Valuing different road options for Stonehenge

Abstract

Stonehenge in the UK is one of the best-known and most important archaeological sites in the world. Unfortunately the site suffers considerable intrusion in the form of two busy roads which pass close by on either side of the stone circle, which provide an ‘excellent’ view of the site in its landscape. It is not a priori certain that closing one road and burying the other, as was proposed by those charged with managing the site, would actually improve social welfare.

A contingent valuation survey was undertaken, in which willingness to pay for the construction of a two kilometre tunnel for the A303 road where it passes Stonehenge, along with the closure and dismantling of the A344 road, was contrasted with willingness to pay to retain the current road layout. The survey was reinforced by means of computer-enhanced photographs and maps. The results of the survey indicate that while most respondents would prefer to retain the current scenario, most are not willing to pay to do this. Those who prefer the. construction of the tunnel seem far more financially committed. The net heritage benefit arising from the construction of the tunnel turns out to be £114 million.     

The China Museum Boom: soft power and cultural nationalism

ABSTRACT

We document major changes in museum supply in China between 1996 and 2015. These years have seen the opening of many small, low budget and locally managed museums; an increase in the average size and expenditure of all museums; and significant investments in a few large and centrally managed superstar museums. Chinese people have access to larger and better museums and pay lower admission fees. Regional inequalities in museum growth are smaller than inequalities in GDP growth. We relate these findings with the small literature on Chinese museums and specifically the notions of soft power and cultural nationalism.     

The Rose Theatre: Twenty Years of Continuous Monitoring,Lessons, and Legacy

Abstract

The discovery of the Rose Theatre in 1989 led to the implementation of new planning guidance focused on the presumption that the preferred response to development impacting on archaeological sites would be mitigation and preservation in situ. There was little understanding of what the impact of mitigation would be on the quality of the buried evidence and the Rose Theatre site was the first to be scientifically monitored. As a direct result research was implemented and the PARIS series of conferences were initiated.     

Site preservation at Gordian,an Iron Age city in Anatolia

Abstract

Since excavations began at the Citadel Mound of Gordion in the 1950s, the site has been exposed to the extreme weather conditions of Central Anatolia. The architectural remains, including a unique palace quarter and citadel, are deteriorating to the extent that the legibility of the site is threatened.

The excavated area within the mound, comprising more than two hectares, is too vast to be covered by protective sheltering given the current budget. Conventional backfilling is also precluded, as this would obscure key topographical elements of the site and distort the stratigraphical context of the city within its surrounding citadel.

To preserve the site under these conditions, a technique of sandbag buttressing and clay capping has been implemented at Gordion. Using locally available materials, this system of interpretive stabilization not only preserves the architecture of the ancient city within its stratigraphical context, but improves the legibility of the site as a whole.     

REVIEW

Abstract

Kh. Qumran was visited by western explorers during the nineteenth century, long before the famous discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls nearby. The observations of these visitors supplement the preliminary reports of Roland de Vaux, who excavated the site in the 1950s. Do their transliterations of the name of the site (e.g. 'Goumran') indicate that the present site-name is inaccurate? Probably not, because a sound something like English 'g' was used by Bedouin guides for Arabic qāf. However, the origin of the name 'Qumran' remains obscure. One solution would be to see it as the Aramaic (Syriac) word qumrā, meaning 'belt', an apt name for the wadi that runs beside the ruin.     

More substance on subsistence

Bernard Nietschmann. Between Land and Water. New York: Seminar Press, 1973. xiv + 279 pp. Illustrations, tables, appendixes, glossary, references, and index. $14.00.

James Ward, producer‐editor, and Brian Weiss, anthropologist‐photographer. The Turtle People. Los Angeles: B & C Films. Twenty‐six minutes. Color and sound. $310.00 (purchase price), $25.00 (rental fee).     

Preserving Archaeological Remains In Situ: Three Case Studies in Trentino,Italy

Abstract

The paper presents the results of the restoration and conservation work which has been carried out in three archaeological areas in the Autonomous Province of Trento. The areas, which have been opened to the public for more than ten years, are the open-air archaeological site of Monte S. Martino, Roman Tridentum (an underground site under the historical city centre of Trento), and Fiavé (a pile dwelling site in a peat bog). These areas present very different environmental characteristics and have therefore required different interventions according to their speci?c situation.

In order to reduce maintenance and extraordinary costs, appropriate conservation of the archaeological remains is required. This consists of methodologies of conservation according to the characteristics of the environment; continuous monitoring systems and indirect preventive intervention; and annual maintenance planning.     

A Survey of Shipwreck Sites Off the Southwestern Coast of Turkey

Abstract

Using a combination of remote sensing techniques (side-scan sonar and underwater television), and visual inspection by SCUBA-diving, 18 wrecks ranging in age from preclassical to 19th century A.C. were located between Bodrum and Cape Gelidonya. The majority of wreck sites were known to local sponge divers. All except one site have been looted; nevertheless, eight sites are judged worthy of further investigation.     

