Dynamics of use in a timeless space: requalification of the river bank in Ponte de Lima

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em ArquitecturaO trabalho que se segue é um exercício de reflexão prática sobre a forma de intervir na frente ribeirinha da vila de Ponte de Lima. Partindo de uma inquietação pessoal relacionada com as dinâmicas de usos que se estabelecem num lugar concreto, o areal de Ponte de Lima, a definição de uma hipótese de requalificação da margem surge como resposta ao evidente desvinculamento do desenho urbano em relação ao areal e com o objetivo de reaproximar as pessoas e a margem. A estratégia de intervenção parte de uma primeira aproximação que analisa o objeto sob o ponto de vista da dinâmica de relações que estabelece com os vários suportes que com ele interagem (através do seu processo natural, urbano e informal) e a partir da qual se evidenciam dois aspetos relevantes: por um lado a elevação do desenho do limite urbano em relação à margem fluvial, onde as diferenças altimétricas dificultam a ligação espacial entre ambos; por outro lado a rede viária enquanto estrutura impositiva, contribuindo fortemente para a fragmentação de um espaço já por si fragmentado e descontínuo. Partindo desta constatação, surge então uma hipótese de intervenção que trabalha os limites e as descontinuidades geradas pelos desníveis como mote para vincular a margem e promover a sua ocupação sustentável.This work is a practical reflection on forms of intervention on the riverfront in the town of Ponte de Lima. Based on personal concerns related to land-use dynamics in a specific location, the strand in Ponte de Lima, the definition of a possibility of redevelopment of the river bank arose as a response to the clear disengagement between the urban area and the strand, with the aim of reconnecting people with the river bank. The intervention strategy derives from an initial approach that analyses the object from the point of view of the relationships established with the various infrastructure that interact with it (through its natural, urban and informal process), from which two aspects proved to be significant: on the one hand, the elevation of the urban limit in relation to the river bank, the height differences inhibiting the spatial link between them; on the other hand, the road network as a restricting structure, contributing strongly to the fragmentation of a space that is in itself already fragmented and discontinuous. From the starting point of this observation, the possibility arose of intervention that would work on the limits and discontinuities generated by the differences in level, as inspiration to create a bond with the river bank and to encourage its sustainable use

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved