The Miners' Lockout in 1926 in the Cumberland Coalfield

Abstract

The General Strike of 1926 was a pivotal point in the history of the British labour movement. However, the miners' lockout that underpinned the dispute has been under-researched. This article seeks to address two themes. Firstly, it provides the first detailed account of the Cumberland coalfield and its role in the 1926 conflict. As such the article contributes to the growing literature on individual districts of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain that has led to a questioning of the dominant characteristics of miners implicit in some of the classic works of coal mining historiography. Through an examination of the social, cultural and political developments in the Cumberland coalfield we get a sense of the complexity, drama and tragedy of industrial strife. Secondly, this study of Cumberland illuminates a number of generic issues that are relevant to the study of coal communities in a more general sense. Through an exploration of the role of colliery deputies in the workplace and community, women's autonomous action in social conflict, and the sociology of outcropping, the article signposts areas of coal mining history that require further research.     

A NEW METHOD FOR THE DETERMINATION OF THE PROVENANCE OF WHITE MARBLES BY CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF INCLUSION FLUIDS: THE MARBLES OF THE MAUSOLEUM OF BELEVI/TURKEY*

A new method is presented in this paper to pinpoint the origin of white marbles using the chemical analysis of fluids occurring as micro-inclusions in calcitic or dolomitic marbles. Beside the conventional methods usually applied for this purpose, the analyses of significant anions and cations in fluids extracted from white marbles were used to characterize different types of marbles. Using this new approach it is possible to distinguish different groups of marbles which cannot be separated isotopically. A case study was performed on the mausoleum of Belevi, close to Ephesus in Turkey, and the quarries in the area of the mausoleum. The marbles used for the architecture of the mausoleum cannot be distinguished isotopically but were split into two groups when using fluid inclusion analysis. The corresponding quarry for the high-quality marble (cella walls, columns etc.) turned out to be the Kentli Çiftliği quarry, which also supplied the marbles for the classical Artemision. According to the chemical and fluid data it can be shown, however, that neither the adjacent famous antique quarry of Belevi nor the underground mine of Kusini, some 5 km away from the mausoleum, are the sources for the marbles used for the construction or decoration of the mausoleum.     

Transformations: Post-Battle Processes on the Hürtgenwald Battlefield

Abstract

This paper uses the 1944 Hürtgenwald battlefield on the German-Belgian border as a case study to reflect upon two issues: what contributions to an understanding of post-battle transformations are made by an analysis of Second World War battlefields; and how an archaeological approach can help understand the Hürtgenwald battlefield. The analysis presented here discusses what actually happens with a modern battlefield after the killing is over and how such post-battle processes alter the way such a site is interpreted. In this respect, a battlefield from World War II reveals the transformations to which battlefields are subjected and provides a well-documented model case to study the effect of post-battle processes on conflict landscapes.     

Identifying Chemical Activity Residues on Prehistoric House Floors: A Methodology And Rationale For Multi‐Elemental Characterization of a Mild Acid Extract of Anthropogenic Sediments

Archaeologists have employed sediment chemistry in site prospection for nearly a century. For example, phosphorus is a good indicator of human occupation, because it is a generic indicator of human activity. Recently, multi‐element studies of sediments have successfully identified specific activity areas by analysing other elements in addition to phosphorus. To reach its full potential, however, sediment chemistry must be undertaken with an understanding of how these residues are formed and of the chemical indicators that can be used to identify specific activities. Methodologies that optimize the extraction of specific residues must be employed. Not to do so is a naïve application of the technique.     

INVESTIGATION ON ROMAN LEAD GLAZE FROM CANOSA: RESULTS OF CHEMICAL ANALYSES*

Five sherds of green glazed pottery excavated at Canosa (Apulia) in Italy have been analysed by scanning electron microscopy. The aim of the investigation was to determine the chemical composition of the glazes and thus obtain information on the methods used in their production. The glazes were all of the high‐lead type, coloured green by the addition of copper. Intermediate layers, observed at the interface between the glaze and body and giving the appearance of an applied white slip, were the result of the crystallization of lead feldspar from the molten glaze. Non‐calcareous clays were used in the production of the pottery bodies. Concentration profiles from the glaze exterior to the body suggested that the glazes were produced by applying a suspension consisting of lead oxide plus silica to the bodies. On the basis of the glaze and body compositions, it is suggested that the Canosa glazed pottery was produced locally.     

