MAKING COLOURLESS GLASS IN THE ROMAN PERIOD*

This paper discusses the compositional analysis of Roman colourless glass from three sites in Britain. The findings suggest that two broad compositional groups can be identified on the basis of the choice of the initial raw materials selected for glass production, in particular the sand. The largest of these groups is inherently different from the naturally coloured, blue–green glasses of the same period, while the other group is compositionally similar. Further subgroups are apparent on the basis of the decolorizers used. These glass groups are explored in the light of the current theories concerning the organization of glass production in the Roman world.     

ARCHAEOMETRICAL STUDIES OF ROMAN IMPERIAL AGE GLASS FROM CANTON TICINO*

An archaeometrical study of Roman glass finds recovered in the Canton Ticino area was performed after the finding of traces of possible glass‐working at Muralto near Locarno. The aim of this work is to provide chemical characterization of these glass varieties—never analysed before—and to compare the results obtained with those for glass of the same period coming from other sites (Aquileia, Augusta Praetoria and Modena). The chemical data shows that the composition of Canton Ticino glass remained the same from the first to the fourth century ad . Moreover, the large amounts of Sb used as a decolouring agent in these samples represents a peculiar trait.     

DETECTION OF NEAR-SURFACE SILVER ENRICHMENT ON ROMAN IMPERIAL SILVER COINS BY X-RAY SPECTRAL ANALYSIS*

A collection of 218 Roman imperial silver coins, covering three centuries, was analysed non-destructively by two variants of X-ray spectral analysis. Electron beam excitation and energy-dispersive spectrometry was used for the analysis of the uppermost thin layer (3 μm) of each coin, while X-ray tube excitation and wavelength-dispersive spectrometry was applied for the analysis of thicker layers (30 μm), Ag and Cu as major constituents and 18 minor elements were determined quantitatively. Comparing the silver content of the obverse and the reverse of a coin, inhomogeneities could be identified. By comparison of the silver content of the upper thin and the thick surface layers, near-surface silver enrichment could be detected. Inhomogeneities and enrichments increase in the second and more so in the third century. A large scatter of the silver content and silver enrichment for coins of the same emperor was attributed to varying abrasion of Ag-enriched layers of the individual coins during decades of circulation.     

THE DISCOVERY OF ANOMALOUSLY HIGH SILVER ABUNDANCES IN POTTERY FROM EARLY ROMAN EXCAVATION CONTEXTS IN JERUSALEM*

This is the first study on the differential distribution and concentrations of silver in ceramics recovered from archaeological excavations. The chemical compositions of 1174 pottery vessels from 38 Roman‐period sites in Israel have been determined. Unusually high and variable abundances of silver were discovered in pottery samples of all vessel types and chemical compositions from four distinct archaeological contexts dating to late first century bce to 70 ce Jerusalem. The large majority of the Jerusalem vessels could be distinguished by their silver abundances from all analysed pottery pieces recovered at rural sites outside Jerusalem, even when the pottery types and chemical compositions, except for silver, of pottery found within and outside Jerusalem were indistinguishable. The evidence is suggestive of a human origin for the high and variable silver abundances, and dispersion of the silver by aqueous transport. The differential silver concentrations found in excavated pottery from Jerusalem and other urban and rural sites suggest that attention to the distribution of silver in pottery from excavated contexts may be helpful for evaluating the nature and function of archaeological remains and patterns of urban contamination.     

ON THE ORIENTATION OF ROMAN TOWNS IN ITALY

Summary.   Several Roman writers report on the existence of a town foundation ritual, inherited from the Etruscans, which allegedly included astronomical references. However, the possible existence of astronomical orientations in the layout of Roman towns has never been considered in a systematic way. As a first step in this direction, the orientation of 38 Roman towns in Italy is studied here. Non-random orientation patterns emerge from these data, calling for further research in this field.     

ANALYTICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ROMAN PLASTERS OF THE ‘DOMUS FARINI’ IN MODENA*

The paper refers to the analytical characterization of Roman painted plasters dating back to the second century ad . The following techniques were used: optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM–EDS), micro‐Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies (µ‐Raman and FT–IR), X‐ray diffraction (XRPD), colorimetry and thermal analyses (TG/DTA). The investigation analysed the chemical composition and structure of the plasters, the chemical composition of the pigment layers, the use of binders and any chemical alteration of pigments as well as deterioration of the samples. Stratigraphic analysis of plasters allowed identification of their individual components, which proved helpful in finding out more about the mural painting technique employed.     

THE BIRDS OF ROMAN BRITAIN

Summary. Wild birds were probably of little importance for food in Roman Britain, but there is some advantage, for ecology, conservation, archaeological reconstruction and education, in establishing a tolerably correct list of species present in Roman times. There are special problems for the recovery and identification of bird bones; on the other hand, historical and other sources are wanting for Roman Britain. There is no evidence for falconry in the Roman period; birds would be caught, for sport by lime-rods, and for food by a variety of methods. There is little definite evidence for religious use of wild birds in Roman Britain. The environment of Britain in the Roman period was, in many respects, quite similar to that of recent times, but the bird species recorded from Roman sites suggest that the landscape was rather varied, and favourable to wildlife. An up-to-date list of 94 wild species can be roughly quantified by the number of sites on which each has been found; both the more numerous species and the absentees offer some surprises, and the effect is to emphasize the Romanization of eating habits in the province.     

