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Terms modified by Roman Selected AbstractsPRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF ROMAN LEAD-GLAZED POTTERY AND ITS CONTINUANCE INTO LATE ANTIQUITYARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 5 2010M. S. WALTON A broad selection of Roman lead-glazed pottery dating from the first century ad through the fifth century ad was studied to establish locations of workshops and to address their technology of production. The ceramic bodies were analysed by ICP,AES. In addition, lead isotope analysis was undertaken on a selection of glazes. These findings suggested that there were several regions responsible for the production of lead-glazed ceramics in the western Roman world, including central Gaul, Italy and, probably, Serbia and Romania. Using the body compositions as a starting point, the glazing techniques employed by each of the potential workshops were examined using electron probe microanalysis. It was determined that there were two primary methods of glazing. The first method used lead oxide by itself applied to non-calcareous clay bodies, and the second method used a lead oxide-plus-quartz mixture applied to calcareous clay bodies. Based on these data for clay composition and glazing method, transfer of technology from the Hellenistic east to the western Roman world was proposed. Likewise, the inheritance of lead-glazing technology into late antiquity was established by making comparisons to lead-glazed ceramics dating to the seventh to ninth centuries from Italy, the Byzantine world and Tang Dynasty China. [source] Searching for schizophrenia in ancient Greek and Roman literature: a systematic reviewACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 5 2003K. Evans Objective:, The aim of this study was to systematically examine ancient Roman and Greek texts to identify descriptions of schizophrenia and related disorders. Method:, Material from Greek and Roman literature dating from the 5th Century BC to the beginning of the 2nd Century AD was systematically reviewed for symptoms of mental illness. DSM IV criteria were applied in order to identify material related to schizophrenia and related disorders. Results:, The general public had an awareness of psychotic disorders, because the symptoms were described in works of fiction and in historical accounts of malingering. There were isolated instances of text related to psychotic symptoms in the residents of ancient Rome and Greece, but no written material describing a condition that would meet modern diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia. Conclusion:, In contrast to many other psychiatric disorders that are represented in ancient Greek and Roman literature, there were no descriptions of individuals with schizophrenia in the material assessed in this review. [source] Early medieval port customs, tolls and controls on foreign tradeEARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE, Issue 4 2005Neil Middleton The objective of this paper is to offer a fresh perspective on the nature and organization of international trade in early medieval ports from the evidence of documentary sources on tolls and customs, trading practices and controls on foreign merchants. In particular, the paper considers the evidence for continuities and borrowings from the Roman and Byzantine worlds and the extent to which they influenced trading practices in the west and especially in Anglo-Saxon England. [source] When documents are destroyed or lost: lay people and archives in the early Middle AgesEARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE, Issue 4 2002Warren Brown In this paper, I discuss some largely unexplored evidence about lay archives in early medieval Europe. This evidence consists of a set of formulae from late Roman, Merovingian, and Carolingian Gaul, and from Carolingian Bavaria. According to these formulae, lay men and women in these regions from the sixth to the ninth centuries kept documents in private archivesbecause they regarded documents as vital to the security of their property holdings. The manuscripts in which the formulae survive indicate that lay people continued to keep archives throughout the ninth century and into the tenth. They also suggest, however, that by the end of the eighth century traditions about how lay people used and stored documents were being preserved and maintained to a large degree by churches and monasteries. [source] Landforms, sediments, soil development, and prehistoric site settings on the Madaba-Dhiban Plateau, JordanGEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2005Carlos E. Cordova This paper examines recurrent spatial patterns of prehistoric sites in relation to landforms, alluvial fills, and soil development in the uplands and valleys of the Madaba and Dhiban Plateaus of Jordan. Mousterian lithics (Middle Paleolithic) are largely found on high strath terraces plateaus, where they are associated with red Mediterranean soils. In valleys, Upper Paleolithic sites are often associated with reworked loess deposits of the Dalala allostratigraphic unit. Epipaleolithic occupations are found stratified in deposits of the Thamad Terrace, and Pre-Pottery Neolithic and Pottery Neolithic occupations are associated with colluvium mantling the Thamad Terrace. The Tur al-Abyad Terrace and the Iskanderite alluvial inset are the remnants of middle Holocene floodplains, which were attractive areas for Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age settlements. Sometime around 4000 B.C., stream incision and further lateral erosion destroyed these floodplains. These historic terraces are underlain by alluvial deposits ranging in age from Roman to Early Islamic periods. The sequence of allostratigraphic units, paleosols, and terraces are the basis for reconstructing phases of fluvial aggradation and stream incision during the past 20,000 years. