This paper presents the micromorphological and compositional characteristics of architectural pla... more This paper presents the micromorphological and compositional characteristics of architectural plasters from Lamanai dating from ca. 100 BC to the sixteenth century AD, as well as non-archaeological local raw materials. The study made use of petrography and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) for the analyses of 45 samples.
RÉSUMÉ Atlantique Basaltes Guyot Rifting Rockall E. John W. JONES a, Ruth SIDDALL a, Matthew F. T... more RÉSUMÉ Atlantique Basaltes Guyot Rifting Rockall E. John W. JONES a, Ruth SIDDALL a, Matthew F. THIRLWALL b, P. Neil CHROSTON c and Adrian J. LLOYD a a Department of Geological Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WCIE 6BT, UK. b Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, Egham, Surrey TW20 OEX, UK. c School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK. Received 18/05/93, in revised form 6/12/93, accepted 13/12/93. Seismic data from the flat-topped Anton Dohrn Seamount in the central Rockall Trough reveal that the feature is capped by a thin (100 rn) sedimentary layer which covers an extensive erosion surface lying approximately 800 rn below sea leve!. The surface of erosion truncates a volcanic sequence that outcrops on the eastern side of the seamount to form a well-defined terrace from which alkali basalts and chalks of late Cretaceous age have been recovered. A refraction profile shot over the summit...
Catalhoyuk (World Heritage site, c.7400 BC) is a renowned Neolithic site in central Anatolia, Tur... more Catalhoyuk (World Heritage site, c.7400 BC) is a renowned Neolithic site in central Anatolia, Turkey on account of its size, well-preserved mudbrick architecture and wall art. The current international project led by Professor Ian Hodder has been continuing since the 1990’s and the studies showed that people of Catalhoyuk were highly aware of their natural environment and knew how to skillfully modify their resources to develop various material technologies according to their needs. One of the most important material technologies evident at Catalhoyuk makes the site unique within the Neolithic Anatolia and the Near East is the use of ‘Marl’ as a plastering material to cover the internal surfaces of the mudbrick walls. This paper is based on the most recent research undertaken on the technology of the Catalhoyuk wall ‘plasters’ and paintings and will aim to look at what it is meant by ‘plaster and plastering’ in the context of Neolithic Catalhoyuk, identify materials and their charac...
The sensitivity of apatite fission tracks to cooling and unroofing episodes in Earth history is p... more The sensitivity of apatite fission tracks to cooling and unroofing episodes in Earth history is particularly suited to the tectonic processes of rifting and the long-term evolution of continental margins. Apatite fission track analyses have been made on ~70 samples of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks from coastal outcrops of Western France (the Armorican Massif) and north-western Spain (the Hesperian Massif) the aim being to unravel the potential thermal overprint associated with the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean, specifically in the Bay of Biscay. This thesis reviews the geological evolution of the continental margins of the Bay of Biscay region and presents the fission track sampling strategies and analytical results. The fission track ages range from ~70 to 270 Ma, with the youngest ages towards the Atlantic coasts, and become progressively older eastwards. The data are interpreted in terms of the thermal histories resulting from the Mesozoic postbreakup exhumatio...
Turning Landscape into Colour includes an essay 'The Names of the Earths' by Dr. Spike Ug... more Turning Landscape into Colour includes an essay 'The Names of the Earths' by Dr. Spike Uglow, geological/historical texts by Dr. Ruth Siddall and a set of handmade silkscreen prints from pigments by Jo Volley and Onya McCausland
Mortiers et hydraulique en Méditerranée antique, 2019
This paper will present both petrographic and preliminary chemical analyses which indicate that w... more This paper will present both petrographic and preliminary chemical analyses which indicate that waterproofing mortars in the Fountains of Peirene and Glauke, at the Asklepieion and its associated springs and at the springhouse of Upper Peirene on the Acrocorinth had hydraulic properties which were previously unrecognised in Pre-Roman cements in this region. The waterproofing mortars of pre-Roman Corinth demonstrate a high degree of technical understanding of the production of lime-silica cements, which has otherwise been previously overlooked.
