NON‐DESTRUCTIVE PORTABLE GAMMA RAY SPECTROMETRY USED IN PROVENANCING ROMAN GRANITOID COLUMNS FROM LEPTIS MAGNA,NORTH AFRICA*

Portable gamma ray spectrometry (PGRS) provides a non destructive means to analyst quantitatively large artefacts, such as building stones, for the radioelements K. U and Th. Nine Raman granitoid columns at the Leptis Magna Ruins in Windsor Great Park, London, were measured in situ by PGRS. Corrections for the environmental background contribution to the gamma ray flux measured, and for the shape and size of the columns, are described Comparison of the PGRS data with a radioelement data base for Roman granite sources indicates that most of the columns originated in the Troad area of Turkey. Two columns could not be unambiguously provenanced using PGRS alone because there is insufficient difference between radioelement concentrations in certain sources. However, non‐destructive measurements of magnetic susceptibility, used in conjunction with PGRS data, suggest that these two columns originated in the Kozak Daǧ, also in Turkey.     

TECHNOLOGY AND PROVENANCE OF A COLLECTION OF ISLAMIC COPPER‐BASED OBJECTS AS FOUND BY CHEMICAL AND LEAD ISOTOPE ANALYSIS*

Chemical and lead isotope analyses were utilized to determine the composition, technology and origin of a collection of Islamic copper‐based objects found in Jordan. The atomic absorption spectrometry results show that the objects were made of different types of copper‐base alloys that contain various amounts of zinc, tin and lead. The use of brass, highly leaded brass and quaternary alloys of Cu‐Zn‐Sn‐Pb in the manufacture of everyday, household objects strongly points to Islamic traditions. The lead isotope compositions of the objects match very well that of the copper ore mined from the Dolomite‐Limestone‐Shale unit of the Arabah copper mines.     

Ergosterol (5, 7, 22-ergostatrien-3β-ol) as a potential biomarker for alcohol fermentation in lipid residues from prehistoric pottery

In this paper we explore the potential use of ergosterol (5, 7, 22-ergostatrien-3β-ol) as a possible biomarker for yeast and alcohol fermentation, applying the analytical technique previously used routinely in Swedish archaeology for the analysis of lipid residue in prehistoric pottery. Taking note on the connection between brewing, baking and agriculture the frequency of vessels showing gas chromatography mass spectrometry traces of this compound in lipid residues from a clearly agricultural Bronze Age/Early Iron Age population was compared with the same signal in a clearly non-agricultural Neolithic foragers pottery population. The result shows a small but statistically significant difference between the two populations, indicating a connection between the presence of ergosterol in lipid residues from pottery and agriculture. The results are also discussed in terms of varying cleanliness, degradation, deposition conditions and contamination. Suggestions for future research include the use of a more sensitive analytical protocol in order to improve detection limits and to include materials from clear agricultural Neolithic vessel populations.     

EMPIRICAL STUDIES IN INDUSTRIAL LOCATION: AN ASSESSMENT OF THEIR METHODS AND RESULTS*

ABSTRACT This paper surveys recent evidence on the determinants of (national and/or foreign) industrial location. We find that the basic analytical framework has remained essentially unaltered since the early contributions of the early 1980s while, in contrast, there have been advances in the quality of the data (more firm and plant level information, geographical disaggregation, panel structure, etc.) and, to a lesser extent, the econometric modeling. We also identify certain determinants (neoclassical and institutional factors) that tend to provide largely consistent results across the reviewed studies. In light of this evidence, we finally suggest future lines of research.     

ARCHAEOMAGNETIC DATING OF COPPER SMELTING SITE F2 IN THE TIMNA VALLEY (ISRAEL) AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE MODELLING OF ANCIENT TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS

Site F2 in the Timna Valley, Israel, is a small copper smelting site of ‘primitive’ technology, dated by its excavator to the Pottery Neolithic (sixth to fifth millennium bce ). This early date challenges the common view of the beginning of smelting technology in the Levant and has been contested by various scholars since its publication. In this study, we present results of archaeointensity experiments conducted on slag fragments from the site. The slag yielded an excellent ancient geomagnetic value (64.1 ± 1.1 μT) that, when compared to the Levantine master curve, suggests an age not older than the second millennium and most probably between the 13th and 11th centuries bce . In addition to demonstrating the applicability of geomagnetic archaeointensity experiments to independent dating of slag, we discuss the implications of the current results for the socio‐historical picture of the Timna Valley, and in particular for the way in which technological developments were previously modelled in the archaeometallurgical research on the region.     

Diet,social differentiation and cultural change in Roman Britain: new isotopic evidence from Gloucestershire

This study uses stable isotope analyses (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) of human bone collagen to reconstruct the diet of three Romano-British (first to early fifth century AD) populations from Gloucestershire in South West England. Gloucestershire was an important part of Roman Britain with two major administrative centres at Gloucester (Glevum) and Cirencester (Corinium) and numerous smaller settlements and farmsteads. To investigate potential dietary differences between the rural and urban populations of Roman Gloucestershire, we compared human bone collagen stable isotope values from 32 individuals from urban Gloucester with those of 46 individuals from two rural cemeteries at Horcott Quarry and Cotswold Community, respectively. Seven individuals from urban Gloucester were buried in a mass grave; all others were buried in single inhumations. Results show small but significant differences in stable isotope ratios between the urban and rural populations which indicate that the urban population might have consumed slightly more marine and/or freshwater resources than the people living in the rural communities. We interpret this difference as a direct reflection of Rome’s influence on Gloucester’s population and the town’s economic status. Subtle differences in stable isotope ratios were also observed at the site level, as burial practice does correlate with diet in some cases. Overall, the results from this study demonstrate that diet, as reconstructed through stable isotope analysis, is a very sensitive, if settlement-specific, indicator of social differentiation and culture change.