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Alluvial records of medieval and prehistoric tin mining on Dartmoor, southwest EnglandGEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 3 2004Varyl R. Thorndycraft The role of tin mining in the society of prehistoric Dartmoor and its impact on the local landscape have long been discussed despite equivocal evidence for prehistoric mine sites. A fluvial geomorphological approach, using floodplain stratigraphy, combined with sediment geochemistry and mineralogy, was employed to identify prehistoric tin mining at the catchment scale. Waste sediment, released during hydraulic mining of alluvial tin deposits, caused downstream floodplain aggradation of sands with a diagnostic signature of elevated Sn concentration within the silt fraction. At a palaeochannel site in the Erme Valley, sediment aggradation buried datable peat deposits. A period of aggradation postdating cal. A.D. 1288,1389 is consistent with the 13th century peak in tin production identified in the documentary record. An earlier phase of aggradation, however, occurred between the 4th and 7th centuries A.D., providing evidence of late Roman or early Post Roman tin mining activity on Dartmoor. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Hearing the Silences in Thomas Bernhard's,Ja: Difference, Narrative, and Lyotard's Concept of the DifferendGERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 1 2010Teresa Ludden ABSTRACT This article examines Thomas Bernhard's largely neglected short novel,Ja,(1978) in terms of how silences and textual lacunae function. It uses Lyotard's concept of the differend and Wittgenstein's notion of language-games to analyse the representation of the relationship between the narrator's inner monologue and the female character, ,die Perserin'. It argues that the text alludes to incommensurability between the narrator's idiom and the Persian woman's history and suffering, as well as criticising the imposition of a meta-language and practising an anti-ventriloquism regarding the Persian woman's pain and despair, thus opening the narrative and the text up to its own silences and failings. Dieser Artikel untersucht die Funktion des Schweigens in Thomas Bernhards Roman,Ja,(1978). Er nimmt Jean-François Lyotards Konzept des,Differend,und Ludwig Wittgensteins Theorie der Sprachspiele zu Hilfe, um das erzählerische Monolog und die Darstellung der schweigsamen ,Perserin' zu analysieren. Bernhards Text bezieht sich auf Lücken und Schweigen, indem er nicht für die Perserin spricht sondern auf die Undarstellbarkeit ihres Schmerzes und ihrer Geschichte in der Sprache des Erzählers hinweist. Dadurch thematisiert der Text die Unmöglichkeit einer universalen Metasprache und eine Kritik des Erzählens überhaupt. [source] Selim's Sisters: Muslim Women in Novels by Uwe Timm and Hermann SchulzGERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 1 2010Monika Albrecht ABSTRACT Against the backdrop of the fact that German writers with a German background do not seem to be very interested in casting Germans with a migrant background as their literary characters, this paper focuses on two of the rare exceptions that deal with Muslim women of Turkish origin, Uwe Timm's,Rot,(2001) and Hermann Schulz's,Iskender,(1999). In discussing these novels, I am mostly interested in the way these writers take part in current debates on Muslims in Western societies and in how they engage in their specific vision of a multicultural Germany. The results are at least twofold; on the one hand one has to conclude that both Hermann Schulz and Uwe Timm are dividing Muslims into good and bad, desired and not desired; on the other hand their novels also provide facets of a counter image and introduce largely unfamiliar aspects , which can count as a major achievement in the light of the prevailing idea of the Islamic world in the imagination of the German public. Ethnische Minderheiten sind selten in Werken von einheimischen Schriftstellern zu finden. Vor diesem Hintergrund konzentriert sich der vorliegende Essay auf zwei der wenigen Ausnahmen, Uwe Timms Roman,Rot,(2001) and Hermann Schulz',Iskender,(1999), in denen türkisch-muslimische Frauen Teil des literarischen Ensembles sind. Das Interesse gilt insbesondere der Art und Weise, wie ihre Autoren an gegenwärtigen Debatten über Muslime in westlichen Gesellschaften Teil haben, und