Production Technology for Copper‐ and Cobalt‐Blue Vitreous Materials from the New Kingdom Site of Amarna—A Reappraisal*

Previously published data on the chemical compositions and microstructures of copper‐ and cobalt‐blue frit, glass and faience from the New Kingdom site of Amarna in Egypt ( Shortland 2000 ) are summarized. The data are then used to infer the raw materials and processes employed in the production of these vitreous materials. The results suggest that crushed quartz pebbles were the source of the quartz for all the materials, but that different sources of alkali, both natron and a range of plant ashes, were used in the production of each material. It seems probable that the cobalt‐rich alum colorant was pre‐treated before use by precipitating cobalt hydroxide from a solution of the alum by the addition of natron. It is further hypothesized that cobalt‐blue glass was produced by melting the cobalt‐blue frit together with additional plant ash and possibly quartz. Finally, it is suggested that, in glazing the cobalt‐blue Variant D faience first produced in the 18th Dynasty, the efflorescence or application method was selected according to object type.     

Remembering and Forgetting Sites of Terrorism in New York, 1900–2001

Abstract

This article assesses the manner in which terrorist attacks have been remembered and forgotten within New York during the twentieth century. As a 'global city', New York has frequently been the focus of individuals and groups seeking to promote their cause by attacking targets in the city, its businesses, its infrastructure, its organizations, and its citizens. By examining how these events were reported and subsequently incorporated or dismissed within both the urban fabric and the city's 'collective memory', this article addresses how violent terrorism is engaged with by society. Building upon the advances made within the study of modern conflict archaeology, this article examines the possibility of an archaeology of terrorism.     

Raman Spectroscopic Analysis of Ancient Egyptian Pigments

The application of FT‐Raman spectroscopy and visible Raman microscopy to the non‐destructive analysis of pigment specimens excavated from Tell el Amarna by Flinders Petrie in the 1890s has provided information about the chemical composition of the materials used by XVIIIth Dynasty artists in the New Kingdom at the time of King Akhenaten, c. 1340 bc. Comparison of the Raman spectra of the samples labelled ‘red and yellow ochre’ with documented, archival material from geological collections provided a clear indication of the materials used in the iron(III) oxide/hydroxide system, including α‐hematite, goethite, maghemite, magnetite and lepidocrocite. The yellow–orange specimen labelled ‘realgar’ proved to be a mixture of realgar and pararealgar; since the specimen had been sheltered from light since its excavation, this could indicate that the ancient Egyptian artists recognized the colour variation and may have used this to effect in their decorations. A specimen of yellow ochre contained goethite, α‐FeO.OH, with particles of crystalline, highly ordered graphite; in contrast, the red ochre specimens contained amorphous carbon particles.     

THE DISCOVERY OF AN ANGLO‐SAXON GRUBENHAUS AT NEW BEWICK,NORTHERN UK USING ELECTRICAL SURVEYING AND PREDICTIVE DECONVOLUTION

Twin‐probe and 33‐fold multiplexed Wenner electrical resistivity surveys were carried out at New Bewick, northern UK to examine the extent of crop marks and potential Grubenhäuser (sunken‐featured buildings, sunken‐floored buildings or SFBs). The twin‐probe method was faster, but provided data with a lower spatial resolution. However, the Wenner array data was affected by characteristic ‘M’‐ or ‘W’‐shaped responses over filled excavations such as those expected to represent a Grubenhaus. The raw Wenner array data have been analysed using one‐dimensional and two‐dimensional predictive deconvolution in order to remove these artefacts. The deconvolution was carried out using an inverse matrix element method. The filtered results indicate the presence of anomalies consistent with the presence of at least six Grubenhäuser and other anomalies concurrent with the linear crop‐marks. One particular anomaly measured about 5 m by 4 m and with a pit depth of 0.6 m below 0.3 m of topsoil. This anomaly was subsequently excavated and a Grubenhaus was discovered at the site. The excavated Grubenhaus measured 4.7 m by 3.9 m with a pit depth of 0.5 m below the base of the topsoil, confirming the electrical survey results.     

RAW MATERIALS OF GLASS FROM AMARNA AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ORIGINS OF EGYPTIAN GLASS*

Analysis has been conducted on 19 blue glasses from Amarna in Middle Egypt dated to around 1350 BC. The results suggest that these glasses fall into two distinct types: cobalt coloured glasses with a natron based alkali made from local Egyptian materials, and copper coloured glasses with a plant ash alkali, which follow a Mesopotamian tradition of glass making. It is suggested that at least some of this copper/plant ash glass is imported into Egypt during the Amarna period despite extensive local production of cobalt/natron glass. Existing analyses (Lilyquist and Brill 1995) of the earliest glass from the reign of Tuthmosis III (c. 1450 BC) suggest that during this period the same two types of glass are present. Local Egyptian cobalt and natron in these early glasses implies that, despite the lack of archaeological evidence for production sites, glass was produced from its raw materials in Egypt as early as the reign of Tuthmosis III.     

