A Bulb of Narcissus on the Egyptian Mummy from University of Wrocław Collection

The object of the present study is the ancient bulb of the narcissus found on the mummy, probably of the Ptolemaic period, brought to Wrocław from Italy in the sixteenth century AD. For about four hundred years the mummy was kept by the successive owners of one of pharmacies in Wrocław, and after the World War II became the possession of Wrocław University. Computed tomography made in 2002 revealed an atypical object lying under the left hand of the mummy. Extracted in 2004 it appeared to be the bulb of a flower, and botanical analysis has revealed that it represents the Narcissus tazetta L. species. Although the narcissus was known in Egypt, its identification in the ancient sources has never been attempted. Thanks to the analysis of the bio-medical properties of the narcissus, compared with some descriptions of remedies proposed by the medical papyri Ebers and Hearts, as well as with some religious magical texts an identification of the sennut plant with narcissus is proposed here.The object of the present study is the ancient bulb of the narcissus found on the mummy, probably of the Ptolemaic period, brought to Wrocław from Italy in the sixteenth century AD. For about four hundred years the mummy was kept by the successive owners of one of pharmacies in Wrocław, and after the World War II became the possession of Wrocław University. Computed tomography made in 2002 revealed an atypical object lying under the left hand of the mummy. Extracted in 2004 it appeared to be the bulb of a fl ower, and botanical analysis has revealed that it represents the Narcissus tazetta L. species. Although the narcissus was known in Egypt, its identification in the ancient sources has never been attempted. Thanks to the analysis of the bio-medical properties of the narcissus, compared with some descriptions of remedies proposed by the medical papyri Ebers and Hearts, as well as with some religious magical texts an identification of the sennut plant with narcissus is proposed here

A history of the Wrocław Branch of the Polish Geological Society in the years 1970-2021

In 2022, the Wrocław Branch of the Polish Geological Society celebrates its 70 jubilee. It was founded in 1951 and has been active since 1952. During the last 50 years, there were organized nearly 700 scientific lectures on widely different geological topics, five full plenary meetings of the Society in the Lower Silesia venues with dedicated field excursions, several thematic conferences (with on-spot field examination) during trips to various outcrops all over the region. Other occasional activities included celebration of the 250th anniversary of Abraham Gottlob Werner's birthday honoured by placing a sandstone triptych commemorative plaque on his family home in Osiecznica near Bolesławiec

Evolution of Neoarchean–Paleoproterozoic basement in the Brunovistulia terrane, S Poland : geological, P-T and geochemical records

Brunovistulia is a composite terrane of Gondwana descent that eventually was accreted to the SW margin of Baltica, central Europe. It is built of metagneous and metasedimentary rocks that originated mainly between 650 and 550 Ma. However in the Upper Silesian part of Brunovistulia, much older fragments have been drilled, which yielded U-Pb zircon ages between 2.75 and 2.0 Ga. They have been interpreted as an “exotic” constituent of the Brunovistulia superterrane, named the Rzeszotary Terrane. Our geological and geochemical studies of the Rzeszotary borehole cores yielded new data on the composition, provenance and evolution of that terrane. Precursors of the Rzeszotary complex were separated from the depleted mantle prior to or around 3.2-3.0 Ga. At 2.75-2.6 Ga, a juvenile magmatic arc edifice formed, beneath which oceanic lithosphere was subducted. Decompression melting of the mantle brought about tholeiite magmas of IAT/MORB composition with LILE additions. Tonalitic and trondhjemitic precursors of gneisses present today were formed at that time, probably due to partial melting of mantle-derived wet basalts at the base of the island arc. Around 2.0 Ga, the arc collided with an unspecified cratonic mass and was subject to orogenic deformation, metamorphism and migmatization. The entire arc edifice was then strongly shortened and forced down to depths equivalent to ~6-12 kbar where the rocks underwent contractional deformation and metamorphism (~500-700°C). Tonalites and trondhjemites were changed to gneisses, and basites to epidote- and garnet amphibolites. These rocks underwent syntectonic migmatization through the mechanism of segregation/differentiation in the presence of fluids and incipient partial melting. Synmetamorphic shortening of the rock pile, which led to folding and heterogeneous development of shear zones with thrust kinematics, terminated with intrusions of K-granites at 2.0 Ga, being followed by some brittle-ductile deformation of unconstrained timing. The 2.0 Ga event may have been connected with the 2.1-1.8 Ga global amalgamation of the Paleoproterozoic supercontinent of Columbia. Later the future Rzeszotary terrane was detached from the Gondwana mainland, reassembled and eventually, in the Neoproterozoic, it became part of the foreland of the Cadomian Orogen in Central Europe

