True and fake red layers on the objects from archaeological and historical context: microscopic observations

Colored layers on surfaces of objects associated with archaeological and historical context may be of various origins: natural or intentional and in numerous cases their exact identification is not obvious, especially for thousand-year-old objects. Yet, the diagnosing of their nature may constitute an important element for the interpretation of ancient cultures. Examples of red color layers of natural, intentional and unclear origin were chosen and observed to select criteria defining layers of uncertain parentage

Graphite in an archaeological context comparing to other black substances – research problems and prospects

In the archaeological context, substances with a black color have been extensively used in many ancient communities, in the form of items and layers, with the use of biogenic and mineral substances, and requiring a separate methodological approach. Each of them behaves differently in technological and postdepositional processes. The potential degree of the complexity of intentionally applied layers (e.g. paints or cosmetics) and the overlap of secondary substances and crusts, increases difficulties in obtaining unambiguous results and their interpretation. Graphite plays an important role among them. Several areas of the current use of graphite are, or at least could be, commonly shared in the present and in the past, and thus their analysis could be inspiring for archaeology and archaeometry. Graphite fingerprint and potential fingerprints are discussed in terms of their variability. The problem of graphitization as a potential source of misleading interpretation is discussed

True and fake red layers on the objects from archaeological and historical context: microscopic observations

Tyt. z nagłówka.Bibliogr. s. 253-254.Colored layers on surfaces of objects associated with archaeological and historical context may be of various origins: natural or intentional and in numerous cases their exact identification is not obvious, especially for thousand-year-old objects. Yet, the diagnosing of their nature may constitute an important element for the interpretation of ancient cultures. Examples of red color layers of natural, intentional and unclear origin were chosen and observed to select criteria defining layers of uncertain parentage.Dostępny również w formie drukowanej.KEYWORDS: archaeology, red layers, paintings, weathering crusts

Emotive functions of the Polish exlibris from 1939–1945

Ekslibris – znak własności książki, posiada ponad pięciowiekową tradycję. Historia tej formy grafiki użytkowej ściśle spaja się z epokowym wynalazkiem czcionki przez Jana Gutenberga i drukiem inkunabułów – pierwszych ksiąg. Krzewił się on i dojrzewał tam, gdzie pojawiała się książka oraz biblioteka. Początkowo był nośnikiem informacji o jej właścicielu. Na przestrzeni stuleci ulegał licznym przeobrażeniom, co było związane z aktualnymi trendami artystycznymi, ale również z osobistymi preferencjami zamawiających. Zmiany dotyczyły także technik graficznych. Wiek XX przyniósł odrodzenie się kultu i zdobnictwa książki. Z jednej strony ogromny wpływ miał na to rozwój nowoczesnej grafiki, jako autonomicznej i samodzielnej dyscypliny plastycznej, z drugiej natomiast wzmożenie się i potrzeba poszukiwań nowych środków wyrazu w obrębie stylu i formy księgoznaku. Obecnie duża liczba bibliofilów posiada własny ekslibris, nierzadko kilka. W dobie wszechobecnej cyfryzacji, dynamicznego rozwoju technologii, techniki, posługiwanie się nim niewątpliwie świadczy o wysokich potrzebach kulturalnych, szacunku wobec książek i dużej dbałości o nie. Ekslibris nadal można określić mianem godła bibliofila.Ekslibris – the book ownership mark, has a tradition dating back more than five centu-ries. The history of this form of graphic design is closely connected with the epoch-making inven-tion of the font by Jan Gutenberg and the printing of incunabula - the first books. It grew and ma-tured where the book and the library appeared. Initially, it was a carrier of information about its owner. Over the centuries, it has undergone numerous transformations, which were related to cur-rent artistic trends, but also to the personal preferences of the clients. The changes also concerned graphic techniques. The 20th century brought a rebirth of cult and book decoration. On the one hand, it was greatly influenced by the development of modern graphics as an autonomous and inde-pendent visual discipline, on the other hand, it was influenced by the intensification and the need to search for new means of expression within the style and form of the bookshop. Today, a large number of bibliophiles have their own exlibris, often a few. In the era of ubiquitous digitization, dynamic development of technology and techniques, its use undoubtedly proves high cultural needs, respect for books and great care for them. Ekslibris can still be described as the emblem of the bibliophile.Ekslibris, die Eigentumsmarke eines Buches, hat eine Tradition, die mehr als fünf Jahrhunderte zurückreicht. Die Geschichte dieser Form der grafischen Gestaltung ist eng verbunden mit der bahnbrechenden Erfindung der Schrift von Jan Gutenberg und dem Druck von Inkunabeln - den ersten Büchern. Es wuchs und reifte dort, wo das Buch und die Bibliothek erschienen. Ursprünglich war es ein Informationsträger über seinen Besitzer. Im Laufe der Jahrhunderte hat es zahlreiche Veränderungen erfahren, die sich auf aktuelle künstlerische Trends, aber auch auf die persönlichen Vorlieben der Kunden bezogen. Die Änderungen betrafen auch grafische Techniken. Das 20. Jahrhundert brachte eine Wiedergeburt des Kultes und der Buchdekoration. Einerseits war sie stark von der Entwicklung der modernen Grafik als eigenständige und eigenständige Bilddisziplin geprägt, andererseits von der Intensivierung und der Notwendigkeit, nach neuen Ausdrucksmitteln im Stil und in der Form der Buchhandlung zu suchen. Heute haben viele Bibliophile ihre eigenen Exlibris, oft einige wenige. Im Zeitalter der allgegenwärtigen Digitalisierung, der dynamischen Entwicklung von Technologie und Technologie beweist ihre Nutzung zweifellos hohe kulturelle Bedürfnisse, den Respekt vor Büchern und die große Sorgfalt für sie. Ekslibris kann noch immer als das Emblem des Bibliophilen bezeichnet werden

