The Lock-Keepers of Hawley's Lock,Regent's Canal,Camden

In 2015–16 Compass Archaeology had the opportunity to carry out an archaeological investigation on a site adjacent to Hawley’s Lock on the Regent’s Canal, Camden. The fieldwork followed the recommendations of Historic England, which were made due to the apparent existence of a lock-keepers' cottage at Hawley’s Lock, represented principally on historic maps. The excavations unearthed the well-preserved remains of the cottage from which a floor plan was established. The history and evolution of the building suggested three stages of construction. The original cottage was built c.1820, contemporary with the construction of the first phase of the canal. It was extended to the west and north by 1850 and separated into two probable dwellings, with a third structure added to the west between 1850 and 1870. This third building was associated with the neighbouring sawmill and was the least well preserved of the three. The remains of the steam-pumping house at Kentish Town Lock were also encountered and are discussed herein.

This article attempts to place the lock-keepers' cottage within a social context and therefore considers the residents of the building and what their day-to-day lives might have looked like. This topic has been overlooked until now, with canal archaeology focused on engineering and industrial aspects of the waterway rather than the anthropology. An attempt has been made to rectify this throughout the project, and it is hoped that more attention might be paid in the future to the everyday people and workings of the canals of Britain.     

A dental study comparing age estimations of the human remains from the Swedish warship Vasa

The great Swedish warship Vasa capsized and sank in Stockholm harbour on her maiden voyage in 1628. The ship was raised from the seabed in 1961 and skeletal remains were recovered from at least 25 individuals, with teeth and jaws from 17 of them. The skeletal material was odontologically examined, including dental radiographs. Teeth lost both ante‐mortem and post‐mortem were recorded and variations in tooth anatomy noted. Acquired changes were recorded including enamel hypoplasia, attrition, dental caries and periodontal recession. Age estimations based on a separate odontological study, osteological changes and tooth attrition had been made in 1989. Ages were estimated additionally by three non‐destructive dental methods based on (a) the length of the apical translucent zone, (b) selected measurements both on intact teeth and from ratios on dental radiographs and (c) ratios of the length and width measurements on dental radiographs from selected teeth. Several sources of post‐mortem changes had been observed, among them vivianite in 33 teeth from four individuals. The results of the dental examination showed that few teeth had been lost ante‐mortem, there was a low caries rate and little loss of periodontal attachments. With few exceptions, there is fairly good agreement between the different methods of estimating age. Age estimates based on dental attrition were, however, significantly different from the other dental methods and age estimates calculated from apical translucency ought to be regarded with scepticism due to post‐mortem changes. The chronological ages of the victims will never be known, but age estimates based on all the age‐markers available will probably reach a fairly close approximation. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

‘Marineness’, the Underwater Seascape and Variability in Maritime Adaptations in the Late Ceramic Age Northern Lesser Antilles

ABSTRACT

To investigate potential variation between the fishing practices of contemporaneous Late Ceramic Age villages in the northern Lesser Antilles, we model expectations for each site based on local marine habitat and bathymetry and compare them to observed differences in zooarchaeological assemblages. The predictive model approximates which taxa were the most likely to have been targeted by fishers from each site, assuming that the majority of fishing likely occurred within short distances from each settlement. A comparison of expectations and archaeological observations is used to expose potential differences between sites in preferred fishing areas and techniques, preferred foods, or social distinctions. This variability is argued to reflect a fishing community’s ‘marineness’, or the interrelationship members have with the unique composition of marine resources and underwater seascape adjacent to their villages.     

海底打捞铁质文物的腐蚀机理及其脱氯方法

综述了铁质文物在海水中及打捞出水后的腐蚀机理,如电化学循环机理、氧浓差电池腐蚀机理等,同时简述了从海水中打捞出来的铁质文物的各种脱氯方法,包括碱性溶液浸泡法、碱性亚硫酸盐还原法,电解还原法及高温还原法等.     

