PREHISTORIC WALL PAINTINGS: THE CASE OF THE DOMUS DE JANAS NECROPOLIS (SARDINIA,ITALY)*

The Domus de Janas (Home of the Fairies, or Home of the Witches) are Neolithic hypogea located throughout Sardinia (Italy) and decorated with red and black wall paintings. The objective of this study was to define the painting technique through the analytical characterization of the pigments and binding media. Samples of painting film from different graves have been examined by means of various analytical techniques. XRD, Raman and SEM–EDX analyses identified the red and black pigments respectively as red ochre rich in hematite and carbon black, while GC–MS analyses characterized the organic binder as egg.     

A TECHNOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF NINTH–TENTH CENTURY AD ABBASID BLUE‐AND‐WHITE WARE FROM IRAQ,AND ITS COMPARISON WITH EIGHTH CENTURY AD CHINESE BLUE‐AND‐WHITE SANCAI WARE*

Eight sherds of ninth–tenth century ad Abbaesid blue‐and‐white glazed earthenware, excavated in 1931 at Hira in western Iraq, were analysed using, variously, quantitative wavelength‐dispersive spectrometry (WDS) and energy‐dispersive spectrometry (EDS) in association with scanning electron microscopes (SEM), and semi‐quantitative X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF). In order to compare the compositions of the cobalt pigments used, the glazes of seven complete vessels of eighth century ad Chinese Tang blue‐and‐white sancai were also analysed semi‐quantitatively using XRF. The Abbasid wares were shown to have used traditional Mesopotamian alkali–lime glazes applied to calcareous clay bodies. Half the glazes examined were opacified with tin oxide. Three types of blue decoration (i.e., raised; spreading; and flat, non‐spreading) were produced using a variety of formulations, including a mixture of cobalt pigment with lead oxide. The sources of the ores used for the cobalt pigments have not been identified. However, the analytical data showed that the cobalt ore used for the Abbasid blue‐and‐white ware could be distinguished from that used for the Tang blue‐and‐white sancai by its higher iron content and by the presence of a significant amount of zinc. The use of cobalt‐blue decoration on the ninth–tenth century ad Abbasid ware was anticipated in China by eighth century ad Tang blue‐and‐white sancai wares. However, whether its introduction by the Abbasid potters should be seen as an independent invention that followed the introduction of tin‐opacified glazes in Iraq, or whether it was influenced in some way by Chinese originals, is still unresolved.     

IDENTIFICATION OF AN ADHESIVE USED TO REPAIR A ROMAN JAR

A combination of micro-analytical techniques, including thin layer chromatography (TLC), gas chromatography (GC), and combined gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), was employed to study the lipid composition of an adhesive used to repair an Ecton ware jar, recovered from Roman sediments of the River Nene at West Cotton (Rounds, Northamptonshire, U.K.). GC of the total lipid extract of the adhesive showed a complex pattern which was difficult to interpret. TLC was used to fractionate the extract. The fractions were then trimethylsilylated and submitted to GC and GC/MS. Betulin, lupeol, lupenone, allobetul-2-ene, and several other pentacyclic triterpenoid compounds were shown to be present in the ancient material. The similarities between the lipid compositions of the adhesive and of contemporary birch bark tar and a birch bark total lipid extract led to the conclusion that the adhesive was derived largely from birch bark, thus providing the first firm evidence for the use of birch bark tar in ancient Britain.     

RAMESSIDE GLASS-COLOURING CRUCIBLES*

The preparation of glass in New Kingdom Egypt heavily involved the use of crucibles. Shape, mode of operation and function of these vessels have been reconstructed on the basis of new, stratified material from the excavation at Qantir, eastern Nile Delta. The crucible fabric, the internal layer protecting the vessel from the charge, and the glass melted in the crucibles are characterized by chemical and petrographic studies. The crucibles were apparently employed mainly to add the colourants to the glass. The broader archaeological context strongly suggests that glass production in the Late Bronze Age has been a highly developed, specialized and organized craft, with different factories for glass production, for colouring, and for working, connected by a wide-ranging trade network.     

