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.     

翁牛特旗大营子冶炼遗址研究

大营子冶炼遗址位于赤峰市翁牛特旗五分地镇大营子村南侧的大山的北坡上,包含东西两区冶炼遗存。东区冶炼遗存年代较早,至迟在公元前1 400年已开始冶炼活动。铅同位素、微量元素示踪研究显示大营子冶炼遗址东西两区均使用了来自林西县大井古铜矿的多金属共生矿石,直接冶炼铜砷锡三元青铜合金。大营子冶炼遗址东区冶炼遗存的年代测定,获得了迄今为止最早的夏家店上层文化年代测定结果,为探讨辽西地区青铜时代考古学文化的演变提供了新的科学证据。     

历代龙泉青瓷釉的初步研究

龙泉窑是我国陶瓷生产业中最重要的窑场之一,其制瓷业有着一千多年的发展历史。现代仿古龙泉青瓷的生产水平也达到了一定高度。为研究不同时代龙泉青瓷产品的特征,特采集一组宋、元、明及现代龙泉青瓷样品,通过显微观察、色度测定及对瓷釉的主量、微量化学组成进行X荧光分析,实验数据分析表明龙泉青瓷釉的制作有一定的年代特征,宋早期青瓷釉中存在石灰釉产品,而南宋以后,龙泉青瓷釉逐渐成为石灰碱釉。现代仿古龙泉青瓷的主量化学组成与古龙泉青瓷有很大相似性,但微量组成的不同反映出在原料配方上还存在很大差异。分析结果将为龙泉青瓷的研究与鉴定提供部分借鉴和依据。     

秦汉政治史观的演变历程

秦汉时期共有三种主要的政治史观：以五行相胜原则运转的五德终始说、以五行相生原则运转的汉为尧后说,以及董仲舒所创三统说。秦到汉武帝时,五行相胜的五德终始说占政治史观的主流,汉昭帝以后则被五行相生的政治史观代替,董仲舒创立的三统说在汉武帝时形成,此后便和五行相生政治史观平行发展。这三种政治史观都与阴阳五行有密切关联,并对秦汉乃至以后两千余年封建社会产生深远影响。     

郑韩故城出土青铜器的矿料来源初步分析

基于富集在铜料中而保留其母矿信息的元素可以用于示踪青铜器的矿料来源,为了解郑韩故城青铜器的矿料来源,利用ICP-AES方法对郑韩故城出土东周时期青铜器的微量元素进行了检测。结果显示,21个青铜器样品微量元素特征具有相对一致性,推测可能具有相同的原料来源。与小双桥遗址出土青铜器的微量元素特征进行对比,二者存在明显的差异,说明从商代中期到春秋战国时期,这一地区的原料来源发生了改变。研究结果可为研究东周时期这一地区铜业发展状况提供线索。     

The provenance of some glass ingots from the Uluburun shipwreck

The discovery of a Late Bronze Age trading vessel at Uluburun near Ka? off the Turkish coast offers exciting possibilities for our understanding of Bronze Age trade. On board the ship was a large consignment of glass ingots that were assumed to originate either from Mesopotamia or Egypt. This paper presents the results of major and trace elemental analyses of three deep blue and turquoise glass ingots from the Uluburun wreck, and for the first time securely demonstrates that their composition is consistent with an Egyptian origin. The compositional similarity of the glass ingots to glasses from the Mycenaean world suggests that Egypt was exporting to that region via trading ships such as that from Uluburun.     

Khmer sandstone quarries of Kulen Mountain and Koh Ker: a petrographic and geochemical study

Sandstone from several ancient quarries and natural outcrops located at the eastern foothill of Kulen Mountain and in Koh Ker, northern Cambodia, has been characterized by means of petrographic analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and geochemical analysis. The samples have been collected during a series of field surveys organized jointly by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (APSARA). The data show how the sandstone quarried from these sites is characterized by an overall petrographic and geochemical homogeneity, and is consistent with the upper terms of the Lower–Middle Jurassic Terrain Rouge Formation.     

Trace-element evidence for foreigners at a Maya port in Northern Yucatan

The present paper explores the potentials of trace elements in human dental enamel to indicate mobility and to detect the presence of individuals who had migrated into a community after childhood. Three Pre-Hispanic samples of infants from the Yucatán peninsula were chosen, one from the northern coast (Xcambó), one from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico (Campeche) and the last one from the tropical inland rain forest (Calakmul). Infants’ first permanent molars are the term of reference because infants were very likely born in the same place where they died and therefore are supposed to represent the local geo-chemical environment. Their chemical signature was then compared to the one of the adults from the site of Xcambó. The elemental composition was recorded by means of laser ablation-time of flight-ICP-MS. Sr and Ba (and secondly Mg and I) discriminate well the three infant samples. All the Early Classic adults from Xcambó fall within the range of variation of the site’s infants, while 25% of the Late Classic adults fall outside the range in agreement with archaeological, bioarcheological, and isotopic evidence. LA-ICP-Ms analyses of trace elements in archaeological samples can be an important analytical tool to detect foreigners in local populations. The selection of infants as reference values helps reduce the limits faced by trace element analyses in past human populations studies.     

A Damage Index for the Seismic Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Members

This article proposes a damage index for the seismic analysis of Reinforced Concrete members using the hysteretic energy dissipated by a structural member and a drift ratio related to failure in the structure. The index was calibrated against observed damage in laboratory tests of 76 RC column units under various protocols. Values obtained in this calibration had acceptable agreement with the levels of damage observed in the test specimens. An analysis of the parameters involved in the definition of the proposed damage index shows the importance of displacement history in the drift ratio capacity of structures.     

Trace Element Classification Diagrams of Pyroclastic Rocks from the Volcanic Districts of Central Italy: the Case Study of the Ancient Roman Ships of Pisa

Identification of the volcanic material (pozzolan) stored in a Roman ship of the fourth to third century bce , wrecked in the ancient harbour of Pisa (central Italy), was based on ratios of selected trace elements. The compositions of the major volcanic products erupted by the volcanoes of the Roman province, including the volcanic districts of Latium (Vulsini, Vico, Monti Sabatini and the Alban Hills) and Campania (Roccamonfina, the Phlegraean Fields, Ischia, Procida and Vesuvius) are compared with the pozzolan from the Pisa ship. Superposition of the Zr/Y, Nb/Y and Nb/Zr ratios of the pyroclastic material from the wrecked ship (computed from the published literature) allows correlation with the products of the Onano eruption from the Vulsini Volcanic District. The Vulsini rocks outcrop extensively in a sector drained by the hydrographic network of the Fiora River, which has been a well‐developed commercial water trade route since Etruscan times, with a river port and a sea port connected to the important town of Vulci, and, since 273 bce , part of the larger Roman harbour system of Cosa.