THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A DATA BASE OF NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSES OF WHITE MARBLE*

The establishment of a data base of trace element analysis results obtained by neutron activation analysis of 183 marble samples, each weighing about 200 mg, from eight different quarrying localities for use in provenance studies is described and a summary of the results presented. The problems of sampling museum artefacts are discussed, and details of tests of the reproducibility of the technique are given together with those obtained from multiple-samples from single museum objects. Replicate analyses of a marble standard are also discussed. Thus these data are a measure of the accuracy and precision of the technique, as well as allowing an assessment of the variation in trace element composition within quarry sources and single blocks of marble, as used for artefacts.     

Glass Fragments from the Crypta Balbi in Rome: the Composition of Eighth‐century Fragments

Eighth‐century glass fragments from the Crypta Balbi in Rome were analysed by inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy. The samples included fragments of artefacts as well as ingots of raw glass and wasters. All the fragments proved to be soda–lime glasses. Manganese‐to‐iron atomic ratios are highly variable and determine the colour of a large number of samples. Fairly high copper contents, generally associated with relatively high amounts of antimony and lead, were detected in some green and blue–green samples: this suggests recycling of glass in the form of opaque mosaic tesserae. All three elements are higher in eighth‐century than in previously analysed seventh‐century fragments. This may indicate greater recourse to recycled glass, related to a reduction in trade exchanges in the Mediterranean.     

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).     

NEOLITHIC ‘GREENSTONE’ AXE BLADES FROM NORTHWESTERN ITALY ACROSS EUROPE: A FIRST PETROGRAPHIC COMPARISON*

Neolithic polished stone axe blades, manufactured with uncommon lithologies such as Alpine eclogites, jades and other HP metaophiolites, were exploited from primary and secondary occurrences in Piemonte and Liguria and dominate the north Italian and south‐east French polished stone blades used as functional tools (for deforestation and woodworking). In other European countries the same lithologies are found less frequently or only occasionally as axe blades; in north‐west Europe they were frequently used for manufacturing ceremonial axes that have shapes that are not present in the Italian Neolithic tradition. This paper undertakes a preliminary examination of the case, prevalently from a petrographic point of view, comparing the well‐established Italian petroarchaeometric knowledge with the rather poorer petrographic basis of the European eclogite/jade axes. A provisional picture of the distribution of these axes in Europe is provided and some interim interpretations and open problems are discussed.     

ROMAN AND MEDIEVAL GLASS FROM THE ITALIAN AREA: BULK CHARACTERIZATION AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES*

Compositional investigations were performed on 81 Roman and medieval glass fragments (first to 14th centuries ad ) from four Italian archaeological sites. The samples were soda–lime–silica in composition, with natron as flux for the Roman and early medieval glass samples, and with plant ash as flux for the late medieval ones. The varying colours are due to the differing FeO, Fe ₂ O ₃ , MnO and Sb ₂ O ₃ contents. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified six compositional groups related to age, which were compared with those found in the literature. In this way, technological continuity from the Roman to the early medieval period and the appearance of plant ash technology in the ninth century, 200 years in advance of the period previously believed, are demonstrated.