THE ANTONINE ITINERARY: ASPECTS OF GOVERNMENT IN ROMAN BRITAIN

Summary. The British routes of the Antonine Itinerary are examined against the literary sources for the Severan expeditio Britannica and shown to be journeys that could have been undertaken by Severus and his sons in 208–211. The connection of mansiones with the collection of taxes in kind is examined, and it is tentatively postulated that such taxation was levied throughout the Roman period in Britain.     

THE USE OF ROMAN COINAGE

Summary. There is little doubt that Roman coins found today in excavations were lost during the Roman period because they were in use. If these coin-finds are examined in the appropriate way it should be possible to detect something of the patterns of coin-use and coin-loss in the ancient world and hence to learn something of the monetary side of trade and the economy. Finds from different sites are compared in an effort to establish basic rules of interpretation, or, failing that, of presentation of the evidence.     

FIXED-POINT RETAIL LOCATION IN THE MAJOR TOWNS OF ROMAN BRITAIN

Summary.   Although it has not generally been recognized, tabernae (shops and workshops) were an important part of the process of urbanization and the urban form of the towns of Roman Britain. The objective of this paper is to examine the location of fixed-point retailing establishments within the urban landscape. Workshops (also known as officinae ) and retail activity probably constitute the largest and perhaps one of the most distinct aspects of any urban settlement. Based upon the discussion presented below, this paper will seek to show that there were important contests for retail space in the major settlements of Roman Britain. This paper also considers some of the factors that influence retail location to show that the towns of Roman Britain were complex socio-economic environments.     

THE STRUCTURE OF RUSSIAN IMPERIAL HISTORY

Path dependency is most valuable tool for understanding Russian history since 1480, which coincides with the ending of the “Mongol yoke,” Moscow's annexation of northwest Russia, formerly controlled by Novgorod, and the introduction of new method for financing the cavalry—the core of new service class. The cavalry had to hold off formidable adversaries (first Lithuania, then the Crimean Tatars, then the Livonians, the Poles, the Swedes, and the Ottomans) for Muscovy to retain its independence. Russia in 1480 was poor country lacking subsurface mineral resources and with very poor climate and soil for the support of agriculture. These basic problems inspired autocratic power and by 1515 an ideology was in place justifying it. Religion, literature, and law were employed to support the autocracy. A variant of caste society was created to support the army. This made up the substance of the first service‐class revolution in which all resources (human and intellectual) were mobilized to support garrison state. After 1667 the external threats to Muscovy diminished, but the service class kept its privileges, especially the land fund and the peasant‐serfs. Russia faced major foreign threats again in 1700 and in the 1920s and 1930s. Those threats precipitated the second and third service‐class revolutions. The second and third service‐class revolutions broadly paralleled the first. Reinvigorated service classes were created with state institutions to support them. As society became more complex, so did the service classes and their privileges. Ideologies (Russian Orthodoxy and then Marxism‐Leninism) were converted into devices to support the infallible autocratic ruler and his elites. Almost the entire population was bound to state service, either directly, working to support the service state, or paying taxes. The church and clergy were harnessed first by Peter's Holy Synod and then Stalin's Department 5 of the Secret Police after he revived the church during World War II. Writers and artists were also put into uniform, until they finally rebelled—but the arts retained their civic functions, first supporting the regime, and then criticizing it. Finally, law retained its traditional programmatic functions in regimes themselves beholden to no law. As the foreign threats diminished, the service classes lost their function, but the elite servicemen kept their privileges as the service states disintegrated and the service classes lost their collective élan. Both the Russian Empire (in 1917) and then the Soviet Empire (in 1991) collapsed almost without whimper.     

UNRETOUCHED BLADES IN THE LATE MESOLITHIC OF SOUTH SCANDINAVIA. A FUNCTIONAL STUDY

Summary. While most microwear analyses of flint artefacts have involved formal retouched tools, this paper concentrates on unretouched blades from 4 South Scandinavian Mesolithic sites, seeking to establish how frequently and on what materials such pieces were used and whether they were selected for identifiable morphological reasons. The results are based on a study of 496 specimens, from various archaeological contexts. The materials processed ranged from soft to medium hard and most blades were used once only, as disposable tools. Their role relates more to 'manufacturing'than 'subsistence'activities. Blades seem to have been selected mainly according to their edge angles, with specific tasks in mind (a situation for which ethnographic parallels can be quoted), and they were evidently deliberately struck with a view to use rather than being chosen from random débitage. Various aspects of these conclusions are discussed.     

RESEARCH IN PROGRESS IN SCANDINAVIA

The authors quantitatively analyze the effect of railroad construction on agricultural land values in the often overlooked, agriculturally oriented, trans-Mississippi West. This region is unique in American history in that, at the end of the nineteenth century, the railroad itself preceded widespread settlement. Using a hedonic model, they show that railroad transport increased agricultural land values in this region by more than 20 percent, which had a larger impact than recent studies have found for other regions. Moreover, the authors found that the addition of a railroad to a county significantly increased its growth in land values. This finding is contrary to that of existing studies. Finally, the authors show statistically that the railroad and land values were not endogenously determined, lending credibility to the causality of the results presented in their hedonic and growth models. These results indicate a valuable alternative approach to use in the historical analysis of transportation infrastructure and its impact on land prices.