Layers of religious and political iconoclasm under the Islamic State: symbolic sectarianism and pre-monotheistic iconoclasm

This article examines the heritage destruction undertaken by the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. To date, their iconoclasm has been mostly characterised either as acts of wanton barbarism devoid of religious or political justification, or as a cynical performance designed as a mass media spectacle. Drawing on a systematic analysis of two key IS propaganda outlets – their on-line magazine, Dabiq, and the various slick films released by Al-Hayat – this article argues that the heritage destruction perpetrated by the IS are not only situated within a carefully articulated theological framework and key to the creation of a new and ideologically pure ‘Islamic State’, but that they are also constituted by several complex layers of religious and political iconoclasm. To demonstrate, this article documents the iconoclasm undertaken by the IS along two key axes: Symbolic Sectarianism (Shia and Sufi mosques and shrines); and Pre-Monotheistic Iconoclasm (ancient polytheistic sites). Attacks on key sites within these categories, such as the Sayyida Zaynab shrine in Damascus or the Mosul Museum, not only adhere to their religious and political framework but also serve broader geo-political agendas and are attacked as proxy targets for their physical and ideological opponents.     

Watermills: The Origin of the Use of Renewable Hydraulic Energy in Spain

The use of renewable hydraulic energy sources by mankind most likely has its origins in the development of the watermills. To understand the functioning of these mills, this article first reviews, through the analysis of different bibliographical sources, the technical evolution of the machinery used since the appearance of the first watermills to grind cereal grain in the 1st century bc.

Secondly, a particular area of the south-west of Spain, Alcalá de Guadaíra, has been selected for study, whose strategic location as well as its hydrological characteristics gave rise, firstly, to an intensive milling industry, and, later, a famed baking industry, from the late Middle Ages until recent decades. The huge development of these two industrial activities has made Alcalá de Guadaíra an exceptional example in Spain, with 40 watermills in the early 18th century.

Extensive work on site allowed the analysis of the state and types of watermills that still exist in this area, identifying their similarities and differences. Unfortunately, after they fell into disuse, only 28 of these mills remain today; 12 of them are in a relative good state of preservation, seven in an alarming state of ruin and, of the other nine, only some unrecognisable vestiges remain. Some of these mill buildings have been restored recently, although their machinery is missing. Only from old photographs or by visiting mills restored in other areas is it possible to determine how these watermills worked.

Due to the lack of financial resources to carry out physical restoration of the industrial heritage missing in these flour mills, a virtual model of one of them has been developed. This work provides, at least virtually, a reconstruction of the traditional mills which helps promote technological studies and shows how they worked, as part of virtual exhibitions. In addition, a computer application of augmented reality has been developed that any visitor can install on a mobile device to display the virtual reality of the machinery, generated by 3D models, so they can visualise the physical reality that they would have found in the mill.     

Clothing as communication? Vestments and views of the papacy c.1300

ABSTRACT

This essay argues that Pope Boniface VIII (1294–1303) used clothing in a highly intentional and performative manner to communicate his status and authority. His audience, however, was quite limited – essentially, the small community of those who aspired to hold or influence the power of the Holy See – and the messages conveyed were not particularly complex. Attempting a reception history of papal attire c.1300, the essay surveys remarks regarding clothing in late thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century chronicles and analyses in depth the evidence of two sources: ambassadorial reports to King James II of Aragon (1291–1327) and the De electione et coronatione sanctissimi patris domini Bonifatii pape octavi of Cardinal Jacopo Caetani Stefaneschi (c.1270–1343). A suggestive finding is that performativity, or the highly theatrical use of garments, appears to have been used by Boniface VIII to foster dissemination of simple communications across great distances.     

High‐boron and High‐alumina Middle Byzantine (10th–12th Century ce) Glass Bracelets: A Western Anatolian Glass Industry

The trace element boron is present in most ancient glasses as an impurity, and high boron (≥ 300 ppm) marks raw material sources that are geologically specific and relatively uncommon. Recent analyses of Byzantine glass with high boron contents suggest that glass‐making was not limited to the traditional regions of the Levant and Egypt, and a production origin in or near western Anatolia is proposed. Glass bracelets from ?i?n al‐Tīnāt in southern Turkey give fresh evidence for the production and circulation of high‐boron glasses that closely correlates with object typology. The patterning of findspots suggests that high‐boron glass was closely connected to the Byzantine world.     

