New data on relevant ancient Egyptian wooden artifacts: Identification of wooden species and study of the state of conservation with multidisciplinary analyses

Wood species identification and characterization of its weathering processes are crucial steps in the scientific approach of conservation of wooden cultural heritage. Many precious wooden objects of ancient Egypt are largely present in museums, nevertheless relatively little information is available concerning the nature of timber used and on their status of conservation. To address this gap, the wooden species of three relevant archaeological wood objects (statue, box, and coffin) arising from different Egyptian archaeological sites dated from the Old Kingdom (2,686–2,181 BC) to New Kingdom (1,550–1,069 BC) were deeply studied. Five hardwood and softwood species were identified belonging to Tamarix mannifera, T. gennessarensis, Ficus sycomorus, Vachellia nilotica, and Cedrus sp. Such data confirmed the recurrence of Vachellia and Tamarix among the most common timbers found in ancient Egypt. Scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform spectroscopy, and synchrotron x-ray radiation diffraction were conducted to evaluate the archaeological wood deterioration. The formation of microcracks, biological degradation patterns (fungal colonization), or chemical characterization (accumulation of salts on and in-between wooden cells) were detected. SEM micrographs showed the presence of fungal hyphae and conidial spores on the wooden cells. Significant changes in the chemical wood composition and decrease in the crystallinity index were detected.     

Identifying institutional configurations for policy outcomes: A comparison of ecosystem services delivery

This paper employs the Institutional Analysis and Development framework across six ecosystem delivery measures in the European Union to develop a configurational explanation of (un)successful outcomes. By undertaking comparative institutional analysis, we systematically examine the effect of variation across rule types and generate insights on how different institutional configurations result in varying degrees of successful implementation of ecosystem delivery measures. We apply explanatory typology methods to identify the institutional features that best explain variation in implementation success across a number of cases. We argue that institutional rules shape outcomes in conjunction rather than in isolation. The findings show that differences in implementation success across cases can be explained by the interplay of differences in knowledge exchange, flexibility in implementation, and participation in the policy design process.     

Forging a ‘Good Diaspora’: Political Mobilization among Somalis in the UK

This article is about a campaign that was initiated by Somalis in London in 2013 against Barclays Bank's decision to shut down the accounts of four Somali remittance companies in the UK. It explores how young Somalis mobilized politically around the issue, and how, in the process, they created and reified a particular ‘imagined community’. By drawing on multicultural notions of community, and development idioms of diaspora engagement, they fashioned themselves around a notion of ‘good diaspora’ based on generation, pan‐Somali unity, and ideas of ‘professionalism’. In so doing, they were able to mobilize politically as both national and transnational actors, but were also confronted with some of the limits of the ‘good diaspora’ identity category. This article establishes a dialogue between the literature on diaspora engagement and that on migrant political mobilization by exploring how young Somalis navigate across these different national and transnational conversations, discourses and social categories.     

On the Design of Viscous Dampers for the Rehabilitation of Plan-Asymmetric Buildings

In this article, one of the procedures proposed in literature for the design of viscous dampers to be inserted in existing buildings is examined and extended to 3D eccentric buildings. The proposed procedure has been verified through a case study characterized by a six-story RC building. Both plan-symmetric and plan-asymmetric configurations have been considered for comparisons. The effect of considering the plan-asymmetry in the design has been studied. Moreover, also the importance of considering the higher modes has been investigated. The effectiveness of the design procedure has been then evaluated through the comparison with nonlinear dynamic analyses.     

Vulnerability Assessment of Unreinforced Masonry Churches Following the 2010–2011 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence

The 2010–2011 Canterbury, New Zealand earthquake sequence caused extensive damage to unreinforced masonry churches. A sample of 80 affected buildings was analysed and their performance statistically interpreted. Structural behaviour is described in terms of mechanisms affecting the so-called macro-elements, and damage probability matrices are computed. Regression models correlating mean damage level against macroseismic intensity are also developed for all observed mechanisms, improving the initial simple-linear formulations through use of multiple-linear regressions accounting for vulnerability modifiers, whose influence is evaluated via statistical procedures. Results presented herein will support the future development of predictive tools for decision-makers, also contributing to seismic vulnerability mitigation at a territorial scale.     