David's 'Hatred' for the Lame and the Blind (2 Sam. 5.8A)

Abstract

Scholars have often dismissed the rendering of veyigga' batsinnor (2 Sam. 5.8) as 'get up the water shaft' or 'get up the water canal' on the grounds that it has no natural connection with David's expressed 'hatred' for 'the lame and the blind'. This article argues that such a dismissal is perhaps hasty, and that David's reference to the physically afflicted alludes to the custom of their gathering at pools and springs (which were widely held to possess healing powers).     

The Absence of the Establishing Shot in Slovak Films of the 1960s

Abstract

This article asks why several Czech and Slovak directors of the 1960s employed what might be referred to as a non-establishing-shot technique. To state that the employment of this technique was a reaction to Socialist Realism and to a Socialist society leaves unanswered the question of ‘how’ this reaction against the collectivization of the characters and the stories carried out under the aesthetics of Socialist Realism was expressed. More significantly, it was a reaction against the forced collectivization of society under the Communist regime. The absence of the establishing shot was a means of returning individuality, uniqueness and differences to characters. It was a way of stating that a society is formed by the sum of its parts, that is, its individual members. This article deals mainly with the Slovak side of the New Wave, hitherto neglected by western scholars. It asks why and how five directors (Stefan Uher, Peter Solan, Juraj Jakubisko, Du?an Hanák and Alain Robbe-Grillet) made use of the non-establishing-shot technique; how they developed the technique; and in what ways they used it in a different manner to their Czech counterparts.     

IDENTIFICATION OF POST‐DEPOSITIONAL CHEMICAL ALTERATION OF CERAMICS FROM THE NORTH COAST OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA (SANDUAN PROVINCE) BY TIME‐OF‐FLIGHT–LASER ABLATION–INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA–MASS SPECTROMETRY (TOF–LA–ICP–MS)*

The measured chemical composition of archaeological ceramics can result from a variety of geological, cultural and taphonomic factors. In the present study, we evaluate the likelihood that elevated barium concentrations in ceramics from the archaeological site of Wom/Aiser, located on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea, result from post‐depositional enrichment. Using time‐of‐flight–laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry, we mapped chemical compositional profiles across cut sections of ceramic sherds from four archaeological sites, all previously chemically characterized. We identify the formation of pronounced concentration gradients in samples from Wom/Aiser relative to sherds with low barium concentrations, consistent with post‐burial uptake.     

BLACK AND RED GRANITES IN THE EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITY MUSEUM OF TURIN: A MINERO‐PETROGRAPHIC AND PROVENANCE STUDY

A recent project to investigate the stone artefacts preserved in the Egyptian Antiquity Museum of Turin has been undertaken, with the aim of supplying their systematic classification and suggesting the provenance site of the original raw materials. This paper focuses on seven sculptures dating back to the New Kingdom (18th–19th Dynasties): the statue of Ramses II, three of the 21 sculptures of the goddess Sekhmet, the statue of the goddess Hathor, the Ram‐headed Sphinx and the sarcophagus lid of Nefertari. Petrographic observations have shown that all the sculptures are made of granitoid rocks, with variable composition from granite to granodiorite and tonalite. The observation of strong macroscopic analogies with the so‐called black and red granites outcropping in the Aswan area has suggested a common origin of all the raw materials used for their manufacture. In order to verify this provenance hypothesis, several samples were collected in the Aswan quarry districts. According to results of a minero‐petrographic and geochemical comparison between the statues and the Aswan quarry samples, it was possible to identify the source area of the stone sculptures and finally to highlight the importance of an archaeometric approach to the solution of archaeological problems.     

Geochemical Characterization of Lapita Pottery Via Inductively Coupled Plasma–mass Spectrometry (ICP–MS)

We have obtained high‐resolution elemental data on Lapita ceramics (3200–2700 cal year bp ) from Fiji, Tonga and New Ireland using chemistry‐based inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP–MS). These data show clear elemental distinctions between Lapita pottery manufactured in Fiji, Tonga and New Ireland, and demonstrate significant elemental variation in Fijian ceramics collected from settlements in close proximity to one another. Therefore, we anticipate that ICP–MS will become an effective technique for tracking the transfer of Lapita pottery within and between different island groups in Oceania.