•A novel calibration-free LIBS method (inverse method) was developed and tested.•The inverse method was applied to the analysis of a set of archaeological findings.•The inverse method was validated ...by comparison with LA-ICP-MS and classical LIBS.
A modified version of the calibration-free (CF) method was applied to the analysis of a set of archaeological brooches made of various copper-based alloys and coming from the archaeological site of Egnatia (Apulia, Southern Italy). The developed methodology consists in determining the plasma temperature by reversing the set of equations employed in the usual CF algorithm, and it is thus referred to as “inverse method”. The plasma temperature is determined for one certified standard, by using its known elemental composition as an input data, and then applied to the set of unknown samples to evaluate their composition in a CF mode. The feasibility of such an approach is demonstrated by comparing the results obtained with classical LIBS (drawing calibration lines with a series of matrix-matched certified standards) and with independent measurements performed with a conventional technique (LA-ICP-MS).
The study discusses the results of the excavations and the studies of the burial complexes of two local variants of the catacomb culture of the Middle Bronze Age of the Northwestern Caspian Sea ...region in the Remontnoye district (Rostov oblast). Being based on a comparative analysis, the author argues the validity of the allocation of local variants of catacomb culture - Eastern and Western that were adjacent to each other and entered into cultural contact. It is manifested in the use of similar tools, weapons, jewelry and dishes decorated in the same style but with the allocation of the local features of production technology figuration. According to the author, these features are the hallmark for determining the cultural identity of the burials of the Manych catacomb cultures.
Timber-framing is the most common mixed construction technique utilised by Romans and many other builders throughout history. However, archaeological evidence is scarce due to the overlapping urban ...land use and the perishability of the wooden skeleton.
This paper focuses on timber frame wall - opus craticium - from Herculaneum, examined through a literature review and on-site analysis.
The aim of this research is shedding light on the reasons for the diffusion of opus craticium through a critical analysis of Vesuvian archaeological evidence, among which the best-known is Casa a Graticcio (Insula III, 13-15, Herculaneum). The dichotomy between the written transmission of this technique and the construction practice in the Augustan epoch is also discussed.
It is shown how the pervasiveness of this technique in Herculaneum arises from multiple reasons: firstly, the strong demand of new constructions and the need of heavy repairs during the Augustan Principate. Additionally, the anaerobic conditions resulting from the specific on-site burial in 79 AD allowed the conservation of the timber-framing.
Archaeological research revealed that ancient Naissus was located on the right bank of the Nišava, on the territory partially covered by the Niš Fortress. The ancient town developed on a wide and ...flat terrain, which offered good conditions for settlement, but also for raising fortifications. According to modern scholars, the urban settlement on the right bank of the Nišava was preceded by a small native village (vicus), which was important for the erection of the town fortifications. Numerous roads were linking Naissus with the surrounding regions and villas in the county side. We learn about them on the basis of epigraphic and archaeological material milestones and remains of roads, but also on the basis of the location of the necropolises, which in the classical period often sprang up near the suburban roads. The road leading to the east crossed the Nišava by a stone bridge, whose remains were visible not far from today's 'Benetton' factory. The road led further over 'Gabrovac land', intersected with streams over which the remains of three stone bridges from the Roman period were found. This route led to Mediana, a suburb with villas three miles distant from the city. Another important road connecting the region Pomoravlje with the southern parts of the province of Dalmatia was the road Naissus-Lissus. TA section leding to Macedonia and the harbour of Thessalonica over Scupi branched from it south of Naissus: Ad Herculem, Hammeum Ad Fines, Vindenae and Vicianum. From Vicianum station (Vučitrn) one section ran towards Lissus and another towards Scupi. Throughout the Timok valley stretched one of the most important roads (Naissus-Ratiaria) that linked Naissus and the central Balkan areas with the region of Podunavlje (the Danube basin). The road led from Naissus to the East, along the right bank of the Nišava (across the areas of Jagodin mala and Vrežina) and, at the modern village of Malča, it turned towards the North, following the route of the modern road and railroad to Svrljig. Further to the northeast, the road led through the valley of Svrljiški Timok and was passing through Plužina where a milestone of Trebonian Gallus was discovered (251-253 AD). The road left the river valley near a place called Palilula because the river was entering impassable canyons, and the road ran south of Knjaževac over the mountain pass Tresibaba, where it connected to the sections that led from the West (Praesidium Pompei) and the South (Turres, Remesiana). Epigraphic monuments are of particular importance for studying the history of ancient Nais. These provide valuable information on the way of life, customs, religion, government, military and social organization of this city. Funerary inscriptions often contain data that could be used in topography or onomastic research. Honorary inscription set up by the city councils supply information about the communities that erected them.
