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.     

ISOTOPES ON THE BEACH,PART 1: STRONTIUM ISOTOPE RATIOS AS A PROVENANCE INDICATOR FOR LIME RAW MATERIALS USED IN ROMAN GLASS‐MAKING

The provenancing of Roman natron glass is one of the most challenging problems in the field of archaeometry. Although the use of Sr and Nd isotope ratios and trace element signatures as an indication of provenance has proven promising, there are still many unknowns. In this study, the influence of the different raw materials on the final Sr isotopic composition of Roman natron glass is examined. It is shown that the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio in natron glass is significantly influenced by the silicate fraction of the sand used and does not always provide a clear indication of the lime source used.     

A Taphonomic Approach to Late Classic Maya Mortuary Practices at Xuenkal,Yucatán,Mexico

Abstract

Following a brief introduction to mortuary practices in Prehispanic Maya society, we outline the analytical procedures followed during the excavation and laboratory investigation of five burial assemblages from the Late Classic period site of Xuenkal, Yucatán, Mexico. A detailed account of a sequence of primary and secondary interments is provided with a focus on taphonomic and biovital information, emphasizing the importance of an interdisciplinary approach, especially human taphonomy, for the reconstruction of complex Maya mortuary treatments. Our results show that bodies of the dead or their parts followed surprisingly long and complex funerary paths.     

PETROGRAPHIC AND ISOTOPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF THE MARBLE OF THE ISLAND OF TINOS (GREECE)*

Most outcrops of good‐quality crystalline marble in Mediterranean countries were exploited in Greek and Roman times. Hence, a wide variety of marble is now found in archaeological excavations. The precise determination of the provenance of a marble object is of great archaeological importance, and is now mostly obtained by coupling the petrographic study of a thin section with the analysis of the C and O stable isotopes, or by stereomicroscopy and EPR. The existing databases are considerable but still insufficient, because our knowledge about and study of ancient Mediterranean quarries remain incomplete. The contribution of this research is to add new petrographic and isotopic data on small quarries on the Greek island of Tinos that were exploited in antiquity. This marble belongs to the same geological horizon; it is quite pure, sometimes dolomitic and characterized by a low‐T, high‐P metamorphism that produced a limited recrystallization (MGS varying from 0.64 to 2.50 mm) on marine limestone protoliths. The petrographic features are quite distinctive: the fabric is strongly lineated and often stressed; and the accessory minerals are ubiquitary quartz, ore minerals, graphite and muscovite. As far as the isotopic data are concerned, δ¹³C_PDB varies from 1.1 to 2.7, and δ¹⁸O_PDB from ?1.7 to ?11.4. Both the features and the data have been compared with those of similar marbles used in antiquity, showing that their combination mirrors the fingerprint of the Tinos marble.     

BRONZE AGE CHILDHOOD MIGRATION OF INDIVIDUALS NEAR STONEHENGE,REVEALED BY STRONTIUM AND OXYGEN ISOTOPE TOOTH ENAMEL ANALYSIS*

Contrasting lifestyles are recorded by the isotope composition of Bronze Age Beaker people (c. 2500–2000 bc ) from three burial sites (Boscombe Down, Normanton Down and the ditch around Stonehenge) at or near to the Stonehenge monument in Wiltshire, southern England. Seven individuals (three adults, a sub‐adult, two juveniles and an infant) were recovered from a single grave at Boscombe Down. Strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel from two teeth (a premolar and third molar) from each of three of the adults in this grave (referred to as Boscombe Bowmen) show that they had all shared a pattern of mobility and migration during their lives. The three adult males spent their early childhood (as represented by data from the premolar teeth) in an area with a radiogenic ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope signature of around 0.7135. They each then moved, during early adolescence (as represented by the third molar results), to a less radiogenic area, where they acquired an ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr signature of around 0.7112. This implies that they must then have travelled to the Stonehenge area of Wiltshire at a later time in their lives. Wales provides the closest area with rocks that supply suitable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and δ¹⁸O isotope compositions for these individuals, although other areas of Palaeozoic rock, such as Scotland and parts of Europe, cannot be ruled out. Enamel from the two juveniles from the Boscombe Down burial yields ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of 0.7098 and 0.7099, and strontium concentrations for both of 55 ppm. The very close match of the data for the two juveniles supports the possibility that they were raised in the same environment. The difference in strontium isotope data between the juveniles and three adult males described above shows that the children did not come from the same homeland as the adults with whom they share a grave. The two adult males from the single burials at Normanton Down, and from Stonehenge itself, had static lifestyles and show no evidence of migration, in contrast to the Boscombe Bowmen. Their oxygen and strontium data are consistent with a childhood in the Stonehenge area.     

How Did Mississippians Prepare Maize? The Application of Compound‐Specific Carbon Isotope Analysis to Absorbed Pottery Residues From Several Mississippi Valley Sites

A newly developed compound‐specific stable carbon isotope technique allows the detection of maize in absorbed organic pottery residues. This method was applied to absorbed organic residues from a variety of Mississippi Valley potsherds, and successfully identified maize components. Maize was cooked in sampled vessels less often than expected, but otherwise fitted expected patterns of maize use derived from stable carbon isotope analysis of human bone from the region. Absorbed organic pottery residue analysis is useful in determining pottery use, particularly in concert with other analytical methods.     