es wird nach ihrer Vision eines multikulturellen Deutschland gefragt, wie es in den Texten zum Ausdruck kommt. Dabei fällt auf, dass Muslime sowohl bei Hermann Schulz als auch bei Uwe Timm in gute und schlechte, erwünschte und weniger erwünschte aufgeteilt werden. Andererseits entwerfen die Romane jedoch auch Gegenbilder und beziehen Aspekte ein, die der Mehrheit der Deutschen nicht vertraut sind , was angesichts gängiger Vorstellungen über die islamische Lebenswelt als bemerkenswerter Beitrag zur Multikulturalismusdebatte gelten kann. [source] Traces of Roman Offshore Navigation on Skerki Bank (Strait of Sicily)INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Christian Weitemeyer For a long time historians have been discussing to what extent offshore routes were used in the ancient Mediterranean. In 20 years of almost annual expeditions we found Roman remains dating from different centuries around Keith Reef on Skerki Bank in the Strait of Sicily. These finds include material from several sunken ships as well as many single lead anchor-stocks. We conclude from our finds that a sizeable part of the traffic between Carthage and Rome followed a direct course across the sea. © 2009 The Authors [source] A Feasibility Study for the Investigation of Submerged Sites along the Coast of SloveniaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Jonathan Benjamin Maritime investigations along the Northern Adriatic coast have traditionally focused on the Roman and later archaeology. However, studies of post-glacial sea-level change and shoreline displacement suggest there is significant potential for the discovery of sites close inshore dating back to the early- to mid-Holocene, c.9000 BC onwards. A feasibility study for the investigation of submerged sites along the coast of Slovenia was undertaken in 2005. Here we describe the project rationale and research design, the survey and recording methods used, the logistical problems encountered, the results obtained (regardless of age), and the prospects for future research in the region. © 2009 The Authors [source] Trends in adult stature of peoples who inhabited the modern Portuguese territory from the Mesolithic to the late 20th centuryINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 6 2009H. F. V. Cardoso Abstract This study documents long-term changes in stature from the Mesolithic to the late 20th century in the territory of modern Portugal. Data utilised originated from published sources and from a sample of the Lisbon identified skeletal collection, where long bone lengths were collected. Mean long bone lengths were obtained from 20 population samples and compiled into nine periods. Pooled long bone lengths for each period were then converted to stature estimates. Results show three major trends: (1) a slow increase in stature from prehistory to the Middle Ages; (2) a negative trend from the Middle Ages to the late 19th century; and (3) a very rapid increase in mean stature during the second half of the 20th century. The political and territorial stability of the Kingdom of Portugal may have contributed to the greater heights of the medieval Portuguese, compared with the Roman and Modern periods. The negative secular trend was rooted in poor and unsanitary living conditions and the spread of infectious disease, brought about by increased population growth and urbanisation. Although the end of the Middle Ages coincided with the age of discoveries, the population may not have benefited from the overall prosperity of this period. The 20th century witnessed minor and slow changes in the health status of the Portuguese, but it was not until major improvements in social and economic conditions that were initiated in the 1960s, and further progress in the 1970s, that the Portuguese grew taller than ever before. Since the Middle Ages other European countries have experienced similar oscillations, but showed an earlier recovery in stature after the industrial period. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Direct exposure electron ionization mass spectrometry and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry techniques to study organic coatings on archaeological amphoraeJOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY (INCORP BIOLOGICAL MASS SPECTROMETRY), Issue 5 2005Maria Perla Colombini Abstract Two different analytical approaches, direct exposure electron ionization mass spectrometry (DE-MS) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), were compared in a study of archaeological resinous materials. DE-MS was found to be an efficient fingerprinting tool for the fast screening of organic archaeological samples and for providing information on the major components. GC/MS appeared to be more efficient in unravelling the sample composition at a molecular level, despite the long analysis time and the need for a wet chemical pretreatment. Both procedures were applied to characterize the organic material present as coatings in Roman and Egyptian amphorae. DE-MS successfully identified abietanic compounds, hence a diterpenic resinous material could be identified and its degree of oxidation assessed. GC/MS enabled us to identify dehydroabietic acid, 7-oxodehydroabietic acid, 15-hydroxy-7-oxodehydroabietic acid, 15-hydroxydehydroabietic acid, retene, tetrahydroretene, norabietatriene, norabietatetraene and methyl dehydroabietate. These oxidized and aromatized abietanes provided evidence that the amphorae examined were waterproofed with a pitch produced from resinous wood of plants from the Pinaceae family. The chemometric evaluation of the GC/MS data highlighted significant chemical differences between the pitches found in the two archaeological sites, basically related to differences in the production techniques of the materials and in their degradation pathways. