Caught in a trap: landscape and climate implications of the insect fauna from a Roman well in Sherwood Forest

Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire is often considered a well-preserved ancient landscape, subsequently having survived by way of centuries of management as a hunting preserve. Archaeological evidence suggests otherwise, with an enclosed landscape beginning in the pre-Roman Iron Age and continuing through the Roman period. Due to the nature of the region’s soils, however, there is little empirical, palaeoecological evidence on its environmental history prior to the medieval period. This paper presents an insect fauna from a Roman well in a small enclosure in north Nottinghamshire, on the edge of Sherwood Forest, and its interpretation in terms of contemporary land use. Wells and small pools act as large pitfall traps and may effectively sample aspects of the local and regional insect fauna. The Wild Goose Cottage fauna and its environmental implications are also compared with a number of archaeologically and geographically similar contexts.     

THE COMPARATIVE STATIC RESPONSE OF RENTAL HOUSING TO A PRICE CHANGE: INFLATION AND GOVERNMENT POLICY*

ABSTRACT. A two period consumer choice model is presented in which housing is treated as a quality differentiated good. The short-run comparative static response of rental housing to a price change is examined via an example, an exogenous increase in the inflation rate. Two stylized facts are alternately used; interest income is taxed, and interest rate ceilings are imposed on small savings deposits. The partial equilibrium distributional impact of inflation, in the context of rental housing markets, is also discussed.     

REGIONAL GROWTH IN THE SOVIET ECONOMY A MODEL AND ANALYSIS*

A multiregional econometric model of the Soviet economy is presented. It consists of 1,391 equations, with time-series information for 1965-1980. In conformity with the number of the country's republics, 15 input-output tables are incorporated. The discussion includes the methodological framework, the structure and equations, theoretical justification for the interaction between the econometric and input-output components, data and estimation, and forecasting results.     

Ulu leang 2, an iron age jar burial cave in South Sulawesi,Indonesia

There is rather little we can add as a summary of the presentation and discussion set out above. Disturbed jar burial sites are intractable archaeological assemblages; they are difficult to date precisely, difficult to interpret as centres of ritual behaviour, and, perhaps in consequence, have been rather neglected by archaeologists in Indonesia. Far more examples need to be described in detail, and much better methodologies need to be developed in order to extract the maxinum information from them. Whether they can be attributed to a single linguistic or cultural group is most doubtful, and it is probably the case that not all the people of the same community followed the same disposal practices.

Burial sites do however offer unique possibilities for investigating important aspects of past societies such as the differentiation of wealth, status, and power; nutrition, demography, and health; exchange and value systems, and, of course, the technology reflected in those rare and valuable items that are seldom found in secular and domestic deposits. With this in mind we would believe that the presentation of the Ulu Leang 2 burial assemblage, partial and confused though it is, is a worthwhile, if small step in the right direction.     

RETENTION OF PHOSPHATE IN BURIED CERAMICS: AN ELECTRON MICROBEAM APPROACH

Elevated concentrations of P₂O₅ of 2–12 wt% absolute were observed in the matrices of a small group of ceramics with the electron microprobe. P₂O₅, CaO and FeO^t are enriched towards the surfaces in some cases and elemental correlations suggest precipitation of a crystalline calcium phosphate with a stoichiometry close to CaO · P₂O₅. Scanning electron microscopy with X-ray mapping showed P₂O₅ to be dispersed in the ceramic matrix on a very fine scale, while X-ray diffraction detected no crystalline phosphate. Parallels are drawn with the precipitation of phosphate in the surfaces of weathered glass. It is concluded that the amorphous phases produced on firing behave as chemically active substrates which facilitate the adsorption or precipitation of very fine grained calcium phosphate from the burial environment.     

DECENTRALIZED TAX COMPETITION FOR BUSINESS CAPITAL AND NATIONAL ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY*

ABSTRACT For a nation composed of independent regions, the effects of local tax competition for business investments are examined. It is first shown that atomistic regional authorities tax only local resources to finance the provision of public services to business. Thus, an efficient interregional equilibrium is induced. Various political/institutional constraints are shown to cause misallocation of the capital stock and an inefficient provision of public services. The characterization of the inefficiency is shown to vary widely, depending upon the constraint under consideration.