The British Archaeological Association Honorary Secretary’s Report For 1939

Abstract

In the Lady chapel at the east end of the north aisle of the church at Pucklechurch (Gloucestershire) are two effigial monuments, which have received little scholarly attention. The monuments are attributed to William de Cheltenham (d. between 1371 and 1374) and his wife Eleanor, and were set up in his lifetime within the chantry chapel dedicated to St Mary which William received licence to establish at Pucklechurch in 1337. Little remains of the chapel except an exquisite altar frontal. During the 19th century the two effigies were transposed. Various aspects of the conception and design of the Pucklechurch monuments reflect developments in monumental sculpture in Herefordshire.     

La Salle dite de L'Echiquier,au Château de Caen

RECOGNITION IN THE Castle Museum, Nottingham, of a ‘lost’ sword from a Viking-age warrior's grave excavated at Donnybrook, Co. Dublin, in 1879, has prompted a reassessment of the burial, which is discussed in relation to other Viking-age burials in the ‘Irish Sea province’. Detailed metallurgical analysis of the sword, undertaken during conservation, has provided important information about the techniques of its construction, and has demonstrated the potential of a variety of analytical approaches.     

On stone-boiling technology in the Upper Paleolithic: behavioral implications from an Early Magdalenian hearth in El Mirón Cave,Cantabria, Spain

Stone boiling is one of the principal cooking methods used by hunter-gatherer societies. The present paper proposes behavioral and organizational inferences as to how stone boiling was incorporated into hunter-gatherer subsistence practices through an examination of a shallow-basin hearth in an Early Magdalenian level (c. 15,500 ¹⁴C B.P.) of El Mirón Cave, Cantabria (northern Spain). Exploratory analysis of spatial patterns of archaeological remains (bones, lithic artifacts, and fire-cracked rocks) and use-life analysis of fire-cracked rocks demonstrate that the hearth was used and maintained during visits of humans who preyed mainly on ibex and red deer near the site. The relative accessibility of these ungulates and cost-induced technology of stone boiling suggest the implication that stone boiling was employed to maximize the energy and nutrition obtained from carcasses of these game taxa under the circumstance of resource intensification.     

No Italian Stalingrads. The C.G.I.L. and the working class in the northern industrial heartlands, 1945-1955

ABSTRACT

This article challenges conventional wisdom on the northern Italian industrial heartlands during the first decade after the Second World War. For there still exists a certain mythology about the post-war proletarian north as a region that was both intensely political and united in purpose. What this article demonstrates is that the ‘industrial triangle’ of Genoa, Milan and Turin was far more divided than historians have assumed. By revisiting the manifold (wildcat) strikes, trade union demonstrations, and factory occupations of the early post-war years, it shows the industrial north to be divided along both social and geographical lines. In doing so, it sheds fresh light on the series of defeats that the main Italian trade union confederation (C.G.I.L.) suffered in the late 1940s and early 1950s. It argues that these defeats were due as much to the explicit politicization of labour struggles and their exclusive focus on the interests of skilled workers as to the hostile socio-political climate in which the C.G.I.L. had to operate.     

The colors of the Fontana di Trevi: an analytical approach

During the last restoration of the Fontana di Trevi -Rome (2014–2015), it has been performed a diagnostic investigation to characterize the materials used to build and obtain the colors of the surfaces of some architectural elements of this fountain. According to the restoration teamwork needs, we focussed our efforts on the dome over the central statue of Oceanus, on the bas-relieves on the sides of the dome, and on the cliff where the water flows. Several samples were collected from these elements and therefore, they were subjected to an analytical approach including infrared spectroscopy, optical and scanning electron microscopy. The achieved results indicated the use of red earth pigments on the dome. The same pigment has been revealed on the bas-relieves, although their colors have an additional contribution due to degraded layers. Samples taken from the cliff showed a complex stratigraphy, although a white scialbo has been identified as original layer, testifying the intentions of the authors in term of color rendering. This information was essential for the restores in order to choose the proper intervention procedure for each investigated surface. The research testified the importance of an integrated diagnostic analysis to preserve the original colours of monuments and building.     

CROSS‐CHANNEL CONNECTIVITY: WEALDEN WHETSTONE IMPORTS FROM ROMAN BRITAIN TO THE CONTINENT

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate cross‐Channel exchange of calcareous sandstone‐type whetstones derived from the Weald (Sussex, UK) in the Roman period. The presence of this particular type of whetstone at several Roman sites on the Continent – more specifically, in Belgium, France and the Netherlands – is reported for the first time. The morphology, geological provenance, petrographic characteristics and distribution patterns are discussed, based on a comparative analysis with archaeological and geological reference material. The geological analysis identifies a common geological source for the Continental finds: the very fine‐grained, thin‐bedded, flagstone‐like calcareous sandstone beds of the Lower Cretaceous Wealden Clay Formation. These sandstones were, most probably, extracted in the north‐western part of the Weald area. The distribution pattern of the archaeological material implies the importance of personal mobility, with potential military affinities.     

Identifying a technological style in the making of lime plasters at Teopancazco (Teotihuacan,México)

The aim of this article is to focus on the technology of archeological plasters at Teotihuacan (Central Mexico), from the Classic Period (200–650 A.D.), focusing in the study of Teopancazco, a neighborhood center in the city. Petrographic and chemical analyses by OM, SEM-EDS, and LA-ICP-MS were conducted to characterize samples from different constructive phases and sectors of the neighborhood center, to determine the provenance of the raw materials employed in the manufacturing (e.g., volcanic glass shards) and to assess whether a shift occurred in the manufacturing of plasters and in the procurement strategies of raw materials during the different phases. The results of the analyses show that almost no changes occurred in the making of the plaster during more than four centuries and allow us to consider the presence of a technological style in their manufacture, which is characterized by the making of plaster by mixing lime with volcanic glass shards, which in the case of Teopancazco were derived from the Altotonga (Veracruz) magmatic system. The data at our disposal suggest that this style was developed in Teopancazco and later introduced throughout the city of Teotihuacan in the Early Xolalpan phase (A.D. 350), although we still do not know whether the provenance of the raw materials is the same. The wide distribution of this technological tradition could be due to the technological properties of the materials and/or the influence of the intermediate elite who ruled over Teopancazco. The paper confirms that the study of material culture and technology sheds light on broader cultural aspects of ancient societies.