Reburial in the context of development: Approaches to reburial in the English planning process

Abstract

Rescue archaeology in England is now firmly embedded in the planning process, following the introduction by the UK government of Planning Policy Guidance Note 16 in 1990 (PPG 16; Departmentof the Environment. Planning Policy Guidance Note 16 — Archaeology and Planning. HMSO, London (1990)). The basic premise of PPG 16 is a strong preference for in situ preservation of nationally important archaeological remains. This often includes reburial of archaeology prior to construction activity, once it has been exposed in test-pitting (‘evaluations’) or full excavation. Reburial strategies are often prepared by civil engineers and there appears to be an overemphasis on consideration of the potential physical impacts on the archaeology. These strategies usually include the use of geotextiles and sand, or other graded material, chosen for its particular particle size/shape characteristics. A greater awareness of the chemical and physical characteristics of a burial environment is now required to ensure that reburial is effective. Archaeologists and conservators are beginning to consider both the natural and, increasingly, the ‘man-made’ (industrial, domestic and agricultural) changes to the soil chemistry of an archaeological site. More use needs to be made of the potential information ‘locked up’ in the artefactual material retrieved from evaluations and excavation nearby. An assessment of the degree of preservation of material should be an integral component for the design of a reburial strategy.     

Monitoring the burial environment of terrestrial wet archaeological sites in The Netherlands

Abstract

Monitoring the burial environment of archaeological sites is necessary to assess the success of their preservation in situ. Also, monitoring the state of preservation of actual archaeological remains together with that of their burial environment will further our understanding of the degradation processes acting on archaeological remains in situ. These remains consist not only of objects made from wood, metal, stone, etc., but also of pollen, soil features and even micromorphological features. Although, to date, the precise degradation mechanisms of archaeological remains in situ are not yet fully understood, general agreement exists on which parameters should be monitored in wet terrestrial environments. Also, it has been established that in situ measurements are preferable to laboratory analyses of soil (water) samples. In practice, it is difficult to find suitable monitoring equipment for in situ measurement as it must meet many requirements: an in situ measuring principle; stable for a period of at least several months; robust for use in the field; and equipped with a datalogger. A suitable principle exists for measuring the redox potential, however a simple, robust field instrument with datalogger is not yet available. Monitoring of the water table level, temperature and oxygen content is possible with recently developed, commercially available instruments. Monitoring of acidity is less complex as it does not vary as rapidly as, for example, the redox potential; however, the recommended method is still based on analysing soil samples, which is not acceptable in the long term at archaeological sites.     

Saving the Rose Theatre: England's first managed and monitored reburial

Abstract

The discovery of the Elizabethan Rose Theatre in London in 1989 led to pressure on the government for the site to be preserved for future full excavation and the display of the remains in situ. This paper describes briefly the historical and geological background to the theatre site, and discusses the rationale of the burial system adopted and the methods used to monitor the condition of the site. The burial system was designed with a limited life expectancy of a few years and it was, and still remains, the objective of the Rose Theatre Trust to raise sufficient money for the theatre to be displayed. However, fourteen years on, the system continues to perform satisfactorily. The methodology is reviewed, particularly the use of expensive and scarce Buckland sand, and finally, the options for the future of the theatre's remains are considered.     

The reburial of mosaics: an overview of materials and practice

Abstract

A significant proportion of the literature on the reburial of archaeological sites concerns mosaics. These publications reveal that a variety of materials have been used for mosaic reburial, including specialized fill and separation layers, from the early 1980s onwards. Although reburial practice often demonstrates an ad hoc and indiscriminate use of fill and separation materials, or the following of trends and anecdotal information favouring certain materials, knowledge of their characteristics is very important in developing an appropriate technical design for reburial of mosaics. The materials most commonly employed in mosaic reburial practice, including geotextiles, are reviewed and an assessment of their positive and negative characteristics within a reburial design is provided. Recent but limited laboratory and field testing, monitoring and evaluation of reburial interventions have begun to provide preliminary evidence about the behaviour of these materials, indicating which ones are most appropriate and how they should be utilized to best advantage. However, their selection and use remains uneven, and positive results continue to be as much a function of adequate maintenance as proper design and execution.     

