Grave‐goods from the long chamber tomb “Dibba 76/1” (Fujairah,UAE): a first inventory

The aim of this paper is to present the rich set of finds collected inside the grave Dibba 76/1, in the Emirate of Fujairah, during a season of rescue excavation conducted under the direction of S. Ali Hassan in 1994. The recovered grave‐goods include pottery, soft‐stone vessels, metal finds, personal ornaments, coins, and other items. Although comparable with other corpuses of material excavated in south‐eastern Arabia, the material of Dibba 76/1 stands out for the inner variety of the different artefacts’ classes and their remarkable chronological heterogeneity. The study of the grave‐goods suggests that Dibba 76/1 was reused over several centuries, showing a strong continuity in the funerary destination of this specific place from the end of the Wadi Suq period (2000–1600 BC) to the first phases of the late pre‐Islamic period (250 BC–AD 400), and the full integration of the area of Dibba in the succession of the various cultural facies known during this long time span.     

南京粤军阵亡将士墓九十年祭

民国元年广东北伐军为主体的东线北伐的胜利,对于捍卫南京临时政府、促使清帝退位,起了重要的作用。今年3月,是南京粤军阵亡将士墓建墓90周年。为了存史,本就粤军的兴建、征战、墓冢、勋绩,分别作了考证,藉以缅怀革命先烈。     

Seasonal weather sensitivity,temperature thresholds,and climate change impacts for park visitation

Historical park visitation and weather data, taken at the daily time scale from 2000 to 2009 for Pinery Provincial Park in southern Ontario (Canada), were analysed as an objective measure of the weather sensitivity, temperature thresholds, and potential impacts of projected climate change for park visitation. Three seasonal weather-visitation models were constructed using multivariable linear regression (peak, shoulder, off-season). To account for both natural and institutional seasonality, the weather-visitation models included both climatic (temperature, precipitation) and social (weekends, holidays) variables, which demonstrated equably comparable effects on visitation across the three models. Critical temperature thresholds were identified for each season using one-way analysis of variance to determine the range of temperatures within which the threshold was evident; the specific degree of temperature associated with the threshold was identified within the seasonal regression models. Temperatures over 33 °C during the peak season and over 29 °C during the shoulder season indicated critical thresholds at which point conditions that were ‘too hot’ for some caused a decline in visitation. Furthermore, temperatures below 11 °C indicated another critical threshold, where conditions were ‘too cold’ for most and therefore park visitation was less sensitive to temperature variability below this threshold. A partial sensitivity analysis for the impact of a warmer, wetter climate on park visitation was conducted, illustrating the effect of a 1 °C to 5 °C warming in maximum temperatures, coupled with a 5% to 15% increase in total precipitation. In response to projected climate change, the weather-visitation models suggested that for each additional degree of warming experienced, despite the negative effects of increasing precipitation and more frequent heat extremes, annual park visitation could increase by 3.1%, annually. The projected increase in park visitation as a result of rising temperatures was mainly associated with shoulder season visitation, with only minor increases in peak season visitation.     

中原先秦丧葬制度中的茔域与方位之制

在先秦时期的中原,基地、墓葬的头向以及夫妻合葬墓中左右方位的选择,不断被赋予礼制的内涵,体现了我国古代丧葬制度不断发展、演变的过程。尤其是到周代,丧葬制度趋于完备。其中的茔域与方位之制,成为古代礼制的重要组成部分。     

成都市新都区新石器时代晚期土坑墓提取与保护

2008年1月,成都文物考古研究所与成都市新都区文物管理所在对一新石器时代晚期聚落遗址进行的考古发掘中,清理出土了二座竖穴土坑墓,其中M1墓葬人骨基本完整,具有较高的研究价值,但因年代久远和有害环境的影响,骨质已粉化,不便于直接提取人骨。为了有效地保护这一新石器时期人类骨骸,为后期的科学研究保存下这一珍贵的实物资料。决定采取套箱法对整座土坑墓进行提取的方式保护人骨,经过多方试验,确定采用A305黏结剂修复骨架裂纹,用GSA-102保护剂,B365作加固进行保护。经观察表明,本次土坑提取与保护取得了良好效果,并制定了一套科学的保护方案。该土坑墓的成功提取和科学保护,为今后在潮湿环境中的古遗址保护提供了可供借鉴的经验。     

A Late Iron Age Boat‐Grave from Petersdal,Denmark

In 1921 a secondary grave was excavated in a Bronze Age burial‐mound on the island of Amager in the strait of Øresund between Denmark and Sweden. Recently the material was examined in detail and the result is presented here. This grave proved to be one of the few Late Iron Age boat‐graves in South Scandinavia. The boat, only preserved through a pattern of clench‐nails, was 10–12 m long. It contained traces of grave‐goods: sword, spear, riding‐gear, bucket and chest, but no trace of a body survived. The grave is contextually dated to the first half of the 8th century. © 2012 The Author     

The York 113: osteological analysis of 10 mass graves from Fishergate,York

Abstract

Routine developer-led excavation of land at the site of the Barbican Leisure Centre in York, UK resulted in the discovery of 10 post-medieval mass graves located in and around the foundations of a partially-ruined medieval church. These graves contained a total of 113 skeletons. The skeletal assemblage was notable for the absence of children and infants, comprising only adult and adolescent individuals, with significant male bias. Individuals were slightly shorter than average for the period. Rates of ante-mortem trauma were low, peri-mortem trauma and specific infectious disease were absent, and generally the assemblage exhibited higher than expected prevalence of pathological conditions that may be indicative of increased physical stress. The combined osteological and historical evidence suggests that these graves may represent Parliamentarian casualties of epidemic disease pertaining to the 1644 Siege of York.     

论鄂城东吴孙将军墓与鄂钢饮料厂一号墓之墓主人身份及其相互关系

本文通过分析比较鄂城东吴孙将军墓与鄂钢饮料厂一号墓,揭示了两墓的相互关系及墓主人身份。     

On the accuracy of estimating living stature from skeletal length in the grave and by linear regression

This study evaluates a method for obtaining stature estimates for populations represented by skeletal material, with individuals buried in a supine position. During the excavation of a Danish mediaeval cemetery, in situ skeletal length in the grave was measured from a point above the cranial point farthest from the body to the most distal point of the talus. The measurement was made with a folding rule placed on the sagittal midline of the skeleton, allowed to follow any curvature of the skeleton in situ. In the laboratory, stature was reconstructed anatomically, and this stature was regarded as an accurate estimate of living stature. Stature was also reconstructed from femur length by two linear regression procedures: 1) by sample and sex specific formulae, employing a leave‐one‐out approach, and 2) by sex wise formulae for Euro‐Americans from Trotter & Gleser (1952, American Journal of Physical Anthropology 10 : 463–514). Skeletal length in the grave and the two stature estimates based on linear regression were compared to anatomically reconstructed stature. Skeletal length in the grave estimated anatomically reconstructed stature with practically no bias (95% CI: −1.3–1.5 cm). Sample specific regression formulae estimated anatomically reconstructed stature also with no bias (95% CI: −1.2–1.1 cm). In contrast, statures calculated from Trotter & Gleser's regression formulae estimated anatomically reconstructed stature with a bias of about 4 cm (95% CI: 3.3–5.0 cm). Estimates of stature variance were biased for all three estimation procedures. However, for samples of adults, an adjusted variance estimate can be obtained by subtracting 8.7 cm² from the variance obtained from skeletal lengths in the grave. It is recommended to measure skeletal length in the grave whenever possible, and use this measurement for estimating statures for prehistoric and early historic populations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.