Neolithic building technology and the social context of construction practices: the case of northern Greece

This thesis addresses building technology and the social implications of house construction contributing to the understanding of past societies. The spatiotemporal context of the study is the Neolithic period (ca. 6600/6500–3300/3200 cal BC) in northern Greece (Macedonia and Thrace). All available evidence from various excavations in the region is assembled and synthesised. The principal house types (semi-subterranean structures and above-ground dwellings) and their technological characteristics in terms of materials and techniques are discussed. In addition, the building remains from the late Middle/Late Neolithic settlement of Avgi (Kastoria, Greece) are thoroughly examined. Their study highlights the potentials of a detailed, micro-scale investigation and puts forth a methodology for the technological analysis of house rubble in the form of fire-hardened daub. The data deriving from both the survey of dwelling remains in northern Greece and the case study are examined within their wider sociocultural context. The technological repertoire of the region, although indicating the sharing of a common ‘architectural vocabulary’, reveals alternative chaînes opératoires and variability in different stages of the building process. Variability and patterning are more pronounced during the later stages of the Neolithic. The distribution of architectural choices does not suggest the existence of established and region-wide shared architectural traditions. However, the circulation of specific techniques and conceptions points to the operation of overlapping networks of technological and social interaction. At the site-specific scale, sameness and standardisation in building technology are the prominent themes. Nevertheless, different trends towards standardisation or variability are observed and are approached in terms of social interaction and intra-community dynamics. What is more, domestic architecture is not necessarily static in the long term. Change occurs and is often associated with the transformation of these dynamics. Occasional evidence of intra-site variability in building techniques and the more pronounced anchoring into space during the later stages of the Neolithic period are considered as a result of the changing relationship between social units and the community. The appearance of stone and mud(brick) architecture in Late Neolithic central Macedonia is approached in these terms. i

Precision measurement of the structure of the CMS inner tracking system using nuclear interactions

The structure of the CMS inner tracking system has been studied using nuclear interactions of hadrons striking its material. Data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded in 2015 at the LHC are used to reconstruct millions of secondary vertices from these nuclear interactions. Precise positions of the beam pipe and the inner tracking system elements, such as the pixel detector support tube, and barrel pixel detector inner shield and support rails, are determined using these vertices. These measurements are important for detector simulations, detector upgrades, and to identify any changes in the positions of inactive elements

Precision measurement of the structure of the CMS inner tracking system using nuclear interactions

The structure of the CMS inner tracking system has been studied using nuclear interactions of hadrons striking its material. Data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded in 2015 at the LHC are used to reconstruct millions of secondary vertices from these nuclear interactions. Precise positions of the beam pipe and the inner tracking system elements, such as the pixel detector support tube, and barrel pixel detector inner shield and support rails, are determined using these vertices. These measurements are important for detector simulations, detector upgrades, and to identify any changes in the positions of inactive elements

Strategies and performance of the CMS silicon tracker alignment during LHC Run 2

The strategies for and the performance of the CMS silicon tracking system alignment during the 2015–2018 data-taking period of the LHC are described. The alignment procedures during and after data taking are explained. Alignment scenarios are also derived for use in the simulation of the detector response. Systematic effects, related to intrinsic symmetries of the alignment task or to external constraints, are discussed and illustrated for different scenarios