INORGANIC INCLUSIONS IN AMBER*

The inorganic inclusions contained in amber fragments from Baltic regions and from the Simeto basin (Sicily, Italy) have been analyzed. The study, performed with the aid of a scanning electron microscope, shows specimen similarities and differences that are dependent on the place of origin.     

Baptist Chapels as an index of cultural transition in the South Wales coalfield before 1914

“When the Welsh language dies the Welsh Congregational Union of Monmouth will of necessity die. The day of the burial of the Welsh language will be the burial day of the Union, which for centuries has been the means of the hands of God's Spirit to turn many to the Saviour. When the Welsh language expires, the spirituality and sacredness of religion will expire at the same time.”^[1]The cultural transition from Welsh to English in the developing South Wales coalfield before 1914 is reflected in the language used in Baptist chapels. Nonconformist chapels were foci of the emerging industrial culture, and the Baptists had a universal appeal to both Welsh- and English-speaking populations. The geographical distribution of Baptist chapels categorized by language of foundation is analysed in three chronological phases, during which the coalfield was transformed from a uniformly Welsh cultural area before 1860, through an intervening phase of linguistic heterogeneity, to a situation in the final phase after 1890, when the dominance of Welsh was restricted to the western section only. Moreover, the period after the foundation of a Welsh chapel was characterized by linguistic instability, since processes at work in the community created pressures for linguistic change from Welsh to English. The ensuing linguistic transition from monoglot Welsh through bilingualism to monoglot English is examined in the Monmouthshire section of the coalfield, and suggests a progressive “rolling-back” of Welsh from east to west, a rapid and regular process in which bilingualism was only a transient resting-place.     

International intangible cultural heritage policy in the neighbourhood: an assessment and case study of Indonesia

UNESCO’s heritage policies are one of the most extensive global drivers of landscape and cultural transformation and investment. In response to complaints about Western and object-focussed bias in World Heritage, a push within UNESCO generated a new convention and a new category of heritage: intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Maligned by academic critics, it has nonetheless been an incredibly widespread program internationally with over 170 states signed up to its convention and subject to its obligations. This article provides an assessment of the geographical reach and impact of UNESCO’s ICH program, and, through a case study in Indonesia, analysis of its most successful (according to the Indonesian Directorate of Culture) program for the production of batik cloth. Through the case study, I assess the impact of the ICH policy in Indonesia at different levels and for different groups, the scales it has enabled, and its impact on historical batik landscapes.     

William Scott Owen, 1853–1920: an English-born land agent in mid Wales

William Scott Owen figured prominently in Montgomeryshire history by being deeply involved with the lives of working people and active in local politics. He was an incomer from the south of England and a stalwart of the Anglican faith and the Tory party. He spent the whole of his working life in Montgomeryshire and came to be deeply respected in a part of Britain noted for its Nonconformity and Liberalism. Scott Owen was agent on the Gregynog Estate, which lies in the south east of the county, much of it now belonging to the University of Wales. This study of his life provides a vivid picture of the county in the late Victorian and Edwardian period and discusses why he became so well regarded.