The Use and Deployment of Modern Wood Samples as a Proxy Indicator for Biogeochemical Processes on Archaeological Sites Preserved in situ in a Variety of Environments of Differing Saturation Level

Abstract

In situ preservation of archaeological sites is becoming an ever increasing trend as a means of preserving our cultural heritage. In connection with this the environmental conditions, such as water level, dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH and water chemistry, of a site are often monitored. It is generally agreed that a waterlogged and anoxic environment is essential for optimal preservation conditions but the set-up and maintenance of an environmental monitoring programme can be costly.

This paper discusses the design and use of a system whereby modern samples of wood can, with a minimal disturbance of the soil, easily be deployed and retrieved from archaeological sites. The system was deployed in an unsaturated environment, an environment with fluctuating water levels and a fully saturated peat bog. The samples were assessed after two years using microscopic, physical and molecular biological methods, and the types of wood-degrading organisms seen were compared with the results of environmental measurements. Modern wood samples were used, as the microbial ecology of wood-degrading organisms in these different types of environments is relatively well documented. Preliminary conclusions show that the deterioration processes of modern wood samples in these environments act as a good proxy indicator of the environmental conditions and biogeochemical processes ongoing at a site.     

Lowland Floodplain Responses to Extreme Flood Events: Long-Term Studies and Short-Term Microbial Community Response to Water Environment Impacts

Abstract

Targeted studies of waterlogged burial environments allow researchers to gain holistic insights into the physico-chemical and biological condition of wetlands that have the potential to contain organic remains of both anthropogenic and biogenic origin. Recent research has shown that microbial community diversity and functioning are intimately linked to physical and chemical parameters, such that environmental perturbations may have the potential to enhance the effectiveness of microbial communities in the degradation process. Our studies have shown that, as a consequence of the 2007 floods which impacted upon many British lowland rivers, a rapid microbial response to environmental perturbations can be demonstrated within the wetland deposits being monitored. As such, a quantification of the latent functionality of micro-organisms in a soil profile may be of fundamental importance for our understanding of potential in situ degradation processes; and, as a consequence, the likelihood for the biodegradation of sensitive archaeo-organic remains; a factor which is of primary importance for both ongoing and future mitigation strategies, and attempts at managing the cultural resource of wetlands.

This paper will present a consideration of the effectiveness of a long-term research project in a lowland wetland at Newington, Nottinghamshire, England, studied between 2004 and 2008; and evaluate the efficacy of this study in relation to the significant impacts that occurred as a result of the severe floods in 2007. We conclude that the data generated after the floods necessitated a total re-evaluation of the first approximately two years of environmental monitoring, and that the impacts throughout the sediment profile continued for some time after the initial flood event. These observations potentially have far-reaching implications for future in situ monitoring as disruptions to weather patterns influence the various environmental impacts on the wetland resource.     

Wood deterioration in Chacoan great houses of the southwestern United States

Abstract

‘Great houses’ built by the Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) (900–1200AD) still contain thousands of pieces of wood used as beams, secondary roof supports and lintels. The wood is an integral part of the surviving Chacoan architecture and has served as a valuable resource for determining the exact age of the structures and for obtaining information about raw material production, procurement and harvesting methods. An assessment of wood deterioration at the great houses in Aztec Ruins National Monument and Pueblo Bonito, Pueblo del Arroyo and Chetro Ked located in Chaco Culture National Historic Park in New Mexico have revealed that both microbial and non-biological deterioration was taking place. The major type of decay found throughout the structures was caused by soft-rot fungi. Cavity formation in secondary walls of conifer woods and an erosion of cell walls in aspen woods was prevalent. A brown-rot type of wood degradation was also found, primarily associated with areas of subterranean termite damage. Another form of deterioration present in some of the woods was a chemical de fibration of wood. This corrosive attack, caused by high concentrations of salts, destroyed the middle lamella between cells, resulting in a stringy mass of loosely attached fibres. Reburial of great house structures as an effective conservation strategy will require an environment that is not conducive to decay, since active wood-destroying fungi are present in the prehistoric woods. If moisture and other conditions suitable for decay exist, the wood will be destroyed and this important historical resource lost.     