Site Charting and Environmental Studies of the Monitor Wreck

Abstract

Marine geological and geophysical techniques have been applied to studies of the Monitor wreck to chart the fragments of the wreck and to determine the corrosion state of the remaining iron and the state of the geological and oceanographic environment in the immediate area of the wreck. Methods included magnetic surveying of the wreck site, computer calculations of the magnetization of the Monitor iron, and comparisons with magnetic measurements on iron artifacts from the wreck. Piston coring of the strata immediately beneath the wreck and near-bottom current measurements revealed evidence on the sedimentation rates and sediment transport at the site; these data confirmed interpretations made from high-resolution subbottom reflection profiles across the site.     

Integrating LiDAR data and conventional mapping of the Fort Center site in south-central Florida: A comparative approach

Abstract

Publicly available LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data provide a potential windfall for archaeologists, permitting the creation of detailed topographic site maps with little more than an internet-connected computer and appropriate software. The quality of these LiDAR data for site mapping is variable, however, and may need to be supplemented with data obtained from conventional mapping techniques. We share insights from recent mapping of the Fort Center site (8GL13) in southern Florida. Specifically, we suggest a method—based on trial and error—for integrating LiDAR and total station survey data. We compare the results of our work with previous efforts at mapping the site based solely on conventional archaeological survey methods, as well as with results based on LiDAR data alone. We conclude that our combination of LiDAR data, corrected by conventional survey data, produces the most accurate map.     

Aztec period houses and terraces at Calixtlahuaca: The changing morphology of a Mesoamerican hilltop urban center

Abstract

Calixtlahuaca, a Middle–Late Postclassic site in the Toluca Valley of central Mexico, was occupied ca. a.d. 1100–1530. Our excavations reveal some of the processes involved in the creation, functions, and decay of a large hilltop urban center. At its height, the majority of the site’s surface (264 ha) was covered with residential-agricultural terraces supported by a complex water management system. House construction techniques included the use of adobe brick, wattle-and-daub, and stone pavements. Our fieldwork contributes to a growing body of research on hilltop political capitals in Mesoamerica. Using a refined chronology, we illuminate the processes by which people constructed the residential zones of this ancient hilltop city.     

Socio‐cultural currents affecting heritage site consideration: The impact of human values on people's attitudes and behaviour

Abstract

Many heritage site directors think of market research in simple ‘who, what, when, where’ terms; who came to their site, what did they see, when did they come, and where did they come from? Some also have employed qualitative techniques to probe ‘why’, asking groups of visitors to tell moderators why they were attracted, or not, by some specific exhibit, site or display. Research can offer a far deeper understanding than this basic marketing information. After a brief introduction focusing on the impact of demographics in the next few years, and recent trends in visits to British attractions, the analysis of key attitudinal statements regarding the psychological impact of heritage and technology is examined to see which socio‐cultural trends affect attitudes to these concepts.     

PREHISTORIC ROCK ART FROM PAINTED BLUFF AND THE LANDSCAPE OF NORTH ALABAMA ROCK ART

Abstract

Painted Bluff in northern Alabama is one of the richest and most elaborate open-air rock art localities in the Eastern Woodlands, rivaling some of the Southeast’s dark zone cave art sites discovered over the past several decades. Known for more than a century, the site has never seen detailed documentation until now. Painted Bluff contains motifs similar to iconography associated with Mississippian ceremonial objects, and a radiocarbon age determination (cal A.D. 1300–1440) would indicate contemporary use of the site. More than 80 images were painted on the cliffs, most using red mineral pigments but some reflecting polychromatic use of differently colored minerals. We present examples of the Painted Bluff artwork and discuss the site in the broader context of prehistoric rock art on the southern Cumberland Plateau and in northern Alabama.     

THE ROLT MEMORIAL LECTURE 2011

Abstract

The Pawtucket Dam in Lowell is a key site in the interpretation of the city’s industrial heritage and a potent symbol of corporate determination to alter the natural environment for textile production and profit. It is both a certified National Landmark and the most dramatic feature of a National Park, the first one to be located in an American industrial city. Without a great dam at Pawtucket Falls, Lowell would never have become a renowned example of manufacturing prowess and attractive urban design. Every dam built across the Merrimack River since 1825 at that site has been controversial. They have blocked fish migrations, overflowed farmland, backed water into the wheelpits of upstream mills, halted log drives, and made floods more destructive. The existing Pawtucket Dam of 1847 and 1875 is now the focus of a heated debate between preservationists and a hydroelectric power company that wants to alter it.     

