Avian egg-shell from archaeological sites

Avian egg-shell occurs fairly commonly on archaeological sites, particularly in alkaline deposits. It is rarely studied in detail. Egg-shell structure is described briefly below and features which may be of value for identification purposes are discussed. Egg-shells from 14 archaeological sites are tentatively identified as goose, domestic fowl, duck and guinea fowl. It seems likely that confident identification should ultimately be possible using a combination of features. This should yield information complementary to osteological evidence for the history of the utilization of birds and their eggs.     

X-ray fluorescence analysis of late Roman and Sassanian silver plate

About 200 analyses have been made on late Roman and Sassanian silver objects using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence. This has shown that the main feature of the composition of the silver throughout the period and across the geographical area studied was towards high fineness (average silver percentage about 95%). Compositional differences are found between Roman and Sassanian silversmiths' products for the elements copper and lead. Much of the material analysed came from hoards, and using a statistical technique on the analytical data (Discriminant Analysis) broad compositional differences between hoards were found to emerge. The use of different compositions of silver for different joined parts of a single object are discussed.     

The Archaeometry and Archaeology of Ancient Chinese Glass: a Review

This paper provides a new review of archaeometric research carried out on glass found in China, set in an archaeological context, from its earliest occurrence to the Song dynasty. It is set within a broad geographical context taking the terrestrial and maritime Silk Road contacts into account. We discuss chemical and isotopic compositional contrasts in glasses from different periods found in different parts of China, the glasses that were almost certainly made in China and those that were imported. A theme that runs through the paper is the problem of provenancing glass found in China, along with a lack of evidence for primary glass‐making sites and minimal evidence for secondary glass production. We discuss the glass artefacts that are of typical Chinese types and contrast these with imports; the structure reflects this contrast. We discuss potential new scientific and archaeological approaches to Chinese glass.     

Living on the Edge? Transformation of a Marginal Pleistocene Landscape Into a Settlement Area in the Northeastern Part of the Netherlands

ABSTRACT

This paper will examine settlement location during the Iron Age in the northeast part of the Netherlands, an area shaped by Pleistocene geology. In recent years, a number of Late Iron Age/Early Roman settlements situated on the low lying slopes of sand ridges and nearby stream ridges revealed traces of an earlier Iron Age occupation. Palynological data revealed that this part of the landscape was used by humans before it was transformed into an area of settlement. An analysis of excavation data from two key sites at Denekamp-De Borchert and Groningen-Helpermaar, as well as other known sites, lead to the conclusion that the transformation of ‘peripheral landscapes’ into permanent settlement locations was preceded by a phase of arable cultivation which left no trace of permanent habitation. It is also suggested that the impact of human behaviour on the natural landscape in the Early and Middle Iron Age was much bigger than previously anticipated. When excavating this type of settlement areas dating to the Late Iron Age, archaeologists must be aware that only of a small group of archaeological features exist. The proposed model for the choice of settlement location may be more widespread, because of similarities in landscape between the study area presented here and other landscapes in Northwest-Europe (e.g. parts of Germany and Denmark).     

Hydraulic and hydrochemical properties of deep sedimentary reservoirs of the Upper Rhine Graben,Europe

Hydraulic and hydrochemical data from several hundred wells mostly drilled by the oil and gas industry within the four deep carbonate and siliciclastic reservoirs of the Upper Rhine Graben area in France and Germany have been compiled, examined, validated and analysed with the aim to characterize fluids and reservoir properties. Due to enhanced temperatures in the subsurface of the Upper Rhine Graben, this study on hydraulic and hydrochemical properties has been motivated by an increasing interest in deep hydrogeothermal energy projects in the Rhine rift valley. The four examined geothermal reservoir formations are characterized by high hydraulic conductivity reflecting the active tectonic setting of the rift valley and its fractured and karstified reservoirs. The hydraulic conductivity decreases only marginally with depth in each of the reservoirs, because the Upper Rhine Graben is a young tectonically active structure. The generally high hydraulic conductivity of the reservoir rocks permits cross‐formation advective flow of thermal water. Water composition data reflect the origin and hydrochemical evolution of deep water. Shallow water to 500 m depth is, in general, weakly mineralized. The chemical signature of the water is controlled by fluid–rock geochemical interactions. With increasing depth, the total of dissolved solids (TDS) increases. In all reservoirs, the fluids evolve to a NaCl‐dominated brine. The high salinity of the reservoirs is partly derived from dissolution of halite in evaporitic Triassic and Cenozoic formations, and partly from the fluids residing in the crystalline basement. Water of all four reservoirs is saturated with respect to calcite and other minerals including quartz and barite.     