Fuelwood collection as daily practice: a wood charcoal study for the colonial period North Carolina Piedmont

ABSTRACT

European colonization brought innumerable changes and choices to Native groups across the Southeast. Scholars continue to examine the various ways communities navigated these disruptions. Studying the remains of daily practice offers a window into how communities negotiated continuity and change. Wood charcoal, representing the remains of daily fires, provides an important, but underutilized, method for examining people’s daily routines and interactions with their surrounding landscapes. This paper examines wood charcoal assemblages from several sites in the North Carolina Piedmont that span the precontact to early colonial periods (AD 1400–1705). Fuelwood collection models are used to consider the environments, practices, and preferences that influenced the composition of wood charcoal assemblages. Comparison of these datasets shows a consistent significant pattern of high-quality fuelwood selection with additional patterns potentially related to long-term use of the same environment and factors related to colonialism. Altogether, these patterns suggest continuity of some daily practices despite disruptions to other aspects of life.     

Strategies for Protection of Wooden Underwater Cultural Heritage in the Baltic Sea Against Marine Borers. The EU Project ‘WreckProtect’

Abstract

Marine borers constitute a great danger to historical shipwreck in marine environments as they are able to decompose wood material in just a few years. Recently, there have been indications that the marine borer Teredo navalis is spreading into the brackish Baltic sea, where thousands of invaluable historical wrecks for centuries have had unique preservation conditions. The WreckProtect project was a coordination and support action funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Program. The main objective of the project was to develop tools for predicting the spread of marine borers into the Baltic and to evaluate methods for in situ protection of the historical wreck and submerged settlements. This paper gives a summary final report of the project and an overview of results.     

Institutional Arrangements and the Morphology of Residential Development in the Netherlands,Flanders and North Rhine-Westphalia

Abstract

This article aims to highlight the mechanisms through which institutional arrangements influence the morphology of residential development. By comparing the Netherlands, Flanders and North Rhine-Westphalia, which have quite similar socio-economic and landscape characteristics, it investigates how differences in national institutional environments have contributed to differences in the urban morphology of residential areas. This article fits within a broader institutional “turn” in planning research. While most of these studies focus on how institutions affect the behaviour of actors in the process of planning and development, this article focuses on the physical outcomes of these processes. The institutional analysis of physical outcomes suggests that urban morphology is not only linked to planning systems—the subject of this special issue—but also to housing cultures and property regimes.     

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.     

Scientists and the media: the struggle for legitimacy in climate change and conservation science

Abstract

Despite the uncertainties associated with forecasts of the possible negative effects of climate change on natural environments, such research is often widely reported in the news media. Here we review the presentation in the UK news media and on the internet of an academic study published in Nature, forecasting future global extinctions as a result of climate change. The results and conclusions of the study were widely misrepresented, especially in the news media, to make the consequences seem more catastrophic and the timescale shorter. Representations of the original article on the internet were more variable, with several sites ranked highly on popular search engines being overtly critical of the underlying science. We suggest that such polarised representations of environmental science are indicative of a 'struggle for legitimacy' between environmentalist and anti-environmentalist groups, with potential negative consequences for public trust in science.     

