Martin J. Aitken (1922-2017)

No abstract available

Radiocarbon dates from the Oxford AMS system: archaeometry datelist 35

This is the 35th list of AMS radiocarbon determinations measured at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU). Amongst some of the sites included here are the latest series of determinations from the key sites of Abydos, El Mirón, Ban Chiang, Grotte de Pigeons (Taforalt), Alepotrypa and Oberkassel, as well as others dating to the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and later periods. Comments on the significance of the results are provided by the submitters of the material

Mobile spectroscopic instrumentation in archaeometry research

Mobile instrumentation is of growing importance to archaeometry research. Equipment is utilized in the field or at museums, thus avoiding transportation or risk of damage to valuable artifacts. Many spectroscopic techniques are nondestructive and micro-destructive in nature, which preserves the cultural heritage objects themselves. This review includes over 160 references pertaining to the use of mobile spectroscopy for archaeometry. Following a discussion of terminology related to mobile instrumental methods, results of a literature survey on their applications for cultural heritage objects is presented. Sections devoted to specific techniques are then provided: Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, and less frequently used techniques. The review closes with a discussion of combined instrumental approaches

Two Mycenaean Stirrup-jars from the Levant

A cache of artifacts, recovered in 2014 by the cultural heritage squadron of the Guardia di Finanza (Gruppo Tutela Patrimonio Archeologico of the Nucleo Polizia Tributaria di Roma), included two Mycenaean stirrup jars among the pottery illegally brought into Italy from the Northern Levant. The stirrup jar has one of the most distinctive shapes of the Mycenaean repertoire and is found throughout the Mediterranean around the end of the Late Bronze Age. Even if removed from their original context, both of these stirrup jars can be ascribed to a distinctive cultural milieu within a specific chronological range, based upon morphological and stylistic parameters. Furthermore, their good state of preservation suggests that the original context of deposition may have been a tomb. Comparison with stirrup jars found at key sites in the Eastern Mediterranean allows us to re-contextualize them as part of the wide diffusion of Mycenaean luxury goods in the Levan

A practical method for preparing Ca(OH)2 nanodispersions for the consolidation of archaeological calcareous stones

Exposure to atmospheric conditions results in considerable deterioration of calcareous building stones, lime mortars and plasters in archaeological monuments, requiring several conservation treatments. During the consolidation treatments of the deteriorated calcareous stones, compatibility can best be achieved by introducing a material that would have similar chemical composition and mineralogical structure with the original stone. In recent years, studies on the preparation of Ca(OH)2 nanodispersions for the consolidation of limestone and marble have increased but the preparation processes of these nanodispersions are usually complicated and time consuming. This study aimed to prepare Ca(OH)2 nanodispersions in ethyl alcohol at sufficient concentration levels with a practical method for the consolidation of calcareous archaeological materials. The preparation of higher concentrations of Ca(OH)2 nanodispersion in ethyl alcohol was done by using nano sized CaO and its dispersion in ethyl alcohol. Deteriorated marble pieces from Roman Marble Quarry near Pessinus Archaeological site (Ballıhisar, Turkey) were treated with the prepared Ca(OH)2 nanodispersion and kept at high relative humidity (~90%) at room temperature in the laboratory. Efficient penetration of the nanodispersion, and increase in the physicomechanical properties of treated marbles were followed by examinations with polarizing microscope, SEM, XRD and ultrasonic pulse velocity measurements. Carbonation of the dispersion was followed by titrimetric analysis. Calcite was the main polymorph observed after carbonation. The results showed that consolidation treatments with Ca(OH)2 nanodispersions similar to the one prepared in this study can be used for all calcareous archaeological materials that need improvements in their physical and mechanical properties. © 2018 MAA

Archaeology, science-based archaeology and the Mediterranean Bronze Age metals trade

Archaeologists often seem either sceptical of science-based archaeology or baffled by its results. The underpinnings of science-based archaeology may conflict with social or behavioural factors unsuited to quantification and grouping procedures. Thus, the interaction between archaeologists and their science-based colleagues has been less profitable than it might have been. The main point I consider in this study, and exemplify by considering metals provenance studies in the Bronze Age Mediterranean, is the relevance and application of the stated aims of science-based archaeology to the contemporary discipline of archaeology. Whereas most practitioners today recognize that science-based archaeology has the potential to contribute positively to the resolution of problems stemming from our field's inadequate and incomplete data resource, I contend that science and scientific analyses alone cannot adjudicate between cultural possibilities. Rather they provide analytical data which are likely to be open-ended, subject to multiple social interpretations, and in need of evaluation by collaborating archaeologists using social theory