BLOOD AS A BINDING MEDIUM IN A CHUMASH INDIAN PIGMENT CAKE

As part of a study of Chumash Indian pigments, some black pigment cakes have been examined. One pigment cake was characterized as soot by polarized light microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared microscopy showed that the binder was proteinaceous. Protein determination was followed by examination using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis which showed a characteristic suite of amino acids to be present, proportionally similar to blood. The blood identification was confirmed by immunological analysis. The binder was shown to be a mixture of human and animal blood, the animal being pronghorn antelope. This is the first successful identification of a binding medium from a Chumash Indian pigment cake.     

COMPOSITIONAL VARIABILITY IN COLOURLESS ROMAN VESSEL GLASS

A statistical re-analysis is undertaken of 118 inductively coupled plasma spectrometry analyses of Romano-British glass specimens found in excavations at Colchester. There are four vessel types present, some of which are associated with chronologically distinct periods. Previous research has suggested little difference in the mean composition of different types. The present paper shows that there are interesting differences in the variation of compositions within types, with some showing much greater compositional stability then others. Some possible models to explain this phenomenon are discussed.     

ESTIMATION OF THE AGE OF A PRE‐INDUSTRIAL IRON SITE IN KOREA*

A pre‐industrial iron‐smelting site in Korea, whose period of active use is placed on typological grounds between the eighth and 18th centuries ad , has been dated using accelerator mass spectrometry and thermoluminescence. The ages of two charcoal samples were 77 ± 25 and 81 ± 25 years bp , with the calibrated date for both ranging from ad 1700 to ad 1955, while a clay fragment dated to ad 1650 ± 50. The results from typology and radiocarbon seem insignificant due to the considerable uncertainties involved, but in combination with the thermoluminescence result they place the most probable date of the site at around ad 1700.     

Strontium Isotopes in the Investigation of Early Glass Production: Byzantine and Early Islamic Glass from the Near East*

⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios have been determined for glasses from four production sites, dated to between the sixth and the 11th centuries, in the Eastern Mediterranean region. On the basis of elemental analyses, the glasses at each location are believed to have been melted from different raw materials. Two glass groups, from Bet Eli‘ezer and Bet She‘an, in Israel, are believed to have been based upon mixtures of Levantine coastal sands and natron, and have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios close to 0.7090, plus high elemental strontium, confirming a high concentration of modern marine shell (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ~ 0.7092) in the raw materials. The isotopic compositions of these two groups of glasses differ slightly, however, probably reflecting a varying ratio of limestone to shell because the sands that were utilized were from different coastal locations. Natron‐based glasses from a workshop at Tel el Ashmunein, Middle Egypt, have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values of 0.70794–0.70798, and low elemental strontium, consistent with the use of limestone or limestone‐rich sand in the batch. High‐magnesia glasses based on plant ash, from Banias, Israel, have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values of 0.70772–0.70780, probably reflecting the isotopic composition of the soils that were parental to the plants that were ashed to make the glass. Strontium and its isotopes offer an approach to identifying both the raw materials and the origins of ancient glasses, and are a potentially powerful tool in their interpretation.     

Adhesive Production and Pottery Function During the Iron Age at the Site of Grand Aunay (Sarthe,France)*

A combination of elemental, functional and molecular analyses performed on amorphous organic residues dating from the Iron Age was developed in order to identify these remains and to understand their relationship with ceramic vessels in which some of them were found. These analyses made it possible to distinguish between ceramic vessels used for the production or storage of adhesive materials, mainly birch bark tar, and those dedicated to the preparation of culinary commodities, which contained animal fats. The organization of the production of adhesives is described and the addition of beeswax to birch bark tar is reported for the first time. The use of birch bark tar for coating ceramic vessels is also discussed.