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.     

Consideration on the construction process and the sandstone quarries during the Angkor period based on the magnetic susceptibility

Detailed magnetic susceptibility measurement was conducted on the sandstones used for the Angkor monuments constructed in the period spanning the Preah Ko and Angkor Wat styles, and the construction process of the buildings and quarries of the sandstones was considered. Combined with the previous study on the sandstones of the Bayon style [Uchida, E., Cunin, O., Shimoda, I., Suda, C., Nakagawa, T., 2003. The construction process of the Angkor monuments elucidated by the magnetic susceptibility of sandstone, Archaeometry 45, 221–232], the magnetic susceptibility measurement revealed that there were 7 sandstone quarries corresponding to Stages I, II, III, IVa, V, VII and VIIIb during the Angkor period. The sandstones used for the monuments belonging to Stage I show average magnetic susceptibility values ranging from 1.1 to 2.3 × 10⁻³ SI units. In the Bakheng style period (Stage II), the average magnetic susceptibility of the supplied sandstones decreased gradually from around 10 to 1 × 10⁻³ SI units over time. The magnetic susceptibility range of the sandstones used for the monuments of Stage III was from 2.3 to 3.0 × 10⁻³ SI units. In the early Angkor Wat style period (IVb), the average magnetic susceptibility of the supplied sandstones increased over time, reflecting the supply of the sandstones from two different quarries, that is, the quarry corresponding to the Khleang and Baphuon style monuments (Stage IVa), with low average magnetic susceptibilities of 1.1 to 2.4 × 10⁻³ SI units, and the quarry corresponding to the main Angkor Wat style monuments (Stage V), with high average magnetic susceptibilities ranging from 2.8 to more than 4.3 × 10⁻³ SI units. The sandstones of Stage VII show low average magnetic susceptibility around 1 × 10⁻³ SI unit. The sandstones of Stage VId is a mixture of sandstones of Stages V and those of Stage VII. The sandstones with high magnetic susceptibilities are found in the monuments belonging to Stage VIIIb, reflecting the supply from the new sandstone quarry.     

The domestic fowl and other birds from the Roman site of Mons Claudianus,Egypt

At the Roman quarry settlement of Mons Claudianus in the Eastern Desert of Egypt extreme aridity has preserved large amounts of organic matter. Amongst the faunal remains were several hundred bird bones, together with feathers and egg shell. The majority of the bird bones have been identified as domestic fowl Gallus gallus. Other species are rare: they include a few passage migrants and resident species. Finds of spurred tarsometatarsi and bones with medullary deposits indicate that both male and female domestic fowl are represented. It is likely that they were transported to the site from the Nile valley alive; some may have been kept at the settlement. Cut marks suggest that some at least were eaten, but the birds may have been used for different purposes, both secular and ritual. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

NON‐DESTRUCTIVE PORTABLE GAMMA RAY SPECTROMETRY USED IN PROVENANCING ROMAN GRANITOID COLUMNS FROM LEPTIS MAGNA,NORTH AFRICA*

Portable gamma ray spectrometry (PGRS) provides a non destructive means to analyst quantitatively large artefacts, such as building stones, for the radioelements K. U and Th. Nine Raman granitoid columns at the Leptis Magna Ruins in Windsor Great Park, London, were measured in situ by PGRS. Corrections for the environmental background contribution to the gamma ray flux measured, and for the shape and size of the columns, are described Comparison of the PGRS data with a radioelement data base for Roman granite sources indicates that most of the columns originated in the Troad area of Turkey. Two columns could not be unambiguously provenanced using PGRS alone because there is insufficient difference between radioelement concentrations in certain sources. However, non‐destructive measurements of magnetic susceptibility, used in conjunction with PGRS data, suggest that these two columns originated in the Kozak Daǧ, also in Turkey.     

Quarries and transportation routes of Angkor monument sandstone blocks

Sandstone blocks are the main construction materials used in the Angkor monuments in Cambodia. However, a thorough study of the quarries has not yet been carried out. We conducted a field investigation of sandstone quarries from the Angkor period at the southeastern foot of Mt. Kulen, which is approximately 35 km northeast of the Angkor monuments. As a result, we discovered more than 50 sandstone quarries. On the basis of the measurements of magnetic susceptibilities and thicknesses (step heights), we found that they were quarried at different times. These four quarrying areas were identified as the quarries D to G inferred by Uchida et al. (2007). In addition we investigated a canal that was identified on satellite images, connecting quarry sites at the foot of Mt. Kulen to the Angkor monuments. The field investigation suggests a high probability that the canal was used for the transportation of sandstone blocks from Mt. Kulen.     

