X-RAY FLUORESCENCE ANALYSIS WITH SYNCHROTRON RADIATION ON THE INKS AND PAPERS OF INCUNABULA

Non-destructive X-ray fluorescence analyses induced by white synchrotron radiation (SYXRF) have been performed on a page of the Gutenberg Bible and 21 other different single leaves printed in the years 1470 to 1500. Absolute elemental areal densities for the papers and the inks are reported. The known high Cu and Pb content in Gutenberg's ink is confirmed. The elemental compositions of the other inks, if measurable by XRF at all, are in general very low, governed only by a few additional elements and found to be not distinctive for a known printer. This will render an identification of the printer or printing offices by ink composition analysis in the period after 1470 difficult.     

Aspects of the Production of Cobalt‐blue Glass in Egypt

Cobalt‐blue glass of the Near and Middle Eastern Late Bronze Age has long been recognized as compositionally distinct from other contemporary glasses (Sayre 1967; Lilyquist et al. 1993). It has been suggested recently by Shortland and Tite (2000) that this chemical distinction reflects the use of Egyptian raw materials for making these glasses, different from those used to make glass in Mesopotamia, or its manufacture by Mesopotamian workmen, possibly in Egypt. This assumed that cobalt‐bearing alum from the Western Oases and mineral natron from the Wadi Natrun were used for the cobalt‐blue glass, while the other, probably Mesopotamian, glasses were made using plant ash as the main alkali source. This note discusses some technical aspects of the possible ways in which the cobalt could have been added to the glass, and how this relates to the likely raw glass used in its making. Combining earlier suggestions by Noll (1981) and Brill in Lilyquist et al. (1993), an alternative explanation of the chemical characteristics is suggested, maintaining that all the glasses under discussion were made using plant ash. Differences in alkali concentrations probably reflect different soil and plant chemistries, and the colorant was probably added to the glass after being precipitated from the alum as a complex cobalt aluminium hydroxide.     

The relevance of vein texture in understanding the past hydraulic behaviour of a crystalline rock mass: reconstruction of the palaeohydrology of the Mecsekalja Zone,south Hungary

This study reconstructs the palaeohydrogeologic evolution of the shallow‐to‐moderate Mesozoic subsidence history for the Mecsekalja Zone (MZ), a narrow metamorphic belt in the eastern Mecsek Mountains, Hungary. Brittle deformation of the MZ produced a vein system with a cement history consisting of five sequential carbonate generations and one quartz phase. Vein textures suggest different fluid‐flow mechanisms for the parent fluids of subsequent cement generations. Combined microthermometric and stable‐isotope measurements permit reconstruction of the character of subsequent fluid generations with different flow types, as defined by vein textures, yielding new information regarding the hydraulic behaviour of a metamorphic crystalline complex. Textural observations and geochemical data suggest that fracture‐controlled flow pathways and externally derived fluids were typical of some flow events, while percolation through the rock matrix and the relationship to the Cretaceous volcanism and dyke emplacement were typical of others. The difference in the mode of calcite deposition from pervasive fluids (i.e. pervasive carbonatisation along grain boundaries versus deposition in antitaxial veins) between two calcite generations related to the volcanism inspired a stress‐dependent model of antitaxial vein growth. Textural and isotope variations in a vein generation produced by the same parent fluid indicate rock‐dependent hydraulic behaviour for different rock types, distinct action of the contemporaneous fracture systems and different extents of fluid–rock interaction. Cathodoluminescence microscopy and fluid‐inclusion microthermometry shed light on the possible role of hydraulic fracturing in the formation of massive calcite. The time of formation was estimated from the isotope composition of the oldest calcite generation and its presumptive relationship with the sedimentary sequences to the north, whereas microthermometry permitted conciliation of the reconstructed flow sequence with the Mesozoic subsidence history of the Mórágy Block (including the MZ).     