The orientation of the Mithraea in Ostia Antica

We conducted an investigation on the orientations and geometrical content of the Mithraea of Ostia Antica. A geometrical CAD study based on the most reliable plans from the Archives of the Sovrintendenza Speciale per il Colosseo, il MNR e l’Area Archeologica di Roma – Ostia Antica, aside with the identification of geometrical and numerical schemes and associated length units, allowed us to identify the axes of the Mithraea. Then the orientations of the axes were measured on field by means of a professional compass with ± 0.5° uncertainty. The distribution of these measured azimuths follows the topography of the city. On the contrary, the Decumanus, the main street of the town, presents an indubitable orientation toward the Winter Solstice Sunset. This was ascertained by measuring the coordinates of four significant points along the street with the help of a palmar Trimble GPS which averages 100 measures per point. The exceptional density of Mithraea in Ostia led us to suppose that a symbolic cosmic-solar value is to be searched in the orientation as a whole of the town itself, founded half a millennium before the first presence of Mithraism in Rome. The Decumanus could be considered the very holder of this symbolic value with its orientation toward the Winter Solstice Sunset, possibly making of Ostia a very special place for Mithraicism

The sky from the high terrace. study on the orientation of the Ziqqurat in Ancient Mesopotamia

The ziqqurat is the symbol of the Mesopotamian sacred architecture in the western thought. This monument, standardized at the end of the III millennium BC by the kings of the Third Dynasty of Ur, has changed during the history of Mesopotamia its shape and architecture, but remained till the end of the Neo-Babylonian Period in the I millennium BC the highest structure of the city. The ziqqurat is the only monument visible over the settlements wall with a strong visual impact around the urban and the countryside landscape. Despite its simple structural function, a high mud brick platform to sustain an upper temple, the ziqqurat appears in the Mesopotamian art and literature as a structure of primary importance, a connection between the earth, domain of the god Enlil, with the sky, domain of the god Anu. The ideological function to connect the earth and the sky was related also with the rituals performed in the high temples built above these monuments, usually linked with important seasonal royal rituals. The paper will analyze this particular aspect of ziqqurat, looking also to their orientations and to the changing in the relationship between these monuments and the urban landscape through the centuries

The color of transformation: Investigations into heat treatment of Natufian artifacts from Hayonim Terrace (Israel)

In the Natufian lithic component at Hayonim, both in the cave and the terrace, numerous artifacts of pink/red color may be recognized. Cherts with similar appearance are not present in the geological environment surrounding the site in Northern Israel. Pink chert available in Jordan is shown to be of different nature. Thus this leaves us with the hypothesis of intentional heat treatment of locally available iron-rich yellow chert, of Cenomanian age. Based on experimental replication of chert firing and SEM analysis, we argue that a well-mastered and controlled use of fire was practiced by some skilled craftsmen at Hayonim throughtout the Late Epipalaeolithic

Luminescence dating and mineralogical investigations of bricks from erikli basilica in Stratonikeia ancient city (SW-Turkey)

Stratonikeia is one of the oldest settlements in southwestern Anatolia and at the same time significant for an understanding of the Hellenistic period. Archaeological records of Stratonikeia date back to around 2000 BC. This study provides new information not only about luminescence age but also about mineralo-petrographic, geochemical characteristics of bricks taken from Erikli Basilica in Stratonikeia (Turkey). In this study, mineralogical data of TL and OSL dating of two bricks and two sediment samples will be presented. The bricks have highly similar mineralogical composition, consisting mainly of quartz and muscovite. These results are supported by XRD studies. In order to perform the thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, the equivalent dose (ED) and the annual dose (AD) of the samples were determined using different estimation techniques. The TL ages of bricks are determined to be 1189±89 and 576±40 years. The IRSL ages of the bricks are determined to be 1167±85 years and 545±50 years. Additionally, supporting the TL and IRSL ages, the OSL quartz ages of the two sediments obtained from the top of the layer under the floor are discovered to be about 1100 years. Mineralo-petrographic, geochemical, dating and archaeological studies have revealed that the age of bricks is different from each other. Furthermore, Erikli Basillica was built in bricks, consisting of raw materials taken from different quarries in different periods. Within the framework, the first report of the experimental approach has been published from Stratonikeia archaeological site located in Muğla, Agean Anatolia. © 2018 MAA Open Access. Printed in Greece. All rights reserved