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Micro-Raman characterizations of Pompei'smortarsJOURNAL OF RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY, Issue 2 2008M. Castriota Abstract The ancient town of Pompei offers a unique opportunity to study in detail many aspects of the every day life during the Roman early imperial age. The application of micro-Raman spectroscopy can be of great help in performing a reasonably rapid comparative analysis of the mortars, quite useful to ascertain the degree of uniformity of the technical recipes among the various building firms and the eventual technical evolution in the time; moreover, the individuation of minerals of specific geographical origins can give useful information about the extension of commercial intercourses. An example of a micro-Raman investigation on building materials is reported in this work, concerning the analysis of the mortars coming from different points of the wall in the ,The House of the Wedding of Hercules'. Remarkable differences between ancient and modern mortars are found, allowing a discrimination that can be useful in the case of historical building which underwent several restoration works. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Geographical patterns of mitochondrial DNA variation in Apis mellifera iberiensis (Hymenoptera: Apidae)JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGICAL SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTIONARY RESEARCH, Issue 1 2008F. Cánovas Abstract An extensive survey of mitochondrial haplotypes in honeybee colonies from the Iberian Peninsula has corroborated previous hypotheses about the existence of a joint clinal variation of African (A) and west European (M) evolutionary lineages. It has been found that the Iberian Peninsula is the European region with the highest haplotype diversity (12 haplotypes detected of the M lineage and 10 of the A lineage). The frequency of A haplotypes decreases in a SW-NE trend, while that of M haplotypes increases. These results are discussed in relation to hypotheses about the African origin of Apis mellifera and an early colonization of west Europe during intermediate Pleistocene glaciation events, followed by a regional differentiation. The extant pattern of haplotype frequency and distribution seems to be influenced at a regional scale by adaptation to local climatic conditions and the mobile beekeeping that has become a large-scale practice during the last decades. Other previous anthropogenic influences (Greek, Roman and Arab colonizations) are thought to be of minor importance in present day populations. Resumen Un extenso estudio de los haplotipos mitocondriales en colonias de la abeja doméstica de la Péninsula Ibérica ha corroborado las hipótesis previas acerca de la existencia de una variación clinal conjunta de los linajes evolutivos africano (A) y europeo occidental (M). Se ha encontrado que la Peninsula Ibérica es la región europea con la mayor diversidad (12 haplotipos detectados pertenecientes al linaje M y 10 al linaje A). La frecuencia de los haplotipos africanos disminuye en la orientación SW-NE, al tiempo que aumenta proporcionalmente la de los M. Estos resultados se analizan en relación a las hipótesis recientes que ubican el origen de Apis mellifera en África, junto con otras que postulan una colonización temprana de esta especie en Europa occidental, seguida de una diferenciación durante el Pleistoceno. El patrón geográfico actual de haplotipos y frecuencias a escala regional, parece estar influido por la adaptación a las condiciones climáticas locales y la trashumancia, práctica que ha adquirido grandes proporciones en las últimas décadas. Otras influencias antrópicas acontecidas como las colonizaciones de griegos, romanos y árabes han tenido posiblemente poca influencia sobre las poblaciones ibéricas actuales. [source] Pierson v. Post: A Great Debate, James Kent, and the Project of Building a Learned Law for New York StateLAW & SOCIAL INQUIRY, Issue 2 2009Angela Fernandez Pierson v. Post (1805) has long puzzled legal teachers and scholars. This article argues that the appellate report was the product of the intellectual interests (and schooling) of the lawyers and judges involved in the case. They converted a minor dispute about a fox into a major argument in order to argue from Roman and other civil law sources on how to establish possession in wild animals, effectively crafting an opportunity to create new law for New