Black limestones used in antiquity: the petrographic,isotopic and EPR database for provenance determination

We compiled a database of some of the most important black limestone quarries used in Roman times to be able to determine the provenance of ancient artifacts. For this purpose, we adopted a multimethod approach using the techniques commonly applied to study the provenance of white marbles: petrographic observations, carbon and oxygen isotope composition, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra characteristics. Few black limestones were quarried and traded in ancient times; indeed, the importance of most of these quarries was restricted to the areas in which they were located. In this work, we selected a limited number of quarries that produced material believed to have been exported and used throughout the Mediterranean area; most of the quarries selected are found in northern Tunisia, i.e. the Roman proconsular Africa: Djebel Oust, Djebel Azeiz, Ain al Ksir and (presumably) Thala. The “Nero Chiota” limestone quarried on the Aegean island of Chios (Greece) was also included in the database.     

Underwater Investigation on a Marble Cargo Wreck at Capo Bianco near Isola di Capo Rizzuto,Crotone, Italy

The cargo of marble blocks off Capo Bianco was dated to the Roman period. New sampling and analysis has identified Carrara marble, and also Rosso di Francia and Portargento, which strongly suggests a post‐medieval date. This leads to the suggestion that nearby finds dating between the second half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th may come from the same ship, perhaps sailing from France and Liguria to deliver stone in southern Italy. This is rare evidence of the post‐medieval marble trade and demonstrates the importance of archaeometric analysis for the interpretation of wrecked cargos. © 2011 The Authors     

Characterization and damage assessment of stones used in the Pasargadae World Heritage Site,Achaemenian period

The architectural remains at Pasargadae were built of three different stones classified according to their colors (beige, dark-gray, and green-gray). The stones show different macroscopic features, such as texture and decay patterns. The aim of this study is to identify the composition of the stones and to evaluate the main decay factors through petrographic studies in order to make conservation decisions more compatible. Petrochemical analyses show that the stones are in fact limestones with different features; two of them have a compact texture (beige and dark-gray stones), while the third has a fairly porous structure (green-gray stone). In some beige stone samples, dolomite was identified. Despite the fact that the presence of salt is a possible decay factor, X-ray diffraction analysis did not report any salt. According to SEM observations, the main reasons for decay in dark-gray and green-gray stones are the dissolution of calcite crystals and the swelling of clay minerals. The main decay factor in the beige stone, by contrast, is dissolution induced by microorganism activity. However, a patina formed by lichens on the surface of the beige stone, although aesthetically detrimental, protects it against further decay.     

龙门石窟张夏组鲕粒灰岩特征及溶蚀试验研究

张夏组碳酸盐岩是龙门石窟主要造窟地层,水岩作用强烈。近年来酸雨进一步加剧了龙门石窟碳酸盐岩的溶蚀。为了对龙门石窟的保护提供相关资料,需进一步探讨鲕粒灰岩的抗风化能力。为此,对东山石窟区所在张夏组分层、取样,进行成分、微观结构分析,并通过室内酸雨溶蚀模拟实验来研究张夏组地层的溶蚀规律。研究表明,龙门石窟张夏组各地层溶蚀差异较大,其单位面积溶蚀质量与钙镁比正相关;鲕粒灰岩风化后表面粗糙度与鲕粒含量密切相关;研究区张夏组鲕粒成分主要为白云石,鲕粒灰岩的抗化学侵蚀能力比普通灰岩更强。通过对张夏组地层岩性的分析及其溶蚀规律的研究,为龙门石窟的保护提供了基础科学资料。     

Variety of Black and White Limestone Tesserae Used in Ancient Mosaics in Slovenia

This study concerns the microfacies characterization of white and black limestone tesserae from selected Roman floor mosaics in Slovenia, with the aim of defining their provenance. We investigated 42 tesserae from 15 different mosaics from the archaeological sites of Ljubljana, Izola, Mo?nje, Ptuj, ?rnomelj and ?entpavel, dated from the first century bc to the fifth century ad . Among the studied tesserae, 13 different microfacies were identified: eight black and five white. The most common were mudstones with ostracods (65% of black tesserae) and wacke‐packstones with miliolids (85% of white tesserae). The majority of the identified facies can be found in the Cretaceous successions of the Dinaric Carbonate Platform in south‐western Slovenia, north‐eastern Italy and south‐eastern Croatia, suggesting a regional or imported origin of the tesserae.     