Selective reburial: a potential approach for the in situ preservation of waterlogged archaeological wood in wetland excavations

Excavations at Dispilio, a prehistoric lakeside settlement in northern Greece, have revealed a significant number of vertical wooden piles that need to be protected during and after excavation. Lifting of the piles is not possible and approaches such as reburial, cannot currently be implemented as excavation is still in progress. In 2005, several posts were “selectively buried” on an experimental basis, by encasing them in PVC pipes and backfilling with the surrounding sediment. This approach appeared to be capable of protecting the piles during excavation and be a potential solution for their post-excavation preservation. This preliminary study sets out to asses if this alternative approach to reburial could be an effective in situ preservation method.     

Monitoring through replication: Design and evaluation of the monitoring reburial at the Laetoli trackway site

Abstract

How is it possible to monitor the condition of a site or artefact after it has been reburied? In the case of the reburial of the extremely fragile and remote site of Laetoli in Tanzania this problem was addressed by creating a replica reburial close to the site in 1995. The method and materials used to rebury the trackway are replicated in the monitoring trench, which thus provides a ‘window’ on the condition of the trackway. A series of samples and indicator objects of different materials placed in the trench are intended to provide an understanding of the burial environment over the long term. Additionally, triangular recesses with sharply defined edges were cut into the floor of the trench to allow determination of the mechanical stability of the tuff to deformation under the reburial overburden. The trench was lined with root-inhibiting Biobarrier® geotextile and then reburied in the same manner as the trackway; existing acacia trees at the edge of the trench were allowed to remain. In 1997 excavation of part of the trench was undertaken. Of particular interest was the fine detail of the topography of the floor of the trench and the effectiveness of the Biobarrier®. Geosynthetics showed no evidence of deterioration, but severe degradation of all wood samples without preservative chemical treatment and of indicator objects indicated a very aggressive environment. Many of the findings, such as survival or deterioration of the indicator objects, use of geosynthetics and the efficacy of Biobarrier®, have relevance to a broader understanding of buried environments.     

A double dog burial from San Nicolas Island, California, USA: osteology, context, and significance

Recent archaeological excavations on San Nicolas Island, located off the coast of southern California, revealed the remains of a double dog burial interred sometime during the 13th and 14th centuries. Two carefully laid to rest and possibly sacrificed juvenile, female domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) between the ages of 1 and 6 months were found within a Native American village. Digestive tract residues include burned and unburned fish and marine mammal bone that suggest scavenging behavior or direct feeding by humans. Breed classifications place it between the Short-Nosed Indian dog and the Plains-Indian dog, likely representing a cross between those and other varieties of North American dogs. Comparisons with other dog burials from archaeological sites across southern California suggest commonalities and possible cultural linkages.     

Microarchaeology of a collective burial: cova des Pas (Minorca)

FTIR and phytolith analyses have been used to understand the exceptional preservation of the organic remains at the burial cave of Cova des Pas (Minorca), and to obtain high-resolution data of the plant remains present in the sediments. The presence of sodium nitrate and gypsum suggests a relatively dry environment that has enabled the preservation of the organic material, and contributed to the natural mummification. The dry conditions also favored phytolith preservation. Grass inflorescence phytoliths are abundant all over the site suggesting that phytolith accumulations might have an anthropogenic origin and are related to the burial ritual.     

Discovery of colon contents in a skeletonized burial: Soil sampling for dietary remains

Recovering dietary and parasitological data from skeletonized burials is often overlooked or attempted without sufficient consideration of preservation possibilities, quality sampling areas or the confounding influences of post-interment processes. A case study of a skeletonized Anasazi burial is presented to demonstrate three important points. First, that macrobotanical remains can be preserved in addition to the more durable pollen and parasite eggs. Second, that the sacrum can act as a structural container for the contents of the lower digestive tract upon decomposition of the body, thereby providing a productive sampling area. Finally, that reliable interpretation of any biological remains from skeletonized burials depends upon the analysis of several control samples. Since awareness of probable data sources plays a central role in what is actually collected and analysed, it is important to alert archaeologists to the possibilities of colon content analysis from skeletonized burials.     