Seismic data from the flat-topped Anton Dohrn Seamount in the central Rockall Trough reveal that ... more Seismic data from the flat-topped Anton Dohrn Seamount in the central Rockall Trough reveal that the feature is capped by a thin (approximately 100 m) sedimentary layer which covers an extensive erosion surface lying approximately 800 m below sea level. The surface of erosion truncates a volcanic sequence that outcrops on the eastern side of the seamount to form a well-defined terrace from which alkali basalts and chalks of late Cretaceous age have been recovered. A refraction profile shot over the summit plateau and ultrasonic measurements on the basalts suggest that sedimentary and volcanoclastic units are abundant constituents of a low-velocity (3.69 km s-1) volcanic core which persists to depths of over 1 500 m. The seamount differs from the shallow Cenozoic volcanic piles in the region where high seismic velocities ( 5 km s-1) occur close to the sea bed. Minor element abundances and REE inversion indicate that the Anton Dohrn basalts have been generated as a result of within-pl...
This paper presents the micromorphological and compositional characteristics of architectural pla... more This paper presents the micromorphological and compositional characteristics of architectural plasters from Lamanai dating from ca. 100 BC to the sixteenth century AD, as well as non-archaeological local raw materials. The study made use of petrography and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) for the analyses of 45 samples.
RÉSUMÉ Atlantique Basaltes Guyot Rifting Rockall E. John W. JONES a, Ruth SIDDALL a, Matthew F. T... more RÉSUMÉ Atlantique Basaltes Guyot Rifting Rockall E. John W. JONES a, Ruth SIDDALL a, Matthew F. THIRLWALL b, P. Neil CHROSTON c and Adrian J. LLOYD a a Department of Geological Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WCIE 6BT, UK. b Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, Egham, Surrey TW20 OEX, UK. c School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK. Received 18/05/93, in revised form 6/12/93, accepted 13/12/93. Seismic data from the flat-topped Anton Dohrn Seamount in the central Rockall Trough reveal that the feature is capped by a thin (100 rn) sedimentary layer which covers an extensive erosion surface lying approximately 800 rn below sea leve!. The surface of erosion truncates a volcanic sequence that outcrops on the eastern side of the seamount to form a well-defined terrace from which alkali basalts and chalks of late Cretaceous age have been recovered. A refraction profile shot over the summit...
Catalhoyuk (World Heritage site, c.7400 BC) is a renowned Neolithic site in central Anatolia, Tur... more Catalhoyuk (World Heritage site, c.7400 BC) is a renowned Neolithic site in central Anatolia, Turkey on account of its size, well-preserved mudbrick architecture and wall art. The current international project led by Professor Ian Hodder has been continuing since the 1990’s and the studies showed that people of Catalhoyuk were highly aware of their natural environment and knew how to skillfully modify their resources to develop various material technologies according to their needs. One of the most important material technologies evident at Catalhoyuk makes the site unique within the Neolithic Anatolia and the Near East is the use of ‘Marl’ as a plastering material to cover the internal surfaces of the mudbrick walls. This paper is based on the most recent research undertaken on the technology of the Catalhoyuk wall ‘plasters’ and paintings and will aim to look at what it is meant by ‘plaster and plastering’ in the context of Neolithic Catalhoyuk, identify materials and their charac...
The sensitivity of apatite fission tracks to cooling and unroofing episodes in Earth history is p... more The sensitivity of apatite fission tracks to cooling and unroofing episodes in Earth history is particularly suited to the tectonic processes of rifting and the long-term evolution of continental margins. Apatite fission track analyses have been made on ~70 samples of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks from coastal outcrops of Western France (the Armorican Massif) and north-western Spain (the Hesperian Massif) the aim being to unravel the potential thermal overprint associated with the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean, specifically in the Bay of Biscay. This thesis reviews the geological evolution of the continental margins of the Bay of Biscay region and presents the fission track sampling strategies and analytical results. The fission track ages range from ~70 to 270 Ma, with the youngest ages towards the Atlantic coasts, and become progressively older eastwards. The data are interpreted in terms of the thermal histories resulting from the Mesozoic postbreakup exhumatio...
