve a long-standing question about the attribution of certain other Hasmonean coins to Jannaeus. These contentions are demonstrated through case studies of the numismatic finds at Samaria, Pella, Bethsaida, Khirbet esh-Shuhara, and Gibeon.     

A STUDY OF THE SILVERING PROCESS OF THE GALLO‐ROMAN COINS FORGED DURING THE THIRD CENTURY AD*

We have observed by fast neutron activation analysis (FNAA) that the global composition of the official silver coins of the Gallic emperor Postumus is not the same as those from the contemporary unofficial mints. In order to explain this phenomenon, we have carried out a metallographic study of the artefacts. Then, we have re‐created the silvering process of unofficial coins in order to better understand the manufacturing process of silvering. The different steps of the replication process are explained in this paper.     

X-RAY FLUORESCENCE AND DENSITY MEASUREMENTS ON SURFACE-TREATED ROMAN SILVER COINS*

Some 630 Roman silver coins excavated at Augusta Raurica (Switzerland) have been analysed by non-destructive X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction. Furthermore, the density and the weight have been determined. The measured average density of plated and massive depletion-silvered coins is lower than the density calculated from the chemical composition, whereas massive coins display equal values for both of the densities. Based on experimental X-ray investigations of modern silver (tempering, acid treatment, production of corrosion layers), the nature of corrosion products on silver, their impact on surface analysis, and aspects of wearing-off by circulation are briefly discussed.     

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF COPPER-TIN BRONZES BY MEANS OF GLOW DISCHARGE OPTICAL EMISSION SPECTROMETRY

Glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (GDOES) has been used for obtaining calibration curves for copper, tin, lead, silver, antimony, arsenic, zinc and iron from standards including copper-base alloys (Cu 61.33-99.95%) and from bronze Punic coins. The GDOES results were calibrated using atomic absorption spectroscopy with inductively coupled plasma atomization (ICPAAS) to analyse the standards and coins. For all these materials, the results show that via GDOES it is possible to obtain reliable and reproducible calibration curves for copper, tin, lead, zinc and iron with a linear behaviour as a function of the content. The quantitative GDOES and ICPAAS data for the coins have been also compared with those obtained via X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and it is shown that GDOES, ICPAAS and XRF agree well with one another considering that the bronze coins are inhomogeneous to some degree. As an example of GDOES analytical features, a depth concentration profile through a thin bronze patina is shown and briefly discussed.     

THE CHRONOLOGY OF GROUPS OF DIES FOR LARGE ISSUES OF ANCIENT COINS USING MAHALANOBIS DISTANCES*

Discriminant analyses of distances and angles obtained from 25 coins struck by P. Crepusius in 82 BC permitted the correct chronology for five groups of closely-related dies to be obtained by the method of Carter and Frurip. Twenty distances and 15 angles were measured on 10 x projections of the coins which represented five groups of dies separated in time from each other. The use of all or many variables gave poorer results than the use of five to ten variables having a high ‘figure of merit’, defined as the maximum range of mean values for a given variable in the five groups of dies divided by the mean standard deviation of the variable in the five groups. It is recommended that chronologies of ancient coins be determined from Mahalanobis distances by using only variables of relatively high figure of merit.     

Giants in Pageants

After early employment with the archaeologist, General Pitt Rivers, Herbert Samuel Toms (1874–1940) was a curator in the Brighton Museum. Amassing a significant folklore archive, including specimens, photographs, and records of interviews from Sussex and adjoining counties, his particular interest was naturally perforated flints (witch stones or hagstones), used to protect households against witches, domestic animals from the ravages of the nightmare, and to cure a range of diseases. By the 1920s, they were regarded as little more than “lucky stones”, as were necklaces made up of the Cretaceous fossil sponge, Porosphaera.     

《四库全书》乾隆谕旨平议（续）

本文认为《四库全书总目·卷首》乾隆二十五道谕旨是编纂《四库全书》的指导思想和总纲。因此,对这二十五道谕旨进行一番剖析,可知其编纂《四库全书》的基本目的是始终不脱离其宣杨封建思想、文化,维护封建统治这一宗旨,并因此而使许多典籍惨遭厄运。同时又在客观上使中国文化典籍得到了保存和流传。中肯地评价二十五道谕旨,能了解其某些文化政策和书籍编纂思想,有助于对其思想研究的进一步深入。     

The Chronology of the Russian Hunting Stations on Svalbard: A Reconsideration

Abstract

There is no agreement on the exact starting point of Russian sea mammal hunting on the Svalbard archipelago, although the question has been discussed for decades among Russian and Norwegian historians and archaeologists. After more than 25 years of archaeological research, the Russian archaeologist Vadim F. Starkov argues that Russian hunting in the Svalbard archipelago was initiated around 1550 (if not earlier), i.e. well in advance of Willem Barentsz’ discovery of Svalbard in 1596. Starkov's chronology is first and foremost based on dendrochronological datings of remnants from Russian hunting stations. This author is critical of Starkov's interpretations, and argues that almost all of his dendro-datings can in one way or another be connected with re-used material such as ship planks or local driftwood. That means there is no direct correspondence between these datings and the period when the hunting stations were in use.     

Between flesh and spirit: Joachite pattern and meaning in the Cronica of Fra Salimbene

Fra Salimbene's observation of society, spiritual and temporal, was colored by an interpretation of Joachim of Fiore's revolutionary scheme. As a chronicler, he found at times events explicable through and important to Biblical understanding which he articulated through a system of prefigurative connections. He followed a loose plan of exegetic explanatory speculation for present eschatological definition by attempting to classify the events of the apocalyptic Scriptures. The end result produced a chronicle which in part depicted a history of successive fulfillment in his present time. This paper explores four noticeable Joachite themes which are easily extracted from the Cronica: his view of the Order of Friars Minor as the novus ordo for the New Age, the Whore of Babylon, the Manifestations of Antichrist, and the Period of Tribulations.