Optical spectroscopy as a rapid and low-cost tool for the first-line analysis of glass artefacts: a step-by-step plan for Roman green glass

Archaeometric research on glass artefacts is continuously evolving and is converging towards a multidisciplinary research domain where different types of techniques are applied depending on the questions asked and the circumstances involved. The technique described in this work is optical spectroscopy. The benefit of this technique being the possibility of building up a knowledge database for a large amount of material in a relatively short period of time and with a relatively limited budget. This is of particular interest for the investigation of extensive and/or unexplored glass collections where a first-line analysis of artefacts could facilitate the selection of material needing further and more detailed examination.     

论罗马帝国消防军

罗马帝国消防军是奥古斯都统治时期建立的专门负责首都消防与夜间治安的准军事性组织。它的建立是奥古斯都对传统消防模式的革新,更是其行使元首权力、维护社会秩序稳定、巩固元首制的要略之一。消防军通过完善的预、接警机制,及时发现与扑救火灾,执行旨在抑制火灾发生的消防巡检,不仅提高了居民消防安全意识,更使火灾次数明显减少。消防军还结合夜间消防巡逻,维护首都夜间治安,在其巡逻下,罗马夜间秩序稳定。消防军是古罗马一创举,说明罗马帝国政府意识到保证消防安全与维护社会秩序稳定在促进社会与国家和谐发展上的重要作用。     

Roman landscape and agriculture on the Ligurian coast through macro and microremains from a Vada Sabatia well (Vado Ligure,Italy)

Abstract

The results of an analysis on plant remains (fruit, seeds, pollen and wood) found in sediments in a Roman well in Vada Sabatia (Vado Ligure, Liguria, Italy), dated between the first and fourth centuries AD are presented. The remains are well preserved and constitute an exceptional record of the Ligurian area. Five layers have been recognised: three corresponding to the well when in use and two to the well when it was no longer in use. The vegetational cover of the area has been found to be similar to that observed in the coastal plain near Albingaunum (Albenga) pertaining to the same period. Moreover, the two superficial layers have cumulated a large amount of macroremains related to the period in which the well was no longer in use. The principal tree and vegetable crops and cereals of the coastal plain were present, due to the influence of maritime and mercantile trade, as were the prevailing ruderal and weed species and the tree cover. The presence of carpological remains of Castanea sativa, Secale cereale, Beta vulgaris and Cucumis sativus is reported for the first time in the Roman Age in Liguria. The influence of the arrival of the Romans can be seen from new crops, such as Prunus persica, and the introduction of exotic fruit like Phoenix dactylifera and Ziziphus jujuba. Several wooden artefacts, for example, a rack for drying lucerne and a tool handle, made of Cornus or Viburnum and Viburnum cf. lantana respectively, have been found. The well has proved to be an ideal location for the preservation of plant remains compared with other studied archaeological situations in Liguria and in Southern France, as it presents a higher variety of cultivated fruits, vegetables and cereals.     

Law,Principle, and the Theologico-Political History of Sovereignty

Abstract

This article takes it cue from the debate between Carl Schmitt and Erik Peterson regarding the possibility of political theology within Christianity, and in response, offers a conceptual-historical portrait of sovereignty and its juridical dimensions. Beginning with the introduction of Roman law into the medieval Church, the article traces the logic of “legal principle” as the basis of sovereign decision and how the form of legal distinctions adopted into canon law translate the Romanitas of law into the theory of papal sovereignty. By the Romanitas of law, that is to say the principle of sovereignty in law. The article then seeks to describe the conceptual translations of Roman politics and Stoic metaphysics into theological form and the logic of this translation into medieval natural law. The article concludes by evaluating how the civic theology of Rome is conceptually inherited by the politics and legal framework of sovereignty and returns to Peterson’s critique of Schmitt, arguing that political theology can be understood as a dynamic where politics is theologized, assuming that in the history of religion, theology and politics are never fully distinct to begin with.     

Trace Element Classification Diagrams of Pyroclastic Rocks from the Volcanic Districts of Central Italy: the Case Study of the Ancient Roman Ships of Pisa

Identification of the volcanic material (pozzolan) stored in a Roman ship of the fourth to third century bce , wrecked in the ancient harbour of Pisa (central Italy), was based on ratios of selected trace elements. The compositions of the major volcanic products erupted by the volcanoes of the Roman province, including the volcanic districts of Latium (Vulsini, Vico, Monti Sabatini and the Alban Hills) and Campania (Roccamonfina, the Phlegraean Fields, Ischia, Procida and Vesuvius) are compared with the pozzolan from the Pisa ship. Superposition of the Zr/Y, Nb/Y and Nb/Zr ratios of the pyroclastic material from the wrecked ship (computed from the published literature) allows correlation with the products of the Onano eruption from the Vulsini Volcanic District. The Vulsini rocks outcrop extensively in a sector drained by the hydrographic network of the Fiora River, which has been a well‐developed commercial water trade route since Etruscan times, with a river port and a sea port connected to the important town of Vulci, and, since 273 bce , part of the larger Roman harbour system of Cosa.     

