Bronze Age moss fibre garments from Scotland – the jury’s out

In the light of recent discoveries of early to middle Bronze Age burials with mats and fibrous material in Scotland, for example at Langwell farm and Forteviot, it was deemed timely to re-evaluate earlier finds of this period, several of which were discovered and initially reported on nearly a century ago. As part of this research it was noted that three Bronze Age finds from the old literature were reported as clothing or shrouds made of hair moss (Polytrichum commune). Three of these are reassessed here, with a detailed re-examination of the “hair moss apron” from North Cairn Farm. Technological analysis of this find showed no evidence for the twining previously reported and SEM fibre analysis shows that it is unlikely to be hair moss or indeed Bronze Age. However, there is other evidence for hair moss artefacts from other British Bronze Age and Roman contexts. These suggest it is possible that hair moss fibre was used in Scotland in the Bronze Age, but that the North Cairn Farm fibrous object should no longer be considered among this evidence

Interstitial gas and density-segregation in vertically-vibrated granular media

We report experimental studies of the effect of interstitial gas on mass-density-segregation in a vertically-vibrated mixture of equal-sized bronze and glass spheres. Sufficiently strong vibration in the presence of interstitial gas induces vertical segregation into sharply separated bronze and glass layers. We find that the segregated steady state (i.e., bronze or glass layer on top) is a sensitive function of gas pressure and viscosity, as well as vibration frequency and amplitude. In particular, we identify distinct regimes of behavior that characterize the change from bronze-on-top to glass-on-top steady-state.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PRL; accepted in PRE as rapid communication, with revised text and reference

A Mesolithic settlement site at Howick, Northumberland: a preliminary report

Excavations at a coastal site at Howick during 2000 and 2002 have revealed evidence for a substantial Mesolithic settlement and a Bronze Age cist cemetery. Twenty one radiocarbon determinations of the earlier eighth millennium BP (Cal.) indicate that the Mesolithic site is one of the earliest known in northern Britain. An 8m core of sediment was recovered from stream deposits adjacent to the archaeological site which provides information on local environmental conditions. Howick offers a unique opportunity to understand aspects of hunter-gatherer colonisation and settlement during a period of rapid palaeogeographical change around the margins of the North Sea basin, at a time when it was being progressively inundated by the final stages of the postglacial marine transgression. The cist cemetery will add to the picture of Bronze Age occupation of the coastal strip and again reveals a correlation between the location of Bronze Age and Mesolithic sites which has been observed elsewhere in the region

Bronzkori tájakon a Benta völgyében : Kutatások a központ és „hátországa” kapcsolatának megismerésére | Bronze Age Landscapes in the Benta Valley : Research on the Hinterland of Bronze Age Centres

Közép-Európában a bronzkori települések hálózatának és a hozzájuk kapcsolódó temetkezéseknek a kutatása a régészeti terepmunkának mindig is meghatározó irányvonalát alkotta. Az elmúlt évszázadok kutatói elsősorban a nagyobb központi települések, tellek, földvárak megismerését tűzték ki célul. Az utóbbi bő évtizedben alapvető változás kezdődött ezen a területen is. A központi települések tanulmányozása mellett hangsúlyosabbá váltak a mikroregionális kutatások, az eltérő funkciójú és szerkezetű települések és temetkezések vizsgálata. A bronzkori tájhasználat tágan értelmezett kérdéseinek megválaszolására csak komplex kutatási programok vállalkozhatnak. A kutatás során többek között a következő kérdések merülnek fel: 1) Miként definiálhatók regionálisan és mikroregionálisan a bronzkor különböző időszakaiban a települési struktúrák? 2) Léteztek-e valódi központok, specializált települések a bronzkorban Közép-Európában? 3) Hogyan befolyásolta a kulturális háttér az adott régió tájhasználatát? 4) A temetőkben hogyan nyilvánul meg a társadalmi és politikai szerveződés? Ilyen komplex, nemzetközi kutatási programok keretében került sor Százhalombatta vidéke bronzkori településtörténetének vizsgálatára. | Research on the network of Bronze Age settlements and their burial grounds has always been a priority of archaeological fieldwork in Central Europe. Researchers of the past centuries tended to focus on the large central settlements such as tells and hillforts. The past decade has seen a shift in research perspectives: while the study of central settlements has lost none of its importance, interest has grown in micro-regional research and the investigation of settlements with differing function and layout. Only complex research projects can address broad issues of Bronze Age land use. We sought answers to the following questions: 1) Did differences exist between the regional and micro-regional settlement patterns during successive periods of the Bronze Age? 2) Were there genuine centres and specialised settlements during the Bronze Age in Central Europe? 3) How did a communityʼs cultural background influence landscape use in a particular region? 4) How is social and political organisation reflected in cemeteries? The Bronze Age settlement history of the Százhalombatta area was investigated as part of an international research project

Simulation of density segregation in vibrated beds

We have investigated by numerical simulation the density segregation of fine equal-sized bronze and glass particles subject to vertical vibrations. The model was found to be capable of predicting the two main segregation forms (“bronze on top” and “sandwich”) in roughly the same regions of the phase diagram as was found experimentally by Burtally et al. We investigated the effects of pressure air forcing, friction and restitution of kinetic energy in collisions, and box size on the segregation behavior. We find that next to the interstitial air friction also has a large influence on the formation of the sandwich structure

Contract for Bronze Statue of Henry Cherry

Contract between Bronze, Incorporated and the Cherry Statue Committee of Western Kentucky University to complete Lorado Taft\u27s statue of Henry Cherry.https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/exhibit_2015/1013/thumbnail.jp