Tools for Predicting Damage to Archaeological Sites Caused by One-Dimensional Loading

Tools are developed to predict damage to archaeological remains caused by the construction of line infrastructure on soft soil. They are based on numerical modelling and laboratory testing supported by X-ray microcomputed tomographic observations, and micromorphological analyses of thin sections. They have been validated for one-dimensional (1D) loading at two sites in the Netherlands where soil has been placed on top of organic layers rich in ecofacts and overlaying Pleistocene sands.

Numerical prediction of the deformation of soft layers underneath an embankment remains a challenge for geo-technical engineers. Errors on surface settlement prediction reach ±15% of the measured total settlement.

Laboratory observations show that vulnerable artefacts can get crushed when packed loosely in pure assemblies under 1D loading equivalent to less than 5 m of sand. Fragmentation is assimilated to loss of archaeological value as it compromises recovery during sieving. Embedment in a sandy or a very compressible organic matrix has a beneficial effect on the resistance of ecofacts. Embedded ecofacts can resist a load of more than 12 m of sand. Flattening and re-orientation of soft plant remains occur during 1D loading without microscopic damage of tissues.     

Network Autocorrelation

Even though Cliff and Ord (1969) do not question "network autocorrelation," their paper contains an interesting ambiguity that is here discussed. Hence, this article aims at discussing the problem of spatial autocorrelation in (perhaps preferably on) a network as well as at giving an overview of the existing relevant literature. A typology of network autocorrelations is suggested and it is hoped that this discussion initiates debates and points to new research challenges.     

Location and Pricing Decisions of a MultiStore Monopoly in a Spatial Market

Abstract.  This article presents an analysis of location and pricing decisions of a monopolist about to open several stores in a compact geographical space. The number of stores is made endogenous by the introduction of fixed costs. A novel methodology is developed, by which the firm's location and price decisions are represented as continuous functions defined over the geographical space. This modeling artifact generates a negligible error but simplifies the solution considerably and allows the derivation of several intuitive results. Although the focus is on one‐dimensional markets, it is shown that the method can easily be adapted to two‐dimensional markets.     

Le marché dans son histoire

Sans résumé a récemment publiéFran?ois de Neufchateau. Biographie intellectuelle, Paris, Publications de la Sorbonne, 2005. a codirigé avec Steven Kaplan,La France, malade du corporatisme? xviii ^e –xx ^e siècles, Paris, Belin, 2004.