Ruwayda: an historic urban settlement in north Qatar

SUMMARY: Ruwayda was first identified as an archaeological site in the 1970s and was excavated between 2009 and 2014. Despite a paucity of documentary evidence, this large settlement, which extends over an area of more than 90 hectares, contains a number of features indicative of an urban settlement including two mosques, a series of warehouses, a large multi-period fort, large courtyard houses interspersed with smaller, less substantial structures and a number of cemeteries. In addition to these buildings, there is also evidence for associated field systems and a walled garden.     

Egyptian Blue cakes from the Ayanis fortress (Eastern Anatolia,Turkey): micro-chemical and -structural investigations for the identification of manufacturing process and provenance

The microstructure and chemical composition of blue cakes, found during the archaeological excavation of the Ayanis fortress (Eastern Anatolia, Turkey), have been investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM–EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-Raman (μ-Raman) and optical microscopy (OM) techniques. The analysis of the Ayanis cakes has shown the presence of Egyptian blue (i.e. CuCaOSi₄O₁₀, cuprorivaite), as the major component, intermixed with minor amount of other phases such as partially reacted quartz grains, an adherent glass phase and copper oxides. Since the finding of Egyptian Blue in Turkey has been never reported so far, great attention has been paid to its characterisation. The micro-chemical and micro-structural investigations of the Ayanis cakes have allowed a further insight into the manufacturing process and into the sources of the starting materials. The results of the characterisation have revealed some significant differences with respect to Egyptian blue cakes found in Egypt and Mesopotamia, as for instance the absence of tin excluded the use of bronze scraps or filings in their preparation differently from those produced in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Furthermore, some peculiarities of Egyptian blue found in Ayanis, as the detection of zinc in the cakes, allow to put forward the hypothesis of a local production considering that a large part of the bronze artefacts found at the Ayanis fortress is characterised by the presence of zinc as minor alloying element.     

The transport amphorae of Gela: a multidisciplinary study on provenance and technological aspects

Mineralogical, petrographic and chemical analyses were performed on thirty-eight samples of transport amphorae found at Gela, an important Greek colony on the southern coast of Sicily. Based on macroscopic observation, the amphorae, which are datable between the second half of the 6th and the end of the 5th century B.C., were supposed to be local because of similarities to the common wares from the same site. Therefore, in order to verify the provenance of the samples, they were compared to a reference group of locally made ceramics (kiln spacers, kiln wasters, common wares, ancient mud bricks, modern bricks) and twelve samples of local clayey sediments. The results of the analyses have allowed the assignment of all the amphorae to Gela, with the exclusion of five samples, maybe produced in neighbouring sites, and to determine for the first time the archaeometric characteristics of the Geloan medium-coarse ceramics. The aim of our research has also been to investigate some technological aspects of this production, as the location of the clay sources, the methods of clay preparation, and, in particular, the causes of the typical whitening effect on the surface of the vessels.     

Wetland assessment and impact mitigation decision support framework for linear development projects: The Louis Riel Trail,Highway 11 North project,Saskatchewan, Canada

Next to agriculture, road development is one of the most significant sources of stress to wetlands in Prairie Canada. However, there currently exists limited guidance for incorporating direct, indirect, and induced effects to wetlands in impact assessment and mitigation planning for small and often routine developments, including access roads or highway improvement initiatives. Based on the Louis Riel Trail, Highway 11 North twinning project in Saskatchewan, Canada, this article demonstrates a methodological approach and decision support framework for assessing and managing direct, indirect, and induced effects to wetlands from linear developments. No regulatory‐based environmental assessment was required for the highway project; effects were deemed to be insignificant under current wetland mitigation practices. However, our results show that 1115 ha of potentially affected wetlands are located within a 500 m impact zone on either side of the proposed highway. More than 50 percent of these wetlands are seasonal, less than 1 ha in size, and typically not included in mitigation planning. An expert‐based multi‐criteria evaluation of impact and mitigation options for wetlands in the study area indicated “no net loss” as a planning priority, and a preference for a spatially ambitious mitigation plan focused on direct, indirect, and potentially induced impacts. In practice, however, mitigation is often restrictive, focused on mitigating only direct impacts within the project's right‐of‐way, in this case less than 50 ha of wetlands, resulting in the potential for significant net loss of wetland habitat and function. If the risk to wetlands is to be given due consideration in project planning and development for roads and road improvement initiatives, then structured assessment methods and decision support frameworks should be sensitive to the time and resource constraints of small projects and screening‐type assessments. This requires also that wetland mitigation policies are developed and implementation plans formulated as part of project planning and assessment initiatives for linear developments.     

