Cavalli senza cavalieri. Il tripode di Cap d’Agde e i tripodi etruschi tardo-arcaici con protomi equine

En 1986, un trépied étrusque a été retrouvé au large du Cap d’Agde (Hérault), au lieu‑dit « Tour du Castellas ». Ce trépied appartient à une série d’exemplaires étrusques en bronze traditionnellement associée à une production de Vulci, sur le littoral des Maremmes de l’actuel Latium. Ces objets sont normalement décorés avec de petites figures en bronze fondu, situées sur l’extrémité des petites tiges et sur les éléments en forme d’arc qui les unissent. Dans l’exemplaire du Cap d’Agde, on peut voir une femme ailée et un groupe de deux protomés chevalins placés dos à dos, chacun reproduit trois fois. La présence de ces protomés chevalins permet d’associer ce trépied avec deux autres et quelques fragments de trépieds similaires, tous ornés du même groupe. Ce rapprochement fait émerger de nouveaux questionnements comme la signification des chevaux et les raisons de leur association avec un trépied. Nous rejetons l’interprétation d’un lien entre la figure ailée et les chevaux et proposons de donner à ces chevaux la fonction d’éléments symboliques, plutôt que de simples attributs décoratifs. Grâce à quelques comparaisons, on peut rappeler la tradition de l’association entre trépieds et chevaux dès l’époque géométrique en Grèce jusqu’à l’archaïsme étrusque. Cette étude permet ainsi de réaffirmer la valeur des trépieds et des chevaux comme objets de prestige de l’aristocratie.In 1986 an Etruscan rod-tripod was found in the sea off the shore of Cap d’Agde (Dep. Herault), next the so-called “Tour du Castellas”. It belongs to a group of Etruscan bronze tripods which are believed to have been fabricated in the ancient city of Vulci, on the Maremma coast of Lazio. These tripods are usually decorated by small cast figures placed on the top of the rods and on the arched fittings. On the Cap d’Agde tripod, a winged woman and a group made by two addorsed foreparts of horses are visible, both replicated for three times.The presence of the horses’ foreparts relates this tripod to other two and to some fragments of similar tripods that show as well the same cast group. This circumstance raises new questions about the meaning of the horses and their association with tripods. As an interpretation which includes the female figure and the horses is rejected, these last are eventually believed not to be just decorative patterns but rather symbolic elements. Thanks to some comparisons, a traditional association between tripods and horses from the geometric era is demonstrated, thus revealing to be valid throughout both Greek and Etruscan worlds. The strong relationship between tripods, horses and aristocracy is consequently reaffirmed

Time measurements by means of digital sampling techniques: a study case of 100 ps FWHM time resolution with a 100 MSample/s, 12 bit digitizer

Abstract An application of digital sampling techniques is presented which can simplify experiments involving sub-nanosecond time-mark determinations and energy measurements with nuclear detectors, used for Pulse Shape Analysis and Time of Flight measurements in heavy ion experiments. The basic principles of the method are discussed as well as the main parameters that influence the accuracy of the measurements. The method allows to obtain both time and amplitude information with an electronic chain simply consisting of a charge preamplifier and a fast high resolution ADC (in the present application: 100 MSample/s , 12 bit ) coupled to an efficient on-line software. In particular an accurate Time of Flight information can be obtained by mixing a beam related time signal with the output of the preamplifier. Examples of this technique applied to Silicon detectors in heavy-ions experiments involving particle identification via Pulse Shape analysis and Time of Flight measurements are presented. The system is suited for applications to large detector arrays and to different kinds of detectors

Wein, Weib und Gesang. A propósito de tres apliques de bronce arcaicos entre la Península Ibérica y Baleares

A new study of three small bronze figures of Etruscan and Italic manufacture gives the opportunity to reconsider the dossier of bronze vessels imported in the Western Mediterranean Area. Firstly, a thorough description of each figure allows to determinate their provenance and to make new hypothesis about their correct placement. Secondly, a review of Etruscan and Italic vessels found on the Peninsula, including some new findings, is presented. This review shows clearly specific tendencies concerning the import of archaic vessels. Finally, the presence of these objects is related to the examined figures, thus giving the chance to explain their outstanding nature in comparison to standard imports. Therefore, a provenance from archaeological contexts, at least for two of them, is hardly acceptable.El nuevo estudio de tres figuras de bronce de tipo etrusco e itálico permite reconsiderar el dossier de la vajilla metálica importada en el Mediterráneo occidental. En primer lugar, una completa descripción de cada figura autoriza consideraciones acerca de la procedencia así como su correcta función original. En segundo lugar, se ofrece una revisión de la vajilla metálica etrusca e itálica recuperada en la Península en la que se incluyen nuevos hallazgos. Este catálogo organiza los distintos tipos de importaciones de manera exhaustiva. Finalmente, se contextualizan los tres fragmentos examinados en la primera parte, destacándose respecto a las importaciones estándar. Como resultado, para dos de las tres piezas, la procedencia de contextos arqueológicos del mediterráneo occidental es difícil de aceptar

Exploring Dress, Gender, and Bodily Capital through Pre- and Protohistoric Funerary Contexts: Case Studies from Southwestern Europe

