Archaeology and Environment

This article defines the elements of qanat technology in Spain and describes some recent projects which have advanced our understanding. A brief bibliography is provided that exposes some of the confusion surrounding classification, nomenclature, numbers, and distribution of the qanat. Some examples taken from recent fieldwork illustrate the complexities and show how different elements of hydraulic technology are combined. Hydraulic features at Citruénigo (Navarre), Bureta, Bulbuente and Daroca (all Aragón), Madrid, and Toledo (Castile-La Mancha) are all described. Finally, the paper focuses on recent research into dating these features and highlights a recently.completed project that dated episodes of con- struction and maintenance using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). This technique seems to offer significant potential for future researc

ArMedEa project : archaeology of medieval earthquakes in Europe (1000-1550 AD). First research activities.

This paper introduces the research of the Armedea project. Armedea (Archaeology of medieval earthquakes in Europe, 1000-1550 AD) is a medieval archaeology project undertaken at the Department of Archaeology of Durham University which analyses archaeological evidence related to late medieval seismic-affected contexts at a European scale. This project is therefore focused on both earthquake effects on archaeological sites, their standing buildings and environment, and the archaeological evidence that reveals the response of medieval societies in terms of risk reduction, protection and resilience. A first preview of GIS analysis of seismic activity impact on medieval societies and fieldwork activities carried out in Italy, Cyprus and Azores (Portugal) is presented here. This research is supported by a Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme

Efficiency of delayed-acceptance random walk Metropolis algorithms

Delayed-acceptance Metropolis-Hastings (DA-MH) and delayed-acceptance pseudo-marginal Metropolis-Hastings (DAPsMMH) algorithms can be applied when it is computationally expensive to calculate the true posterior or an unbiased stochastic approximation thereof, but a computationally cheap deterministic approximation is available. An initial accept-reject stage uses the cheap approximation for computing the Metropolis-Hastings ratio; proposals which are accepted at this stage are then subjected to a further accept-reject step which corrects for the error in the approximation. Since the expensive posterior, or the approximation thereof, is only evaluated for proposals which are accepted at the first stage, the cost of the algorithm is reduced. We focus on the random walk Metropolis (RWM) and consider the DAPsMRWM, of which the DARWM is a special case. We provide a framework for incorporating relatively general deterministic approximations into the theoretical analysis of high-dimensional targets. Then, justified by a limiting diffusion argument, we develop theoretical expressions for limiting efficiency and acceptance rates in high dimension. The results provide insight into the effect of the accuracy of the deterministic approximation, the scale of the RWM jump and the nature of the stochastic approximation on the efficiency of the delayed acceptance algorithm. The predicted properties are verified against simulation studies, all of which are strictly outside of the domain of validity of our limit results. The theory also informs a practical strategy for algorithm tuning

Excavaciones arqueológicas en el yacimiento visigodo de Los Pozos (Bureta. Zaragoza) 2017

La prospección intensiva en Bureta (Zaragoza) y la geofísica han localizado un yacimiento visigodo en el término de Los Pozos. La excavación arqueológica realizada en el 2017 nos ha permitido recuperar datos sobre su morfología, cultura material, restos de fauna y restos botánicos, por ahora los únicos existentes para esta época en Aragón. La ocupación se produjo en una sola fase que se ha podido fechar entre mediados del siglo VI y mediados del el siglo VII. El conjunto de los datos recuperados nos ayudan a entender la economía doméstica y la explotación del medio durante este período y constituyen un testimonio importante para entender el período visigodo en Aragón, donde tales yacimientos son todavía muy escasos

Exploring aspects of cell intelligence with artificial reaction networks.

The Artificial Reaction Network (ARN) is a Cell Signalling Network inspired connectionist representation belonging to the branch of A-Life known as Artificial Chemistry. Its purpose is to represent chemical circuitry and to explore computational properties responsible for generating emergent high-level behaviour associated with cells. In this paper, the computational mechanisms involved in pattern recognition and spatio-temporal pattern generation are examined in robotic control tasks. The results show that the ARN has application in limbed robotic control and computational functionality in common with Artificial Neural Networks. Like spiking neural models, the ARN can combine pattern recognition and complex temporal control functionality in a single network, however it offers increased flexibility. Furthermore, the results illustrate parallels between emergent neural and cell intelligence

Artificial reaction networks.

In this paper we present a novel method of simulating cellular intelligence, the Artificial Reaction Network (ARN). The ARN can be described as a modular S-System, with some properties in common with other Systems Biology and AI techniques, including Random Boolean Networks, Petri Nets, Artificial Biochemical Networks and Artificial Neural Networks. We validate the ARN against standard biological data, and successfully apply it to simulate cellular intelligence associated with the well-characterized cell signaling network of Escherichia coli chemotaxis. Finally, we explore the adaptability of the ARN, as a means to develop novel AI techniques, by successfully applying the simulated E. coli chemotaxis to a general optimization problem

Artificial chemistry approach to exploring search spaces using artificial reaction network agents.

The Artificial Reaction Network (ARN) is a cell signaling network inspired representation belonging to the branch of A-Life known as Artificial Chemistry. It has properties in common with both AI and Systems Biology techniques including Artificial Neural Networks, Petri Nets, Random Boolean Networks and S-Systems. The ARN has been previously applied to control of limbed robots and simulation of biological signaling pathways. In this paper, multiple instances of independent distributed ARN controlled agents function to find the global minima within a set of simulated environments characterized by benchmark problems. The search behavior results from the internal ARN network, but is enhanced by collective activities and stigmergic interaction of the agents. The results show that the agents are able to find best fitness solutions in all problems, and compare well with results of cell inspired optimization algorithms. Such a system may have practical application in distributed or swarm robotics

Combining biochemical network motifs within an ARN-agent control system.

The Artificial Reaction Network (ARN) is an Artificial Chemistry representation inspired by cell signaling networks. The ARN has previously been applied to the simulation of the chemotaxis pathway of Escherichia coli and to the control of limbed robots. In this paper we discuss the design of an ARN control system composed of a combination of network motifs found in actual biochemical networks. Using this control system we create multiple cell-like autonomous agents capable of coordinating all aspects of their behavior, recognizing environmental patterns and communicating with other agent's stigmergically. The agents are applied to simulate two phases of the life cycle of Dictyostelium discoideum: vegetative and aggregation phase including the transition. The results of the simulation show that the ARN is well suited for construction of biochemical regulatory networks. Furthermore, it is a powerful tool for modeling multi agent systems such as a population of amoebae or bacterial colony

Estudio arqueológico del Somontano del Moncayo: avance metodológico

El proyecto “Estudio arqueológico del Somontano del Moncayo” está realizando prospecciones arqueológicas intensivas en una zona que se extiende entre el Moncayo y el valle del Ebro. Se están localizando restos y yacimientos arqueológicos de todos los períodos, además de secciones geológicas expuestas de forma natural para analizar aspectos geomorfológicos. El objetivo final es el estudio exhaustivo del asentamiento humano, su desarrollo y evolución en la zona de estudio. Este pequeño artículo se centra en la metodología utilizada en las prospecciones