Roman agriculture in the conventus Bracaraugustanus (NW Iberia)

A review of archaeobotanical data, together with new, still unpublished data, from Roman sites in conventus Bracaraugustanus suggests the Romanization of the northwest Iberia brought little changes to the agricultural strategies of local communities in indigenous-type settlements. The main crops remain the same as in the Iron Age: Triticum aestivum/durum, Panicum miliaceum, Hordeum vulgare subsp. vulgare, Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccum and T. aestivum subsp. spelta, Avena and Vicia faba. The first secure reference for the cultivation of Secale cereale in the region comes from a Roman context, suggesting that it was introduced in this period, although it probably remained a minor crop.     

Morphological changes in domestic cattle in Gaul,from the second century BC to the fifth century AD: diversity of herds in the Seine valley (France) and northern Gaul

In Western Europe the transition from the Iron Age to the Roman period is the scene of a rapid economic and agro-pastoral evolution characterized in particular by a modification in the shape of the cattle. Understanding this phenomenon, its implementation mechanisms and development dynamics represents a major challenge in archaeozoology. In our study a local and regional approach of the evolution in cattle morphology is carried out first on the scale of the middle Seine valley, then of the northern Gaul. Its purpose is to observe and compare the evolution rates in domestic cattle between Middle La Tène and the fifth century AD, and with the help of a tight chronological and geographical grid, to estimate to what extent the shape of the cattle has been influenced by the indigenous cultures, the Roman economic pattern or even the environment. This osteometrical study is based on the Log Size Index method and on a measurement corpus of 12,969 bones collected on sites located on 117 communes in France (for most of them), Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The results we obtained show local specificities in terms of breeding methods and animal morphologies, observed on a very fine scale and taking place long before the Conquest. Moreover the growth patterns of the various herds happen to be different and to evolve under the impetus of the developing Roman economic pattern. This work thus points out an essential aspect of the agro-pastoral turmoil that took place in Gaul at the turning point of our era. The Roman pattern is not the cause of the morphological changes of the cattle, nor of the diversity in cattle shapes in Gaul, but it provokes a reshaping of the agricultural systems and a redefining of the breeding strategies which boost and completely change the cattle growth patterns.     

The Roman Shipwreck of Antirhodos Island in the Portus Magnus of Alexandria,Egypt

Between 1998 and 1999 three excavation campaigns were undertaken on a shipwreck at the now‐submerged site of the ancient Portus Magnus, off the coast of Alexandria. The site, close to the island of Antirhodos, was identified through geophysical and archaeological surveys carried out by the Institut Européen d’Archéologie Sous‐Marine (IEASM), directed by Franck Goddio. The remains of the ship lie c.5 m deep and are spread over c.350 sqm. No cargo has been found. Artefacts recovered, the details of the ship's architecture and radiocarbon dating all suggest it sunk between the end of the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE. Its dimensions correspond to those of commercial ships of the Roman era. Identification of the wood used contributes significantly to our knowledge of materials used in naval architecture of this period.     

Fragments of Boats from the Canale Anfora of Aquileia,Italy, and Comparison of Sewn‐Plank Ships in the Roman Era

Fragments of Roman sewn‐plank boats have been found, during rescue excavations, in the Canale Anfora, an artificial channel used by Roman ships to enter the Roman city of Aquileia. Remains were found in both 1988 and 2005 at the same site. Elements of what were probably two boats are analysed and compared to other finds of Roman sewn boats found along the coast of the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions. They are evidence of the use of this technique, instead of the more widespread mortise‐and‐tenon system, in the quite limited area of the Northern Adriatic. These boats were used both for inland and for maritime navigation.     

Restoration Interventions at the Roman Nymphaeum in Amman: Identification and Evaluation

Abstract

Over the last few decades, conservation work has been conducted by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (DoA) on the Roman Nymphaeum in Amman. This intervention has taken the form of direct and indirect actions. In this article it will be shown that the conservation works concentrated on reinforcing the structure and reconstructing some architectural features of the building, with little consideration of the techniques and materials used. Intervention actions were mostly poor in terms of their scientific approach, and neither proper planning nor a well-defined methodology existed. This study provides a holistic approach for the evaluation of the state of the conservation of the monument in terms of quality and quantity. Thus, the results could be a valuable source for establishing comprehensive risk mitigation for future restoration work and site management. In addition, establishing practical restoration guidelines could help in developing socio-economic benefits for the community through tourism.