Neolithic Adhesive from a T‐shaped Ornamental Element Excavated at Site 14 at Kowal,Kuyavia, Central Poland

We conducted an identification of a substance isolated from a T‐shaped ornamental element excavated from a Globular Amphora Culture tomb at the Kowal 14 archaeological site in Poland. ¹⁴C dating indicated 4105 ± 35 bp (POZ‐21912) and 3990 ± 50 bp (POZ‐21910). Analytical methods such as SEM–EDS, XRD and FT–IR were applied to study the origin of its structure. The results of instrumental analysis and the archaeological context indicate that the adhesive substance investigated consists mainly of calcium carbonate (calcite, 78–88%), silica dioxide (quartz), sodium aluminium silicate (albite) and potassium aluminium silicate (microcline). The material might be a man‐made, mineral adhesive, a kind of lime mortar. The object is considered as the oldest European finding of this type outside the Mediterranean Basin. It provides evidence for the use of the lime calcination process in Central Europe as early as in the Late Neolithic, for which there were—up to now—no convincing premises.     

An Altar from the Castle Chapel of Atlit and its Journey to the Church of all Hallows by the Tower,London

An altar currently positioned in the columbarium of the Church of All Hallows by the Tower, London, was thought to have originated from the Templar castle of Atlit. However, lack of relevant documentation resulted in this being regarded as a myth rather than a genuine piece of history. To add confusion, a Maltese Cross, associated with the Hospitaller Order of St John, was carved on the front of the altar's table top—the mensa.

Recently found documents reveal how this limestone altar was brought from the thirteenth-century Templar castle of Atlit and came into the possession of the church.     

Mud box—filled with stone: the wreck of the scow schooner Dan Hayes

Scow Schooners are an important yet largely unstudied vessel type that operated on the North American Great Lakes. At their zenith in the later 19th century scow schooners worked between the many small harbours and the larger nexus ports such as Chicago, Detroit, and Milwaukee. These vessels are virtually undocumented either historically or archaeologically. A project by East Carolina University's Maritime Studies Program and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin in 2001 documented the wrecked scow schooner Dan Hayes , revealing much information concerning this vessel class and the limestone industry in which it was employed. Although an ordinary scow schooner, its construction techniques are surprising, showing evidence of prefabrication. The bottom of the ship was apparently built inverted and flipped over before sides and bow were added, the first evidence that inverted construction could be accomplished with such large vessels.     

Pre-industrial headstones across the continental North Sea plain

This paper examines the spatial and temporal distribution of grave headstones in the relatively homogeneous North Sea plain and adjacent regions during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as the various lithological, cultural, religious and transportation factors influencing this distribution. Findings from close inspection of cemeteries across the study area were complemented with data from existing surveys. The larger part of the production of headstones was for local consumption. High densities of cruciform (Catholic) headstones in the Boulonnais and in most of the Ardennes–Rhenish massif are illustrated with the cases of the Berwinne and Vesdre headstone production workshops. Beyond concentrations along the Meuse and Rhine rivers, there is a large area stretching from northern France to north-west Germany in which no headstones can be found (with the notable exception of a few Jewish cemeteries). Beyond this area devoid of headstones, the Marsh Islands and adjacent continental areas again have high densities (more than 1 headstone per km²), occurring in two well-differentiated clusters. One cluster contains simple poles in Belgian Palaeozoic limestone in North-Holland and the West-Frisian islands, and the other cluster, on the German and Danish Marsh Islands, holds richly decorated tablets made in sandstone from the Weserbergland. The headstones on the Marsh Islands, a unifying cultural element in this UNESCO world heritage area, bear witness to the significance of a lucrative whaling activity and the intense trade that developed despite political, religious and linguistic differences across the region.