While uneven in their scope and reach, studies of dress and dress complements (fibulae, belt buckles, buttons, etc.) have a significant tradition within the broader study of the pre- and protohistory of Mediterranean Europe. Many of these studies, however, have had a strong focus on the typology of the dress complements and ornaments themselves, either as chronological indicators, ethnic markers, or both. In more recent years, however, a shift in research agendas has ushered in the introduction of new perspectives and new ways of thinking about dress and bodily adornment. This contribution explores one such perspective in particular — namely, the concept of bodily capital and its application to the interpretation of gendered regimes of dress — through selected case studies. Said case studies hail from two areas with strong traditions of research on dress and dress complements — the Iberian and the Italic Peninsulas (Figs. 1 & 2). Regarding the former, examples from the Chalcolithic (see below, section 3.1.1) and the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages of Southern Portugal (section 3.1.2) illustrate the evolution of regional regimes for the accumulation of bodily capital over time and show how these can highlight the gendered dynamics behind the sociopolitical development of communities in this area between the 3rd and the 1st millennia BC. For the latter, the examples of protohistoric Campania, with a focus on Pontecagnano and its surrounding area (section 3.2.1), and the Archaic Period in the Picenum, with a focus on the site of Numana (section 3.2.2), illustrate the role of dress, and especially female dress, in displays of bodily capital. These have far-reaching implications which go beyond the local and regional scale and must be set against the backdrop of the increasing connectivity of Mediterranean communities throughout the 1st millennium BC. As will be seen, all these case studies offer insights and clues on how to approach dress and its relationship to both embodied identities and lived experiences of gender (but also status) from different and innovative angles. Before delving into them, however, it seems useful to start by briefly reviewing the development of theoretical and methodological approaches to dress in archaeological research, and to set out the conceptual framework of this study by briefly discussing the notion of bodily capital, its origin and potential applications for the topic at hand

A DSP equipped digitizer for online analysis of nuclear detector signals

In the framework of the NUCL-EX collaboration, a DSP equipped fast digitizer has been implemented and it has now reached the production stage. Each sampling channel is implemented on a separate daughter-board to be plugged on a VME mother-board. Each channel features a 12-bit, 125 MSamples/s ADC and a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) for online analysis of detector signals. A few algorithms have been written and successfully tested on detectors of different types (scintillators, solid-state, gas-filled), implementing pulse shape discrimination, constant fraction timing, semi-Gaussian shaping, gated integration

Soil slope exposure affects physico-chemical and microbiological properties in soil aggregate size fractions

Slope exposure is known to affect soil biogeochemical processes in mountainous forest ecosystems, but little attention has yet been paid to its influence at a soil aggregate scale. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of slope exposure (north- vs south-facing slope) on the physico-chemical and microbiological properties of bulk soil and dry-sieved and water-stable aggregate size fractions in both organic (OF) and mineral (AE) horizons in an Italian alpine forest. The changes in organic carbon (OC) and nitrogen (ON) fractions were assessed together with a battery of thirteen enzyme activities involved in the main nutrient cycles. In addition, soil biological properties including microbial biomass (estimated as double-stranded DNA content), and microbial activity (assessed as the ratio between the extra-(exDNA) and intracellular (iDNA) fractions of the total soil DNA pool) were determined. The OF horizon at the north-facing slope was enriched in recalcitrant and insoluble OC and ON fractions and characterized by a lower microbial activity, as indicated by the higher exDNA/iDNA ratio with respect to the south-facing slope. On the contrary, exDNA and iDNA contents, microbial biomass, as well as most of the enzyme activities, reached higher levels at the southern exposure in the AE horizon. These exposure-effects were bulk soil- and aggregate size fraction-specific. Overall, lower values of the chemical and microbiological parameters were found in the water-stable fraction. Our findings indicate that slope exposure (and thus topography), soil horizon, and aggregate size distinctly influence soil OC dynamics in mountain ecosystems.Austrian Science Fund | Ref. I989-B16Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad | Ref. RYC-2016-2123

Soil slope exposure affects physico-chemical and microbiological properties in soil aggregate size fractions

Slope exposure is known to affect soil biogeochemical processes in mountainous forest ecosystems, but little attention has yet been paid to its influence at a soil aggregate scale. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of slope exposure (north- vs south-facing slope) on the physico-chemical and microbiological properties of bulk soil and dry-sieved and water-stable aggregate size fractions in both organic (OF) and mineral (AE) horizons in an Italian alpine forest. The changes in organic carbon (OC) and nitrogen (ON) fractions were assessed together with a battery of thirteen enzyme activities involved in the main nutrient cycles. In addition, soil biological properties including microbial biomass (estimated as double-stranded DNA content), and microbial activity (assessed as the ratio between the extra-(exDNA) and intracellular (iDNA) fractions of the total soil DNA pool) were determined. The OF horizon at the north-facing slope was enriched in recalcitrant and insoluble OC and ON fractions and characterized by a lower microbial activity, as indicated by the higher exDNA/iDNA ratio with respect to the south-facing slope. On the contrary, exDNA and iDNA contents, microbial biomass, as well as most of the enzyme activities, reached higher levels at the southern exposure in the AE horizon. These exposure-effects were bulk soil- and aggregate size fraction-specific. Overall, lower values of the chemical and microbiological parameters were found in the water-stable fraction. Our findings indicate that slope exposure (and thus topography), soil horizon, and aggregate size distinctly influence soil OC dynamics in mountain ecosystems

La diretta EduINAF “SuperLuna!” del 26 maggio 2021

In occasione della Luna piena del 26/05/2021, la redazione di EduINAF, il magazine di didattica e divulgazione dell’INAF ha organizzato una diretta Youtube denominata “SuperLuna!” con la partecipazione in diretta di ospiti esperti dell’argomento e dei telescopi di diverse sedi INAF. L’evento ha avuto su YouTube oltre 27mila visualizzazioni ed è stato seguito in diretta da un Focus Group di “spettatori tipo” i cui feedback sono stati raccolti con dei questionari di valutazione. In questo report si vuole analizzare in dettaglio l’organizzazione dell’evento e il gradimento del pubblico che emerge da questi questionari