Age constraints on the Pre-Variscan and Variscan thermal events in the Kamieniec Ząbkowicki Metamorphic belt (the Fore-Sudetic Block, SW Poland)

The Kamieniec Ząbkowicki Metamorphic Belt (KZMB) is a narrow zone of mainly mica schists, subordinate acid metavolcanics and scarce eclogites, sandwiched between Brunovistulia and the northern tip of the Teplá-Barrandia microplates. Locally occurring high-pressure relics indicate subduction of the metasedimentary succession of the KZMB, the origin and provenance of which remain unclear. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) investigations of detrital zircons show that the metapelites represent an Ediacaran-Cambrian sedimentary basin, with a maximum depositional age of 561±9 Ma. This basin was filled with detritus from a source or sources, composed of rocks containing zircons that are mainly Cryogenian-Ediacaran and Palaeoproterozoic in age. No younger component was found in the zircon population studied. The isotopic U-Pb LA-ICP-MS and chemical U-Th-total Pb electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) monazite geochronology data indicate an important regional tectono-metamorphic event at ca. 330 Ma. Though these data do not permit determination of the peak pressure from the peak temperature stages, the event was part of a complex collision of the Saxothuringian plate with Brunovistulia

A Bulb of Narcissus on the Egyptian Mummy from University of Wrocław Collection

The object of the present study is the ancient bulb of the narcissus found on the mummy, probably of the Ptolemaic period, brought to Wrocław from Italy in the sixteenth century AD. For about four hundred years the mummy was kept by the successive owners of one of pharmacies in Wrocław, and after the World War II became the possession of Wrocław University. Computed tomography made in 2002 revealed an atypical object lying under the left hand of the mummy. Extracted in 2004 it appeared to be the bulb of a flower, and botanical analysis has revealed that it represents the Narcissus tazetta L. species. Although the narcissus was known in Egypt, its identification in the ancient sources has never been attempted. Thanks to the analysis of the bio-medical properties of the narcissus, compared with some descriptions of remedies proposed by the medical papyri Ebers and Hearts, as well as with some religious magical texts an identification of the sennut plant with narcissus is proposed here

Problematyka głębokiego wiercenia na Orawie a popaleogeńska tektonika Karpat Północnych