Geochemical and Magnetic Provenancing of Roman Granite Columns from Andalucía and Extremadura, Spain

One hundred and fifty two granite columns were examined in eight towns and archaeological sites in Andalucía and Extremadura, Spain, in order to determine the geological provenance of the columns. Three non-destructive methods of characterization were used: mineralogical features, magnetic susceptibility, and concentrations of radioelements (K, U, Th) determined by portable gamma ray spectrometry. Columns were compared with potential sources within Spain and in the Mediterranean area using analogous data previously published and also new data obtained for this work. The majority of the columns are made of Spanish granites, some of which were probably quarried near Mérida. Different chemical types of Spanish granites were used in the northern part of the area studied (Extremadura) and in the southern part (Andalucía). Twenty five columns are not of Spanish granites, but were imported from other sources, namely the Troad and Kozak Dağ areas of western Turkey, the Italian islands of Elba and/or Giglio, and Sardinia (confirming a column previously identified in the literature). The imported columns are found in Itálica, Hispalis (Seville) and Astigi (Écija), and were probably carried along the River Guadalquivir and its tributaries.     

A Reconsideration of the Construction Period of the Cruciform Terraces and the Elevated Causeways in the Angkor Monuments,Based on the Magnetic Susceptibility of the Sandstone Blocks*

In this paper, the construction period of the cruciform terraces with columns and the elevated causeways in the Angkor monuments of Cambodia is reconsidered, based on the results of our investigation of magnetic susceptibility and other characteristics of sandstone blocks. From an art‐historical point of view, they are generally considered as modifications in the post‐Bayon style period—the period during the reign of Jayavarman VIII (1243–95 ce ) or later. However, from a lithological point of view, the average magnetic susceptibilities of the sandstone blocks in the cruciform terraces with columns and the elevated causeways are consistent with the rest of the monument. In addition, the characteristics of the sandstone blocks in the cruciform terraces, such as their shape, the orientation of the bedding plane and the stacking method, suggest that they were constructed in the same period as the rest of the monument.     

The Construction Process of the Angkor Monuments Elucidated by the Magnetic Susceptibility of Sandstone*

The Angkor monuments in Cambodia are mainly constructed of grey to yellowish‐brown sandstones. No differences in the constituent minerals and in the chemical composition of the sandstones have been confirmed among the monuments. However, we have found their magnetic susceptibility a useful parameter by which to distinguish them. The principal monuments of Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, Preah Khan, Banteay Kdei and Bayon, constructed from the Angkor Wat period to the Bayon period (from the beginning of the 12th century to the beginning of the 13th century ad ), were investigated in detail using a portable magnetic susceptibility meter. We succeeded in dividing the periods of construction into stages. This elucidated the enlargement process of the monuments and correlated their construction stages.     

A GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE ANCIENT QUARRIES OF SIDI GHEDAMSY ISLAND (MONASTIR,TUNISIA)

Amongst a large number of ancient quarries scattered along the North African coast, those at Sidi Ghedamsy (Monastir, Tunisia) have supplied building stones of Pliocene age. Two lithofacies have been distinguished in the quarry faces: (i) fine sandy limestone, which has been used in the construction of Roman and Arabic monuments; and (ii) porous and coarse limy sandstone, which is of bad quality for construction. Laboratory analysis results confirm that the exploitation of stone in antiquity was well focused on the levels containing the first type. This is confirmed by geotechnical tests, which show that the fine sandy limestone is harder and less porous than the coarse limy sandstone. Extraction of these stones began in the Roman period. The Romans exploited the quarries using steel tools that permitted the extraction of blocks from several levels. In the eighth century, Arabic quarry workers continued the stone extraction using the same technique, but they produced blocks of small and medium size. Statistical measurements have been done on the quarry faces and on the walls of the Ribat in order to understand the degree of conformity between the dimensions of the extracted blocks and those used for building, and ultimately to attempt to date the quarries and the construction of the Ribat.     

MAGNETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY USED IN NON-DESTRUCTIVE PROVENANCING OF ROMAN GRANITE COLUMNS

Magnetic susceptibility provides a rapid, cheap and non-destructive method of in situ characterization of archaeological artefacts containing magnetic minerals, and can be used as an aid to geological provenancing. Three hundred and sixty-three Roman granite columns were measured by this method and results show clear groupings and similarities with potential granite sources in Italy, Turkey and Egypt. Magnetic susceptibility measurements must be made on representative, unweathered surfaces of rocks and artefacts, and corrected for object size and surface relief according to manufacturers’recommendations. In addition, corrections for column curvature have been derived for use with measurements made on columns.     

The stone quarry on Jiddah Island,Bahrain

The surface of the small island of Jiddah lying north‐west of Bahrain is covered in traces of stone quarrying, but although the island probably supplied the limestone ashlars for the second‐millennium BC Dilmun temples at Barbar, the sixteenth‐century AD Bahrain Fort and other eminent buildings, no study has ever been made of the ancient quarry. Information from a geological report and a few photographs may, it is hoped, inspire new research.     

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.     

A history of conservation of built heritage sites of the Swahili Coast in Tanzania

The interaction between the Swahili Coast of the present-day Tanzanian coast and other parts of the Indian Ocean world dates back to the first millennium AD. This commercial communication resulted in the rise of several coastal city-states (stonebuilt towns), some of which date back to the tenth century. Unfortunately, some of these states started to collapse during the second half of the second millennium and the majority of them is in a ruinous state. These material remains, which according to the Tanzania’s Antiquities Act of 1964 deserve legal protection, have not been studied comprehensively mainly to establish their conservation history. The current article addresses this problem, and by analysing documents, it establishes the conservation history of monuments and historic buildings of the Swahili Coast in Tanzania. Research results indicate that some built heritage sites started decaying during the fourteenth century AD. Because of recognising the importance of these built heritage sites, communities of the region embarked on strategies to care these built heritage sites. This observation contradicts the European conventional wisdom maintaining that, in Africa, conservation of built heritage sites such as monuments and historic buildings began in the nineteenth century and was propagated by European colonialists.     

Roman lava quarries in the Eifel region (Germany): geochemical data for millstone provenance studies

Roman millstones of assumed Eifel origin were produced and exported in huge quantities to many parts of Roman Europe and can be used as tracers for trade patterns in Roman times. This study presents for the first time a raw-material centred geochemical definition of the 13 well-known Roman basaltic lava quarries in the Quaternary East and West Eifel volcanic fields. The aim is to find a way to characterize the individual exploitation sites precisely by means of their geochemical composition and to recommend a standard procedure for further millstone provenance analysis. Based on major and trace element composition analyses by XRF, a differentiation of each quarry is achieved by using a combination of geochemical discrimination and cluster and discriminant analysis. Therefore, for provenance analysis of a unknown millstone sample the following procedure is recommended: (1) geochemical discrimination to check if it actually belongs to the volcanic Eifel quarries; (2) cluster analysis to check to which quarry or cluster of quarries the millstone can be affiliated; and (3) discriminant analysis to assign the sample to its quarry of origin with a certain confidence.     

Approaching the Hatch Jasper Quarry From a Technological Perspective: A Study of Prehistoric Stone Tool Production in Central Pennsylvania

Abstract

Mitigation of the Hatch jasper quarry, a “prospect site” in Central Pennsylvania, has enabled the reconstruction of a local system of stone tool acquisition and production. Artifacts from the quarry and the nearby Houserville habitation complex were analyzed using an attribute-based stage typology. This technological approach permitted the separation of geofacts from artifacts, and revealed evidence suggesting that Houserville knappers obtained tool stone from the quarry. Attention was also given to the study of how systematic heat treatment was used to enhance the flaking characteristics of the Hatch quarry jasper. This research highlights the benefits that a technological analysis of flake artifacts, in addition to finished tools, can provide for understanding stone tool production at quarry localities.     

