UBI SUNT MACELLA? THE CONTRIBUTION OF NON‐INVASIVE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY TO THE IDENTIFICATION AND STUDY OF ROMAN FOOD MARKETS

While the remains of the well‐preserved and excavated towns of Pompeii, Ostia and Herculaneum provide us with a fascinating impression of their once bustling economic life, the study of urban economic space requires a more extensive geographical and methodological framework. This paper investigates whether the systematic use of non‐invasive techniques at other, often neglected, urban sites can deliver a meaningful contribution to the study of Roman urbanism, especially by revealing previously unknown foci of commercial activity in the Roman city. To illustrate the effectiveness of certain non‐destructive strategies, including geophysical prospection and aerial survey, we focus on a specific type of market building that was quite common in the Roman world, the macellum. The case studies presented here demonstrate how non‐invasive archaeological investigation, often in combination with other topographic operations, can facilitate the identification of macella and enhance studies of economic architecture and space in Roman towns in Italy and the provinces.     

The mechanics of innovation: clover cultivation in Wales before 1750

Welsh agriculturists were more responsive to the introduction of new crops in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries than is generally assumed. In particular, they appreciated the nutritious fodder that could be provided for their livestock by the sown grasses, notably clover, sainfoin and perennial rye grass. These legumes were tried on Welsh estates at least as early as 1668. The initial mechanics of innovation are explored: what were the processes by which knowledge was gained, distributed, tested and used in the decision-making of those who first cultivated the grasses? On the Trevor estates the stages of adoption included the inception of trial plots of sainfoin; observation and enquiry with several English growers; assessment of soils and seeds; parallel experiments at two sites; close reference to the printed word about the crop, in papers of instruction and books. Welsh initiators also followed patterns of imitation, in some cases based on clover cultivation already established in Wales, in others on the classic model of Herefordshire. The scale of adoption is indicated by data from every Welsh county, and for landowners and farmers at different levels of operation. The literature of improved agriculture was directly influential, as were the ties of family kinship, language and religion among adopters. The working of a three-step flow of communication is suggested.     

European Corridors as Carriers of Dynamic Agglomeration Externalities?

Transport corridors are viewed as a promising way forward in European Union (EU) transport policy, assumed to contribute positively to regional economic development. However, the validity of this assumption is not evident. The aim of this paper is to empirically test whether agglomeration economies in European transport corridor regions are positively related to indicators of regional economic development compared to regions outside the scope of corridors. The results build on the notion that the type of agglomeration economy in combination with the structure of the economy matters for prospects of structural economic growth in different regions. In this way, the analysis not only contributes to enhancing the empirical scrutiny of the corridor concept in EU transport policy, but also provides new insights into how corridors contribute to regional economic growth. We find only limited evidence for a corridor effect across European regions on productivity and employment growth externalities. Instead, we find a large degree of spatial heterogeneity interacting with corridors—a heterogeneity that has been little recognized in EU policies. We suggest that recent attention to place-based development strategies may accord well with the kinds of agglomeration effects related to corridor development observed in this study.     

Optically stimulated luminescence dating of young fluvial deposits of the Middle Elbe River Flood Plains using different age models

In the last few decades optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating has become an important tool in geochronological studies. The great advantage of the method, i.e. dating the depositional age of sediments directly, can be impaired by incomplete bleaching of grains. This can result in a scattered distribution of equivalent doses (D_E), leading to incorrect estimation of the depositional age. Thoroughly tested protocols as well as good data analysis with adequate statistical methods are important to overcome this problem. In this study, samples from young fluvial sand and flood plain deposits from the Elbe River in northern Germany were investigated to compare its depositional ages from different age models with well-known historical dates. Coarse grain quartz (100–200 μm and 150–250 μm) and polymineral fine grains (4–11 μm) were dated using the single aliquot regenerative (SAR) dose protocol. The paleodose (D_P) was calculated from the DE data set using different approaches. Results were compared with the development of the Elbe River, which is well-documented by historical records and maps covering the last 1,000 years. Depending on the statistical approach it can be demonstrated that depositional ages significantly differ from the most likely depositional age. For the investigated coarse grain quartz samples all ages calculated from the MAM-3_UL, including their uncertainties, are within the historical documented age. Results of the polymineral fine grain samples are overestimating the historically documented depositional age, indicating undetectable incomplete bleaching. This study shows the importance of using an adequate statistical approach to calculate reliable OSL ages from fluvial sediments.     

The City Is a Tree; The Real World Is Not a Tree!

The guest coeditors of this issue set a context in which to view a previously unpublished article of Frank Harary. The Harary article is followed here by contemporary material of Joseph Kerski that addresses similar real‐world issues. The two together, along with the context, serve as a springboard to launch the reader into the rest of the materials in this special issue devoted to graph theory and network science. Los coeditores invitados de esta edición establecen marco contextual para una lectura de un manuscrito inédito de Frank Harary. El artículo de Harary es presentado y complementado con material contemporáneo de Joseph Kerski que aborda problemas similares del mundo real. Los dos juntos y el marco conceptual sirven de base al lector para el resto de los materiales en este número especial, dedicado a la teoría de grafos y la ciencia de la redes. 本专辑的客座合作主编发表了一个评论,回顾Frank Harray先前未发表的论文。Harary的论文和当代Joseph Kerski的论文均关注相似的现实世界问题。将两者内容进行对比,结合原文,可以使读者更深入地了解本专辑中有关图论和网络科学之外的其他内容。