The consilience of historical and isotopic approaches in reconstructing the medieval Mediterranean diet

During the Middle Ages, the economies of Europe, the religious directives involving dietary requirements, and the general human subsistence base were transformed. These complicated and intertwined issues are starkly revealed in an isotopic study of two inland Italian human populations that are separated by approximately 850 years in time. Stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotopic values observed in human dentin and bone collagen from the sites of early medieval Castro dei Volsci and late medieval Rome are consistent with diets that differed substantially. As the North Atlantic opened to fishing and food preservations methods improved, Mediterranean peoples increased their fish consumption dramatically, and in doing so, met the religious directives of the Catholic Church. By analyzing both teeth and bone collagen within individuals, long-term feeding behaviors are documented, and the utility of last erupted teeth collagen as sources of adult dietary information is established. This study offers the first physical evidence of this new economic reality linking the Atlantic and Mediterranean economies at the end of the Middle Ages.     

Age of the final Middle Palaeolithic and Uluzzian levels at Fumane Cave,Northern Italy,using C,ESR, U/Th and thermoluminescence methods

This article presents and discusses the chronological layout of the final Mousterian and Uluzzian levels of Fumane Cave in northern Italy using ¹⁴C, ESR and TL methods. Given its complex sedimentary and cultural succession, Fumane is a key site to assess the Middle–Upper Palaeolithic transition in Southern Europe and to explore Neanderthal behaviour and to compare it with the first Aurignacians. Large ranges defined by the ESR and TL dates cover the radiocarbon ages for units from A11 to A4, respectively, from 42.8 to 32.5 ka BP become progressively younger in agreement with the stratigraphy, despite high dispersions within the same unit. Our estimates using chronometric data seem to support the hypothesis that the sequence may cover almost 10,000 radiocarbon yr and that from comparison with the sedimentological and palaeoecological data, the late Middle Palaeolithic and the early Upper Palaeolithic at Fumane occur in sediments formed under moderately cool to mild climatic conditions correlated to the Hengelo-Interstadial, shifting towards cooler and drier conditions. Finally, comparisons between the Fumane data set and other sites in the North-Adriatic region are discussed.     

The population of East Sicily during the second and first millennium BC: the problem of the Greek colonies

Knowledge of Sicilian biology during the past is very important in understanding the complex processes that characterized the population of the Mediterranean Basin. The problem of the first Greek settlement in Sicily is essential in understanding and reconstructing the indigenous biological tissue of an island that was and still is a fundamental crossroads for migratory strategies. In this research we studied ten Sicilian series chronologically attributed to the second and first millennium BC , using discrete cranial traits. The results show that the first biologically significant Greek presence in eastern Sicily could go back to the Bronze Age, while the cosmopolitan Hellenistic city of Syracuse showed the nature of the biological pattern during the first millennium BC . Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterisation of archaeological mortars from Pompeii (Campania,Italy) and identification of construction phases by compositional data analysis

This work describes the compositional characterisation of coccciopesto and natural pozzolanic mortars sampled in the Regio VI area of the archaeological site of Pompeii, with particular reference to the Casa di Pansa in Insula 6 and Casa 17 in Insula 2. Samples were studied by optical microscopy and analysed by XRF, SEM-EDS, LA-ICP-MS and XRPD. The XRF and SEM-EDS data, subjected to multivariate analysis (cluster analysis), identified the three main construction phases involved in building the Casa di Pansa. In addition, mineralogical and petrographic characteristics of the aggregate were determined and found to be compatible with pyroclastic deposits from the volcano Vesuvius. Study revealed C–S–H phases in the binder, due to pozzolanic hydration phemomena of hydrated lime with cocciopesto and natural pozzalana.     

A dendrochronological investigation of stringed instruments from the collection of the Cherubini Conservatory in Florence,Italy

A total of forty-nine stringed instruments of the Conservatory Cherubini collection, at the Musical Instruments Department of the Accademia Gallery in Florence, were submitted to a dendrochronological investigation in order to date them, check the validity of their attribution and to find out more about their construction characteristics. Thirty-seven instruments were successfully dated, thereby determining the terminus post quem date of manufacture. The correlation values of the statistical cross-dating tests were generally very high. The dendrochronological analyses determined which instruments had been made from wood of the same provenance and, in some cases, from the same tree trunk. The mean chronology built from the musical instrument series, named “Accademia Master Chronology”, is 558 years long and dates from 1396 to 1953AD. The interval between the youngest ring dated dendrochronologically and the given date of manufacture increased constantly in the course of the centuries, from a mean value of just over eleven years for instruments built in the eighteenth century, to nearly 74 years in the twentieth century, when the use of old wood from other artefacts became more frequent. Furthermore, in the Cherubini Collection, the average tree rings on violins are smaller than those of other stringed instruments; in fact, they increase in proportion to instrument size and are widest in cello and double bass.     

Etruscan biology: the Tarquinian population,seventh to second century BC (Southern Etruria,Italy)

The aim of this study was the anthropological analysis of an ancient Etruscan population from Tarquinia (Viterbo, Latium, Italy). The chronological period is the seventh to second century BC. Nine discrete traits were scored. The results show the complex situation of the Etruscan sample compared to some coeval Mediterranean populations. A strong endogamy probably existed within the upper levels of the Tarquinian society, and there was probably a biological continuity with the present Tuscans. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The ‘Triple R’ Approach on the Restoration of Archaeological Dry Stone City Walls: Procedures and Application to a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Oman

The ‘Triple R’ approach on the restoration of dry stone walls, using recognizable, reversible and respectful constructive techniques is here illustrated. A set of restoration procedures are explained and applied to a UNESCO World Heritage site in Al-Baleed (Salalah, Sultanate of Oman) in the ‘Land of Frankincense’. The procedures were adapted in an innovative way to take into account the climate features of the Indian Ocean area (specifically, the effects of the monsoon season). All the restoration procedures aimed at conserving the site’s original architectural features by using only suitable stones and materials found on-site. Specific procedures have been adopted to consolidate walls, gates, foundations and sloping surfaces. Simple on-site mechanical tests and evaluation methods have been developed for a quick assessment of the safety level of the restored walls to ease future archaeological excavations. The application is related to a waterfront side of the ancient city built around the ninth century and added to over the next five centuries. These restoration procedures allowed for further archaeological excavations with new findings is here described.