This paper presents an insight into the geology of the area surrounding the ODDP proposed drilling site, and the structural development of the Carpathians in post-Palaeogene times. Since the deep drilling is proposed to be located in the Orava region of the Northern Carpathians, on the Polish-Slovak border, the structure and origin of the Neogene Orava Basin is also addressed in the paper. The outline of geology of the Carpathian Mountains in Slovakia and Poland is presented. This outline includes the Inner Carpathian Tatra Mountains, the Inner Carpathian Palaeogene Basin, the Pieniny Klippen Belt, the Outer Carpathians, the deep structure below the Carpathian overthrust, the Orava Basin Neogene cover, the Neogene magmatism, faults and block rotations within the Inner and Outer Carpathians, and the Carpathian contemporary stress field. The outline of geology is accompanied by the results of the most recent magnetotelluric survey and the detailed description of the post-Palaeogene plate tectonics of the circum-Carpathian region. The oblique collision of the Alcapa terrane with the North European plate led to the development of the accretionary wedge of the Outer Carpathians and foreland basin. The northward movement of the Alpine segment of the Carpathian-Alpine orogen had been stopped due to its collision with the Bohemian Massif. At the same time, the extruded Carpatho/ Pannonian units were pushed to the open space, towards a bay of weak crust filled up by the Outer Carpathian flysch sediments. The separation of the Carpatho/Pannonian segment from the Alpine one and its propagation to the north was related to the development of the N-S dextral strike-slip faults. The formation of the West Carpathian thrusts was completed by the Miocene time. The thrust front was still progressing eastwards in the Eastern Carpathians. The Carpathian loop including the Pieniny Klippen Belt structure was formed. The Neogene evolution of the Carpathians resulted also in the formation of genetically different sedimentary basins. These basins were opened due to lithospheric extension, flexure, and strike-slip related processes. A possible asteno- sphere upwelling may have contributed to the origin of the Orava Basin, which represents a kind of a rift modified by strike-slip/pull-apart processes. In this way, a local extensional regime must have operated on a local scale in the Orava region, within the frame of an overall compressional stress field affecting the entire West Carpathians. Nevertheless, many questions remain open. Without additional direct geological data, which can be achieved only by deep drilling under the Orava Deep Drilling Project, these questions cannot be fully and properly answered.W grudniu 1999 Polska dołączyła do programu wierceń kontynentalnych - International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP). W ramach tego programu jest przygotowywany projekt głębokiego wiercenia w strefie kontaktu teranu Karpat wewnętrznych i płyty północnoeuropejskiej. Praca przedstawia zarys geologii Karpat na terenie Polski i Słowacji, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem Tatr, paleogenu wewnątrzkarpackiego, pienińskiego pasa skałkowego, zachodnich Karpat zewnętrznych, podłoża nasunięcia karpackiego na południe od Krakowa, neogeńskiego wulkanizmu i budowy geologicznej niecki orawskiej. Wiercenie "Orawa" byłoby usytuowane w rejonie Jabłonki-Chyżnego na linii przekroju sejsmicznego CELEBRATION CEL01, jak również w niedalekim sąsiedztwie głębokiego przekroju geologicznego Kraków-Zakopane i na linii przekroju Andrychów-Chyżne. Przekroje Kraków--Zakopane i Andrychów-Chyżne wykorzystują szereg wierceń Państwowego Instytutu Geologicznego i PGNiG, a także badania sejsmiczne i magnetote-luryczne. Usytuowanie wiercenia w rejonie przygranicznym pozwoli na międzynarodową współpracę z geologami i geofizykami słowackimi. Wiercenie to ma na celu wyjaśnienie szeregu problemów badawczych. Jednym z nich jest zagadnienie młodych i współczesnych ruchów tektonicznych w Karpatach. Przez obszar karpacki przebiega granica europejskiego pola plam gorąca, wyznaczona neogeńskim wulkanizmem oraz rozkładem strumienia cieplnego. Na obszarze pomiędzy Górną Orawą a Górnym Śląskiem, linia graniczna łącząca neogeńskie wulkanity Zakarpacia z andezytami rejonu przypienińskiego i bazaltami Dolnego Śląska przecina skośnie nasunięcia jednostek fliszowych Karpat Zewnętrznych. Równocześnie w rejonie Orawy do pienińskiego pasa skałkowego skośnie dochodzi oś karpackiej, ujemnej anomalii grawimetrycznej, a podłoże skonsolidowane występuje na głębokości nie większej niż 6-9 km, a więc w zasięgu głębokiego wiercenia, co sugerują wyniki badań megnetotellurycznych (Żytko, 1999) i magnetycznych. Podniesienie to, przy generalnym zapadaniu podłoża platformy europejskiej pod Karpaty ku południowi, może bya spowodowane warunkami geotermicznymi, na skutek podnoszenia się astenosfery i występowania pióropuszy płaszcza. Pióropusze te mogą bya niezależne od karpackiej kompresji i subdukcji. Z piórpuszami tymi łączy się lokalna i regionalna ekstensja w warunkach megaregionalnej kompresji. Zjawiska tego rodzaju nie są jeszcze dokładnie poznane, aczkolwiek występują w kilku miejscach na świecie (np. Panteleria na Morzu Śródziemnym). Opracowanie zagadnienia roli pióropuszy płaszcza i określenie ich relacji do kolizji i subdukcji mają zasięg globalny, a ich wyjaśnienie w rejonie karpackim pozwoli na stworzenie uniwersalnego modelu ewolucji orogenów. Nie jest wykluczone, że mamy do czynienia z orogenezą "modyfikowaną" przez pióropusz płaszcza. Powstanie niecki Orawy i Podhala mogłoby więc mieć związek z riftingiem spowodowanym wpływem pióropuszy płaszcza na pograniczu dwóch płyt. Ryft ten jest obrzeżony między innymi wyniesieniami Babiej Góry i Orawskiej Magury. Z ryftem może być związany wulkanizm ukryty pod neogeńskimi utworami niecki orawskiej, a widoczny jako wysokooporowe ciała na profilach megnetotellurycznych. Tektonikę tego obszaru komplikuje występowanie uskoków przesuwczych o różnym przebiegu i orientacji i związane z nimi tworzenie się basenów międzyprzesuwczych typu pull-apart. Proponowane wiercenie przyczyniłoby się do uzyskania odpowiedzi na postawione wyżej problemy. Dla określenia dokładnej lokalizacji wiercenia i jego właściwej interpretacji geologicznej konieczne będzie wykonanie dodatkowych prac geofizycznych. Płytka sejsmika wyjaśniłaby zasięg utworów neogeńskich i pozycję pienińskiego pasa skałkowego pod utworami neogenu, zaś głęboka sejsmika, a zwłaszcza zdjęcie 3-D, przyczyni łaby się do lepszego rozpoznania tektoniki wgłębnej