Potassium-argon ages of schist honestones from the viking age sites at Kaupang (Norway), Aggersborg (Denmark), Hedeby (West Germany) and Wolin (Poland), and their archaeological implications

Viking age honestones from four large sites in northern Europe have been made from two different types of quartz-muscovite schist: one dark grey, very fine-grained schist, and a light grey, fine-grained schist. In order to determine the provenance of these schist hones, KAr ages have been determined on 16 selected representative hones. The dark grey schist hones yield Caledonian ages of 403–446 Ma. and consideration of petrographic evidence leads to the conclusion that the hones were quarried in the Caledonian area (presumably) of Western Norway. The light grey schist hones are Precambrian, with KAr ages of 931–946 Ma, and are presumed to originate from Telemark, South Norway. The amount and homogeneity of these honestone groups from different parts of the Viking world indicates the existence of large quarries, and demonstrates that production and trade were more wide-ranging than had hitherto been assumed.     

Traditional Soap Workshops in Nizip (Gaziantep), South-Eastern Turkey

With the development of the modern soap production techniques, traditional ways started to vanish. In the past, sabunhane, soap workshops, were built in the regions where there was olive-oil production. In Turkey, many soap workshops, large and small in scale, in the settlements where there was soap production. Until now, there has been no extensive study of the soap workshops in Turkey. This study identifies and documents the historical soap workshops in and around Nizip (Gaziantep) in south-eastern Turkey, which are important features of the region’s industrial heritage. Amongst these workshops, Nizip Say?nlar workshop, which was built in the 19th century with architectural features characteristic of the region, and which reflects the technological level of the period and processes of production, is described in greater detail. First, the distinctive architectural features of the soap workshops are analysed. The importance of soap production and its historical development are described, and the tools and techniques used in the production and relationship with the architectural space of the workshops are explained. A comparative study of the soap workshops located around Nizip is undertaken and some suggestions on the preservation of a few surviving soap workshops are provided.     

Excavations at 18 Castle Street (Albion Court), Aberdeen

Abstract

A small terrace of buildings in a lane behind the north side of Castle Street, Aberdeen (NJ945064) was surveyed prior to demolition. Subsequent excavation revealed that it had been constructed as a two-storied row in c. 1650–60. There was a substantial rebuilding c. 1750–60 with the addition of attics lit by dormer windows. Contemporary rebuilding was also taking place on the Castle Street frontages. In c. 1830 further rebuilding was carried out on the southern end of the terrace. By the middle of the 19th century the whole terrace was being rented for multi-tenancy occupation.     

Eoshumardia (Trilobita,Cambrian), a junior synonym of Koldinioidia

Well-preserved internal and external moulds of a shumardiid species are described from the late Furongian (Late Cambrian) “Fengshan Formation” at Poben, Napo, southwestern Guangxi, which is close to the type locality of Shumardia orientalis, the type species of Eoshumardia. All features observed on the internal moulds indicate that the new material is definitely S. orientalis, whereas the morphology of the external moulds indicates that S. orientalis should be referred to Koldinioidia. The change of generic assignment of the type species means that Eoshumardia is a junior synonym of Koldinioidia.     

Brachiopods of the Yarralumla Formation (Ludlovian), Canberra,Australia

The Yarralumla Formation of Canberra has been considered the stratigraphic equivalent of the earliest Ludlovian Yass Formation of the Yass Syncline north of Canberra. The previously unpublished brachiopod fauna of the Yarralumla Formation is fully described; comparison with that of the Yass Formation confirms approximate age equivalence. Of the eleven species, none of which is new, eight also occur in or a little above the Yass Formation.     

Clovis Blades at Paleo Crossing (33ME274), Ohio

Abstract

This paper describes the previously undocumented Paleoindian lithic blade assemblage from the Paleo Crossing Site, Ohio (33ME274). Qualitative and quantitative comparisons of the Paleo Crossing blade assemblage to blade assemblages from other Paleoindian sites demonstrates its fragmented and utterly exhausted nature, but support its designation as Clovis. This is significant given that a majority of the Paleo Crossing toolstone outcrops 600 km southwest of the site in southern Indiana and western Kentucky, a prominent locale for Clovis prismatic blade manufacture. We propose that blade reduction was practiced for prolonging the use-life of distally retouched endscrapers, a prominent tool form at Paleo Crossing. Since use-wear and ethnographic evidence often show that endscrapers were used for hide-working, Paleo Crossing may be an appropriate venue to test for the presence of intense caribou hide-working.     

Metaphrasis after the second iconoclasm Nicephorus Skeuophylax and his Encomia of Theophanes Confessor ( BHG 1790), Theodore of Sykeon ( BHG 1749), and George the Martyr ( BHG 682)

This article discusses the Constantinopolitan author Nicephorus "Skeuophylax" and his m uvre. In addition to his two known encomia , a third text, an Encomium of George the Martyr, is attributed to him. Dating between the mid-ninth and the mid-tenth centuries, Nicephorus was a sacristan of the church of Mary at the Blachernae and a monk, possibly of St George in the Deuteron. His speeches, all of them metaphraseis of older texts, are concise narratives with encomiastic elements. He used one of his texts to intervene in a contemporary debate on fasting. Nicephorus must be seen as one of the participants in the movement to create new settings for the commemorations of saints.     

Taphonomy and Paleoichnology of Olduvai Hominid 1 (OH1), Tanzania

This paper presents a case study of the Late Pleistocene skeletal remains of Olduvai Hominid 1, which were unearthed in Tanzania. Excavated in 1913, this fossil shows severe damage due to subterranean termites (Insecta: Isoptera). By combining methods to quantify and locate traces on the skeleton with the study of the different taphonomic processes that altered the deposit, we demonstrate a non‐arbitrary pattern of termite alteration of the skeletal remains. These results shed new light on the possibility to reconstruct the original position of a skeleton in a deposit and the potential to infer the space of decomposition and past funerary practices. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.