The Armada Tapestries in the Old Palace of Westminster

The tapestry series of the ‘Defeat of the Spanish Armada’ was a national artistic treasure which hung in the old Palace of Westminster from the mid 17th century until the fire of 1834. This article outlines the creation of the tapestries in the 1590s and covers the major treatments of them in illustrations of parliamentary interiors and in John Pine's 1739 engravings; it ends with a short account of the curious episode of the tapestry which escaped the conflagration. In the absence of any known historical record of how the tapestries were displayed, suggestions are offered about how many and in what order they hung in the two chambers occupied successively by the house of lords (before and after 1801), and about how they were physically supported on the walls of the Parliament Chamber.     

Fabric fragments from Pine Island,Alabama: indicator of an evolving male costume item

European and indigenous artifacts from a grave near a mound on Pine Island in the Tennessee River near Guntersville, Alabama, donated to the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in 1915, included a group of fabric fragments. The fragments, which incorporate interlaced bison-hair yarns, most likely represent portions of a sash, an accessory with a long history in Mississippian iconography but with few extant archaeological examples. This paper addresses fabric attributes, comparable archaeological and historical fabrics, and the social significance of this costume item.     

The study of pitch via gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy: the case of the Roman amphoras from Monte Poro,Calabria (Italy)

The analysis of the composition of organic residues present in ancient pottery are an important source of information for archaeologists. The chemical characterisation of these materials gives information on diets, habits, technologies and original use of the vessels.     

New potential nearest living relatives for Araucariaceae producing fossil Wollemi Pine-type pollen (Dilwynites granulatus W.K. Harris, 1965)

Two Agathis species that are endemic to New Caledonia, A. moorei and A. ovata, produce coarsely granulate inaperturate pollen that resembles pollen of the Wollemi Pine (Wollemi nobilis). For this reason, these Agathis species are potential nearest living relatives of the fossil species Dilwynites granulatus, whose stratigraphic distribution has been used to establish a fossil record for Wollemia.     

An Etruscan ointment from Chiusi (Tuscany,Italy): its chemical characterization

This paper focuses on the chemical characterization of the original contents of an Egyptian origin alabaster unguentarium, found in an Etruscan burial in Chiusi (Tuscany, Italy) and dated 150/125–100 B.C. The unguentarium, found in an intact tomb belonging to a noble woman of Chiusine society, preserved a good part of its original contents owing to a protective layer of clay. The chemical characterization was carried out using a combination of two analytical procedures based, respectively, on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS).     

塔尔寺及其藏艺“三绝”

青海塔尔寺建筑宏伟,气势磅礴,蕴含着博大精深的藏文化。它完好地保存着许多稀世国宝,还有为世人瞩目的“三绝”:壁画(唐卡)、堆绣、酥油花。     

Geoarchaeological investigations at the Topper and Big Pine Tree sites,Allendale County,South Carolina

The Topper and Big Pine Tree sites are located along the central Savannah River in South Carolina. Both sites contain significant Clovis horizons and the Topper site is reported to contain a pre-Clovis assemblage characterized by a smashed core and microlithic industry. The stratigraphic position of the early assemblage at Topper is indeed below Clovis and radiocarbon and luminescence ages support its pre-Clovis age. However, the human origin of the proposed artifacts has not been conclusively proven. The late Quaternary stratigraphic sequence developed for this segment of the Savannah River provides support for a regional pattern of river metamorphosis over the last 50,000 years in southeastern U.S. streams.     

The Armada Paintings in the New Palace of Westminster

In June 2008 a team of artists began the gargantuan task of creating the series of Armada mural paintings for the house of lords. They were embarking on a two-year project, which would bring to completion the original decorative scheme planned for the prince's chamber by the Royal Commission on Fine Arts ¹ during the 1840s. This, in turn, would reconnect the original historical association, which the Armada tapestries had held with the house of lords since the mid 17th century until their destruction by fire in 1834. This article places these Armada mural paintings within the historical context of this project at the Palace of Westminster and documents some of the methodology behind the programme of work to re-create this celebrated series for the walls of the house of lords.     

Morphological,chemical and physical changes during charcoalification of wood and its relevance to archaeological contexts

Wood exposed to a heat source can be transformed into charcoal if subject to conditions of carbonisation (in the absence of air) or charring (in restricted air). Charcoal recovered from archaeological sites can yield fundamental information to our understanding of human economic and cultural development over time and (ecological) setting. This work describes the morphological (anatomy, degree of shrinkage), physical (reflectance) and chemical (elemental, molecular composition) properties of charcoal in relation to heat source and wood variables. In this study charcoal and charcoal fuel were experimentally produced whereby temperature (160–1200 °C), time of exposure (2–1440 min), heating rate (high and low) and wood type (angiosperm and conifer) were varied. The results show that charcoal, often described as an inert, black material, has different chemical and physical properties in relation to the investigated variables. By using these different properties it is possible to distinguish between the different types of fires (domestic and industrial) exploited by humans in the past. Morphological analyses and reflectance measurements are effective tools for this purpose and can be used in wood exposed to temperatures of 300 °C and above—temperatures which are relevant to archaeological research. Angiosperm and conifer wood react in different ways when exposed to heat and thus the taxonomic identity of archaeological material needs to be known. Chemical analyses can be used for wood exposed to temperatures below 400 °C whereas elemental analyses of the carbon content can be used for wood exposed to temperatures up to a maximum of 650 °C.     

Fluid inclusion constraints on the origin of the brines responsible for Pb–Zn mineralization at Pine Point and coarse non‐saddle and saddle dolomite formation in southern Northwest Territories

The Pine Point region is a classic metallogenic mining camp that produced over 58 million short tons of Zn–Pb ore from approximately 40 base‐metal mineralized deposits hosted by Middle Devonian carbonates. The ore deposits are localized in paleokarstic features found in the epigenetic ‘Presqu'ile’ dolomite that preferentially replaced some of the upper barrier limestones. The main ore‐stage sulfides include galena, sphalerite, marcasite, and pyrite. A bulk fluid inclusion chemistry study was carried out on sulfide, coarse non‐saddle and saddle dolomite and calcite samples from the Pine Point and Great Slave Reef deposits, and unmineralized coarse non‐saddle and saddle dolomite samples from Hay West, Windy Point and Qito areas. Molar Cl/Br ratio data from Pine Point indicate the presence of four fluids at different stages of the paragenesis. The fluids trapped in sulfides and ore‐stage dolomites predominately consist of a Br‐rich fluid with a composition similar to that of evaporated seawater (fluid A), and a very Br‐enriched fluid of unknown origin (fluid B). Both these fluids are CaCl₂–NaCl (Na to Ca ratios of 1:10)‐rich brines and have compositions unlike the modern formation waters in the Devonian aquifers in the basin today. A third, relatively Cl‐rich (or Br‐poor), fluid (fluid C) was identified in two samples and may have acquired some chlorinity by dissolving halide minerals. Mixing between the Br‐rich fluid A and a dilute fluid also occurred in the later stages of the paragenesis, resulting in the formation of calcite and native sulfur. Saddle and coarse dolomites not associated with significant sulfide mineralization have a narrow range of halogen compositions similar to fluid A. There is no evidence of fluid B or C in the unmineralized samples. Relative to a modern‐day seawater compositions all the fluids have had some modification of their cation compositions. There is some weak evidence for interactions with clastic units or crystalline basement rocks. It is also possible however, that the evaporative brines could have formed from a relatively CaCl₂‐rich, NaCl‐depleted Devonian seawater, unlike the composition of modern‐day seawater.