Firing technique characterization of black-slipped pottery in Praeneste by low field 2D NMR relaxometry

This study was aimed at individuating characteristics related to the pottery’s firing technique of Classical Roman producers, through the low field single-sided NMR relaxometry. The approach is based on a recent method of analysis, the correlation of the longitudinal and transverse NMR relaxation times of a liquid probe (in this case distilled water) filling the porous system of ceramics. The analyzed findings form two homogeneous classes with dating and place of production well established through the producer trademarks. Pottery findings belong to the black-slipped pottery productions of the Latin ancient city of Praeneste between third and second century B.C. and have been attributed to two different ”patriziae” production families: gens Samiaria and gens Trebonia. A further fragment with Greek kylix style, found in the same archaeological area, has also been analyzed, in order to understand if it had been imported from Greece, or made in Praeneste in imitation of the Greek style.     

Edward III’s siege of Calais: A reappraisal

In September 1346, Edward III brought his victorious army to the gates of Calais to begin a siege that over 12 months developed into the largest military operation conducted by the English on French soil during the fourteenth century. It is also perhaps the least understood campaign of Edward III’s reign, because of the loss of the army pay records. We know from chronicles that the men of Calais conducted a heroic defence of their town, and we know too that the English created and maintained an enormous logistical operation first to besiege and then to capture the port. What is little understood, however, is the scale, scope and chronology of the siege. The role played by English naval forces has received little attention, yet there is a series of pay records relating to their service which can compensate for the loss of the vadia guerre accounts and which can enrich understanding of the campaign. Using this evidence, this article reappraises the whole expedition, highlights the numbers of ships and mariners involved in the siege, and draws attention to periods of intensive military activity. Edward III’s ultimate objective was to capture, hold and use the town as a safe port of disembarkation for future invasions.     

Sweep widths and the detection of artifacts in archaeological survey

In many parts of the world, one of the principal means for discovering archaeological resources is terrestrial archaeological survey for small scatters of generally unobtrusive artifacts on the surface. Yet archaeologists have expended relatively little research on the factors that affect detection of such artifacts or the impacts they have on the reliability of surveys. We employ mock survey of plowed fields ‘seeded’ with a variety of artifacts in order to evaluate the effectiveness of pedestrian survey (fieldwalking) with respect to search time and transect spacing. Our results confirm theoretical expectations about the diminishing returns on increases of search effort, while also demonstrating variation in ‘sweep widths’ for different artifact types and surveyor speed and the effects of walking toward or away from the sun. Preliminary results have implications for the most efficient spacing of survey transects as well as the evaluation of completed surveys, since some artifact types have extremely low probabilities of detection even at high densities of search effort.     

Paleonutritional and paleodietary survey on prehistoric humans from Las Cañadas del Teide (Tenerife,Canary Islands) based on chemical and histological analysis of bone

The aim of the present study is to perform a paleodietary and paleonutritional survey on 17 individuals buried in accordance with the prehispanic ritual in the central plateau of the island Tenerife, called Las Cañadas del Teide. We recorded hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon isotope compositions of human bone collagen, bone barium and strontium, and histomorphometrically assessed trabecular bone mass (TBM). Bone trace elements and TBM were compared with reference data derived from a modern sample consisting of 13 individuals. In addition, δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C values were determined in several modern indigenous plants, bone collagen of prehistoric domestic animals (goat and pig), and prehistoric wild animals (a giant lizard, Gallotia goliath and a giant rat, Canaryomis bravoi), which represent food sources potentially consumed by the prehistoric population of the Island. The carbon stable isotope composition of bone collagen ranged between ?20.5 and ?18.6‰ (VPDB), indicating a diet based on C₃ plants. Nitrogen isotope values ranged from 8.2 to 12.4‰ (AIR), suggesting a general meat-enriched diet, most likely domestic goats, of higher level consumers. Hydrogen isotope values ranged from ?18 to +4‰, whereas log Ba/Sr was greater than ?0.40 in the vast majority of cases. TBM showed a tendency to osteoporosis in 30% of the individuals analyzed. C-14 dating showed that two burial sites, including 5 individuals, belonged to the post-conquest era (after the 15th century), despite a fully “prehispanic” burial ritual, which lends credenceto the oral tradition that some of the prehispanic population fled to the highlands at the time of the Spanish conquest, and lived there during decades or even centuries. These individuals showed lower δD, δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N, and higher log Ba/Sr values than those buried before the Spanish conquest, suggesting dietary differences between the two groups. Also, women showed a trend to a higher consumption of vegetables than men.     

Multi-scale tribological analysis of the technique of manufacture of an obsidian bracelet from Aşıklı Höyük (Aceramic Neolithic,Central Anatolia)

Tribological analysis is employed in a pilot study of the technological steps involved in the manufacture of a polished obsidian bracelet from A??kl? Höyük, an Aceramic Neolithic site in Central Anatolia (8300–7500 cal. B.C.). The study includes morphological analysis of the bracelet, based on profile measurements, and identifications of wear variations indicated by surface topographic features and parameters. The manufacturing skill that is revealed suggests early appearance of a regional tradition of obsidian working, which reached its full development in the 6th millennium cal. B.C. with the production of various ornamental objects, including mirrors and vessels. The cultural record and location of A??kl? Höyük make the site important for our understanding of the technological developments during the early Neolithic in Anatolia.