Between Economics and Ecology. Energy Security of the Third Polish Republic

Energy security is an extremely important area of every country’s activity. The management of the energy sector affects immediate functioning of the entire economy, and further the state of the natural environment. After Poland’s integration with the European Union, our country had to comply with the Community regulations. The constantly growing interdependence between states is an extremely important tendency of modern civilization. Oil and gas resources are declining, but the demand for these raw materials is not diminishing. It is estimated that there will be enough coal for some time, but burning all its resources would be a huge burden for the environment, because in this way global greenhouse gas emissions would increase even more

Between Poland and Germany. Inevitable conflict over the Free City of Gdańsk

The Weimar Germany did not accept the consequences of losing the First World War, thus it did not accept the border line with Poland. This border ran along two disputed areas: Pomerania in the north and Upper Silesia in the south-west, crossing many commu-nication routes. The return of Pomerania to Poland was one of the fundamental issues for the reborn Polish state, which was considered the basis of international prestige and facili-tation of military contacts with its western allies. The Free City of Gdansk was created on the basis of the Treaty of Versailles as a com-promise between the need for Poland to gain access to the Baltic Sea and the interests of the city's majority German-speaking population. It was an independent entity of interna-tional relations, connected by a special relationship of dependence with the League of Nations and an administrative protectorate with Poland. The international legal status of Gdańsk and its system was shaped by the aforementioned treaty, the Constitution of the Free City of Gdańsk and agreements concluded by the Gdańsk authorities with the Polish state. This complicated legal anchor and the granting of the power to decide on public matters to various decision-makers, whose interests often conflicted, has become the basis for serious conflicts and one of the hotspots in the still not easy German-Polish relations. The situation that developed in the Free City of Gdańsk also placed special tasks for Po-lish border formations and Polish customs service posts. The powers granted to Poland in the Free City of Gdańsk were extensive. The problem was their enforcement. Poland's relations with the Free City of Gdańsk were usually the result of Polish-German relations, and along with the war threat from Germany, they sys-tematically deteriorated. Gdańsk gradually took on the features of a German base for Poland. The difficult Polish-Gdańsk relations were affected by issues such as the Gdańsk consti-tution, the city's military defense and the problem of determining the place of transhi-pment of war materials

Modern Semi-Majolica and Glazed Ceramics from Rzeszów – Research on the Findings from the Archaeological Sites on 3 Maja Street

Steadily growing collection of modern ceramics of the present Podkarpackie Voivodeship, has not yet been fully documented. Historical research demonstrates that Rzeszów, located on the communication route with Russia, occupied a very important position in trade relations with the East and West. The archaeometric study was performed on two fragments of semi-majolica plates and six fragments of glazed jugs, pots and tripod vessels. Vessels were made of fine-grained paste of smectite/illite, kaolinite/illite and kaolinite/illite/smectite clay. The richness of colours and shades is surprising. In the case of semi-majolica, the underglaze paintings were made with the use of frit pigments, while the overglaze ornament was made with the use of Pb-P-Ca-Si paste. ‘Slip-painting’ technique was also used. Glazes were coloured with iron, copper and cobalt compounds of various combinations and concentrations which provided different shades. In the case of semi-maiolica quartz-argillaceous primer with a potassium-bearing substance was applied, surfaces under glazes were covered with flux-bearing substance

Composition of a floor from an Upper Paleolithic skeletal grave : a case from Dolni Vestonice (Moravia, Czechia, Central Europe)

Dolní V ̆ estonice is a complex of sites, with a broad range of information about Early Modern Humans and the Upper Paleolithic (Gravettian), with regard to technology, art, faunal, site and human remains. Dolní V ̆ estonice is located near the town of Brno in the region of Moravia, Czech Republic. The subject of our interest covers a floor of a grave niche, from the site Dolní V ̆ estonice I. Raman micro-spectroscopic research pointed at presence of hematite in the several selected randomly from the burial bed samples. Raman spectroscopy seems to be a useful tool for processing analyses of microdimensional archeological objects