Beyond the Discontinuity Paradigm: Towards a Pan-African Church History

The purpose of this article is to suggest: (1) That a particular model of writing African church history inherited from the historiography of European mission has influenced the way in which the trans-African history of Christianity in Africa has been presented. It is argued that this model has encouraged an episodic view of the Christian past, through its documentary emphasis on the last two centuries. (2) That this model was both implicit and unchallenged in the theological trends of the post-colonial period, with their programmatic emphasis on indigenization and inculturation. The work of the vast majority of African theologians, and hence of church historians outside Africa, envisaged a model of the 'discontinuous past' premised on the idea that Christianity was to be understood in terms of export and import or 'early' north African and 'later' southern African engagement. This model is here labelled the 'discontinuity paradigm'. (3) That a new model for the writing of church history in Africa should be attempted. An 'adaptive similarities' model is proposed which sees the history of the church in Africa against the template of analogous conversion–adaptation–fissiparation movements in the earlier periods of the church's existence. The essay proposes a pan-African church history 'project' which focuses its work on constructing this model from regional church history efforts (Sundkler) and which attempts to isolate the recurrent themes and patterns of African Christianity (the thematic–chonological matrix) as interpreted within the wider African context (the geographical–cultural matrix).     

Secular variations in seawater chemistry as a control on the chemistry of basinal brines: test of the hypothesis

The hypothesis that basinal brines inherited their major ion chemistries and elevated salinities from evaporated paleoseawaters is tested by comparing the compositions of basinal brines in Silurian (Michigan basin, Illinois basin, Appalachian basin in eastern Ohio) and Jurassic/Cretaceous (Central Mississippi Salt Dome basin, Arkansas shelf, and south‐central Texas) host rocks, when the world oceans were ‘CaCl₂ seas’, with those from Permian and Pennsylvanian rocks (Palo Duro basin, Central Basin Platform, and Delaware basin, Texas and New Mexico) when the world oceans were ‘MgSO₄ seas’. Basinal brines examined are assumed to have originally formed from evaporation of the same seawaters that produced major evaporites. Sulfate, Mg and K levels in basinal brines are below the concentrations expected from evaporation of seawater of any type, which emphasizes the importance of diagenetic mineral–brine interactions in controlling basinal brine chemistry. There are no major differences in SO₄, Mg and K concentrations between basinal brines hosted by rocks originally formed during ages when the world oceans were MgSO₄ seas versus CaCl₂ seas. Basinal brines in Pennsylvanian–Permian rocks are compositionally distinct (relatively high Na and low Ca) from basinal brines in Silurian, Jurassic and Cretaceous host rocks, which may reflect original differences in seawater chemistry. Basinal brines enriched in Ca and depleted in Na relative to evaporated seawater of any type have traditionally been interpreted to form by albitization of plagioclase feldspar. A new explanation for Ca enrichment and Na depletion of basinal brines is the mixing of evaporated CaCl₂‐type seawater with more dilute water. Some basinal brines are similar in major ion composition to evaporated seawater of a particular age, for example basinal brines in the Cretaceous Edwards Group carbonates, Texas, where dolomitization is the only reaction required to convert evaporated Mesozoic CaCl₂ seawater into Edwards Group brine.     

Degradation processes in colourless Roman glass: cases from the Bocholtz burial

A group of Roman glass objects from the Bocholtz burial in the SW of Limburg (The Netherlands) was found to have been subject to varying degrees of degradation. Many of the 25 colourless glass objects were fragmented to pieces <0.1 cm (“sugared”), whereas the three transparent blue-green glass objects were in near-pristine state. Analyses using SEM, XRF and EDS revealed that the fragmentation was the direct result of the intense leaching of Na₂O from the glass structure and its replacement with water. The resulting gel layers with low-Na₂O contents and large amounts of water are sensitive to cracking when they dry out. Thin-walled glass appears to be less sensitive to cracking from the resulting stress than thick-walled glass. Local differences in the moisture regime during burial also influence the severity of the glass degradation. Glass with low concentrations of CaO seems to be the most sensitive to this form of degradation. The typical blue-green Roman glass is less sensitive as it generally has considerably higher concentrations of CaO.     

Maritime Archaeology in Uruguay: Towards a Manifesto

We report a collaborative maritime archaeological project in Uruguay, one of several Latin American countries where the subject is undergoing review in terms of the ways it is practised and managed. Uruguay is typical of many states where there has been a tension between a heritage-based approach in which the results of investigations are viewed as publicly owned, as opposed to the profit motive in which commercial and personal gain is the underlying ethic. This project was conceived both as a way of assisting the Uruguayan Heritage Commission in promoting the former approach as well as advancing a programme of research into the age of global exploration. This paper sets out the rationale of the initial field season and reflects on subsequent developments.