De-constructing terracotta female figurines: A chalcolithic case-study

We report the results of detailed imaging studies of the inner structure of a terracotta female figurine dated to the 6th millennium BC, most probably from the Lakes region of Turkey, now kept at the Nati- onal Museum of Oriental Art \u201cGiuseppe Tucci\u201d, Rome. The figurine was investigated with advanced CT scanning, recording 966 transversal sections. Each section was stratigraphically interpreted and digitized, reconstructing in three dimensions the form and mode of application of each lump or slab under the potter\u2019s fingers. A review of the available information on the techniques of construction of prehistoric terracotta figurines in Eurasia reveals at least two diverging technical templates, here named core and dual forming processes. The structure of the investigated figurine and its operational sequence reveals a version of the dual technical template, confirming the presence and influence, at a cognitive level, of organic analogies and a possible map of the female body in the modelling process

Reconstructing Advaita in John Thatamanil\u27s The Immanent Divine : Some Questions

The publication of John Thatamanil\u27s The Immanent Divine allows us to ask many questions about projects in comparative theology and where they could lead us. I hope that my response to this interesting work will have the value of probing a little more into the tasks of comparative theology. There is no doubt that The Immanent Divine is a remarkable effort. it is also a book which taxes the academic reader who is probably not a specialist in Tillich and Advaita and the various versions of process theology, especially the distinctive version of Robert Neville. I will break down my response to this wide-ranging effort into several topics

Focusing on Soil Foundation Heterogeneity through High-resolution Tomography

An historical building affected by differential settlements, which were triggered by an earthquake, is investigated by means of high-resolution tomography, both electrical and seismic. The objective is to image the geometric structure of the shallow soil below the building and to characterize its stiffness at low strain. A preliminary reconstruction of the geological units has been recovered through the combined use of electrical and seismic data, where the depth of the travertine bedrock varies significantly within the study site. The range of variation of the main geophysical parameters (resistivity, P- and S-wave velocities) inferred from these models has been set as reference point for tuning the results obtained from the geophysical survey performed near the building. The inverted tomographic models obtained from data acquired alongside the building exhibit heterogeneity of the shallow subsoil, which is partly founded on a weathered layer and partly on a more rigid lithotype, probably a fractured travertine or a gravel layer. Therefore the fill anthropic soils can play a relevant role for the structural stability in case of shallow foundations built on a heterogeneous subsoil

Effective use of data in waste strategy planning in the UK

Effective waste strategy planning for sustainable and integrated waste management is predicated on high-quality information. However a review of recent local authority waste strategies in England, part of a research project into effective use of data and analysis in waste strategy planning carried out by researchers at the Open University, showed little evidence of being based on thorough analysis. Lack of good data on many aspects of performance restricts what can be achieved in planning better integrated, more sustainable waste management provision. This paper draws from the results of that project and illustrates improvements that could be achieved by using better quality data and analysis to inform decision making. The research explored the use of various types of information and analysis including compositional analysis and establishing diversion rates; scenario building; applications of geographical information systems; understanding and measuring public participation; the use of trials to collect relevant data; and understanding of the effects of recycling schemes on residual waste composition. The general principals and methodologies of each approach are illustrated by examples derived from the authors’ analysis and interpretation of local authority data provided by case study partners, and show how local data can provide relevant and effective local answers

Student News

Calyptrates are a megadiverse, actively radiating, group of dipterans, which are widely spread and abundant in nearly all terrestrial environments. Despite huge diversity and economic importance, their phylogeny is far from resolved. Recent attempts employing few taxa seem converging in retrieving monophyly for most of the families and subfamilies, but deep relationships among these, especially for those of the oestroid clade (blow flies and relatives), are labile when not changing. The goal of the present project is to shed some light on the deep phylogenetic relationships among Calyptratae by using an anchored hybridization approach with a careful taxon sampling. Furthermore, we aim at resolving the generic phylogeny of two key families of parasitoid flies: Rhinophoridae and Polleniidae. Rhinophorids are interesting because of their peculiar parasitoid habit: they are the only insects having exploited crustaceans (Crustacea, Isopoda, Oniscidea) as hosts. Moreover, adult rhinophorids are difficult to recognize from other oestroids due to the lack of autapomorphies. Differently, however, the preimaginal instars present sound autapomorphies. Notwithstanding the several phylogenetic investigations conducted so far, the phylogenetic position of the rhinophorids is ambiguous and there is an impelling need of improving both taxon sampling and sequence data in order to gain a better resolution. In turn, the phylogenetic position of the polleniids as sister group of the Tachinidae is becoming consensus recently, but the phylogenetic relationships within the family are still unknown. In conclusion we aim to reconstruct a solid phylogeny of these groups in order to build up a stable and predictive classification of the Oestroidea

A brief note on the Yemenite chahar taq mausoleums. The case of Baraqish

The chahartaq, a type of building frequently used as a mausoleum in Iran during the Islamic era, has an undeniable Iranian pre-Islamic origin, but its architectural form, together with its function as a mausoleum, crossed the Iranian border and was attested in Yemen too. The 17th-century chahar taq mausoleum at Baraqish seem to be a specific choice, probably of a Shi'i matrix

Reconstructing the lived experience of disability in antiquity: a case study from Roman Egypt

Over the last thirty years, the development of disability studies as an academic discipline has in turn ensured that interest in disability in historical periods has steadily increased. Initially, scholars presented an overwhelmingly negative view of disability in antiquity, proceeding under the assumption that babies born displaying visible signs of deformity or disability were subjected either to infanticide or exposure, and that individuals who were subsequently identified as suffering from a deformity or disability, or developed either one later in life, were ostracized and unable to make any meaningful contribution to society. It is only over the last decade that this reductive approach has been gradually discredited, and the understanding of disability in antiquity has become increasingly nuanced. To date, one monograph has been published on deformity and disability in the Graeco-Roman world, one monograph on disability in the Greek world and one on disability in the Roman world, and one edited volume on disability in antiquity and another on disability in the Roman world. These have been complemented by investigations into disability in Judaism, Christianity and the Bible

A splendid shrine for an ugly image : visual interactions in the Salviati Chapel at San Gregorio al Celio

This essay examines the history and decoration of the Salviati Chapel at San Gregorio al Celio in Rome as the repository of an image of the Virgin and in relation to two other chapels created by the same patron (Antonio Maria Salviati) in the church of San Giacomo in Augusta. In considering this dialogue among the chapels, I analyze the rationale behind the project at San Gregorio and its purpose to valorize antique images, reconstructing the particular design and function in the space of the now lost altarpiece with St. Gregory by Annibale Carracci. I also discuss more broadly th theme of the artistic experimentation and confrontation between "old" and "ruined" 'images' and "new" and "beautiful" 'works of art', that took place in Rome at the turn of the seventeenth century