STUDY OF ROMAN ANCHOR FROM THE DEAD SEA SHORE*

A wooden Roman anchor was discovered at the retreating shore of the Dead Sea, north of Ein Gedi. The anchor's wood material was coated by a thick veneer of aragonite and gypsum crusts. The wood was dated by radiocarbon to the early Roman time in the Levant. Lead isotope analyses carried out on the Pb–Fe–Cu anchor material (remains of the anchor's metal parts) yielded ratios that indicate origin of the metal in Italian ores (maybe Tuscan). For the wooden part of the anchor a local tree was used.     

Meteorological influences on the spatial and temporal variability of NO2 in Toronto and Hamilton

The spatial and temporal variability of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) concentrations and their relationships with meteorology was evaluated in the Toronto–Hamilton urban airshed. NO₂ concentrations were highest in the early morning and late evening. Mean concentrations were highest in winter, although individual one-hour NO₂ concentrations were found to be highest in summer. Wind direction was the strongest control on hourly NO₂ concentration, and temperature and wind speed also had an effect. Our analysis of NO₂ concentration variation by wind direction showed that areas downwind of major highways, urban centres and industry were exposed to higher pollutant concentrations. Seasonal patterns of NO₂ concentration displayed significant spatial heterogeneity, in particular, in Toronto. Onshore winds sheltered coastal inhabitants from the full extent of NO₂ exposure they would otherwise experience. Seasonal variations in meteorology and emissions mean that the degree of spatial variability in NO₂ concentrations changes from season to season. This study will help to improve existing land-use regression-based NO₂ prediction models by incorporating meteorological controls on NO₂ distributions for health effect studies.     

ANTIMONATE OPAQUE GLAZE COLOURS FROM THE FAIENCE MANUFACTURE OF LE BOIS D’ÉPENSE (19TH CENTURY,NORTHEASTERN FRANCE)*

Three types of antimony‐based, opaque ceramic colours were used in the faience workshop of Le Bois d’Épense during the first decades of the 19th century; that is, yellow, tawny and green. Yellow is generated by lead antimonate crystals (Naples Yellow), which are incorporated into an uncoloured glass matrix. According to SEM–EDS measurements, these pigments contain iron. The tawny colour is the optical result of the combined presence of similar yellow, iron‐bearing lead antimonate particles in a Fe‐rich, brownish glass matrix. The green opaque colour is produced by the combination of a blue cobalt glass and yellow Pb–Sn–Fe‐antimonate crystals. Cores of zoned pigments lighten the recipes, according to which the pigments were produced. First, they were synthesized by calcination, ground and then mixed with a colourless, brown or blue glass powder. The resulting powder mixture was added to a liquid agent and used as high‐temperature ceramic colour.     

Evidence for the trade of Mesopotamian and Egyptian glass to Mycenaean Greece

The origins of raw glass used to fashion Mycenaean beads were explored using trace elements analyzed by laser ablation ICP-TOFMS. The use of this minimally destructive technique for the in-situ analysis of these beads was ideal given that the material is exceedingly rare and thus too sensitive to make use of traditional micro-sampling (e.g., by scalpel). A wide range of trace elements were measured to compare these Greek glasses to other Late Bronze Age glass coming from Egypt and Mesopotamia. Of the eleven beads analyzed, four blue glasses colored with cobalt and two blue/green glasses colored with copper have trace element compositions consistent with an Egyptian origin of manufacture. The other five of the glasses, all colored with copper, were found to conform to the composition of Mesopotamian glass. These data are the first to demonstrate direct and clear evidence for the trade of raw glass to the Mycenaean states.     

Recovery of DNA from archaeological insect remains: first results,problems and potential

We report the recovery of short fragments of PCR amplifiable ancient DNA from exoskeletal fragments of the grain weevil Sitophilus granarius (L.) extracted from Roman and medieval deposits in Northern England. If DNA preservation in archaeological insect remains is widespread then many applications in the spheres of evolutionary studies and archaeology can be conceived, some of which are outlined.     

Copper production at Baratti (Populonia,southern Tuscany) in the early Etruscan period (9th–8th centuries BC)

Populonia is commonly regarded as one of the most important iron working centres in Europe in the 1st millennium BC. However, multiple layers of copper slags have been recently discovered at the bottom of the slag deposit occurring along the shoreline of the underlying Baratti Gulf. Copper slag layers have been radiocarbon dated to the 9th–8th centuries BC, i.e. to an early metallurgical stage predating the later large-scale iron production. The overall features of copper slags indicate a single-step smelting process of copper-rich ores containing variable amounts of Zn and Pb. Chemical and textural features of copper slags indicate an optimised, high-efficiency metallurgical process.     

Modeling wood acquisition strategies from archaeological charcoal remains

Archaeological charcoal remains are often used to reconstruct local woodland composition in the past, but rarely address how and why people may have selected specific woody taxa for particular purposes. Models from the field of human behavioral ecology predict that people forage for wood resources by taking into account the relative usefulness, abundance, and handling time related to procuring different wood types. Archaeological and ecological data from the site of Gordion, in Central Anatolia (modern Turkey), were used to test expectations associated with such models. Results suggest that inhabitants of Gordion used wood types for fuel in proportion to their local availability, but that they selected specific, more distant woods for construction. In most occupation periods pine was preferred for construction, perhaps because it produces long, straight timbers for roofing, despite the distance at which it grows from the site. This case study demonstrates that behavioral ecology modeling can help to distinguish between multiple wood acquisition strategies potentially used in the past and improve our understanding of wood use from archaeological charcoal remains.