Archaeological (Digital) Maps as Performances: Towards Alternative Mappings

In this article, a case is made to reconceptualise archaeological cartography from a performative perspective. Through such a discussion the aim is not only to render archaeology an active part in related multidisciplinary discussions within the field of critical mapping but also to open up possibilities for alternative mapping practices in the discipline. While pursuing this reconceptualisation, I first discuss how to rethink maps as performances. Subsequently, I present understanding archaeological maps as performances as a way to create alternatives to representational modes of thinking. Finally, I stress the timeliness of reconceptualising maps as performances in digital age.     

Colouring Agents in the Pottery Glazes of Western Anatolia: New Evidence for the Use of Naples Yellow Pigment Variations During The Late Byzantine Period

A group of the late 12th–13th century Byzantine pottery glazes, mostly related to Zeuxippus Ware Type pottery from the Ku?adas? Kad?kalesi/Anaia site in western Anatolia, was characterized non‐destructively using Raman spectrometry. SEM–EDX was also used complementarily for the glaze characterization. The nature and composition of the glazes, firing conditions, aspects of colour formation and pigments used were discussed. The glazes were found to be lead‐rich silicates, fired close to 700°C on the basis of the Si–O stretching peak maxima of the Raman spectra recorded at ～920–980 cm^–1, as also confirmed by SEM–EDX analysis. The polymerization index values calculated are between approximately 0.05 and 0.1. The use of biscuit‐fired bodies prior to glaze application was suggested based on the results of SEM–EDX analysis. In particular, the detection of Naples yellow pigment variations on a locally produced pottery sample is quite significant, since the use of this type of pigment has hardly ever been reported between the Roman period and the Renaissance.     

Geochemical and Petrographic Analysis of Late Bronze Age Cypriot Ceramics (White Slip I and II and Monochrome) from Tell Atchana/Alalakh (Hatay) in the Amuq Valley

White Slip ware, both White Slip I and II, and Monochrome ware are Middle to Late Bronze Age Cypriot pottery types found across a large area of the Eastern Mediterranean region. A vast quantity of these wares has also been uncovered in Tell Atchana/ancient Alalakh in Hatay in southern Anatolia. We analysed a total of 56 White Slip (n = 36) and Monochrome potsherds (n = 20) from Tell Atchana using XRF, ICP–MS and petrographic thin‐section methods. The main aim of the study was to explore the compositional characteristics of the wares and to determine whether they are local imitations of the Cypriot White Slip and Monochrome wares or represent Cypriot exports to this region. The analytical results proved that White Slip I and II were produced from raw clay of mafic and ultramafic source rocks exposed in the Troodos Massif, available in the Limassol area of southern Cyprus and traded to Tell Atchana. Examples of Monochrome ware excavated in Tell Atchana were also imported to the region, most probably from east/north‐east Cyprus. These results demonstrate a close trading connection between Tell Atchana/Alalakh and southern Cyprus during the Middle to Late Bronze Age.     

An archaeometric study of the Konya basin metallic ware through FTIR and XRD analysis with chemometrics: Central Anatolian Early Bronze Age ceramics

Fourier-transform infrared, X-ray diffraction and chemometrics were used to characterize the mineralogical composition and firing conditions of 59 Early Bronze Age ceramic sherds from the Konya Plain (Turkey). These include the Konya Basin Metallic Ware (KBMW) and a control group of contemporary local products. The analysis indicates significant differences in mineral inclusions and firing temperatures, with KBMW generally being fired above 800°C and characterized by standardized fabric recipes. Assessed together with other published evidence, these results indicate a high degree of specialization in the production of KBMW ceramic assemblages in central Anatolia during the third millennium BCE.     

