Persistence of the cultural landscape in Campania (Southern Italy) before the AD 472 Vesuvius eruption: archaeoenvironmental data

Cultural landscapes were prominent during the Early Roman period when agronomic knowledge allowed the spread of intensive land exploitation in most of the available land. The aim of this contribution is to explore whether for the Campania region (Southern Italy) archaeoenvironmental data would support continuity or change in the cultural landscape of Roman tradition in the 4th and 5th centuries. To do so, new data from two sites located on the northern slopes of the Vesuvius, both buried by the AD 472 eruption have been investigated. Charcoal analysis, ¹⁴C dating, and chemical analysis of organic residues were carried out in order to study the landscape and the food production at these sites. The results suggest the persistence of the Roman cultural landscape until the 4th and 5th centuries in this area. The landscape is in fact strongly marked both in agriculture and woodland exploitation and management, being characterized by managed chestnut forests as well as valuable cultivations of walnut, large vineyards, olive groves, and probably orchards and crops. The integrated approach with archaeobotanical and archaeometric analyses proves to be a powerful method for the study of the past landscapes, providing a good insight into the environment. Furthermore, this study provided the most ancient evidence of chestnut silviculture for wood.     

Hunter–gatherer responses to environmental change during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in the southern North Sea basin: Final Palaeolithic–Final Mesolithic land use in northwest Belgium

Situated along the southern fringe of the North Sea basin, northwest Belgium holds great potential for understanding hunter–gatherer responses to environmental change at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Recent intensive fieldwork has yielded valuable data on the palaeoenvironment, chronology, and hunter–gatherer mobility and land use in this region. At the Late Glacial/Early Holocene transition this region was comprised of a landscape of coversand ridges and lakes that flanked the northern part of the Scheldt river basin. This landscape was highly productive for hunter–gatherer populations. As the landscape developed in response to the increasing water table caused by the inundation of the North Sea populations responded by changing their forms of mobility and land use. These changes are indicated by the reduction in the number and density of sites, as well as their geographical settings, from the Late Glacial (Federmesser) and Early Mesolithic to the Middle-Final Mesolithic. Late Glacial/Early Mesolithic sites indicate much higher mobility comprised of rapid displacements of camps and re-occupation of the same coversand ridges over long time-spans. Middle/Late Mesolithic sites indicate a reduction in mobility, increasing focus on prolonged riverside settlement, and a more rigid organization of residential sites.     

Determining the provenance of black limestone artifacts using petrography,isotopes and EPR techniques: the case of the monument of Bocco

This paper investigates the provenance of the black limestone of the monument known as Bocco, named after the king of Mauretania who presented Silla with this work as a sign of his submission to the power of Rome. A multi-method approach, comprising petrographic observations, carbon and oxygen isotope composition and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra characteristics, was used for this purpose. The monument is part of a reconstruction of a rectangular base (approx. 8 × 2 m) which is likely to have served as the base for a bronze statuary group and is currently composed of six blocks of limestone whose exterior is engraved with a fine frieze. The results of the different analyses were compared with the data of a published database of the most important black limestone quarries exploited during Roman times in the Mediterranean area. The petrographic and physico-chemical parameters did not prove to be very effective in determining the provenance of the black limestone of Bocco; the isotopes result even raised some uncertainty as to whether all six blocks came from the same quarry, though this doubt was dispelled by the EPR data and, above all, by the evident petrographic similarity between them. Differences in the isotopic composition of the various blocks may be due to an in situ rock alteration process caused by interaction with an aqueous fluid. It was, however, impossible to determine with certainty the origin of the material of the stone artifact using the database available; it is possible that the black limestone of Bocco came from an ancient quarry that is likely to be located in north western Africa but has not yet been uncovered. An alternative hypothesis, according to which the limestone used for the monument of Bocco came from the ancient quarry of Ain el Ksir, one of the Tunisian quarries present in the database, is also discussed.     

辛亥革命元勋王天培将军遗文

辛亥革命元勋贵州籍将领王天培,一生追随孙中山先生革命,笃信三民主义,由于性情直率,胸怀坦荡,遭到蒋介石、何应钦等人嫉妒,以＂莫须有＂罪名陷害,英年早逝。从他撰写的一些对联、讲话、题词、诗歌、信函等遗文里,不难看出王天培聪颖的才华,直率的性格,忠诚的思想,坦荡的胸怀,以及坚定的信念和高尚的气节,不愧是贵州人民的好儿女。     

Critical Issues in Earthquake Scenario Loss Modeling

The assessment of human or economic losses due to single events (scenario) may effectively support decision makers in the development of important risk mitigation actions. The study presented herein sheds light on several problems and limitations in the current practice of scenario loss modeling, such as: the number of simulations required to achieve convergence; epistemic and aleatory uncertainty in the ground motion prediction and vulnerability models; and consideration of the earthquake rupture geometry. These issues are investigated using the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (Portugal), and it has been observed that distinct assumptions in the loss modeling can lead to considerably different results. The findings of this study are also pertinent for probabilistic seismic risk analyses in which a large number of stochastically generated events are employed to assess probabilistic losses.     

National functions of the imperial institute

Fragments of Earth Lore. By Professor Geikie, D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., etc. Edinburgh: John Bartholomew and Co., 1893. Pp. 428.

Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical, and Historical. New Edition. Edited by Francis H. Groome. London: William Mackenzie, N.D. Vols. 1. and 11. Aan to Eynort. Pp. 288 and 272.

Geografia y Geológia del Ecuador. Publicada por Órden del Supremo Gobierno de la Kepública por Teodoro Wolf, Dr. Phil., Antiguo Profesor de la Escuela Politecnica de Quito y Geó1ogo del Estado. Con 12 Laminas autotípicas, 47 Ilustraciones en el texto, y 2 Cartas. Leipzig: Tipografía de F. A. Brockhaus, 1892. Pp. xii + 671.

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Scotland Before 1700: From Contemporary Documents. Edited by P. Hume Brown. Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1893. Pp. xx + 368.

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A Collection of Treaties, Engagements, and other Papers of Importance relating to British Affairs in Malabar. Edited with notes by W. Logan, Madras Civil Service. Second Edition. Madras: Printed by the Superintendent, Government Press, 1891. Pp. xxvi + 402 + xlv.

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Philips's Geographical Manuals. The Geography of the British Colonies and Dependencies, Physical, Political, Commercial. By William Hughes, F.R.G.S., and J. Francos Williams, F.R.G.S. London: George Philip and Son, 1892. Pp. viii + 232. Price 2s. 6d.

Practical Guide to the Geography of the British Isles and General Geography. By R. Burnett. Aberdeen: John Adam, 1893. Pp. 132. Price 1s. 6d.

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The Elements of Physiography. By John I. Prince. Part II.: Advanced Stage. Seventh Edition. London: John Heywood, 1889. Pp. 176. Price 1s. 6d.

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Louis Agassiz: His Life and Work. By Charles Frederick Holder, LL.D., Author of The Life of Charles Darwin, Living Lights, etc. (Leaders in Science Series.) 12mo, pp. xviii + 327. 28 Illustrations. New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1892. Price $1.50.

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