York State. This article explores the possibility that the mastermind behind this case was the chief justice of the court at the time, James Kent. The question of Kent's involvement in 1805 remains elusive. However, the article uses annotations he made on his copy of the case and discussion of Pierson v. Post in his famous Commentaries to demonstrate the nature of his later interest and to explore the project of building a learned law for New York State. [source] The distant activity of Short Period Comets,, II.MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2008E. Mazzotta Epifani ABSTRACT The activity of the Short Period Comets (SPCs) at large heliocentric distance (Rh > 3 au) occurs in a region of the Solar system where the water sublimation rate is low and so the sublimation of other volatiles, for example CO or CO2, could drive the presence of a coma. The detection of distant activity in a SPC can therefore give important hints on its composition. Moreover, a complete characterization of the distant SPCs degree of activity is crucial in order to give correct estimates of the nucleus size and to obtain more reliable size-distribution curves of cometary nuclei. The aim of this paper is to present the last results of a program of CCD imaging of distant SPCs, started in 2004 December and concluded with observing runs at the 3.5-m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo at La Palma, in 2005 April, and at the 2.2-m Centro Astronómico Hispano Alemán (CAHA) telescope in Spain, in 2005 May. During the Spring 2005 campaign, 12 SPCs have been targeted in the R band (eight numbered SPCs and four still unnumbered SPCs): 61P/Schajn,Schaldach, 71P/Clark, 98P/Takamizawa, 103P/Hartley 2, 117P/Helin,Roman,Alu 1, 118P/Shoemaker,Levy 4, 121P/Shoemaker,Holt 2, 136P/Mueller 3, P/2002 T5 (LINEAR), P/2003 S1 (NEAT), P/2003 S2 (NEAT), P/2004 DO29 (Spacewatch,LINEAR). The heliocentric distance of the targets was 3.05 ,Rh, 5.30 au. Several levels of activity were detected in the sample, from stellar appearance to well-developed coma and tail. In some cases, the occurrence of cometary activity could be enhanced only with deep visible imaging (e.g. with very long exposure time). For comets with stellar appearance, it was possible to derive a value or a range for the nucleus radius rnucleus (assuming a ,classical' albedo value of 0.04): 98P (rnucleus= 0.43 ± 0.10 km), 136P (rnucleus= 1.2 ± 0.2 km), P/2003 S2 (rnucleus= 0.81 to 1.55 km). For the active comets, we measured dust production levels in terms of Af, quantity, which was 9.9 , Af,, 671 cm. Ensemble properties of the whole sample of the long-term program (a total of 17 SPCs) have been analysed in terms of the relationship among distant activity and dynamical evolution of the targets (in particular, an inward ,jump' of the perihelion distance): we can conclude that, even if there is some theoretical indication that this could occur, the hypothesis of distant activity triggered by a rise in perihelion temperature cannot be univocally invoked for these comets. [source] The effect of font and line width on reading speed in people with mild to moderate vision lossOPHTHALMIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL OPTICS, Issue 6 2006Gary S. Rubin Abstract Purpose:, The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of print size, typeface, and line width on reading speed in readers with mild to moderate sight problems. Methods:, A total of 43 patients, most of whom had mild cataract or glaucoma with acuity 6/30 or better (median age = 72; range = 24,88 years), read aloud a selection of texts presented randomly in four sizes (10, 12, 14 and 16 point), for each of four typefaces [Foundry Form Sans (FFS), Helvetica (HV), Tiresias PCfont (TPC), Times New Roman (TNR)] at a standard line width of 70 characters and a viewing distance of 40 cm. A subset of letter sizes and typefaces were tested at two additional line widths (35, 90). Results:, As expected, reading speed increased with print size from a median of 144 words min,1 for 10-point text to 163 words min,1 for 16-point text (repeated measures anova, p < 0.0001). There was also a significant effect of typeface with TPC being read about 8 words min,1 faster, on average, than the other fonts (159 words min,1 for TPC vs 151 words min,1 for the other fonts, p < 0.0001). However fonts of the same nominal point size were not equivalent in actual size. When adjusted for the actual horizontal and vertical space occupied, the advantage of TPC was eliminated. There was no effect of line width (p > 0.3). Data from the present study were extrapolated to the general population over age 65. This extrapolation indicated that increasing minimum print size from 10 points to 16 points would increase the proportion of the population able to read fluently (>85 words min,1) from 88.0% to 94.4%. Conclusion:, This study shows that line width and typeface have little influence on reading speed in people with mild to moderate sight problems. Increasing the minimum recommended print size from 10 points to 14 or 16 points would significantly increase the proportion of the population able to read fluently. [source] Diet and mobility in Early Medieval Bavaria: A study of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopesAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Susanne Hakenbeck Abstract This study investigates patterns of mobility in Early Medieval Bavaria through a combined study of diet and associated burial practice. Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were analyzed in human bone samples from the Late Roman cemetery of Klettham and from the Early Medieval cemeteries of Altenerding and Straubing-Bajuwarenstrasse. For dietary comparison, samples of faunal bone from one Late Roman and three Early Medieval settlement sites were also analyzed. The results indicate that the average diet was in keeping with a landlocked environment and fairly limited availability of freshwater or marine resources. The diet appears not to have changed significantly from the Late Roman to the Early Medieval period. However, in the population of Altenerding, there were significant differences in the diet of men and women, supporting a hypothesis of greater mobility among women. Furthermore, the isotopic evidence from dietary outliers is supported by "foreign" grave goods and practices, such as artificial skull modification. These results reveal the potential of carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis for questions regarding migration and mobility. Am J Phys Anthropol 143:235,249, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Sulfur isotope analysis of cinnabar from Roman wall paintings by elemental analysis/isotope ratio mass spectrometry , tracking the origin of archaeological red pigments and their authenticityRAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 19 2010Jorge E. Spangenberg The most valuable pigment of the Roman wall paintings was the red color obtained from powdered cinnabar (Minium Cinnabaris pigment), the red mercury sulfide (HgS), which was brought from mercury (Hg) deposits in the Roman Empire. To address the question of whether sulfur isotope signatures can serve as a rapid method to establish the provenance of the red pigment in Roman frescoes, we have measured the sulfur isotope composition (,34S value in , VCDT) in samples of wall painting from the Roman city Aventicum (Avenches, Vaud, Switzerland) and compared them with values from cinnabar from European mercury deposits (Almadén in Spain, Idria in Slovenia, Monte Amiata in Italy, Moschellandsberg in Germany, and Genepy in France). Our study shows that the ,34S values of cinnabar from the studied Roman wall paintings fall within or near to the composition of Almadén cinnabar; thus, the provenance of the raw material may be deduced. This approach may provide information on provenance and authenticity in archaeological, restoration and forensic studies of Roman and Greek frescoes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Settlement and History in Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Galilee , By Uzi LeibnerRELIGIOUS STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 3 2010Christopher W. Skinner No abstract is available for this article. [source] Magnetic ghosts: mineral magnetic measurements on Roman and Anglo-Saxon graves,,ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 3 2004N. T. Linford Abstract The location of inhumations, in the absence of ferrous grave goods, often presents a considerable challenge to archaeological geophysics, given the small size of the features and the slight physical contrast between the fill of the grave and the surrounding subsoil. Even during excavation, the identification of graves may be complicated where site conditions do not favour the preservation of human skeletal remains and only a subtle soil stain is likely to survive. A recent initiative in the UK has seen the formation of the Buried Organic-matter,Decomposition Integrated with Elemental Status (BODIES) research group, to examine the decomposition of organic artefacts in ancient graves with respect to localized changes in pH, redox potential and nutrient status. This paper presents initial results from a limited mineral magnetic study of two grave sites in an attempt to ascertain whether the decomposition of organic remains may lead to a detectable magnetic signature within the soil. Results from a series of isothermal, hysteresis and magneto-thermal experiments will be presented together with surface magnetometer and topsoil susceptibility surveys. Copyright © Crown Copyright 2004. Recorded with the permission of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Ground penetrating radar survey over a Roman building at Groundwell Ridge, Blunsdon St Andrew, Swindon, UKARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 1 2004N. T. Linford Abstract A ground penetrating Radar (GPR) survey was conducted over well-preserved building remains revealed during a previous geophysical survey (1996) covering an apparent complex of Roman activity discovered at Groundwell Ridge to the north of Swindon, UK. Despite unfavourable, clay-rich soil conditions, the GPR survey provided a detailed plan of the Roman remains to a depth of approximately 1,m, confirming their survival in the very near surface. The GPR results complement the previous earth resistance and magnetic surveys and, together, the data suggest the presence of a high status Roman building, possibly incorporating thermoremanent features, for instance associated with a hypocaust system. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF ROMAN LEAD-GLAZED POTTERY AND ITS CONTINUANCE INTO LATE ANTIQUITYARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 5 2010M. S. WALTON A broad selection of Roman lead-glazed pottery dating from the first century ad through the fifth century ad was studied to establish locations of workshops and to address their technology of production. The ceramic bodies were analysed by ICP,AES. In addition, lead isotope analysis was undertaken on a selection of glazes. These findings suggested that there were several regions responsible for the production of lead-glazed ceramics in the western Roman world, including central Gaul, Italy and, probably, Serbia and Romania. Using the body compositions as a starting point, the glazing techniques employed by each of the potential workshops were examined using electron probe microanalysis. It was determined that there were two primary methods of glazing. The first method used lead oxide by itself applied to non-calcareous clay bodies, and the second method used a lead oxide-plus-quartz mixture applied to calcareous clay bodies. Based on these data for clay composition and glazing method, transfer of technology from the Hellenistic east to the western Roman world was proposed. Likewise, the inheritance of lead-glazing technology into late antiquity was established by making comparisons to lead-glazed ceramics dating to the seventh to ninth centuries from Italy, the Byzantine world and Tang Dynasty China. [source] A GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE ANCIENT QUARRIES OF SIDI GHEDAMSY ISLAND (MONASTIR, TUNISIA)ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 4 2010M. E. GAIED Amongst a large number of ancient quarries scattered along the North African coast, those at Sidi Ghedamsy (Monastir, Tunisia) have supplied building stones of Pliocene age. Two lithofacies have been distinguished in the quarry faces: (i) fine sandy limestone, which has been used in the construction of Roman and Arabic monuments; and (ii) porous and coarse limy sandstone, which is of bad quality for construction. Laboratory analysis results confirm that the exploitation of stone in antiquity was well focused on the levels containing the first type. This is confirmed by geotechnical tests, which show that the fine sandy limestone is harder and less porous than the coarse limy sandstone. Extraction of these stones began in the Roman period. The Romans exploited the quarries using steel tools that permitted the extraction of blocks from several levels. In the eighth century, Arabic quarry workers continued the stone extraction using the same technique, but they produced blocks of small and medium size. Statistical measurements have been done on the quarry faces and on the walls of the Ribat in order to understand the degree of conformity between the dimensions of the extracted blocks and those used for building, and ultimately to attempt to date the quarries and the construction of the Ribat. [source] ON THE WHITE AND COLOURED MARBLES OF THE ROMAN TOWN OF CUICUL (DJEMILA, ALGERIA)ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 4 2010F. ANTONELLI This paper reports the results of an archaeometric study of the local and imported marbles found in the Roman town of Cuicul (now Djemila, Algeria), a research project funded by the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Union. Of the few imported coloured lithotypes that have been found, four are of Greek origin and one was imported from Asia Minor. In addition, two other classical Roman coloured stones found on the site are probably of local North African origin (most likely one from Numidia and one from Algeria). With regard to the grey and white marbles employed in the statuary and architecture, petrographic study in thin section and the ,13C and ,18O isotopic data emphasize the frequent use of the local fine-grained lithotype from Filfila (Skikda) together with imported Greek lithotypes (i.e., Pentelic marble, the dolomitic variety of Thasian marble, and Parian marble from Lakkoi) as well as different varieties of the so-called ,greco scritto', whose provenance in some cases still remains uncertain. In fact, the petrographic and geochemical features of the marbles do not always match those known for the classical ,greco scritto' from the quarry of Cap de Garde, near Annaba (Algeria). [source] COOKING WARES IN ANCIENT SYRIA (FIRST TO 10TH CENTURIES ad): RECONSTRUCTING THE PRODUCTION CONTEXTS FROM THE CONSUMPTION SITESARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 4 2010A. VOKAER This paper deals with Brittle Ware, a cooking ware product that appears to have been highly standardized and widely distributed in Syria during the Roman and the Byzantine periods. The study intends to determine the distribution of Brittle Ware through time and