Women's Talk and the Colonial State: The Wylde Scandal, 1831–1833

Between 1831 and 1833 the Chief Justice of the Cape Colony, Sir John Wylde, was involved in a scandal surrounding anonymous accusations of incest resulting from the alleged pregnancy of his unmarried daughter. The rumours led to an official inquiry by the secretary of state. The resulting political crisis took place against a background of social tension over impending slave emancipation. The records of the inquiry, together with contemporary comment, form the basis for a discussion of how gender roles, gossip and a separation between public and private spheres informed the operation of Cape colonial politics and society.     

‘The sword that was broken …’: The detection of recycled iron in the archaeological record

Although the recycling of materials such as copper and glass is widely known and generally well understood within archaeological contexts, far less is known about the recycling of iron. Iron recycling is more complex than that of other metals for two reasons. First, normal manufacturing processes, which include forging several components to make a composite object, offer the opportunity to include recycled iron. Second, the material itself is more complex than Cu alloys. The alloys of Fe, depending primarily on C content, are very different in terms of properties and can be interconverted by (normally) removing C such as decarburizing cast iron to make wrought iron. Thus, recycling practices are potentially intimately combined with such processes. These factors, combined with the poor preservation of archaeological iron and the consequent reluctance to carry out extensive studies (which often require destructive analysis via metallography), mean that there are no clear criteria for identifying recycled iron. However, limited historical documentation suggests, at least indirectly, that such recycling was common. This paper is neither comprehensive nor definitive, but merely intends to promote discussion and awareness of iron recycling by hypothesizing several possible mechanisms and providing a few illustrative archaeological examples.     

Oceanic palaeoenvironment of the Miocene Fyansford Formation from Fossil Beach,near Mornington,Victoria, interpreted on the basis of Ostracoda

Study of an ostracode assemblage from the Miocene Fyansford Formation near Mornington allows determination of the principal characteristics of the hydrologic environment at that time.

Palaeodepth was upper epibathyal (about 150–250 m). The oxygen minimum zone mostly was weakly demarcated at about O₂ 5 ml/l. Productivity was good and the benthic ostracode microfauna was rich and varied. Occasionally, a sudden and strong increase in productivity occurred which correlated to a rapid and well marked increase in the oxygen minimum zone. Physico-chemical factors, which developed following bacterial breakdown of organic matter that had accumulated on the bottom, are reflected in Bradleya shells by distinct signs of aggradation/degradation. A few allochthonous forms from the nearby continental shelf were transported downwards onto this part of the upper slope. Bottom currents contributed (by furrowing) to the formation of calcareous ‘hard grounds’.

Bradleya morningtonensis n.sp. is described as new.