Turning Landscape into Colour includes an essay 'The Names of the Earths' by Dr. Spike Ug... more Turning Landscape into Colour includes an essay 'The Names of the Earths' by Dr. Spike Uglow, geological/historical texts by Dr. Ruth Siddall and a set of handmade silkscreen prints from pigments by Jo Volley and Onya McCausland
Mortiers et hydraulique en Méditerranée antique, 2019
This paper will present both petrographic and preliminary chemical analyses which indicate that w... more This paper will present both petrographic and preliminary chemical analyses which indicate that waterproofing mortars in the Fountains of Peirene and Glauke, at the Asklepieion and its associated springs and at the springhouse of Upper Peirene on the Acrocorinth had hydraulic properties which were previously unrecognised in Pre-Roman cements in this region. The waterproofing mortars of pre-Roman Corinth demonstrate a high degree of technical understanding of the production of lime-silica cements, which has otherwise been previously overlooked.
Seismic data from the flat-topped Anton Dohrn Seamount in the central Rockall Trough reveal that ... more Seismic data from the flat-topped Anton Dohrn Seamount in the central Rockall Trough reveal that the feature is capped by a thin (approximately 100 m) sedimentary layer which covers an extensive erosion surface lying approximately 800 m below sea level. The surface of erosion truncates a volcanic sequence that outcrops on the eastern side of the seamount to form a well-defined terrace from which alkali basalts and chalks of late Cretaceous age have been recovered. A refraction profile shot over the summit plateau and ultrasonic measurements on the basalts suggest that sedimentary and volcanoclastic units are abundant constituents of a low-velocity (3.69 km s-1) volcanic core which persists to depths of over 1 500 m. The seamount differs from the shallow Cenozoic volcanic piles in the region where high seismic velocities ( 5 km s-1) occur close to the sea bed. Minor element abundances and REE inversion indicate that the Anton Dohrn basalts have been generated as a result of within-pl...
Pigments from paint palettes and a grindstone excavated from the pharaonic town of Amara West (c.... more Pigments from paint palettes and a grindstone excavated from the pharaonic town of Amara West (c. 1300–1050 BCE), which lies between the Second and Third Cataracts of the Nile, were examined using polarized light microscopy, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Most of the pigments were consistent with the typical ancient Egyptian palette, but the greens and some blues were unusual. Two types of green pigment were identified, chlorite (varieties clinochlore and penninite) and copper chloride hydroxide (atacamite type). The former constitutes a type of green earth which has only rarely been identified in pharaonic Egyptian contexts and may be more widespread than is currently reported. The majority of the blue pigment samples were Egyptian blue, but some were found to be a blue earth, the main component of which being sodic amphibole riebeckite. The use of this mineral as a pigment has not previously been reported in any Nile Valley context. These results prompt questions around local and potentially indigenous practices within an ancient colonial context, and highlight avenues for future research.
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spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Most of the pigments were consistent with the typical ancient Egyptian palette,
but the greens and some blues were unusual. Two types of green pigment were identified, chlorite (varieties clinochlore and penninite) and copper chloride hydroxide (atacamite type). The former constitutes a type of green earth which has only rarely been identified in pharaonic Egyptian contexts and may be more widespread than is currently reported. The majority of the blue pigment samples were Egyptian blue, but some were found to be a blue earth, the main component of which being
sodic amphibole riebeckite. The use of this mineral as a pigment has not previously been reported in any Nile Valley context. These results prompt questions around local and potentially indigenous practices within an ancient colonial context, and highlight avenues for future research.