InHow Chiefs Became Kings, Patrick Vinton Kirch addresses a central problem in anthropological archaeology: the emergence of "archaic states" whose distinctive feature was divine kingship. Kirch ...takes as his focus the Hawaiian archipelago, commonly regarded as the archetype of a complex chiefdom. Integrating anthropology, linguistics, archaeology, traditional history, and theory, and drawing on significant contributions from his own four decades of research, Kirch argues that Hawaiian polities had become states before the time of Captain Cook's voyage (1778-1779). The status of most archaic states is inferred from the archaeological record. But Kirch shows that because Hawai`i's kingdoms were established relatively recently, they could be observed and recorded by Cook and other European voyagers. Substantive and provocative, this book makes a major contribution to the literature of precontact Hawai`i and illuminates Hawai`i's importance in the global theory and literature about divine kingship, archaic states, and sociopolitical evolution.
The legendary overland silk road was not the only way to reach Asia for ancient travelers from the Mediterranean. During the Roman Empire’s heyday, equally important maritime routes reached from the ...Egyptian Red Sea across the Indian Ocean. The ancient city of Berenike, located approximately 500 miles south of today’s Suez Canal, was a significant port among these conduits. In this book, Steven E. Sidebotham, the archaeologist who excavated Berenike, uncovers the role the city played in the regional, local, and “global” economies during the eight centuries of its existence. Sidebotham analyzes many of the artifacts, botanical and faunal remains, and hundreds of the texts he and his team found in excavations, providing a profoundly intimate glimpse of the people who lived, worked, and died in this emporium between the classical Mediterranean world and Asia.
The Bible was not originally written for the modern reader, but the testimony of the Church is that it continues to speak God’s word to readers/hearers today. However, many modern Bible readers come ...across texts that need further explanation because the biblical authors did not offer clarification of their writings. They assumed the readers of their time were familiar with the background and could understand the reported events without further explanation. To achieve a “legit” interpretation of Old Testament texts, we first need to understand Scripture correctly, meaning that the biblical text must be read in its narrower and broader context. Only within a context does it become clear what the author meant to say. The main argument of this article is to exhibit that the Bible can only be fully understood against the backdrop of the Ancient Near East (ANE). The broader context consists of the knowledge of surrounding nations during Bible times (i.e., Hebrew Bible). By examining ANE texts and archeological findings we achieve a more complete and enriched comprehension of a given scriptural text or passage. This article exhibits through some concrete examples how archeological findings, inscriptions, and Ancient Near East texts can aid in understanding the broader context of the Old Testament world. In return, the wider context of the Bible world can enlighten or clarify a difficult, incomprehensible, or ambiguous biblical text and henceforth scriptural interpretation become more accurate and closer to the original message and meaning.
The analysis of archaeological findings reveals the remaining secrets of human history. However, it is a challenging task to investigate and simultaneously preserve the unique remains. Available ...non-destructive examination methods are limited and often insufficient. Thus, we considered X-ray grating interferometry as a non-destructive and advanced X-ray imaging method to retrieve more information about archaeological findings. In addition to the conventional attenuation image, the differential phase and the dark-field image are obtained. We studied the potential of the scattering-sensitive dark-field and the phase-shift sensitive differential phase image to analyse archaeological findings. Hereby, the focus lies on organic remnants. Usually, the organic materials have vanished due to decomposition processes, but the structures are often preserved by mineralisation and penetration of corrosion products. We proved that the combination of the attenuation and the dark-field image in particular, enables a separation of structural properties for fabric remnants. Furthermore, we achieved promising results for the reconstruction of sub-pixel sized fibre orientations of woven fabric remnants by employing the directional dark-field imaging method. We conclude from our results that a further application of X-ray dark-field imaging on wet organic findings and on the distinction of different types of organic remnants at archaeological findings is promising.
Like their regal counterparts in societies around the globe, ancient Maya rulers departed this world with elaborate burial ceremonies and lavish grave goods, which often included ceramics, red ...pigments, earflares, stingray spines, jades, pearls, obsidian blades, and mosaics. Archaeological investigation of these burials, as well as the decipherment of inscriptions that record Maya rulers' funerary rites, have opened a fascinating window on how the ancient Maya envisaged the ruler's passage from the world of the living to the realm of the ancestors.
Focusing on the Classic Period (AD 250-900), James Fitzsimmons examines and compares textual and archaeological evidence for rites of death and burial in the Maya lowlands, from which he creates models of royal Maya funerary behavior. Exploring ancient Maya attitudes toward death expressed at well-known sites such as Tikal, Guatemala, and Copan, Honduras, as well as less-explored archaeological locations, Fitzsimmons reconstructs royal mortuary rites and expands our understanding of key Maya concepts including the afterlife and ancestor veneration.
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