space, by combining typology and a thorough examination of the fabrics in the field, using binocular microscopy (n = 2807 diagnostic fragments). Based on the fabric groupings, petrological and chemical analyses were then undertaken. Resting on an archaeological background and several analytical methods, this paper aims at going beyond a limited provenance study, by characterizing the Brittle Ware production system and thus providing some insights into the economy of ancient Syria. [source] ACCESSORY MINERALS AS TRACERS IN THE PROVENANCING OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL MARBLES, USED IN COMBINATION WITH ISOTOPIC AND PETROGRAPHIC DATA,ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 4 2004S. CAPEDRI Thirty-eight archaeological marbles (Roman and medieval) from Modena and Reggio Emilia (northern Italy) were provenanced using the accessory minerals as tracers and the results were compared with those inferred for the same artefacts using isotope composition and MGS (maximum grain size of calcite grains). The number of inferred possible sources is generally lower when using the mineralogical method, which therefore seems to be suited to marble provenancing. [source] THE PETROGRAPHY AND CHEMISTRY OF THIN-WALLED WARE FROM AN HELLENISTIC, ROMAN SITE AT SEGESTA (SICILY),ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 3 2003G. Montana Samples of Roman thin-walled ware from Segesta (northwestern Sicily), dating back to the early Imperial period, were studied by optical microscopy (OM) and Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA). Up to now, this class of Roman fine tableware has only occasionally been evaluated archaeometrically. Nevertheless, numerous production centres are believed to have been simultaneously active in the western Mediterranean area. Petrographic and chemical data seem to be in agreement with the archaeological hypothesis of local manufacture in Segesta for most of the analysed samples, through a comparison with kiln wasters and local raw materials. The effectiveness of thin-section petrography for determining the provenance of such a tiny tempered class of pottery and the integrated use of two different grouping procedures (petrography and chemistry) were also tested. [source] The Source Provenance of Bronze Age and Roman pottery from CyprusARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 1 2002B. Gomez Archaeological interpretations of ancient economies have been strengthened by chemical analyses of ceramics, which provide the clearest evidence for economic activity, and comprise both the objects of exchange and its means. Pottery is often manufactured from local materials, but its compositional diversity typically prevents significant patterns of resource utilization from being identified. Centrally located and positioned on traditional shipping routes, Cyprus maintained ties with and supplied a variety of distinctive ceramic products to the major commercial centres in the eastern Mediterranean throughout Antiquity. We analysed two Cypriot .ne wares and a variety of utilitarian pottery, as well as samples of extant Cypriot clays to determine source provenance. These chemical analyses provide an objective indication of the origins of ancient (Bronze Age and Roman) ceramics manufactured on Cyprus. The distribution of the probable clay sources and the links between pottery style and the material environment also afford a perspective on the spatial organization of large-scale pottery production on the island. Compositional analysis provides the means to assemble geographies of pottery production and to unravel the interregional system of exchange that operated in Antiquity, but the ability to accomplish these tasks is predicated on systematic analyses of ceramic products and raw materials that are found far beyond the bounds of individual archaeological sites. [source] MAKING AN IMPRESSION: REPLICATION AND THE ONTOLOGY OF THE GRAECO-ROMAN SEAL STONEART HISTORY, Issue 2 2006VERITY PLATT The debate on replication in ancient art has traditionally concentrated upon Roman ,copies' of famous Greek sculptures and paintings. This article explores a different, but no less significant, kind of replication , the use of intaglio gems as seals to create wax impressions. The mechanical transmission of a glyptic image from one medium to another played an important role in Graeco-Roman society, conferring authority upon the seal as an individual or state signature employed in legal, political and personal exchange. The direct relationship between seal and impression was also appropriated by Greek philosophers as a metaphor for unmediated sense perception , the ,impressions' made by material objects upon the soul. However, as a comparison with the ontological issues surrounding the modern photograph shows, the seemingly unproblematic relationship between image and impression is more complex than may initially seem: the seal's philosophical appeal lay ultimately more in its social significance , as a guarantor of authenticity and marker of the self , than in its true ontological status. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||