On-site Radioscopic Qualitative Assessment of Historic Timber Structures: Identification and Mapping of Biological Deterioration of Wood

The recent development of portable, battery-charged x-ray tubes and digital detectors has made digital radioscopic examination of wooden buildings a realistic option. Lack of experience with the often very complex radiographs of building structures makes the interpretation of such radiographs difficult. A set of radiographs of wood in different, identified conditions was established for use when interpreting radiographs of wood in unknown condition.

This article presents radiographs of a trestle-framed building. The recordings were done in areas where the condition of the wooden elements was known in advance, either on the basis of dendrochronological drill samples or because the building element had been replaced recently and the wood was sound. The radiographs were compared with NIKU´s collected guideline radiographs and discussed with respect to the information they provide about the wood’s condition. Finally, we discuss radioscopy as a supplement to traditional methods of building surveying.

The authors took all of the photos and radiographs (©NIKU). The radiographs are shown as “shadow” images—materials of higher density are seen lighter than materials of less density, as long as they are of same thickness.     

First record of Carinodens (Squamata,Mosasauridae) from the uppermost Maastrichtian of Stevns Klint,Denmark

Milàn, J., Jagt, J.W.M., Lindgren, J. & Schulp, A.S., November 2017. First record of Carinodens (Squamata, Mosasauridae) from the uppermost Maastrichtian of Stevns Klint, Denmark. Alcheringa 42, 597-602. ISSN 0311-5518.

Here we report on an important addition to the Late Cretaceous fossil record of marine reptiles from Denmark: a tooth crown of the rare durophagous mosasaur Carinodens minalmamar found in the uppermost Maastrichtian strata at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Stevns Klint. The tooth was found within the uppermost few metres of the Maastrichtian chalk placing it within the latest 50.000 years prior to the K/Pg boundary. The new find is a shed crown probably representing a tooth from the 11th to 13th position in the jaw. The tooth represents the northernmost occurrence of the genus Carinodens. Previous mosasaur finds from Denmark have all been from the hypercarnivorous mosasaurids Mosasaurus hoffmannii and Plioplatecarpus sp., thus our specimen adds a new trophic niche exploited by marine tetrapods in the food web of the latest Maastrichtian of Denmark.

Jesper Milàn* [jesperm@oesm.dk], Geomuseum Faxe/Østsjællands Museum, Østervej 2, 4640 Faxe, Denmark; John W.M. Jagt [john.jagt@maastricht.nl], Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht, De Bosquetplein 6–7, 6211 kJ Maastricht, the Netherlands; Johan Lindgren [johan.lindgren@geol.lu.se], Department of Geology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, 223 62 Lund, Sweden. Anne S. Schulp? [anne.schulp@naturalis.nl], Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht, De Bosquetplein 6–7, 6211 kJ Maastricht, the Netherlands. *Also affiliated with: Natural History Museum of Denmark, Øster Voldgade 5–7, 1465 Copenhagen K, Denmark. ?Also affiliated with: Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden, the Netherlands, and Faculteit Bètawetenschappen, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands.     

Western Mediterranean sand deposits as a raw material for Roman glass production

During the Late Roman and Byzantine period, natron glass was made from its raw materials in a limited number of primary production centres in Egypt and Syro-Palestine. For the earlier Hellenistic and Roman period, no primary furnaces have been found and the location of primary production during this era remains unclear. Ancient authors such as Strabo and Pliny the Elder suggest that glassmaking sands were found near the River Belus (Israel), in Egypt, near the mouth of the Volturno River (Italy) and also in Spain and France. However, primary production in the western part of the Mediterranean is not supported by any direct archaeological evidence and possible sand raw materials from these regions have never been evaluated for their suitability to produce glass.     

Heritage Discourse and the Desexualisation of Public Space: The “Historical Restorations” of Bloomsbury's Squares

Abstract: In recent years, the local authorities in London's historic Bloomsbury district have carried out a number of refurbishments of the area's public squares. These landscaping schemes have typically been labelled “historical restorations” in attempts to predetermine the evaluation criteria as “historic” rather than political, social and aesthetic. Focusing on Russell Square and Bloomsbury Square, this paper illustrates how the “restorations” were selective: the introduction of gates and railings and the removal of planting were not primarily designed to restore these historical gardens, but reflect a surveillance‐friendly ideal of urban space, specifically introduced to displace the men who used these squares for cruising. Through a detailed review of archival material from both mainstream and gay media, I illustrate the shifting forms of policing and landscaping in Bloomsbury's squares, while also highlighting how homonormative capital has colluded with the regulation of public space in this part of London.     

A Saxon Fish Weir and Undated Fish Trap Frames Near Ashlett Creek,Hampshire, UK: Static Structures on a Dynamic Foreshore

The remains of a wooden V-shaped fish weir and associated structures have been discovered near Ashlett Creek on the tidal mudflats of Southampton Water in Hampshire, southern Britain. Radiocarbon dating of oak roundwood stakes taken from the main weir structure date it to the middle Saxon period. Clusters of as-yet undated roundwood posts within the catchment area of the weir are interpreted as the frames for fish traps that are assumed to pre- or post-date the operational period of the weir itself. The weir is contemporary with wooden V-shaped fish weirs found elsewhere in southern and central Britain, and also Ireland, but its circular catchment ‘pound’ remains restricted, in these islands, to the Solent and Severn estuaries: it has a close parallel with another Saxon-era weir on the nearby Isle of Wight. It also shows striking structural similarities with examples in use today in Basse Normandy, on the southern shore of the English Channel. The paper discusses the function and operation of the weir, and places it in its social and historical context. Regressive cartography demonstrates that the structures have become exposed as a result of saltmarsh retreat in this area of Southampton Water since the nineteenth century. The radiocarbon dates returned for the posts demonstrate that this transgression of the marsh must have been preceded by a prolonged period of progradation, which covered and preserved the site; its subsequent re-exposure has negative implications for its survival.     

Integrating human dimensions of Arctic palaeoenvironmental science: SEAD – the strategic environmental archaeology database

Environmental change has a human dimension, and has had so for at least the last 10 000 years. The prehistoric impact of people on the Arctic landscape has occasionally left visible traces, such as house and field structures. More often than not, however, the only evidence available is at the microscopic or geochemical level, such as fossil insect and seed assemblages or changes in the physical and chemical properties of soils and sediments. These records are the subject of SEAD, a multidisciplinary database and software project currently underway at Umeå University, Sweden, which aims to create an online database and set of tools for investigating these traces, as part of an international research infrastructure for palaeoecology and environmental archaeology.