Obsidian hydration at high elevation: Archaic quarrying at the Chivay source,southern Peru

We examine obsidian hydration as a means to date archaeological sites at high elevation in the central Andes, and in particular quarry sites that are difficult to date by radiocarbon means. The Chivay obsidian source lies in a volcanic depression above the Colca Valley in Arequipa, Peru (71.5355° S, 15.6423° E) at 4950 masl. We compare obsidian hydration readings from one quarry and two workshop locations. Ninety-one flakes from the quarry pit, and 61 and 33 flakes from the workshops were analyzed for hydration bands. Of these, 68 from the quarry, and 54 and 33, respectively from the workshops produced at least one culturally meaningful hydration band. As expected, obsidian appears to hydrate slowly at this high elevation. Yet, variation in hydration readings is low within stratigraphic contexts, suggesting relatively narrow windows of knapping activities in each excavation level. A small number of radiocarbon dates allow us to develop a preliminary hydration rate for Chivay obsidian in this high elevation location. Hydration data indicate that intensive quarrying began by 3800 cal. BC and stopped ca. 2300 cal. BC. By contrast, the two workshops appear to have been deposited 2900 and 1200 cal. BC, and 2700 and 2400 cal. BC. The data are consistent with an uptick in obsidian use by at least the Terminal Archaic period.     

Multi-Isotope Investigations for Scientific Characterisation and Provenance Implication of Banded Travertines from Tripolis Antique City (Denizli–Turkey)

The coloured stones used in buildings and monuments were an indicator of power and wealth during the ancient times. In this study, Tripolis city samples have been compared with Tripolis quarry samples in order to recognise the provenance of the banded travertine blocks in the ancient city. The banded travertine samples have similar mineral compositions and mainly consist of calcite with minor amounts of dolomite, aragonite, clay and iron oxide minerals. These results are also supported by CRS studies. Calcite is in the form of needle-shaped crystals ranging between 0.163–1.418?mm (in city) and 0.303–1.270?mm (in quarry). Tripolis banded travertine samples show the similar compositional spread in terms of major oxide, trace elements. δ¹³C_V-PDB values of banded travertines range from 1.93 to 5.25‰ (in city) and 2.99 to 3.99‰ (in quarry), δ¹⁸O_V-PDB values change between (?16.93)–(?10.08) ‰ and (?15.93)–(?13.01)‰, respectively. The U–Th radiometric ages are determined between ～267 and 9?ka in Tripolis city samples and ～350 and 2?ka in Tripolis quarry samples. The minero-petrographic, geochemical, C–O and U–Th isotope results fairly matched with each other. It seems highly probable that the banded travertines in Tripolis city were extracted from the Tripolis quarry, which is located at the northeast of the antique city with a distance of 3?km.     

The British Archaeological Association Honorary Secretary’s Report For 1939

Abstract

In the Lady chapel at the east end of the north aisle of the church at Pucklechurch (Gloucestershire) are two effigial monuments, which have received little scholarly attention. The monuments are attributed to William de Cheltenham (d. between 1371 and 1374) and his wife Eleanor, and were set up in his lifetime within the chantry chapel dedicated to St Mary which William received licence to establish at Pucklechurch in 1337. Little remains of the chapel except an exquisite altar frontal. During the 19th century the two effigies were transposed. Various aspects of the conception and design of the Pucklechurch monuments reflect developments in monumental sculpture in Herefordshire.     

Ancient ‘Black’ Decorative Stones and the Ephesian Origin of Sculptural bigio antico

Isotopic, EPR and petrographic studies aimed at establishing the provenance of sculptural bigio antico are reported, including 18 possible quarry sites and 21 ancient sculptures. The results demonstrate that the Belevi quarry, north‐east of Ephesos, above the more famous white marble quarry, was the major source of this marble. Nineteen artefacts belong to Belevi, whereas the precise origin of the remaining two is unknown, but must probably be found within the same area. The peculiar distribution of δ¹³C values both for Belevi and artefacts was crucial for inferring the correct provenance, subsequently confirmed by additional analytical and petrographic data.     

徐霞客万里西游行迹考辨

对我国古代杰出地理学家和旅行家徐霞客的研究 ,落实旅游考察路线至为重要。徐霞客晚年万里西游的归途 ,由于《徐霞客游记》部分内容散佚 ,已无系统记录。诸家推测 ,互有矛盾。本文通过考证认为 ,徐霞客这次西游没有到过西藏和西北各省 ,但到过四川。从鸡足山东归的路线 ,系经过清华洞和昆明 ,取东川驼铜的大道 ,再从石门江、金沙江船行至叙州府 ,溯岷江船行至嘉定州 ,登峨眉山。以后沿江东下 ,出三峡 ,过楚江 ,在黄冈换船 ,过京口 ,转入运河回到江阴。