CHARACTERIZING THE DIET OF INDIVIDUALS AT THE NEOLITHIC CHAMBERED TOMB OF HAZLETON NORTH,GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND,USING STABLE ISOTOPIC ANALYSIS*

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions were measured on human and faunal bones, sampled from the Neolithic chambered tomb of Hazleton North, Gloucestershire, UK. The values were used to characterize the diet of the burial community as a whole. Humans were higher in δ¹⁵N by 4.5–5.0‰ relative to animal δ¹⁵N, from which we conclude that, based on currently accepted interpretations of isotopic data, the humans consumed a diet that was very high in meat or animal products (75% by weight of protein). Comparison was also possible between cortical and cancellous femoral collagen, with the results showing no significant difference for the adult humans. The sample of human isotopic values showed little variability, in contrast to that found in the domestic and wild animals from the site (including cattle, pigs, sheep and deer). We suggest that this is due to local environmental differences, rather than to environmental change over time or physiological differences between individual animals, and that this pattern is likely to hold for many other archaeological sites when analysed with sufficient statistical weight.     

COINS,ARTEFACTS AND ISOTOPES—ARCHAEOMETALLURGY AND ARCHAEOMETRY*

Archaeometallurgy is one of the earliest manifestations of archaeometric research, using science‐based approaches to address cultural–historical questions. This review first outlines the extent of the field, defining in some detail the main branches of archaeometallurgy, and their specific methodological approaches. It then looks at some of the early publications pioneering archaeometallurgical research, to set the scene for the publication pattern of archaeometallurgy in general, and the role that Archaeometry played in publishing archaeometallurgical research. The analysis of archaeometallurgy‐themed publications in Archaeometry, their change over time and their relationship to the total range of work done in the field indicates that there is a rather narrowly defined and specific type of archaeometallurgy that gets published in Archaeometry, initially with a strong focus on coin and object analysis, often combined with method developments. The more recent developments in isotope‐based studies in archaeometallurgy find only a limited representation in the journal, despite the leading role that the Isotrace Laboratory played in this discipline, for some considerable length of time. More recently, this Archaeometry‐specific ‘flavour’ of archaeometallurgy seems to weaken, with an increase of papers on iron and on primary production in general, subjects still much under‐represented.     

TRACING THE RESOURCES OF IRON WORKING AT ANCIENT SAGALASSOS (SOUTH‐WEST TURKEY): A COMBINED LEAD AND STRONTIUM ISOTOPE STUDY ON IRON ARTEFACTS AND ORES*

Lead and strontium isotope analyses were performed by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) on Roman to Byzantine iron artefacts and iron ores from the territory of ancient Sagalassos (south‐west Turkey), to evaluate Pb and Sr isotopes for provenance determination of ores for local iron production. It can be demonstrated that for early Roman artefacts and hematite iron ore processed in early Roman times from Sagalassos proper, as well as for magnetite placer sands and early Byzantine raw iron from the territory of the city, Sr isotopes are much less ambiguous than Pb isotopes in providing clearly coherent signatures for ore and related iron objects. Late Roman iron objects were produced from iron ores that as yet remain unidentified. Early Byzantine iron artefacts display more scatter in both their Pb and Sr isotope signatures, indicating that many different ore sources may have been used. Our study demonstrates that iron objects can be precisely analysed for their Sr isotopic composition, which, compared to Pb isotopes, appears to be a much more powerful tool for distinguishing between chronological groups and determining the provenance of raw materials.     

MARBLE PROVENANCE INVESTIGATION OF ROMAN SARCOPHAGI FROM THESSALONIKI*

The provenance question of the marbles used for making the sarcophagi of local production of Thessaloniki in the Roman period had been posed by archaeologists in the past. The hypothesis was that the material came mainly from the quarries of Thassos Island. This paper presents the scientific analysis of 23 characteristic samples from selected sarcophagi at the Museum of Thessaloniki, using three different techniques: electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, stable isotope analysis and maximum grain size measurements, plus in-situ examination. New combinations of parameters were used in order to resolve fully the provenance of all samples. The results showed that the vast majority of the objects were indeed made in Thassian marble but from three different quarries, namely Vathy/Saliara (dolomitic marble), Aliki (calcitic marble) and Acropolis/Phanari (calcitic marble). The calcitic marbles from Aliki and to a lesser degree from Acropolis/Phanari are met in all the basic types of sarcophagi (framed type, plain type, garland sarcophagi). The use of the better quality and snow-white dolomitic marble from Vathy/Saliara quarries is relatively restricted and is often found in works that are above the average regarding the quality of their workmanship. In addition, two sarcophagi were made in Pentlelic marble and one in Proconnesian. The scientific analysis results provide a good confirmation of the archaeological estimates and, furthermore, the conclusions constitute henceforth a secure basis for the study of the entire sculptured works of Thessaloniki.