Complications and Effectiveness of In Situ Preservation Methods for Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites

Abstract

Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH) as an outstanding division of the cultural heritage of humanity appears to be crucial and complicated when more general issues regarding preservation and conservation are raised. The essence of in situ preservation should be equally discussable for any kind of archaeological remains; on land or underwater.

There is a long history of different methods and concepts of intervention in a variety of sub-aquatic archaeological sites; from shipwrecks to submerged settlements. This paper will present an introduction to different techniques and theories of preservation and conservation of underwater cultural and archaeological sites since this kind of heritage has scientifically been explored and studied. A range of different preservation methodologies, from total or partial transference inland, to preservation underwater, will be compared; the advantages and disadvantages of each option will be highlighted. Different examples of international best practices will be illustrated. Different types of in situ conservation/protection will be explained and categorized. Furthermore, there will be a focus on the UNESCO Convention of 2001 on Conservation and Preservation of UCH, where the in situ conservation option has been recommended.

Moreover, the technical issue for preservation of UCH sites, either in situ or after displacement, will be explained. The implication of relocation for different sorts of sites and materials will be argued; for example, cases where some sites, such as shipwrecks, would more easily be displaced compared with submerged settlements, villages, or ports.

Finally, by stressing that the state of ‘being underwater’ makes many sites qualified to be regarded as UCH, the in situ preservation approach will prevail that this state is maintained.     

Sediment Peels from Prehistoric Sites

Abstract

A method for making sediment peels from profiles at prehistoric sites is described. It consists of placing a piece of cheesecloth over a cleaned profile and then applying several coats of white, polyvinyl acetate glue (Elmer's Glue-All). After the glue dries, the peel is removed, mounted on a board and then ready for study or storage. The sediment peel is an effective means of preserving the prehistoric profile and, as important, reveals cryptic stratigraphic features that are important in reconstructing the environment of deposition of the sediment and the environment of prehistoric man.     

Late Saxon Textiles from the City of London

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS in the City of London have produced an important collection of late 9th- to early 12th-century textiles manufactured from wool, goat hair, silk and flax. The production processes associated with the different types of cloth are here described, together with details of weaving techniques and dyeing practices. Changes in the types of cloth used in the nth century are related to the introduction of new technology and the decline in use of the warp-weighted loom. Evidence is examined for the local manufacture of cloth and for the import of foreign silks. Lastly, attention is drawn to the similarity of the London textiles to those found in other regions of northern Europe.     

Cave Art in Context: Methods for the Analysis of the Spatial Organization of Cave Sites

Investigations of prehistoric cave art have long neglected the surrounding context: space, archaeological objects, and imprints. As a result, an integrative structural approach that analyzes cave art as part of an anthropomorphized landscape has not been available. This article draws on urban planning and the physiology of the human eye to provide an innovative archaeospatial analysis of cave sites. A set of relevant features from the caves of Bédeilhac, Fontanet, and Le Portel was selected and defined (light zone, chamber type, path network, mode of movement, and available space). An analysis of the prehistoric remains in the caves allows the reconstruction of different concentrations of human activities (cave art, archaeological objects, and imprints). The projection of these concentrations onto the structured map of the caves results in four types of locations: drawing location, supply location, drawing location with substantial activities, and drawing location with consumption activities. This approach opens new avenues for the archaeological perception of caves and their inhabitants: Upper Paleolithic humans were very familiar with caves and probably followed a master plan during their stay in the dark.     

Evidence for Interaction from Recent Hunter-Gatherer Sites in the Caledon Valley

Evidence for contact between hunter-gatherers and agropastoralists from excavated sites in a well-documented frontier zone in the eastern Free State, South Africa, reveals varied intensities of interaction. These interactions range from clientship to relative autonomy. Comparison between recent (eighteenth- to early twentieth-century) hunter-gatherer occupations of rock shelters in the Caledon Valley also suggests that a variety of social relationships between hunter-gatherers and farmers, known ethnographically, occurred simultaneously.     

Stable Isotope Sourcing of Wool from Textiles at Pacatnamú

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions were determined for wool textiles from the Lambayeque (c. ad 1100–1320) occupation at Pacatnamú in the Jequetepeque Valley, northern Peru. The isotopic data demonstrate that the wool was not obtained via long‐distance exchange with the highlands and was most probably derived from locally raised camelids. In light of other lines of evidence (diversity of dyes used to produce the same colours in textiles and the low quality of the weaving), textiles at Pacatnamú appear not to have been as effective a marker of political power and prestige for local elites as they were elsewhere in the Andean region.     

Economy and Respectability: Textiles from the North Brisbane Burial Ground

Textile remains were discovered during a salvage excavation at the site of the North Brisbane Burial Ground, a nineteenth-century cemetery in the city of Brisbane, Australia. Ninety-six textile samples were collected at excavation, comprising 39 twill weaves, 17 tabby weaves, one haircord weave, one satin weave, three knitted fabrics, one piece of felt and 34 masses of loose wool packing. Most of the woven textiles recovered were coffin coverings or coffin linings. Similarly, the majority of non-woven textile samples were also associated with coffins and their dressing. Five of the identified textiles were likely to have been fragments of garments worn by the deceased.     

