African American workers and southern visitors at antebellum Saratoga Springs

The New York state resort of Saratoga Springs was virtually unique in the antebellum United States as a venue where slave owners, fleeing the pestilential diseases of the plantation, confronted free black workers, drawn by the easy availability of seasonal work. The interactions of this odd pairing, preserved in a few fragmentary texts, reveal a considerable degree of negotiation. Antebellum black workers at Saratoga often substituted everyday acts of rebellion for the perceived futility of open attacks on individuals or institutions of domination. If their self‐assertion did not translate into substantial economic or social gains, neither were they a particularly servile or degraded class. For Southerners, the spa was a liminal site filled with pleasurable and frightening possibilities in complete contrast to plantation life. Although planters often returned to the South confirmed in their racial and sectional fears, both groups found the resort a congenial place to experiment with new roles and new attitudes.     

Travel choices? The Central Scotland transport corridor studies

The Central Scotland Transport Corridor Studies (CSTCSs) were announced in 2001 to investigate means of addressing problems of congestion along the A8, A80 and M74. The studies were to be undertaken on the principle of the English multi modal studies, wherein the search for ‘solutions’ to traffic congestion problems involved considering a range of modal options on an equal footing. This paper reviews the outcome of the multi modal studies and, against this background, analyses the decisions arising from the CSTCSs. It suggests that, although the amount of funding to be spent on road schemes — around 76% of the total budget — is undoubtedly high, the Scottish Executive's decisions should probably receive a cautious welcome, even in the context of the ‘sustainable’ transport agenda set out by UK ministers shortly after Labour's election to power in 1997.     

Mapping Submerged Archaeological Sites using Stereo‐Vision Photogrammetry

Creating photo‐mosaics and plans of submerged archaeological sites quickly, cost‐effectively and, most importantly, to a high level of geometric accuracy remains a huge challenge in underwater archaeology. This paper describes a system that takes geo‐referenced stereo imagery from a diver‐propelled platform and combines it with mapping techniques widely used in the field of robotic science to create high‐resolution 2D photo‐mosaics and detailed 3D textured models of submerged archaeological features. The system was field tested on the submerged Bronze Age town of Pavlopetri off the coast of Laconia, Greece, in 2010. This paper outlines the equipment used, data collection in the field, image processing and visualization methodology.     

From Pleistocene Mariners to Complex Hunter-Gatherers: The Archaeology of the California Channel Islands

California’s Channel Islands were home to some of the most distinctive Native American peoples along the Pacific Coast. Never connected to the mainland during the Quaternary, the Channel Islands have an impoverished terrestrial flora and fauna, but some of the richest and most productive marine environments in the Americas, including diverse kelp forest, intertidal, and offshore marine habitats. Native Americans occupied the Channel Islands for roughly 13,000 calendar years until the early nineteenth century, providing one of the longest and best preserved records of maritime hunter-gatherers in the Americas. We provide an overview and analysis of Channel Islands archaeology, from the relatively mobile peoples who colonized the islands during the Late Pleistocene to the complex hunter-gatherers documented by early Spanish explorers. Our analysis demonstrates the importance of Channel Islands archaeology for enhancing knowledge on a number of broad anthropological issues, including coastal and aquatic adaptations, seafaring, cultural complexity, trade and exchange, and ancient human impacts on the environment.     

The uses of soil stabilizing gel media in the conservation of large and small shipwreck artifacts

The recovery of a marine steam engine, which lay for 113 years in the hull of an iron shipwreck, SS Xantho , presented conservators with a big packing/storage problem.
Collecting large quantities of ceramic sherds and glass fragments from shipwreck sites can lead to a compromise situation developing with regard to storage/packing of these materials. Some damage is likely to occur during transit to the conservation laboratory. Similarly, storing artifacts onboard an expedition work boat presents some risks during unsettled sea conditions.
This paper describes the use of two gel media (normally used for agricultural purposes) with respect to their suitability for providing interim storage environments and protection during travel for large (concreted) and small artifacts. The application of Agrosoke and Erosel during field trials on HMS Pandora (1791), the Foam (1893), SS Xantho (1872) and the H.E.I.C. ship Trial (1622) are described with methods of preparation and use. Problems associated with the use of chemical additives are mentioned though conclusions are not drawn for want of further investigation.     

African archaeology: looking back and looking forward

Archaeological interpretations are related to the social, political and intellectual climate prevailing at the time: the record of African archaeology is traced with the attitudes characteristic of different periods, from the nineteenth century to the last decade. The future is seen as belonging to the present generation of archaeologists active in Africa, but a number of questions are asked.

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Résumé Les interprétations archéologiques sont liées au climat social, politique et intellectuel qui domine au moment donné. L'histoire de l'archéologie africaine est retracée compte tenu des perspectives caractéristiques des périodes successives, dès le dix-neuvième siècle jusqu'à la dernière décennie. Le futur est considéré comme l'affaire de cette génération d'archéologues qui travaillent actuellement en Afrique, mais plusieurs questions se posent.