RQ-MODE PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS ANALYSIS OF CERAMIC COMPOSITIONAL DATA*

RQ-mode principal components analysis (PCA) is a means for calculating variable and object loadings on the same axes, so that elements can be displayed along with data points on a single diagram. The biplots resulting from RQ-mode PCA preserve both Euclidean relations among the objects and variance-covariance structure. When used with data on the chemical composition of archaeological pottery, such biplots facilitate recognizing compositional subgroups and determining the chemical basis of group separation. RQ-mode PCA is illustrated in this paper with neutron activation data on Mesoamerican Plumbate pottery.     

THE HISTORY OF THE LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY INSTRUMENTAL NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS PROGRAMME FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND GEOLOGICAL MATERIALS

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory pottery provenance group developed standards and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) methods that are used at many archaeometry laboratories around the world. The background and development of ‘Standard Pottery’ and of methods for INAA are described. Early pottery provenance studies are described, and other research programmes, involving obsidian and magmatic mixing, the origin of the stone used for the Colossi of Memnon, and the ‘Plate of Brass’, are mentioned. Research work by the Laboratory included the discovery of the world‐wide iridium anomaly and extensive subsequent research on what has come to be known as the ‘Asteroid Impact Theory’. Characteristics of the analytical programme for pottery provenance work, including overall aims, precision and accuracy, intercalibration, and irradiation and measurement protocols, are discussed. New research areas developed in the past 15 years, to broaden the usefulness of chemical compositional data for archaeological investigation, and examples of recent work, are described. This research, which makes use of high‐precision X‐ray fluorescence analysis in addition to INAA measurements on sample splits, includes distinguishing the products of different workshops located at the same production site, studies on the significance of the distribution of silver in archaeological pottery and the use of high‐precision chemical compositional data as an aid for making chronological distinctions.     

RESEARCH ON THE PIGMENTS FROM PAINTED CERAMICS EXCAVATED FROM THE YANGQIAOPAN TOMBS OF THE LATE HAN DYNASTY (48 BC – AD 25)

The analysis of pigments on painted ceramics excavated from the Yangqiaopan Tombs of the late Western Han Dynasty was undertaken using optical microscopy (OM), micro‐Raman spectroscopy (μ‐RS), scanning electron microscopy with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectrometry (SEM–EDS), X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy spectra (FTIR). The pigments were identified as red lead (Pb₃O₄), carbon (C), malachite [Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂], Chinese purple (BaCuSi₂O₆) and illite {[K,H₃O]Al₂Si₃AlO₁₀(OH)₂}. Fibrous materials were observed in some pigment samples. When observed by SEM, one showed a large amount of fibre in solidified gum, which indicated that gum of ramie could have been used as the binding medium to make the pigment particles adhere together. These results provide significant insights into the characteristics of these pigments in the Qin and Han Dynasties.     

A SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF TRADITIONAL KOREAN CELADONS AND THEIR MODERN DEVELOPMENTS

Eighty sherds from nine different kiln sites representing a wide geographic distribution and a long time span of Korean celadon culture are analysed for macroscopic and compositional characteristics. Additionally chemical and mineral compositions of six unglazed sherds are compared with those of some modern raw materials. Unusually high values of alumina in the earliest Kangjin pieces of the middle ninth and early tenth century (I¹) could represent a significant technological innovation at the end of this period at this most important celadon production centre. Similarity in chemical and mineral compositions between unglazed sherds and some raw materials such as Kangjin clay and pottery stone show the possibility that many of the celadons were made from these types of raw materials as found in nature without additives and only after mechanical refining.     

SPECTROSCOPIC INVESTIGATION OF RED STAINS AFFECTING THE CARRARA MARBLE FAÇADE OF THE CERTOSA OF PAVIA

The nature of the large red stains exhibited on the Carrara marble elements of the Certosa of Pavia façade was investigated by means of spectroscopic techniques and scanning electron microscopy. Although previous microbiological analysis has demonstrated the presence on the stone of a bacterial strain identified as Micrococcus roseus, that is capable of carotenoid production, it has been ascertained in the present study that an inorganic pigment, namely Pb₃O₄, is responsible for the observed coloration. On small green spots, the presence of photosynthetic micro-organisms has been demonstrated by microbiological analysis and confirmed by resonance Raman spectroscopy.