‘The debatable territory where geology and archaeology meet’: reassessing the early archaeobotanical work of Clement Reid and Arthur Lyell at Roman Silchester

The first large-scale archaeobotanical study in Britain, conducted from 1899 to 1909 by Clement Reid and Arthur Lyell at Silchester, provided the first evidence for the introduction of Roman plant foods to Britain, yet the findings have thus far remained unverified. This paper presents a reassessment of these archaeobotanical remains, now stored as part of the Silchester Collection in Reading Museum. The documentary evidence for the Silchester study is summarised, before the results are presented for over a 1000 plant remains including an assessment of preservation, identification and modern contamination. The dataset includes both evidence for the presence of nationally rare plant foods, such as medlar, and several archaeophytes. The methodologies and original interpretations of Reid and Lyell's study are reassessed in light of current archaeobotanical knowledge. Spatial and contextual patterns in the distribution of plant foods and ornamental taxa are also explored. Finally, the legacy of the study for the development of archaeobotany in the 20th century is evaluated.     

植物对土遗址的保护作用初探——以内蒙古东部地区土遗址为例

位于内蒙古东部的土遗址上普遍长有植物,由于植物本身对土遗址具有双重作用,既有保护作用,也有破坏作用,采用植物保护土遗址就是最大限度的发挥其有利的一面,故此研究植物在遗址中发挥的保护作用尤为重要.选择应昌路故城、元上都遗址和辽上京遗址作为研究对象,采用现场调查的方法从植被覆盖度、根系分布情况两方面研究植物对土遗址的作用.结果表明,遗址顶面普遍被以羊草、冰草、紫羊茅、马蔺、旋覆花为主的低矮草本植物覆盖,其覆盖度集中在30％～60％;这些植物对防止降水冲刷遗址有明显的作用,对遗址的整体外貌影响也比较小.因此,针对长有植被、雨蚀病害严重、其他保护手段技术还不成熟、达不到理想的保护效果的遗址,可采用植物保护土遗址,并且其思路是可行的.     

Llamas and Alpacas: Pre-conquest breeds and post-conquest hybrids

Comparison of pre-conquest and contemporary Andean llama and alpaca phenotypes suggests that a breakdown in specialized breeding took place after European contact which led to the disappearance of fine fibre producing alpaca and llama breeds. The causes of this loss ultimately lie in the decimation of native Andean herds and herders during the Spanish conquest. The heterogeneous characteristics of today's animals can be attributed to extensive hybridization and a possible genetic bottle neck during the 16th century.     

克孜尔石窟出土蓝色颜料研究

克孜尔石窟是蜚声中外的佛教艺术宝库,其丰富的历史文化遗存,是研究丝绸之路文化交流与融合的重要实物资料。为了解克孜尔石窟第189窟前发现的蓝色颜料,采用X射线衍射(XRD)对其成分进行分析,采用拉曼、扫描电镜能谱仪(SEM-EDS)将其与第189窟壁画蓝色样品的元素组成及物相进行对比,采用酶联免疫吸附测定(ELISA)、透射傅立叶红外光谱(FTIR)对其可能含有的胶结材料进行分析。结果表明,该出土蓝色颜料样品为青金石,胶结材料为植物胶。研究表明,通过多种分析手段联合使用,可以更全面、客观地了解分析对象的各种信息,为今后克孜尔石窟壁画制作材料及制作工艺的分析提供经验和借鉴。     

广富林遗址(2008年)浸水植物遗存分析

广富林遗址2008年度浸水保存的这批样品,从中发现了种类较丰富的植物遗骸,包括有葫芦、桃核、芡实、甜瓜、水稻、葎草、楝树果实等,通过量化统计和植物利用方式分析,我们认为遗址至少在广富林文化时期形成了包括粮食种植和瓜果蔬菜栽培的园圃农业经济体系,并在周代进一步地发展。     

古代织品染料的分析

从染草中提取出各种植物染料,然后进行古样品的模拟染色。以薄层色谱法为主要测试手段,并结合化学分析以及高效液相色谱。紫外光谱等近代方法对染料进行分析与鉴定,建立起一套行之有效的天然植物染料分析和鉴定的方法,并成功地用于古代样品的分析,揭示了三千年前古样品染料色素的成分。     

Testing flora as bioindicator of buried structures in the archaeological area of Maxentius’s villa (Rome,Italy)

The flora of the archaeological area of Maxentius’s villa (Rome) was tested as bioindicator of buried remains of masonry and pavements. A total of 53 floristic surveys provided the occurrence of each species in sample units, as well as some their phenological features. The data were elaborated through multivariate statistical analysis in order to assess floristic affinities/differences among sample units, and define their ecological characteristics. The fuzzy set methodology was applied to evaluate relation between floristic richness, plant cover and soil depth. Results showed that the buried remains of stonework create a discontinuity in the ground, influencing the flora growing above it. This phenomenon may give rise to differential presence of some species (e.g., Cota tinctoria, Trifolium scabrum ssp. scabrum on thin soil; Ranunculus bulbosus, Trifolium pratense on deeper soil), but will not have such a great effect on floristic richness. The bioindication of this phenomenon also occurs through phenological irregularities in single specimens and changes in plant cover. Nevertheless other environmental factors (soil moisture/aridity, trampling, enrichment of nitrogen, cutting, ground depression) can interfere with the use of plants as bioindicators of buried structures. It is therefore necessary to consider other factors ecological influencing each site when you want to use plants as bioindicators in archaeological prospection.     

Sasanian glass from Veh Ardašīr investigated by strontium and neodymium isotopic analysis

A collection of 31 glass fragments, dated to the 3rd to 7th century AD and excavated in Veh Ardašīr, (modern Iraq), were analysed for their Sr and Nd isotopic compositions with the aim of deepening our knowledge on glass circulating within central Mesopotamia during Sasanian times and to highlight the merits of isotope ratios for the definition of the production scenery. Based on the elemental composition of the samples, two groups related to the exploitation of different plant ashes were previously distinguished, and also a change in the silica source in the course of the 4th century AD emerged. The determination of isotopic distributions of Sr and Nd offers a deeper insight. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope ratio, together with the Sr elemental concentration, confirms this use of different plant ashes, and permits one to distinguish distinct glass batches, although the isotopic Sr signature does not allow us to highlight evidences of different provenances for the samples of different composition. Moreover, the ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd isotope ratio suggests the use of sands belonging to a common geological area, and also allows the identification of a set of samples that were possibly produced exploiting a further different sand source. As a whole, Sr and Nd isotope ratio values for the samples considered, i.e. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70833 to 0.70916 and ?Nd = −8.69 to −4.98, differ from the published isotopic data on middle Eastern glass samples and can therefore define a characteristic Sr–Nd signature for plant-ash Sasanian glass excavated in Veh Ardašīr.     

Cropmarks in main field crops enable the identification of a wide spectrum of buried features on archaeological sites in Central Europe

Buried (syn. sunken, sub-surface and sub-soil) archaeological features on arable land can frequently be discovered due to visually detectable changes in crop growth termed cropmarks. The aim of this paper was to demonstrate the range of features identified through cropmarks on aerial photographs in stands of main field crops in the Czech Republic.     

马鞍山市马钢二钢厂东晋谢沈家族墓群发掘简报

马鞍山钢铁总公司第二钢铁厂东晋谢沈家族墓群位于六朝墓地富集地马鞍山东麓,出土文物丰富,文物类别较多,时代特征明显,特别是M3出土的六面印,明确了墓主身份,为研究六朝时期文人学士和书法史提供了实物资料。