The Australian Historic Shipwreck Preservation Project: In situ Preservation and Long-Term Monitoring of the Clarence (1850) and James Matthews (1841) Shipwreck Sites

Increasingly, archaeologists are opting for on-site examination, reinterment, and in situ preservation of underwater cultural heritage sites as the first option in the management of sites at risk, as opposed to the more traditional excavation, recovery, conservation, and display/storage methods. This decision will inevitably be based on significance assessment, degree of perceived risk, and resourcing issues. However, long-term monitoring must become an integral part of these management programmes in order to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of the in situ preservation techniques employed. In 2012 the Australian Historic Shipwreck Preservation Project (AHSPP) was awarded a large Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant, enabling ten partner organizations and three Australian universities to collaborate in one of the largest multi-organizational maritime archaeology projects to be undertaken in Australia to date. One of the major aims of the project is to develop a protocol for the excavation, detailed recording and reburial of significant shipwrecks under threat, fostering a strategic national approach for the management of underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites at risk. Two historically significant shipwreck sites that are considered under threat were chosen for this longitudinal comparative study — the Clarence (1850) located in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria; and the James Matthews (1841) which lies in Cockburn Sound, Western Australia. Both sites have been preserved in situ using two very different but innovative remediation strategies. More importantly, long-term monitoring programmes have been implemented on both sites, which will characterize changes in the reburial environment and the effect on the reinterred materials. In this way, the efficacy of both in situ preservation techniques will be systematically tested, providing a comparative analysis of practical protocols for the long-term protection and management of underwater cultural heritage.     

The Sources of Support for Separatism: Public Opinion in Three Soviet Republics

Abstract. The replacement of the Soviet Union by independent states rather than by a loose confederation of component republics reflects (in part) the demands for change that were being expressed by mass publics. What caused the people to reject decentralisation of authority within the existing state structure and chose rather to support movements that insisted on the establishment of independent states? We examine whether concerns about ‘discriminatory redistribution’ and ‘cultural preservation’ were more important than questions of ‘efficiency’ or ‘relative deprivation’ as motivations behind support for secession. The analysis is based upon public opinion data from Russia, Ukraine and Lithuania gathered in May of 1990 and in June of 1991. We conclude that although issues related to cultural preservation and discriminatory redistribution were foremost in the minds of separatists, concerns about efficiency and improved management in government are also relevant for understanding support for separatism.     

SEQUENTIAL SALES OF SIMILAR ASSETS: THE LAW OF ONE PRICE AND REAL ESTATE

ABSTRACT The housing literature largely overlooks the price evolution of similar assets sold sequentially, even though such sales often occur with new residential developments. The law of one price implies no persistent price pattern for identical assets sold sequentially. Nonetheless, the auction and nonauction literatures reveal conditions leading to sales sequence effects on prices. This paper examines price evolution in the condominium market where similar units are sold sequentially in a setting with minimal consumption risk. The results indicate no pervasive sequence–price relationship for sequential sales of similar property units.     

Experiencing Texture and Transformation in the British Neolithic

The Neolithic period saw the introduction of new material culture into Britain, including monuments, pottery and polished stone axes. Over recent years, the uses and meanings of these objects and places have been considered in depth, with emphasis now firmly placed upon their social role and symbolic value. However, a growing interest in a multi–sensual archaeology has highlighted the paucity of information concerning the role of texture in the experience of Neolithic material culture. This paper will examine the evidence for the use of texture in the archaeological record. I will suggest that texture may have been a fundamental part of the experience of objects and monuments, and may have imparted meanings and messages to those who came into contact with them. In particular, the transformation of differing textures may have been a crucial metaphor in the Neolithic.