‘Marineness’, the Underwater Seascape and Variability in Maritime Adaptations in the Late Ceramic Age Northern Lesser Antilles

ABSTRACT

To investigate potential variation between the fishing practices of contemporaneous Late Ceramic Age villages in the northern Lesser Antilles, we model expectations for each site based on local marine habitat and bathymetry and compare them to observed differences in zooarchaeological assemblages. The predictive model approximates which taxa were the most likely to have been targeted by fishers from each site, assuming that the majority of fishing likely occurred within short distances from each settlement. A comparison of expectations and archaeological observations is used to expose potential differences between sites in preferred fishing areas and techniques, preferred foods, or social distinctions. This variability is argued to reflect a fishing community’s ‘marineness’, or the interrelationship members have with the unique composition of marine resources and underwater seascape adjacent to their villages.     

Revitalizing Federalism: A Brownsonian Prescription for Preserving National Unity Amidst Growing Diversity

Abstract

Historically, the United States has achieved a relatively high degree of political stability. The reason: the Federal Constitution provides a complex architecture that checks and divides political power and compels compromise. In A Constitution in Full: Recovering the Unwritten Foundation of American Liberty, Richard Reinsch and Peter Augustine Lawler recommend the work of Orestes Augustus Brownson, a Civil War era theorist, to properly interpret the genius of this unique American constitutional order. In The American Republic (1865), Brownson emphasized that America’s written constitution is rooted in its unwritten constitution; the habits, customs, and sentiments of the people. The Founders’ federal division of authority between the nation’s general government and the particular governments of the states simultaneously recognized Americans’ national unity and genuine diversity. Today, that diversity—racial, religious, ethnic—is even more granular. In accommodating that diversity, a revitalized federalism would return greater power to the people of the states over domestic policies. This would not only regenerate democratic decision-making, but would also help to reduce the political polarization by allowing policy outcomes suitable to diverse communities.     

3D imaging of Skoteino Cave,Crete, Greece: Successes and difficulties

Abstract

Interpreting cave use, especially from antiquity, requires the perception of subterranean space in all dimensions (floor to ceiling to lateral extent) including spatial variability resulting from geological factors. Subterranean conditions, coupled with variable atmospheric conditions, create a special environment not readily conveyed by conventional mapping techniques limited to two-dimensional floor plans. Skoteino Cave in north central Crete, Greece was used as a ritual and refuge site in the Bronze Age and later. Mapping of the cave attempted to depict and interpret prehistoric and historical use of this space by employing two mapping techniques: EDM total station mapping and terrestrial/point cloud laser scanning. Comparisons with earlier methods used to map cave show the advantages and disadvantages of various mapping schemes. To date, this was the first use of three-dimensional (3D) scanning to explore the complex shapes and space of a subterranean archaeological site on Crete (and the second such use in Greece), and this use demonstrates its own consequent successes and difficulties.     

Archaeological Intra-Site Recording with Photography

Abstract

Experimentation in overhead photography aimed at eliminating errors in measurement by conventional mapping techniques has resulted in the development of instruments having from one to several applications in intra-site mapping. A useful by-product of this research has been the achievement of superior panoramic views. Since altitude is a critical factor in achieving either of these objectives, this paper distinguishes the results to be gained by use of low, medium, and high altitude instruments. The paper concludes with some overall field considerations along with photo-laboratory suggestions especially directed toward producing a photographic montage of the site as a whole.     

Isotopic Evidence for Camelid Husbandry During the Formative Period at the Pacopampa Site,Peru

ABSTRACT

Camelids were domesticated in the Andean highlands, such as in the puna habitat, and dispersed into lowland areas and the northern Central Andes. As camelids domesticated in a particular region would have had a greater economic benefit than visiting- or hunted wild camelids, it is important to reconstruct the dispersal of camelid husbandry from its initial site throughout the ancient Andean civilisation. We carried out multi-isotope analyses of animal remains recovered from the Pacopampa site to investigate the nature of camelid pastoralism and utilisation. Strontium and oxygen isotope ratios from tooth enamel suggested that camelids in the early Late Formative Period (800–500 BC) were born near the site and remained in the same habitat for up to three years. Although corresponding data for the Middle Formative Period (1200–800 BC) were not available, carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were statistically different from those of the Late Formative Period, supporting the possibility that the camelids inhabited the highland plateau like puna. It is inferred that in the northern highlands camelids were initially rare and regarded as either tribute or ritual animals, or they were used as pack animals. Camelid husbandry using maize as fodder began during the Late Formative Period at Pacopampa.     

The rock art of the Côa valley,Portugal: Significance,conservation and management

Abstract

The Côa river valley is the largest open-air Palaeolithic art site currently known. Some 150 decorated panels have already been found, spread along 17km. The whole complex would have been submerged under 100m of water if construction of the large Foz Côa dam, begun in 1992, had been allowed to continue. The dam project was halted in 1995 and a 200km² archaeological park is being established in this area, which is now legally protected at the highest level as a National Monument. Public access to selected sites is organized through four-wheel drive. tours of groups of eight people accompanied by guides appropriately trained in archaeology and rock art studies. Visitor Centres have been set up in restored traditional houses located in the villages around the periphery of the park. A Museum of Rock Art and Archaeology and associated research facilities is to be established at the site of the now abandoned dam.