Muslims in Britain and France

Andrew, D., Mists of Regret: Culture and Sensibility in Classic French Film (Princeton Paperbacks, 1995), xv + 409pp., £19.95, ISBN 0 691 00883 3

Barou, J., and Prado, P., Les Anglais dans nos campagnes (L'Harmattan, 1995), 238pp., 140F., ISBN 2 7384 3352 9

Blanchot, M., The Writing of the Disaster, trans. Ann Smock, new edn. (University of Nebraska Press, [1986] 1995), 153pp., £11.00, ISBN 0 8032 6120 9

Brami, J., Cottentenet‐Hage, M., and Verdaguer, P., eds., Regards sur la France des armies 1980 ‐ Le Roman (Anma Libri, 1994), 260pp., ISBN 0 915838 96 6

Brewer, M.M., Claude Simon: Narrativities Without Narrative (University of Nebraska Press, 1995), 183pp., $38.50, ISBN 0 8032 1261 5

Carroll, D., French Literary Fascism: Nationalism, Anti‐Semitism and the Ideology of Culture (Princeton University Press, 1995), 300pp., £24.95, ISBN 0 691 03723 X

Charle, C., A Social History of France in the Nineteenth Century trans. Mirian Kochan, (Berg, 1994), x + 314pp., hbk, ISBN 0 85496 906 2, pbk, ISBN 0 85496 913 6

Cordelier, S., Poisson, E. et al., L'État de la France 1995–96 (La Découverte, 1995), 635pp., 159F., ISBN 2 7071 2447 8

Crisp, C., The Classic French Cinema 1930–1960 (Indiana University Press, 1994), 485pp., £50.00, ISBN 0 2533 1550 6

Crozier, M., La Crise de l'Intelligence (Interéditions, 1995), 200pp., 110F., ISBN 2 7296 0567 3

Debré, M., Combattre Toujours: Mémoires, 1969–1993 (Albin Michel, 1994), 333pp., 150F., ISBN 2 226 07536 4

Dieudonné, P., ed., Villes reconstruites du dessin au iestin (L'Harmattan, 1994), vol. 1, 382pp., 190F., ISBN 2 7384 2605 0, vol. 2, 384pp., 190F., ISBN 2 7384 2606 9

Domenach, N., and Szarfan, M., De si bons amis (Plon, 1994), 454pp., 110F., ISBN 2 259 18018 3

Duchene, F.L., Jean Monnet: the First Statesman of Interdependence (W. W. Norton, 1994), 410pp., £22.00, ISBN 0 393 03497 6

Dutton, D., ed., Statecraft and Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century (Liverpool University Press, 1995), 180pp., £15.05, ISBN 0 85323 379 9

Eck, J.‐F., La France dans la nouvelle economic mondiale (PUF, 1994), 312pp., 150F., ISBN 2 13 046092 5

Forest, P., Histoire de Tel Quel, 1960–82 (Seuil, 1995), 655pp., 180F., ISBN 2 02 017346 8

Gardies, A., L'Espace au cinéma (Meridiens Klincksieck, 1993)

Gregg, J., Maurice Blanchot and the Literature of Transgression (Princeton University Press, 1994), 241pp., £25.00, ISBN 0 691 03329 3

Habert, P., Perrineau, P., and Ysmal, C., eds., Le Vote Sanction: Les élections législatives des 21 et 28 mars 1993 (Départment des études politiques du Figaro et Presses de la Fondation nationale des sciences politiques, 1993), 347pp., 150F., ISBN 2 7246 0634 5

Kessler, M.‐C., Les Grands corps de l'état (Presses Universitaires de France, 1994), 128pp., 36F., ISBN 2 13 046502 1

Kramer, S.P., Does France Still Count? The French Role in the New Europe (Praeger, 1994), 113pp., £11.95, ‘Washington Papers’ series ISBN 0 275 95061 1.