Decorated prehistoric pottery from Castello di Annone (Piedmont,Italy): archaeometric study and pilot comparison with coeval analogous finds

Prehistoric pottery decorated with incisions or impressions filled with white and seldom coloured inlays is well documented in the archaeological literature, but the related in-depth archaeometric studies are sporadic. 43 decorated ceramic shards, dating from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age, and an Iron Age fibula from the archaeological site of Castello di Annone (Piedmont, North-Western Italy) were analysed with FTIR, Raman and XRPD for characterization of the ornamental pigments forming these inlays. Few white components were used as fillers, namely talc and bone ash (hydroxyapatite – Bone White), often as a mixture and seldom accompanied by other pigments (i.e. kaolinite and presumably secondary calcite). Comparison with freshly-heated biogenic hydroxyapatite proved that ancient Bone White pigment was calcined at about 900 °C. Such a process was kept separate from pottery firing as these white mixtures show absence of talc degradation by-products and sporadic presence of kaolinite, implying these ceramics were decorated only after firing in furnace. Actual presence of fluorapatite in bone ash could allow dating with the Fluorine Method, but lack of fluorine detection with SEM-EDS causes such an attempt to be impracticable so far. A pilot comparative study with a restricted but representative group (11) of coeval finds from other sites of Piedmont suggests that while recurrence of talc prevails in Castello di Annone from the Neolithic throughout the Bronze age, massive use of bone ash (Bone White) becomes widespread in the close Iron Age settlements, possibly consequent to a more efficient handling of its production technology.     

Ancient Mediterranean Sewn‐Boat Traditions

This article provides a summary and analysis of current knowledge of the archaeological remains of the 64 sewn boats that have been excavated in the Mediterranean region, dating from the Bronze Age to the Medieval periods. A detailed examination of the construction techniques, particularly the methods used to assemble and seal sewn planks and the systems used for lashing frames to the planking, has enabled six distinct construction traditions to be distinguished within the sewn‐boat assemblage. Phases within these traditions are examined, alongside transitions to mortise‐and‐tenon fasteners, and explanations for the longevity of sewn techniques in specific regions are suggested.     

The Post Medieval Gravellona Toce Boat: an inland watercraft from north‐west Italy assembled using locked dowels

Discovered in 1955, not far from the Roman necropolis of Pedemonte, the Gravellona Toce boat has long been considered evidence of Roman‐period riverine navigation in northern Italy. This initial interpretation, which was not supported by direct dating evidence, has been recently reconsidered on the basis of radiocarbon‐dating and analysis of the timbers retrieved. In this paper, the authors present the results of the recent analysis of the surviving remains which allow the vessel to be interpreted as a post medieval boat built using the traditional bottom‐based construction techniques of the Po Valley region.     

Making Democracy Legible? Voter Registration and the Permanent Electronic Electoral List in Benin

A core component of the infrastructural power of the modern state is the capacity to make its population ‘legible’, through the development of accurate registration and identification mechanisms. In discussing the relationship between democratization and state building, little attention has been paid to the electoral process as a technical process. Yet, the introduction of competitive elections presupposes the registration of voters and thus requires the development of the ‘legibility’ capacities of states. This is particularly evident in sub‐Saharan Africa, where democratizing states have been confronted with the weakness of their existing records and forced to develop new mechanisms for registering voters in a reliable manner. This article looks at the experience of the Liste Electorale Permanente Informatisée (the Permanent Electronic Electoral List) in Benin and discusses the potentialities and limits of voter registration as a state‐building tool.     

Habsburg coffeehouses in the shadow of the empire: Revisiting nostalgia in Trieste

ABSTRACT

This article reflects on Trieste’s representation as ‘the ghost of its Habsburg past’ (Hametz, M. 2014. ‘Presnitz in the Piazza: Habsburg Nostalgia in Trieste.’ Journal of Austrian Studies 47 (2): 131–154. doi:10.1353/oas.2014.0029., 136) – a city that laments the irreversibility of time – to explore instead the ways in which nostalgic attachments to the empire have come under suspicion. Drawing on interviews, literary texts, and atmospheric data (McCormack, D. 2014. ‘Atmospheric things and circumstantial excursions.’ Cultural Geographies 21 (4): 605–625. doi:10.1177/1474474014522930), I explore the narrative and performative strategies adopted to reframe the political and cultural relations with the empire. By discussing how events and places expected to celebrate the Habsburg legacy refuse to become nostalgic, I trace the emergence of contested feelings for the empire to explore how nostalgia becomes an ambivalent sentiment that is discursively and performatively re-appropriated and mobilized to attach and detach Trieste from the empire.