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.     

A technological study of ancient faience from Egypt

The chemical compositions and microstructures of some 35 faience objects from Egypt spanning the period from the Middle Kingdom through to the 22nd dynasty are determined using analytical scanning electron microscopy. Replicate faience beads glazed in the laboratory using the efflorescence and cementation methods are similarly investigated. In efflorescence glazing, there appears to be preferential efflorescence of soda over potash, and in cementation glazing, preferential take up of potash over soda into the glaze. These data are then used to try to infer the raw materials and methods of glazing employed in the production of the ancient faience. The glaze/glass phases present in the faience differ significantly in composition from that of New Kingdom glass. This could be due either to the use of different plant ashes or to changes in the composition of the plant ashes during the production of faience and/or glass. Although it is only rarely possible to determine with certainty whether ancient faience was glazed by efflorescence, cementation or application, the observed microstructures provide an indication of the approach adopted to achieve desired performance characteristics such as strength.     

Electron Microprobe Analysis of 9th–12th Century Islamic Glass from Córdoba,Spain

Twenty‐six samples from domestic assemblages of 9th–12th century Córdoba were subjected to electron microprobe analysis. The results reveal two main compositional types. The first, encountered in 13 of the samples, seems to result from the combination of plant ashes with high‐impurity sand, and has some contemporary parallels from Syria and Egypt. The second type is a lead–soda–silica glass, encountered in a relatively high proportion of the glasses (11 of the 26 sampled), possibly formed by the addition of lead metal to existing glasses and with very few known parallels. These are among a very small number of results available to date on the chemical composition of glasses from medieval Spain, and the presence of a high proportion of lead–soda–silica glasses is particularly interesting, possibly indicating a technological practice unique to, or originating in, the western Muslim world.     

Quantifying woodland resource usage and selection from Neolithic to post Mediaeval times in the Irish Midlands

The antiquity and context (site or feature type) are the two principal factors that act as a framework for interpreting charcoal and wood data from archaeological sites in the recreation of past woodland environments. This research addresses these parameters through the analysis of over 18,000 charcoal fragments from 57 archaeological excavations carried out along a 61?km road scheme in the midland region of Ireland. Observations on spatial vegetation dynamics and woodland resource patterns are also reported on. The data were analysed through percentage frequency and multivariate analyses. The results reveal woodland resource usage in terms of wood types selected for use as fuel or as structural wood as well as patterns of change and variability in taxonomic composition in relation to site types, feature types and time periods. Selection was found to be low in prehistoric times and in particular at burnt mound sites/fulachta fiadh but became increasingly important as time progressed. This has important implications when charcoal from archaeological settings is used in environmental reconstructions.     

蓬莱两艘古船船材、淤泥及水主要离子的测试研究

为做好蓬莱小海2005年新出土三艘古船的脱水保护工作,采集了2．3号船的船材、两船之间地下水、船下淤泥和近海海水样品,委托山东省分析测试中心检测了样品中主要离子的含量。检测结果表明,木材和淤泥中的主要离子含量远远高于海水和地下水中的;木材腐朽的程度愈严重,其离子量含量也愈大。测试数据和方法对今后古船脱盐和脱水工作有一定的指导意义。     

清雕漆描金宝座材料与工艺研究

为了了解清雕漆描金宝座的材料和工艺,对胎体制作切片进行了显微镜观察,确定了其种属;采用傅里叶红外光谱分析法分析了红漆,图谱与桐油很相近,由此可确定调漆工艺中加入了桐油。另外,结合文献,初步复原了此宝座的髹漆工艺。此研究对宝座以后的保护及清代家具及漆器的制作工艺具有参考价值。     

A dendrochronological investigation of stringed instruments from the collection of the Cherubini Conservatory in Florence,Italy

A total of forty-nine stringed instruments of the Conservatory Cherubini collection, at the Musical Instruments Department of the Accademia Gallery in Florence, were submitted to a dendrochronological investigation in order to date them, check the validity of their attribution and to find out more about their construction characteristics. Thirty-seven instruments were successfully dated, thereby determining the terminus post quem date of manufacture. The correlation values of the statistical cross-dating tests were generally very high. The dendrochronological analyses determined which instruments had been made from wood of the same provenance and, in some cases, from the same tree trunk. The mean chronology built from the musical instrument series, named “Accademia Master Chronology”, is 558 years long and dates from 1396 to 1953AD. The interval between the youngest ring dated dendrochronologically and the given date of manufacture increased constantly in the course of the centuries, from a mean value of just over eleven years for instruments built in the eighteenth century, to nearly 74 years in the twentieth century, when the use of old wood from other artefacts became more frequent. Furthermore, in the Cherubini Collection, the average tree rings on violins are smaller than those of other stringed instruments; in fact, they increase in proportion to instrument size and are widest in cello and double bass.     

A new approach to recording and monitoring wet-preserved archaeological wood using three-dimensional laser scanning

The analysis and preservation of organic materials preserved within wetland environments represents one of the most costly parts of any post-excavation strategy. This paper outlines the application of high-resolution terrestrial laser scanning to one class of preserved material, worked archaeological wood. Scanning allowed the recording of the artefacts in three dimensions and the identification of features such as toolmarks. Features can be measured and volumetrically modelled within the digital environment, which may not always be possible for these often fragile materials using conventional techniques. Repeat scanning of the artefacts provided an opportunity to use comparative analysis software to investigate changes in the morphology of artefacts under contrasting conditions of short-term storage. The results suggest that immersion in water results in the least deterioration, whereas both freezing and air-drying caused distortion and degradation. This paper demonstrates that laser scanning provides a viable alternative post-excavation method for the recording, analysis and long-term ‘virtual archiving’ of organic archaeological materials, which may be more cost-effective in some instances than other methods of preservation.     

Near infrared spectroscopy as a tool for archaeological wood characterization

Archaeological wood, as most of natural materials, is slowly decomposing on the archaeological site due to various biological factors. Rapid and accurate estimation of the degradation level is extremely important for optimal restoration and conservation. The goal of this research was to verify the effectiveness of Fourier transform near infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy for archaeometry. The important advantage of the NIR spectroscopy is its accuracy, simplicity and ability to perform very high number of tests without needs of any destruction to the workpiece. Five oak pieces of the archaeological wood collected from waterlogged sites in Poland have been used. Cellulose and lignin contents, as well as crystallinity and the degree of polymerization were measured with standard reference methods and compared to the contemporary wood. The near infrared spectra represent all the physical/chemical changes of the wood due to waterlogging. This technique was successfully validated in rapid estimation of the cellulose and lignin contents. The method explored in this research might be a novel tool assisting experts in evaluation of the degradation state of archaeological and historical wooden materials.     

Modeling wood acquisition strategies from archaeological charcoal remains

Archaeological charcoal remains are often used to reconstruct local woodland composition in the past, but rarely address how and why people may have selected specific woody taxa for particular purposes. Models from the field of human behavioral ecology predict that people forage for wood resources by taking into account the relative usefulness, abundance, and handling time related to procuring different wood types. Archaeological and ecological data from the site of Gordion, in Central Anatolia (modern Turkey), were used to test expectations associated with such models. Results suggest that inhabitants of Gordion used wood types for fuel in proportion to their local availability, but that they selected specific, more distant woods for construction. In most occupation periods pine was preferred for construction, perhaps because it produces long, straight timbers for roofing, despite the distance at which it grows from the site. This case study demonstrates that behavioral ecology modeling can help to distinguish between multiple wood acquisition strategies potentially used in the past and improve our understanding of wood use from archaeological charcoal remains.