Lallement, M., ed., Travail et emploi: le temps de métamorphoses (L'Harmattan, 1995), 283pp., 150F., ISBN 2 7384 2559 3

Le Crom, J.‐P., Syndicate nous voilal Vichy et le corporatisme (Les Editions Ouvrières, 1995), 410pp., 190F., ISBN 2 7082 3123 5

Lefait, P., Quatre Ministres etpuis s'en vont (Editions de l'Atelier, 1995), 310pp., 120F., ISBN 2 7082 3105 7

Lepetit, B. et al., Atlas de la Révolution française, vol. 8, Population (Editions EHESS, 1995), 92pp., 120F., ISBN 2 7132 1189 1

Manent, P., An Intellectual History of Liberalism, trans. Rebecca Balinski (Princeton University Press, 1994), pp. 128, £16.95, ISBN 0 691 03437 0

Martelli, R., Le rouge et le bleu. Essai sur le communisme français (Editions de l'Atelier, 1995), 286pp., 120F., ISBN 2 7082 3119 7

Mélenchon, J.‐L., Rocard, le rendezvous manqué (Ramsay, 1994), 237pp., 110F..ISBN2 84114 053 9

Minc, A., La France ie l'an 2000 (Odile Jacob/Documentation Française), 321pp., 60F., ISBN 2 7381 0281 6

Osen, J., Royalist Political Thought during the French Revolution (Greenwood Press, 1995), 154pp., £49.50, ISBN 0 313 29441 0

Outram, D., The Enlightenment (Cambridge University Press, 1995), 141pp., £27.95 hbk, ISBN 0 521 41522 5, £9.96 pbk, ISBN 0 521 42534

Phillips, P., Republican France: Divided Loyalties (Greenwood, 1993), xxiii + 168pp., $49.95, ISBN 0 313 27503 3

Platten, D., Djian: 37° 2 le matin (University of Glasgow French &; German Publications, 1995), 92pp., £3.95, ISBN 085261 368 7

Proudhon, P.‐J., What is Property? (CUP, 1994), 227pp., £55 hbk, £12.95 pbk.

Roberts, M., Civilization Without Sexes: Reconstructing Gender in Postwar France 1917–1927 (University of Chicago Press, 1994), 337pp., £15.25, ISBN 0 226 72122 1

Rosanvallon, P., La nouvelle question sociale (Seuil, 1995), 223pp., 95F., ISBN 2 02 022030

Royal, S., Pays, paysans, pay sages. La reconciliation est‐elle possible? (Laffont, 1993), 228pp., 89F., ISBN 2 221 07046 1

Suleiman, E., Les Ressorts cachés de la réussite française (Seuil, 1995), 377pp., 130F., ISBN 2 02 021841 0

Tindall, G., Célestine. Voices from a French Village (Sinclair‐Stevenson, 1995), ix + 286pp., £17.99, ISBN 1 85619 534 1

Tricot, B., Mémoires (Quai Voltaire, 1994), 503pp., 148F., ISBN 2 87653 209 3

Veillon, D., Vivre et Survivre en France 1939–1947 (Editions Payot, 1995), 371pp., 145F., ISBN 2 228 88875 3

Vigato, J.‐C., L‘Architecture Régionalize. France 1890–1950 (Norma, 1994), 392pp., 160F., ISBN 2 9092832 11 9

Wagstaff, P., ed., Regionalism in Europe (Intellect, 1994), 120pp., £14.95, ISBN 1 871516 84 6

Walker, D.H., Outrage and Insight: Modern French Writers and the ’Fait Divers’ (Berg, 1995), 281pp., £39.95, ISBN 0 85946 780 X

Wilson, H.S., African Decolonisation (Edward Arnold, 1994), 222pp., £12.99, ISBN 0 340 55929 2