‘This War has Produced a Woman Who Can Keep a Secret!’1: The Mulberry Harbour Exhibitions,the Young Woman and the Contested Meanings of a British Wartime Invention

In 1944, the British government was looking for ways to convince the public at home and abroad that the nation’s status as a world power was undiminished. To this end, the Ministry of Information developed a propaganda campaign for revealing the portable Mulberry Harbour that had been designed and built in Britain, and used in that June's invasion of Normandy. The official narrative was overshadowed, however, by public incredulity about a young woman’s work on the project, while a touring exhibition demonstrated that the British story had little resonance overseas.     

One Colour, (at Least) Two Minerals: A Study of Mulberry Rock Art Pigment and a Mulberry Pigment ‘Quarry’ from the Kimberley,Northern Australia

Distinctive mulberry paintings found in northern Australia, particularly those of the Kimberley region, have been argued to represent some of the oldest surviving rock art on the continent. Significant research efforts continue to focus on resolving the age of these motifs, but comparatively little attention has been given to understanding their physical composition and potential source(s). In a pilot investigation, we conclude that (at least) two mineralogically distinct mulberry pigments occur in Gwion motifs and demonstrate that their major components can be indicatively chemically differentiated, non‐invasively. Characterization of a ‘quarried’ mulberry ochre source demonstrates that these pigments occur locally as natural minerals.     

明代丝织物保存状态的分析研究

考古出土丝绸保存状态的研究对丝绸的科学保护具有重要的指导意义。本工作选取丝纤维中最主要的桑蚕丝及柞蚕丝作参照,以考古出土的明代丝绸为研究对象,通过荧光电子显微镜观察丝绸的纤维结构形貌、傅立叶变换红外光谱仪分析化学结构,结合X-射线衍射仪分析结晶度,用薄层色谱分析丝绸中氨基酸的组成,并进一步用紫外-可见光分光光度法分析丝绸中酪氨酸含量等方法,对一件出土的明代丝绸织物的保存状态进行了科学分析研究。分析结果表明,明代丝绸为桑蚕丝,纤维丝松散且断裂较多,结晶度下降,多数氨基酸含量明显降低,只检测到甘氨酸、丙氨酸、丝氨酸、酪氨酸与谷氨酸。酪氨酸含量为13.78%,比参照桑蚕丝含量低。