明初大运河南旺分水枢纽水工技术考

明朝初年,国脉皆仰东南,为解决南方粮财物的北运问题,宋礼和白英受命组织修建了大运河山东段南旺分水枢纽。该枢纽主要包括引汶济运、导泉补源、设立水柜和置闸节流四个组成部分。其中,引汶济运是工程之重点,包括戴村坝、小汶河、南旺分水以及配套工程等四个子系统。这些水利设施组成一个和谐的系统工程,保证了该段运河的水量稳定充足,从而实现了大运河500余年的正常通行。南旺分水枢纽代表了我国古代运河水工的最高科学技术成就,堪称世界水利史上的一大经典范例。     

Petrochemical Identification and Insights on Chronological Employment of the Volcanic Aggregates Used in Ancient Roman Mortars

Through the assistance of trace element and petrographic analyses on 14 samples of mortar aggregates from Roman monuments, including the Porticus Aemilia, the Temple of Concordia, the Temple of the Dioscuri, Temple B and other structures of the Area Sacra di Largo Argentina, and the Villa di Livia, we establish the source area and we investigate the chronological employment of the volcanic materials used in ancient Rome's masonry. In contrast to previous inferences, the petrochemical data presented here show that systematic exploitation of the local ‘Pozzolane Rosse’ pyroclastic deposit has occurred since the early development of concrete masonry, at the beginning of the second century bc , through the early Imperial age. Subsequently, exploitation was extended to the overlying Pozzolane Nere and Pozzolanelle deposits. Only during the early phase of development of the concrete masonry in Rome, volcaniclastic sediments outcropping near the construction sites were mixed with the sieved remains of the tuff employed as the coarse aggregate, to produce the fine aggregate. The results of the study on the investigated monuments suggest the possibility of establishing the chronological identification of three different types of mortars, as a function of the composition of the volcanic material employed in the fine aggregate, which, when implemented by future studies, may contribute to the dating of monuments and archaeological structures.     

A Great Big Melting Pot: Exploring Patterns of Glass Supply,Consumption and Recycling in Roman Coppergate,York*

One hundred and ninety three glass fragments from the canabae in York were analysed (first to fourth centuries). They fall into six compositional groups: antimony colourless (Sb), high‐manganese (high‐Mn), low‐manganese (low‐Mn), mixed antimony and manganese (Sb–Mn), high iron, manganese and titanium (HIMT) and plant ash. Some groups represent production groups, some of which appear to be in limited supply in this western outpost, but are more prevalent elsewhere, and others reflect changing supply mechanisms. The majority of glasses fall into groups that demonstrate extensive recycling of glass. This has important implications for determining provenance using trace elements and isotopes.     

Testing settlement models in the early Roman colonial landscapes of Venusia (291 B.C.), Cosa (273 B.C.) and Aesernia (263 B.C.)

This paper examines settlement density and settlement patterns in the Roman colonial territories of Venusia, Cosa and Aesernia, located in three different landscapes of central southern Italy (modern Basilicata, Tuscany and Molise). Using a series of GIS tools, we conducted a comparative analysis of the density and spatial distribution of sites dating to the Hellenistic period (ca. 350–50 b.c.). We used the legacy settlement data collected by previous large-scale, intensive, site-oriented field surveys to test the validity of two competing rural settlement models of early Roman colonization: the conventional model of neatly organized settlements regularly dispersed across the landscape and the recently proposed theory that colonists adopted a polynuclear settlement strategy. After calculating the extent to which the archaeological datasets conform to the regular or polynuclear model, we conclude that only a very small portion of the colonized areas actually meets traditional expectations regarding the organization of early colonial settlements. Our analyses show that the legacy survey data is more consistent with the polynuclear settlement theory, but the data also reveals some completely unexpected patterns, suggesting that early Roman colonial landscapes were more diverse than previously thought.