CAN NOODLES BE MADE FROM MILLET? AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF NOODLE MANUFACTURE TOGETHER WITH STARCH GRAIN ANALYSES

The earliest noodles have been dated to 4000 years ago, based on the discovery of remains at Lajia in north western China. The Lajia noodles were described as having been made by repeatedly stretching dough composed of millet flour with husks. In order to try to understand this manufacturing technique we carried out simulation experiments in noodle‐making and documented morphological changes in noodle starches caused by cooking. Our research demonstrates that it is impossible to stretch pure millet dough into noodles. We conclude that the husk phytoliths and starch‐like granules said to be from the Lajia noodle remains may actually not have been part of the noodles themselves.     

Composition of the Lustre Pigment Used in the Production Of 13th Century AD Raqqa Lustreware from Syria

The very rare find of the relic of the original lustre pigment attached to the glazed surface of a sherd of 13th century ad Raqqa type lustreware from Syria has been analysed using a combination of analytical scanning electron microscopy (SEM), micro‐X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS). The composition of the pigment relic inferred from these analyses is shown to match those of recipes for lustre production given in the early treatises by Jazbir Ibn Hayyan (c. ad 721–c. ad 815) and Abū'l Qasim (ad 1301). Similarities and differences between this 13th century ad Syrian pigment and pigments used in the ninth century ad in Iraq, in the 14th century ad in Islamic and Hispano‐Moresque Spain, and in the 16th century ad in Renaissance Italy are discussed.     

THE TUNGSTEN AND TIN SIGNATURE OF IRON ORES FROM ELBA ISLAND (ITALY): A TOOL FOR PROVENANCE STUDIES OF IRON PRODUCTION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION

The mineralogy, petrography and major‐ and trace‐element composition of iron ores from Elba Island (Tuscany, Italy), one of the most important iron sources in the Mediterranean area since the first millennium bc , revealed that hematite‐rich ores display prominent enrichments in W and Sn (up to 4950 μg g^?1 and 8400 μg g^?1, respectively). These two elements are hosted by tiny grains of W–Sn mineral phases (ferberite, scheelite and cassiterite) that are disseminated throughout the hematite matrix. A comparison with iron ores from many Italian and European localities (most of which were exploited in ancient times) suggests the uniqueness of the geochemical pattern of Elba Island hematite‐rich ores (i.e., high W and Sn, low Mo and low Cu, Pb and Zn). We suggest that this geochemical signature may represent a new provenance marker not only for discarded ore at smelting/smithing sites, but, possibly, also for metallurgical slag and smelted metal produced in the chaîne opératoire of the iron process.     

GAUSSIAN CURVES FOR VISUALIZING CHRONOLOGICAL PATTERNS OF CERAMIC FINDS AND RESIDUALITY*

This paper describes a particular statistical approach to chronological data from assemblages of archaeological finds (namely pottery) using Gaussian curves: the method enables us to obtain a graphic representation of chronological patterns that avoids an excessive flattening of data, adding an extra dimension to the usual linear temporal concepts. This enables us to arrive at more likely absolute dating and also visualize residuality. The method has been built during the study of a stratigraphic context from the Site of Ancient Ships of Pisa – San Rossore, Italy, and applied to its pottery. Archaeologists may find in the model a useful tool that is easy to apply.     

David's 'Hatred' for the Lame and the Blind (2 Sam. 5.8A)

Abstract

Scholars have often dismissed the rendering of veyigga' batsinnor (2 Sam. 5.8) as 'get up the water shaft' or 'get up the water canal' on the grounds that it has no natural connection with David's expressed 'hatred' for 'the lame and the blind'. This article argues that such a dismissal is perhaps hasty, and that David's reference to the physically afflicted alludes to the custom of their gathering at pools and springs (which were widely held to possess healing powers).     

ASSESSMENT OF THE BINDER IN HISTORICAL MORTARS BY VARIOUS TECHNIQUES

Three different historical mortars, one from the 18th–19th centuries and two from the 12th century, were crushed and sieved to give eight fractions between less than 0.063 mm and 4 mm for each sample. Each fraction was chemically analysed for the amount of calcium carbonate binder, using the reactions with HCl and EDTA and by means of atomic absorption spectroscopy. The samples were also characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and by low‐temperature nitrogen adsorption isotherms. The limitations and advantages of each of the various methodologies for the determination of the binder are discussed. Reactions with HCl and XRD were shown to be the methods that gave the more coherent results.     

IDENTIFICATION OF STONE BLOCKS USED FOR THE BUILDING OF THE THYSDRUS AND THAPSUS AMPHITHEATRES IN TUNISIA

In Tunisia, the largest amphitheatre (known as the Coliseum) at Thysdrus (El Djem), with some parts of the second amphitheatre, and the Thapsus amphitheatre have been built with squared stone blocks (opus quadratum). The petrographic and geotechnical analyses of the samples taken from the amphitheatre blocks show that these blocks belong to the Tyrrhenian and to the Mio‐Pliocene age. Ancient quarries have been found on the Tyrrhenian dune line between Hiboun and Al Alya, at a distance of 30 km from Thysdrus, from which the Tyrrhenian blocks have been extracted. Concerning the Mio‐Pliocene blocks, they have most likely been cut from just one ancient quarry found in the hill of Ksour Essaf. The height of almost all of the measured blocks from the Thysdrus Coliseum is equal to the Punic cubit used at Carthage (50 cm), and the height of the measured blocks from the Thapsus amphitheatre is also equal to the Punic cubit (50 cm), or very close to the Roman cubit (45 cm).     

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BLACK‐PATINATED COPPER ALLOYS*

This analytical study aims to investigate ancient Egyptian black‐patinated copper alloys. The study group was selected from the collections of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and from the Faculty of Archaeology Museum in Cairo University. Examination and analysis were undertaken using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy‐dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), X‐ray diffractometry (XRD), X‐ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The analysis results indicated that the black patina contained mainly tenorite (CuO). The study presents evidence of thermal patination and animal glue coating.     

THE EARLIEST USE OF CORUNDUM AND DIAMOND,IN PREHISTORIC CHINA*

The majority of prehistoric lithic artefacts were fashioned from rocks and minerals no harder than quartz, and there is no prehistoric evidence for the working of harder materials, such as corundum and diamond. The earliest physical evidence for the use of corundum (ruby, sapphire) is thought to be the abrasive grit recovered from Bronze Age Minoan quartz beads (c. 1700–1500 bc ), while diamond is thought to have been used no earlier than 500 bc , in India. Here we show that corundum was worked c. 4000–3500 bc during the Neolithic period in China, in the form of polished axes from the Liangzhu and Sanxingcun cultures. We also present physical evidence that later Liangzhu axes (c. 2500 bc ), made from the same previously undescribed rock whose most abundant component is corundum, were polished to a mirror‐like finish with a diamond abrasive. Our findings, which are the first to support the use of corundum and diamond in a prehistoric context, may also help to explain the trademark feature of the Neolithic in China, vast quantities of finely polished nephrite jade artefacts.