The use of a high-resolution 3D Chirp sub-bottom profiler for the reconstruction of the shallow water archaeological site of the Grace Dieu (1439), River Hamble,UK

The remains of Henry V's flagship, the Grace Dieu, currently lie buried within the inter-tidal sediments of the River Hamble (S. England). Previous archaeological investigations have been hindered by difficult excavation conditions resulting in a poor understanding of the dimensions, shape and degradation state of the hull's deeper structure. This study therefore aimed to image, characterize and reconstruct the buried remains of this vessel using a high-resolution 3D acoustic sub-bottom Chirp system with RTK-GPS positioning capability. The accurate navigation and high-resolution data that were acquired enabled the construction of a full 3D image of the site that not only identified the remains of the wooden hull, but also features buried within it. In addition, the degradation state of these buried wooden remains were investigated by calculating reflection coefficients while a hypothetical larger reconstruction of the Grace Dieu's hull was achieved, through the use of the ShipShape ship design software package.     

Towards a political geography of hotels: Southern Rhodesia, 1958–1962

This article sets out the case for taking account of hotels in political geography. It argues that hotels, as key spaces of welcome, association, and entertainment between public and private, are important political sites. They provide space for the performance of political ideologies and identities, where political campaigns can be made visible, where political relations can be illuminated and translated for international audiences, and where the ‘little things’ (Thrift, 2000, Thrift, 2004) that construct political geographies can be examined. Drawing on theoretical discussions of hospitality, as well as work in political geography, it explores the politics of multi-racial hospitality in the hotels of Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, between 1958 and 1962 in order to understand late colonial politics in Southern Africa. Considering three individual hotels, the paper elaborates their role as keys spaces in the landscape of exclusive ‘European’ sociability; as crucial sites in the enactment of and resistance to the colour bar; and as vantage points on Southern Rhodesian racial politics for international guests. The papers shows that far from being peripheral to the ‘real’ politics of diplomacy and government, hotels and the hospitable practises within them can be seen as crucial elements in the construction of local, national and international politics.     

Stability of phytoliths in the archaeological record: a dissolution study of modern and fossil phytoliths

Opaline phytoliths are important microfossils used in archaeological and ecological research. Relatively little is known about the stability of phytoliths after burial. Under alkaline pH conditions they can dissolve, and mechanical disturbances can cause a loss of their more delicate appendages. Here we present an experimental study of phytolith stability (combination of solubility and abrasion). Modern and fossil phytoliths were extracted from wheat using new methods to minimize dissolution, and by burning in an oven. These assemblages were placed in a solution buffered to pH 10 and maintained under constant temperature and shaking conditions. The silicon concentrations in the solution were monitored once a week for 5 weeks. The phytolith morphologies in each assemblage were determined at the outset of the experiment and after 5 weeks. The results show that there are differences in stability between various assemblages. Modern inflorescence wheat phytolith assemblages are more unstable than those from leaves/stems. Burnt assemblages are less stable than unburnt assemblages, and a fossil phytolith assemblage about 3000 years old is more stable than the modern wheat assemblages. The results also show that individual phytolith morphotypes have different stabilities, and as a result of dissolution and abrasion, some morphotypes may resemble others. This study further shows that archaeological and/or paleo-environmental interpretation of phytolith assemblages may change with the assemblage’s state of preservation.     

A 4,000-year-old shaman’s stone cache at Casita de Piedra, western Panama

During new excavations at the preceramic rockshelter of Casita de Piedra in western Panama, a cache of 12 unusual stones was recovered near the back wall, dating to between 4800 and 4000 cal bp. The stones include quartz, pyrite, a chalcedony vein nodule, a bladed quartz and jarosite aggregate and a human-modified dacite cylinder. Based on the unusual lithic types and the context of the cache, we suggest that these stones once belonged to a ritual specialist, such as a healer or shaman. Special stones are frequently mentioned as being an important component of a shaman’s ritual paraphernalia in ethnographic records of various historic Native American groups throughout Central and South America, including the Bribri and Cabécar of southeastern Costa Rica and western Panama (formerly known as the ‘Talamanca’). The cache of stones recovered at Casita de Piedra may represent the earliest material evidence in Central America of shamanistic practice.     

