Paper 5: Historic Mortars from the Coudenberg Archaeological Site: Characterization and Source of Raw Materials

Abstract

The characterization of historic mortars by means of a concise methodology of material analyses can provide crucial information with regard to the origin of the raw materials and the ancient mortar technology. For the analysis of the historic mortars of the Coudenberg archaeological site, the methodology consists of optical and scanning electron microscopy, simultaneous thermal analysis, and an acidic treatment. These analyses were carried out on a total of seventeen samples lifted from various areas in the site, in function of the building chronology resulting from a historic built investigation. The type of binder and aggregate as well as their volumetric ratio were determined.

Both binder and aggregate present distinctive features, which made it possible to identify the probable geological provenance of the raw materials. The observations are verified with available historical records regarding the construction of the main banqueting hall — the Aula Magna — and the use of raw materials such as limestone and sand for the production of lime and construction purposes.     

The Resurgent Conflict Between Offshore Wind Farms and Tourism: Underlying Storylines

Abstract

Efforts to put offshore wind farms in place have demonstrated that these are far from being conflict-free, evoking confrontations with a number of stakeholders' interests. One of the most persistent conflict lines refers to the feared adverse externalities on coastal tourism, although tourist surveys and initial empirical evidence seem to reflect the opposite. This paper explicitly addresses this gap and explores how and why certain stakeholders rationalise potential impacts on the tourism economy of coastal communities and, thus constitute the conflict between offshore wind farms and tourism. Based on two cases studies in Scotland and Germany, five storylines are identified that are invoked by local opponents to substantiate impacts on tourism. The paper will show that a particular meaningful construction of the coastal landscape is inherent in tourism and pervades all storylines. It is concluded that arguments of both opponents and decision-makers are embedded in epistemic uncertainty which necessitates a thorough consideration of oppositional arguments in the planning process for offshore wind farms.     

Landscapes of Belief: Non-Conformist Mission in the North Pennines

In addition to the well-known foreign missionary activities of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century churchmen, this same period saw campaigns of active proselytization within Britain. Whether couched in terms referring to “religious revival” or “home mission” it had the same aim as foreign mission activity, namely to effect religious change. This paper explores the way in which the religious changes associated with these campaigns affected the landscape of the lead-mining districts of the North Pennines in northern England. A repeating cycle of preaching first outdoors, then indoors and then in purpose-built structures can be recognized.     

Reflections on the European Legacy (from the Plains of Anatolia)

Turkey's insistence on its European credentials, and its endeavours to join the European Union, provide an opportunity to reflect on what the European legacy means. While acknowledging the diverse contributors to Europe, and the extensive interactions with the rest of the world that have shaped European history and identity, this essay locates Europe's most important legacy—and measure—in the realm of ideas, especially the ideas we use to organise our experience and approach the challenges of the world. These ideas came to fruition in the Enlightenment, and they provide an approach that is potentially liberating for peoples but uncomfortable for those with power, and those that aspire to power, including within Europe itself. The challenge for Turkey is to recognise that the EU is not necessarily the last word on ‘Europe,’ while continuing to engage creatively with the European legacy.     

The ‘Self-Positing’ Self in Kierkegaard's The Sickness unto Death

In response to the claim that Kierkegaard's highly compressed definition of the self, given near the beginning of The Sickness unto Death, should be understood in Hegelian terms, I show that it can be better understood in terms of an earlier development in the history of German idealism, namely, Fichte's theory of self-consciousness. The notion that the self “posits” itself found in this theory will be used to explain Kierkegaard's definition of the self, including his rejection of the idea that the self posits itself absolutely. I go on to show how this conception of the self relates to certain features of the concept of despair described in The Sickness unto Death. This in turn allows me to indicate some implications of this conception of the self in relation to Kierkegaard's attitude towards the social and political forces shaping the modern world.     

技哉刀笔精神可 吴之璠的浅浮雕竹刻浅议

竹雕艺术是我国的艺术奇葩,历史源远流长,上可追溯到唐宋时期,下可到目前的各大流派。