DIRECT EVIDENCE OF PRIMARY GLASS PRODUCTION IN LATE BRONZE AGE AMARNA,EGYPT

This paper presents direct archaeological evidence for the primary production of glass at the LBA site of Tell el‐Amarna, in the form of numerous finds of semi‐finished glass. The diagnostic microstructural and chemical composition of these finds is presented alongside macroscopically similar finds, of shapeless lumps of finished white glass. The semi‐finished glass was found to contain numerous inclusions of residual quartz and newly formed lime‐rich crystal phases, but no added colorant. However, several samples of semi‐finished glass have antimony oxide levels comparable to those of finished white glass, suggesting that the opacifier was added to the initial glass‐making batch. The results are discussed in comparison with the evidence for glass‐making from Qantir – Pi‐Ramesse, identifying some close technical similarities, which indicate that the same technological processes were used at both sites for the production of glass.     

La mobilité quotidienne de banlieusards vieillissants et âgés: Déplacements, aspirations et significations de la mobilité

Les premières banlieues pavillonnaires nord-américaines sont problématiques pour le vieillissement à domicile. Malgré la dépendance à l'automobile, les banlieusards âgés aspirent à y vieillir. Plutôt que de déménager, ils adaptent leur quotidien et leurs déplacements. L'accès à la mobilité est un enjeu majeur au maintien d'une expérience résidentielle positive, notamment pour les individus en perte d'autonomie. Or, parce qu'elle est étudiée avec le concept de déplacement, la mobilité des aînés demeure mal comprise en tant qu'expérience individuelle et collective. C'est dans cette optique que les pratiques et les significations de la mobilité quotidienne de 87 banlieusards âgés de 55 à 82 ans de l'agglomération de Québec au Canada sont ici étudiées. En croisant des méthodes quantitative et qualitative ainsi que des techniques d'analyses spatiales, l'article développe une typologie de mobilité pour explorer les stratégies d'adaptation des aînés à leur environnement socio-spatial. Les résultats montrent que, sans véritablement entrer dans un processus de décision, les banlieusards choisissent implicitement de vieillir en banlieue en adaptant de manière continue leurs modes de vie. La conservation de l'indépendance et l'attachement au «mode de vie banlieusard>> sont à la source des aspirations résidentielles. Cette mobilité quotidienne en transformation risque aussi d'influencer les trajectoires résidentielles, alimentant les réflexions sur la requalification de ces milieux vieillissants.     

Hydrothermal palaeofluid circulation in the fracture network of the Baksa Gneiss Complex of SW Pannonian Basin,Hungary

A well‐developed fracture‐filling network is filled by dominantly Ca‐Al‐silicate minerals that can be found in the polymetamorphic rock body of the Baksa Gneiss Complex (SW Hungary). Detailed investigation of this vein network revealed a characteristic diopside→epidote→sphalerite→albite ± kfeldspar→chlorite1 ± prehnite ± adularia→chlorite2→chlorite3→pyrite→calcite1→calcite2→calcite3 fracture‐filling mineral succession. Thermobarometric calculations (two feldspar: 230–336°C; chlorites: approximately 130–300°C) indicate low‐temperature vein formation conditions. The relative succession of chlorites in the mineral sequence combined with the calculated formation temperatures reveals a cooling trend during precipitation of the different chlorite phases (T_chlorite1: 260 ± 32°C →T_chlorite2: 222 ± 20°C →T_chlorite3: 154 ± 13°C). This cooling trend can be supported by the microthermometry data of primary fluid inclusions in diopside (T_h: 276–362°C) and epidote (T_h: 181–359°C) phases. The identical chemical character (0.2–1.5 eq. wt% NaCl) of these inclusions mean that vein mineralization occurred in a same fluid environment. The high trace element content (e.g. As, Cu, Zn, Mn) and Co/Ni ratio approximately 1–5 of pyrite grains support the postmagmatic hydrothermal origin of the veins. The vein microstructure and identical fluid composition indicate that vein mineralization occurred in an interconnected fracture system where crystals grew in fluid filled cracks. Vein system formed at approximately <200 MPa pressure conditions during cooling from approximately 480°C to around 150°C. The rather different fluid characteristics (T_h: 75–124°C; 17.5–22.6 eq. wt% CaCl₂) of primary inclusions of calcite1 combining with the special δ¹⁸O signature of fluid from which this mineral phase precipitated refer to hydrological connection between the crystalline basement and the sedimentary cover.     

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.