Impact of Roots and Rhizomes on Wetland Archaeology: A Review

The general premise for successful archaeological in situ preservation in wetlands is that raising the water table will ‘seal the grave’ by preventing oxygen from reaching the deposit. The present review reveals that this may not be the entire picture, as a change in habitat may introduce new plant species that can damage site stratigraphy and artefacts. However, reviews on the types and degree of damage caused by vegetation to archaeological remains preserved in situ in wetlands have hitherto only been sporadically treated in the literature. Thus, this paper provides an overview of the adverse effects that various plants species have on the preservation status of wetland archaeology.Disturbance, due to growth of roots and rhizomes of the surrounding soil is denoted contextual disturbance, whereas deterioration of archaeological remains per se acts by several root-related factors that may be spatially and temporally concomitant. In waterlogged anoxic environments, deterioration is mainly related to (i) preferential growth of roots/rhizomes due to nutrient uptake and lesser soil resistance, (ii) root etching due to organic acid exudates, (iii) microbial growth due to root release of oxygen and labile organic compounds, and/or (iv) precipitation of hydroxides due to root release of oxygen. For example, roots of some wetland plants, such as marsh horsetail (Equisetum palustre), have been documented to penetrate archaeological artefacts down to c. 2 m in waterlogged anoxic soils. Here, we demonstrate that cultural heritage site management may unintentionally introduce deep-rooted or exudate aggressive plants by invoking change in hydrological conditions. Moreover, the implementation of biomass energy utilization and agricultural root depth optimization on a worldwide basis stresses the need for more research within root and rhizome impact on archaeological remains in wetlands. In conclusion, the worst-case scenario may be in situ deterioration instead of preservation, and one essential threat to archaeological wetland sites is the impact of wetland vegetation.     

Flotation versus dry sieving archaeobotanical remains: A case history from the Middle Horizon southern coast of Peru

Abstract

During excavations at the site of Casa Vieja located in the Peruvian coastal desert, archaeological plant remains were systematically collected to assess whether it is more productive and informative to sieve sandy sediments in dry environments or to process such samples by water flotation, a persistent methodological concern. At Casa Vieja, dual subsamples were collected and analyzed using both of these procedures. For dry, sandy sediment conditions, each processing strategy was found to yield a different view of the botanical remains. Dry sieving recovers more of the larger plant specimens whereas water flotation yields more of the smaller-sized material. These results should be incorporated into archaeological research designs in the future, especially for desert environments.     

Saving the Sweet Track: The in situ preservation of a Neolithic wooden trackway,Somerset, UK

Abstract

The Sweet Track is the oldest known wooden trackway in Europe. Part of the trackway is preserved in situ in a nature reserve under an active system of hydrological management, designed to prevent damage to the monument from desiccation. The English Heritage-funded project, reported here, was established to assess the condition of the monument and the effectiveness of the management regime. The results have shown that although the trackway is highly deteriorated it still holds a wealth of archaeological information. The decay of the wood probably occurred gradually over several thousand years but the present management regime should be able to ensure its continued survival.     

Laboratory Experiments as Support for Development of In Situ Conservation Methods

Abstract

Within the EU-Project BACPOLES (EVK4-CT-2001-00043) bacterial wood degradation could be simulated in laboratory experiments to investigate the living conditions of the up to now unknown bacteria consortia, named erosion bacteria (EB), which cause considerable decay on waterlogged archaeological wood. In these Microcosm (MC) experiments the role of oxygen and chemical composition of the sediment were investigated. Therefore, the microcosms were subjected to different gassing treatments and the free dissolved oxygen was measured in different depths of the microcosms by special oxygen sensors (optodes). In further experiments the chemical composition of the sediment was verified to investigate the influence of different nutrient concentrations to the degradation process by EB.

From the findings it can be concluded that bacterial wood decay can proceed without free oxygen present but that it is more intense if oxygen is available. A water flow like streams in the sea, simulated by vertical water circulation, seems to stimulate the degradation activity and the degradation of wood by EB seems to be a result of low nutrient levels in the surrounding area.     