The cost-effectiveness of certain methods of recovering macroscopic organic remains from archaeological deposits

In a survey, carried out to investigate the cost-effectiveness of the main methods used to recover macroscopic organic remains from archaeological deposits, it was found that sampling and recovery methods employed varied widely between individual workers. Sample type, recovery method and experience of the worker influenced the time taken to produce identified material, but it was clear that this is an expensive activity which must be justified in terms of information output.     

关于我国核电发展与设立核电站布局“禁区”的思考

本文系统地阐述了我国核电站近十多年来呈现出大规模发展的态势。认为从我国的具体国情出发，需要在全国部分人口与经济密集、大中城市相对比较集中的地区设立核电布局的“禁区”。渤海沿岸是国家的政治核心与经济枢纽，渤海及其附近区域核污染关系到国家的安全。本文着重分析了渤海沿岸地带核电站发展的情况，并且认为渤海沿岸地带应该成为国家最主要的核电“禁区”，根据我国核电站发展的态势，建议在“十四五”时期，我国需要对近十年来的能源政策进行调整，要充分考虑到中国国情与国家利益，审视其可行性与合理性。在“核电绝对安全”的神话一再被破灭的情况下，重新调整核电发展方针，实行总量控制乃至逐步减少。     

A long-distance copper alloy trade to the North Eastern Baltic during the late pre-Roman and Roman Iron Age (250 BCE–450 CE) explored with lead isotope MC-ICP-MS

The North Eastern Baltic has no copper resources of its own, meaning that Cu alloy was imported either as raw material or as finished objects. The north-eastern coastline of Estonia during the late pre-Roman and Roman Iron Age was connected to the south by sea to the long-distance ‘amber’ trade route and to the east by Russian river systems. This study quantitatively assesses the direction of the Cu alloy supply in the region before and after brass enters circulation at the beginning of the Roman Iron Age. After an initial portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) survey, 18 objects were chosen for Pb isotope analysis. This isotope analysis resolved a group of nine brass artefacts from the Roman Iron Age amongst a ‘melting pot’ of other Cu alloys. The similarity between the isotope ratios found in the Roman world suggests the presence of the same ‘melting pot’ in the North Eastern Baltic, possibly created by a large amount of Roman Cu alloy being traded north. No evidence for Cu alloy from Scandinavia or the Ural Mountains could be found. The hypothesis from this small study is that the Cu alloy entering Estonia was dominated by metal from Southern Europe from the late pre-Roman Iron Age and the Roman period.     

Unsettling Settler Belonging: (Re)naming and Territory Making in the Pacific Northwest

Names can act as daily reminders of a colonial presence. To unsettle Settler origin stories, we strive to reveal the legacy of (dis)possession rooted in naming. As case studies, we consider the attribution of the name Salish Sea, the naming of the Straits of Juan de Fuca and Georgia, and the delineation of national boundaries during the San Juan Water Boundary Dispute. We use these examples to demonstrate the unsettling potential of (re)naming practices. To conclude, we suggest further areas for praxis and research that are situated in a broader context of naming practices.     

Folded wheel-made oil lamps,standing pit burial caves and Judaean ethnic identity in the Hasmonean period

ABSTRACT

Two distinct archaeological phenomena appeared between the middle of the second century BCE and the middle of the first century: the Hasmonean folded wheel-made lamp and the standing pit burial cave. Following an examination of their dating, distribution, and social significance we suggest that this material culture was characteristic of the Jews in Judaea during this time and that it reflects the creation of an ethnic identity. The fact that the Hasmonean folded wheel-made lamp and the standing pit burial cave were typical of Jews in Judea indicates that they were ethnic features of Jewish society. By these means the Jews emphasized their dissimilarity from the rest of the population. The archaic appearance of the lamps and the burial caves, which replicates the cultural characteristics of the Kingdom of Judah during the monarchic/first Temple period, indicates that Jewish society in the Hasmonean period sought to legitimize its existence through the use of its former culture and memory.