Sourcing Volcanic Millstones from Greco-Roman Sites in Albania

Abstract

Provenience studies provide insights concerning trade in various goods, such as millstones. This is the first attempt to source millstones from Albania. Thirty-one vesicular volcanic millstones, predominately from the Greek and Roman periods, were obtained from two sites, 21 from Apollonia and ten from Butrint. The purpose of this study was to determine the provenience of these millstones using textural, mineralogical, and chemical data. The compositions of the samples were compared to those of vesicular volcanic sources in the central and eastern Mediterranean. Eight viable sources were initially identified based on major element chemistry; these were ultimately reduced to three based on trace element provenience studies. All of the Apollonia and five of the Butrint millstones have chemical signatures similar to those of Sicilian sources (the Iblean Fields and Mt. Etna). The remaining five Butrint millstones are chemically similar to stones from quarries other on the Cycladic island of Melos other than Rema (another Melian quarry), suggesting that Melian sources were exploited earlier than previously thought. The results of this preliminary study indicate there was no preference for a given source region at a particular time in the past. They also provide a baseline for future provenience studies of millstone trade patterns in Albania.     

跨湖桥遗址考古木材的二次保护

跨湖桥遗址考古木材出土后经过脱盐处理,然后采用聚乙二醇(PEG)进行定形加固。保护后的考古木材存在色泽变深的问题,需要对这些考古木材进行二次保护。在二次保护过程中,选用1,2-二甲基-3-羟基-4(1H)-吡啶酮复配溶液作为脱盐脱色络合溶液,以PEG为定形加固剂,采用真空冷冻方式进行脱水干燥。二次保护取得了良好的效果,考古木材尺寸和形状基本保持不变,色泽更为自然,木材纹理清晰可见。     

Recent Research on Obsidian from Missouri Archaeological Sites

Obsidian has been noted at archaeological sites in the Midwest for over 160 years, although very few artifacts made from this material are recorded in archaeological contexts in Missouri. Background research revealed that only 16 obsidian artifacts from 13 sites had been documented from the state and that only 5 of the specimens had been geochemically analyzed and attributed to a source. Recent excavations at the Droste site (23PI1291), a Late Woodland period site in northeast Missouri, yielded two obsidian artifacts. The two specimens from the Droste site along with two previously unsourced obsidian artifacts from the Burkemper site (23LN104) and two from the Stapleton site (23HD110) were tested for trace element composition via X-ray fluorescence analysis. This article reports the results of these geochemical analyses, reviews the other obsidian artifacts reported from Missouri, and examines the cultural context and source of obsidian artifacts from other states in the upper Midwest.     

Defining and Characterising Clusters in Palaeolithic Sites: a Review of Methods and Constraints

Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory - Spatial analysis studies in Palaeolithic archaeology arise as indispensable research tools for understanding archaeopalaeontological sites. In general...     

Resources for Teachers from the Educational Department of Fine Arts of Seville for Archaeological Sites

Abstract

The province of Seville, situated in the south-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, contains a large number of archaeological sites. Some of them are of great significance: for example, the ancient Roman cities of Itálica and Munigua, the megaliths in Valencina de la Concepción, or the Roman necropolis in Carmona. These four mentioned above receive a considerable number of educational visits by students between the ages of twelve and sixteen, and a number of educational projects have been carried out there. This article outlines the types of resource material provided at these four sites.     

中国白酒老作坊

中国生产白酒的老作坊遍布全国,为数众多。这些酒作坊历史悠久、发展脉络清晰、工艺传承有序,具有各自独特的生产工艺,涵盖了中国现代白酒的三种主要香型,完整展现出白酒作坊在中国独具特色的发展历程,是中国白酒酿造工业文化遗产的典范。     

遗址保护方案现存问题剖析

国内目前在遗产保护的技术手段方面进行了不少有益的探索,但还存在一些普遍性问题:对保护方案的前期勘察与价值评估工作存在基础资料普遍不足的缺陷;相关理念和原则与具体保护实践有所脱节,或体现不够充分;对如何处理好保护与展示利用的关系缺乏全方位统筹考虑;保护方案的制定和管理方缺少必要的协调与沟通。今后的遗址保护工作要与社会各界进行多学科、多专业广泛合作,综合研究,共同解决难题。     

Spectral Attenuation Relations at Soft Sites Based on Existing Attenuation Relations for Rock Sites

A simple and general method based on well-known random vibration theory is used to compute spectral attenuation relations at soft sites based on existing spectral attenuation relations at rock sites. The method consists of: (1) computation, for given magnitude and distance, of the expected Fourier amplitude spectrum associated with the median rock response spectrum computed with the attenuation relation; (2) inclusion of site effects characterized by a frequency-dependent, linear, or nonlinear transfer function; and (3) computation of the response spectrum at the soft site.