Risks and Consequences in Energy Production

Abstract

The word risk is often used in association with energy production and in some case it is equated with consequences. The distinction is important and has implications for the study of energy system. Failure in a given energy system, such as nuclear power or hydroelectric dams, can give rise to human consequences, such a deaths, injuries or disease. The extent of these consequences varies from one system to another. Furthermore, the probability of such failures is a characteristic of the given system. For example, a nuclear reactor or hydroelectric dam may have a probability of one catastrophic failure in x years of operation where x is a large number. The probability multiplied by the number of deaths, injuries and illnesses caused by the failures—the consequences—can be taken as a measure of the risk, or risk index.     

The fertility of the Inuit of Northern Québec: A half‐century of fluctuations

The fertility of the Inuit of Northern Québec went through many changes during the last fifty years. We observe, at first, a decline during the thirties followed by a recovery, in the early forties, stopped momentarily between 1946 and 1956. The fertility reached a summit around 1961 to drop sharply afterwards. In spite of this important decrease, the fertility of the Inuit remains much higher than the generations replacement level.

We will try to relate these fluctuations in the Northern Québec Inuit fertility to the various events that influenced the recent history of this population such as starvations, epidemics, settling process, health improvements and socio‐economic changes.     

Francesco Patrizi da Cherso and the anti-Aristotelian tradition: interpreting the Discussiones Peripateticae (1581)

ABSTRACT

This paper tries to present a different view of Francesco Patrizi’s anti-Aristotelian philology such as it transpires in his masterful monograph of 1581, the Discussiones Peripateticae, the influence of which was widely felt in seventeenth-century Europe. The book is the product of a learned, Hellenizing, and deeply inspired critique of a major doctrinal corpus from classical antiquity, and it is usually taken as a stepping stone in a self-righteous fight by “modern” philosophers to replace Aristotelianism as the dominant academic system. This essay is revisionist on the second of these accounts.     

The Manufacture of Gunpowder: a Study of the Documentary and Physical Evidence Relating to the Woolley Powder Works near Bath

Abstract

The manufacture of gunpowder is perhaps one of the most under-rated aspects of the changes associated with the classical years of the British industrial revolution. With its roots in Chinese learning and its associations with alchemy and the search for longevity, this commodity was nevertheless of immense practical significance in the development of both mining and trade, especially the triangular trans-Atlantic trade which brought into Britain such important raw materials as sugar, tobacco and cotton. This article pursues the limited aim of exploring one powder manufacturing site in the light of the documentary and physical evidence relating to it, but it is hoped that this may prove the starting point of a more comprehensive study of this neglected subject.     

Introduction

Abstract

For all of its political drama, the health care debate appears consumed with bureaucratic minutiae quite distant from political philosophy. Yet in important respects that debate is intimately connected with the founding premises of the modern technological project of the mastery of nature for the relief of man's estate as envisioned by René Descartes and Francis Bacon. This essay uses a recent discussion of the health care debate by bioethicist Daniel Callahan to raise some fundamental questions about the role of technology in our medical culture. It argues that modern health care is the Cartesian project come of age, and it uses Descartes' Discourse on Method to reflect on the possibility of a sensible politics of technology in our time.     

Placing Plato in the history of liberty

ABSTRACT

This paper explores and reevaluates the place of Plato in the history of liberty. In the first half, reevaluating the view that he invents a concept of ‘positive liberty’ in the Republic, I argue for two claims: (1) that he does not do so, insofar as this is not the way that virtuous psychological self-mastery in the Republic is understood, and (2) that the Republic works primarily with the inverse concept of slavery, relying on entrenched Greek ideas about the badness of the status of being a slave and the actions and dispositions associated with it. Turning in the second half to seek Platonic innovation not in the domain of ‘positive liberty’ but in reflection on liberty as a political value, understood as the liberty of action of citizens within the laws, I argue for two further claims: (3) that as such a political value, liberty is limited and reshaped in both the Republic and the Laws to be compatible with obedience to rule / willingness to be ruled, ideally willing obedience; and (4) that for this limited and reshaped value to be secured, such obedience must be manifested not only in regard to a constitution’s laws, but also to the magistrates who hold office within it.