Multi‐analytical Studies of Archaeological Chinese Earthen Plasters: The Inner Wall of the Longhu Hall (Yuzhen Palace,Ancient Building Complex,Wudang Mountains,China)

The Yuzhen Palace is one of the nine palaces in the Ancient Building Complex built by order of the Yongle Emperor during the Ming dynasty. The buildings were built with dressed black bricks. As a result of the planned national South–North Water Diversion project, the water level in the Danjiangkou Reservoir that surrounds the Yuzhen Palace was expected to rise by approximately 15 m. To avoid submersion of the site, three gates were elevated by 15 m in 2013 and other buildings dismantled, for later reconstruction. The characterization of the construction materials has therefore become of primary importance. Here, we present results on the plasters of the Longhu Hall. The analysis of materials involved a multi‐analytical approach combining optical and electron microscopy with X‐ray and vibrational spectromicroscopies and thermogravimetry. The results indicated the use of two earthen plaster layers and a whitewash finish coating applied over a thin preparatory intermediate layer to improve the adherence of the finish coating to the earthen plaster. Ramie and straw fibres identified in the earthen plasters were added to reduce shrinkage and cracking during drying. The raw materials used and the application technique pointed to a well‐established construction industry using traditional earthen building materials together with lime technology.     

The Contribution of Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) to Understanding Pre‐Columbian Goldwork Technology

This paper highlights the contribution of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) when combined with scanning electron microscopy and energy‐dispersive X‐ray microanalysis (SEM/XEDS) to characterize objects in archaeology. The application of TEM in archaeology is not yet a common tool, but it may provide data that are significant to understanding pre‐Columbian gold metallurgy, specifically the gilding and silvering methods. Two gilded rods were studied using a combination of TEM and SEM/XEDS techniques. The objects were found at the Atacames archaeological site, in the Esmeraldas region, Ecuador, which was occupied between ad 750 and 1526 by the Atacames culture. The microchemical and structural results of the inner and the external gilded part of the artefacts support the hypothesis of a gold diffusion to the surface enhanced by chemical treatment with chloride‐rich solutions, heating and successive annealing processes. The present study reveals that microstructural investigation by TEM provides useful information with which to investigate the techniques used to modify the chemical surface composition of pre‐Columbian artefacts.     

Determining the Provenance of Cayo Pottery from Grenada,Lesser Antilles,Using Portable X‐Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry

Portable XRF was used to analyse the chemical composition of 52 indigenous Cayo ceramics from excavations and from private collections on Grenada, Lesser Antilles. Initially, a comparative baseline of data representing three different islands (Grenada, St Vincent and Trinidad) was created by analysing with pXRF ceramic material that had previously been analysed both chemically and petrographically. The field data, when compared to the laboratory baseline data, indicated that the majority of the ceramics were made with clay local to Grenada. Four samples were potentially made with clay from another, as yet unidentified, source.     

Lead Isotope Analysis of Tooth Enamel from a Viking Age Mass Grave in Southern Britain and the Constraints it Places on the Origin of the Individuals

Lead analysis of tooth enamel from individuals recovered from a Viking Age burial pit in southern England provides further evidence for their childhood origins outside Britain. All except one of the men have very low Pb concentrations that exclude anthropogenic Pb exposure. Strontium and oxygen isotope compositions identify a core group of men who have Pb isotope compositions of ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb = 2.065 ± 0.021 (n = 20, 2SD) that, when compared with data from European soils, appear to exclude a childhood in the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Finland, whereas areas of Northern continental Europe cannot be excluded.     

Late Pleistocene Lithic Procurement and Geochemical Characterization of the Cerro Kaskio Obsidian Source in South‐western Bolivia

Primary questions regarding the foraging behaviour of the first hunter–gatherers who colonized the New World are how they found, procured and utilized high‐quality raw materials for manufacturing stone tools. In this paper, we present evidence from the late Pleistocene site of Cueva Bautista in the highlands of south‐western Bolivia, which demonstrates that a substantial portion of the recovered stone tool assemblage originated in Cerro Kaskio, a recently discovered obsidian source located 15 km south‐west of the site. In addition to describing the geological and geochronological setting, we provide the first geochemical characterization of the Cerro Kaskio source by means of instrumental neutron activation analysis and energy‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence. Supported on the technological analysis and archaeometric sourcing of the obsidian lithics found in Cueva Bautista, we discuss the nature of the procurement strategies practised by the earliest mobile hunter–gatherers who explored and colonized the Andean highlands. We conclude that opportunistic lithic resource procurement was probably an important component of the first foraging societies that explored the highland Andes.     

Application of Kernel Density Estimates to Lead Isotope Compositions of Bronzes from Ningxia,North‐West China

The aim of this paper is to apply kernel density estimates (KDEs) to the visualization and interpretation of lead isotope data from bronze assemblages found along the northern border of central China, here designated as the Arc. New lead isotope analyses of 30 leaded tin–bronze artefacts from the Wangdahu cemetery (c.500–300 bc ) in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, north‐west China, provide the basis for the discussion. By using multivariate KDEs and the calculated likelihood of the overlap, the present work shows that the Wangdahu objects feature a unique linear array of isotope ratios, representing an important element of overall bronzes from the Arc in the first millennium bc . This characteristic isotope signature is fundamentally different from that of Dajing ores in north‐east China, as well from that of early Qin bronzes in Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. This suggests that a variety of metal resources were utilized by peoples living in the Arc. The KDE approach thus proves effective at presenting and comparing lead isotope data.