A LYONS BRANCH OF THE POTTERY-MAKING FIRM OF ATEIUS OF AREZZO

Fifty-one waster sherds of Terra Sigillata (～20-0 b.c. ) from Arezzo, Italy and Lyons, France have been chemically analysed for twenty-eight elements by neutron activation and seven by X-ray fluorescence. Most of the elemental abundances were measured with high precision and cross-comparisons of the two techniques of measurement (and sample preparation) give added insight as to their relative precision, the calibration differences and the extent to which volatile materials such as carbonate or water influence the results. The sherds from Arezzo formed a homogeneous and distinctive chemical group while all but two of those from Lyons were classified into three such groups. Two of the Lyons groups (MML A and MML B) were from Montée de La Muette and one was from Loyasse. Four additional sherds from houses excavated in Strasbourg and one from Lyons, all of which bore the signature of the famous Anetine pottery-making firm of Ateius, were also analyzed by the same techniques. These signed sherds all had the same composition pattern and it closely matched one of those from Montée de La Muette (MML A) in Lyons. It is therefore suggested that these five sherds bearing the Ateius signature were made in the general vicinity of Lyons and were part of the output of an as yet unknown Gallic branch of the firm of Ateius.     

Hydraulic and hydrochemical properties of deep sedimentary reservoirs of the Upper Rhine Graben,Europe

Hydraulic and hydrochemical data from several hundred wells mostly drilled by the oil and gas industry within the four deep carbonate and siliciclastic reservoirs of the Upper Rhine Graben area in France and Germany have been compiled, examined, validated and analysed with the aim to characterize fluids and reservoir properties. Due to enhanced temperatures in the subsurface of the Upper Rhine Graben, this study on hydraulic and hydrochemical properties has been motivated by an increasing interest in deep hydrogeothermal energy projects in the Rhine rift valley. The four examined geothermal reservoir formations are characterized by high hydraulic conductivity reflecting the active tectonic setting of the rift valley and its fractured and karstified reservoirs. The hydraulic conductivity decreases only marginally with depth in each of the reservoirs, because the Upper Rhine Graben is a young tectonically active structure. The generally high hydraulic conductivity of the reservoir rocks permits cross‐formation advective flow of thermal water. Water composition data reflect the origin and hydrochemical evolution of deep water. Shallow water to 500 m depth is, in general, weakly mineralized. The chemical signature of the water is controlled by fluid–rock geochemical interactions. With increasing depth, the total of dissolved solids (TDS) increases. In all reservoirs, the fluids evolve to a NaCl‐dominated brine. The high salinity of the reservoirs is partly derived from dissolution of halite in evaporitic Triassic and Cenozoic formations, and partly from the fluids residing in the crystalline basement. Water of all four reservoirs is saturated with respect to calcite and other minerals including quartz and barite.