National identity and primitive methodism in the United States: A transatlantic perspective

The Primitive Methodist Church in the United States of America was, throughout the nineteenth century, a denomination that was transatlantic in character. It attempted to act both as a home away from home for newly arriving English industrial immigrants and as a tool of their Americanization. In the former role, the denomination enjoyed considerable success, benefiting from continuous English immigration throughout the period. However, Primitive Methodist attempts at Americanization presented much greater challenges. The constant contact both with newly arriving English immigrants and the Primitive Methodist Conference in England frustrated attempts to take the denomination in new directions and undermined its claim as an American and Americanizing church. Whilst the process of becoming American was very difficult and painful for many individual immigrants, it proved almost impossible for the institution of Primitive Methodism. Ninety years after its establishment in the United States, the denomination was still homesick.     

Western Tibet and the British Borderland

EUROPE

The Irish in Scotland (1798–1845). By James Edmund Handley. Demy 8vo. Pp. ix+313+xix. Cork : University Press, 1943. Price 10s. 6d.

British Woodland Trees. By H. L. Edlin. Demy 8vo. Pp. ix+182. 133 illustrations. London: B. T. Batsford Ltd., 1944. Price 12s. 6d.

Brenva. By T. Graham Brown. Demy 8vo. Pp. xv+227. 72 photographs. 4 maps. London : J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1944. Price 25s.

British Survey Handbooks. 2. Rumania. By C. Kormos. Fcap. 8vo. Pp. vii+122. Map. Cambridge : University Press, 1944. Price 3s.

British Survey Handbooks. 3. Greece. Compiled by Kathleen Gibberd. Fcap. 8vo. Pp. vii+106. Map. Cambridge : University Press, 1944. Price 3s.

The U.S.S.R. : An Economic and Social Survey. By S. P. Turin, D.Sc. (Econ.). Demy 8vo. Pp. xiii+219. 8 maps, 16 diagrams, 63 statistical tables. London : Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1944. Price 16s.

ASIA

China. By A. G. Wenley and John A. Pope. Med. 8vo. Pp. v+85. 25 plates. 7 sketch maps. 3 figs. Smithsonian Institution War Background Studies No. 20. Washington, D.C. : Smithsonian Institution, 1944.

AUSTRALASIA

Mew Zealand: A Working Democracy. By Walter Nash. Demy 8vo. Pp. vii+290. Frontispiece. 1 map. London : J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1944. Price 8s. 6d.

GEOMORPHOLOGY

Volcanoes as Landscape Forms. By C. A. Cotton. Demy 8vo. Pp. 416. Frontispiece. 223 figs. Christchurch, N.Z., and London : Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd., 1944. Price 32s. 6d.

OCEANOGRAPHY

Pacific Ocean Handbook. By Eliot G. Mears. 7x4 inches. Pp. x+198. 58 figs. 7 maps. Stanford University, California : James Ladd Delkin, 1944. Price $2.00.

EDUCATIONAL

The British Isles : A School Certificate Geography. By S. J. B. Whybrow, B.Sc, F.R.G.S. Crown 8vo. Pp. x+196. 66 sketch maps. 20 photographs. London : J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1944. Price 3s.

GENERAL

International River and Canal Transport. By Brig.‐Gen. Sir Osborne Mance, K.B.E., C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., assisted by J. E. Wheeler. Demy 8vo. Pp. viii+115. 2 maps. Issued under the auspices of the Royal Institute of International Affairs. London : Oxford University Press, 1944. Price 10s. 6d.

Heresies and Humours. By Major C. S. Jarvis, C.M.G., O.B.E. Demy 8vo. Pp.176. Illustrated by R. A. Young. London : Country Life Ltd., 1943. Price 8s 6d.