Alienated and politicized? Young planners’ confrontation with entrepreneurial and authoritarian state intervention in urban development in Turkey

Planning in Turkey is dominated by powerful market interests and authoritarian state regulation, resulting in a conflictual socio-political environment. Caught in the crossfire between interventionist urban policies and a planning education system that is oriented towards the public good, planners have come to feel alienated from their work. This paper considers how young planners respond to these challenges, drawing upon questionnaires and semi-structured in-depth interviews with planners with fewer than 10 years of experience. Their confrontation with entrepreneurial and authoritarian state interventions in urban development alienates them from their ideals, leading them to explore new ways of dealing with increasing political authority and economic neoliberalism. The participants of the study came up with a number of diverse responses related to this process. Disappointed with the practice of their profession ‘lost planners' begin searching for alternative pathways outside their practice towards a more meaningful society. In contrast, ‘profiteer planners' focus on getting more business and play a conformist and opportunistic role in the existing planning practice; while ‘struggling planners' develop alternative ways to pursue the public good by participating in urban movements. In short, they cope with alienation through politicization, solidarity and the identification of new means of engaging with society.     

Introduction to Queer/ing Regions

Having been launched at a symposium at Nottingham Trent University in February 2013, the themed section Queer/ing Regions addresses the potentials of critical regionalisms in contemporary queer studies. The section explores the ways in which the complex regional/local formations of sexual dissidence emerges, if not being instrumentalized, as objects of theoretical inquiry when addressed within a global context by means of transnational formations of academic practice. Rather than appropriating queer theory through a global-local vector and affirming the complex alterity of the local vis-à-vis the flattening performative of the global, the contributors underline the regional complexities of sexual politics, the multi-scalar aspects of its spatial production, and the discourses of its worlding.     

Physical Characterization,Microstructural Evaluation,and Condition Assessment of Ancient Ahlat Tombstones in the Seljukian Cemetery of Ahlat (Turkey)

A typical Seljukian town of Ahlat, located between the north-western shores of the Lake Van and the Nemrud and Suphan volcanoes of the Eastern Turkey is hosting rich and colorful cultural heritage sites. Among these, famous Seljukian Cemetery is a major archeological district with monumental tombstones (stelae). Excessive deterioration, erosion and lichen colonization can be observed in these cultural artifacts. The main objective of this study is the investigation of stones’ physical characterization and evaluation of the microstructural features. A degradation model was outlined starting with the capillary water uptake from the bottom section and lichen colonization starting from the top and covering these tombstones upto their mid sections. This article provides some information about the historical town of Ahlat and its tombstones. Some physical and microstructural characterization of the gravestones and the results of chemical and physical analysis are also presented along with some recommendations.     

Flexibility in Planning and the Consequences for Public-value Capturing in UK,Spain and the Netherlands

In the 1960s, flexibility was often seen in planning literature as a negative feature, whereas today it is perceived by planners and policy-makers as a positive asset to cope with the challenges of growing complexity, opportunism and diversity in cities. The discussion seems to rest between two approaches. While planning should be flexible to facilitate a non-linear and multi-layered decision-making system, implementation should not be too flexible as the public sector might lose the controlling power and the private sector might gain increasing influence in urban development. This paper uses empirical data from case-based research on British, Spanish and Dutch urban regeneration projects, and provides an analysis of the effects of an important feature of flexibility on public-value capturing. Public-value capturing is the level at which public bodies manage to make developers pay for public infrastructure—infrastructure provision, public roads and space, public facilities and buildings, affordable and social housing—and eventually capture part of the economic value increase. This important aspect of flexibility is the level of certainty about future development possibilities before negotiations between developers and local planning bodies take place.     

Assessment of risks on a territorial scale for archaeological sites in İzmir

This article focuses on natural, institutional, and human factors threatening archaeological sites. A methodology is developed for assessing risks to multiple assets on a territorial scale. The methodology consists of hazard assessment, vulnerability assessment, and risk assessment. Hazard assessment involves identifying hazard exposure areas and measuring the frequency and intensity of each hazard. Vulnerability assessment incorporates examining physical, managerial, and contextual vulnerabilities of structures and remains. Geographical information systems are utilised for producing hazard, vulnerability, and risk maps. An overall picture of risks for an entire territory allows decision-makers to make informed decisions at an upstream level to limit further degradation and ensure the preservation of archaeological assets. The methodology was tested by conducting a comprehensive study in ?zmir (Turkey), where 229 archaeological sites located in 21 metropolitan districts were studied. The proposed approach provides the promise of applicability across a range of historic environments.