Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
This report describes the results of three archaeological excavations which took place within the... more This report describes the results of three archaeological excavations which took place within the medieval burgh of Dumbarton, two by Eric Talbot between 1971 and 1972 on the High Street and at College Street and the third, on the High Street, by SUAT in 1997. Evidence of medieval activity, including metal working, was found on burgage plots in the High Street. A large pottery assemblage provided an important opportunity to investigate medieval trends in a west coast burgh, an area hitherto under-represented in ceramic studies. Glass waste at College Street may have originated from the site of the late 18th/19th-century Dumbarton Glassworks.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Archaeological fieldwork on the old garage site on Bridge Street, Kelso, has revealed the extensi... more Archaeological fieldwork on the old garage site on Bridge Street, Kelso, has revealed the extensive and well-preserved remains of buildings associated with the Abbey precinct. A series of large, substantial structures lay immediately to the west of the site of the cloister's west range. Pottery from the site includes stratified examples of an early pink Gritty Ware, similar to that found in early levels at Jedburgh. A rare condiment dish, possibly thirteenth-century in date, was also found. Evidence of copper-based alloy working was also identified. Two principal phases of construction were identified, separated by a major reorganisation and landscaping of the site, in perhaps the late-thirteenth or early-fourteenth century. One of the later buildings is tentatively identified as the monastic granary. There are indications that this part of the precinct was possibly abandoned prior to the Dissolution in the late-sixteenth century. Forming part of the later glebe lands, the area ...
In Greece, holy springs (ayiasmata) are normally discussed in the context of the chapels and the ... more In Greece, holy springs (ayiasmata) are normally discussed in the context of the chapels and the saints with whom they are almost always associated. This paper sets out to present and discuss six holy springs from the island of Lemnos, NE Aegean, based on the hydrogeological parameters that characterize them and the archaeological landscape that surrounds them; also to juxtapose data deriving from this group with similar data from ordinary springs which are used for irrigation and/or drinking. Preliminary results suggest that hydrogeological data do not demonstrate substantial differences between holy springs and ordinary springs. This observation implies that any single natural spring has had, in principle, the potential to become an ayiasma but selection may have rested on aspects of the physical environment conducive to healing and less so on the physicochemical parameters of the waters involved. However, other physical parameters (microbiological) which are not addressed here ma...
Efflorescences in the geothermal field of SE Melos, Greece, contain significant amounts of hydrat... more Efflorescences in the geothermal field of SE Melos, Greece, contain significant amounts of hydrated Al sulphate, alunogen, which could represent the Melian alumen exploited in Roman times and commended by Pliny. The efflorescences at subaerial fumaroles are explained as follows: Sulphur crystallizes on oxidation of H2S emanating from depth. Weathering produces sulphuric acid enhancing groundwater alteration of volcanic rocks. The high geothermal gradient and arid climate stimulate efflorescences. Salts are recycled during wet and dry weather leading to Al-enrichment on loss of Fe(II,III) and other cations. δ34S‰ V-CDT values for sulphur in fumarole sublimates, solfatara soils and ‘veins’ range from —0.3 to 6.4‰, mean 3.8‰ (n = 8) while Al, Ca and Mg-sulphates in diverse settings range from —4.1 to 6.8‰ (n = 16). The values for sulphur indicate that the initial H2S had an igneous source and the signature is largely inherited by the sulphates.This study aims to underpin research into ...
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2017
This paper presents the scientific investigation of three Lemnian sphragides (terra sigillata, st... more This paper presents the scientific investigation of three Lemnian sphragides (terra sigillata, stamped earth), a famed medicinal clay in antiquity, dated to the sixteenth–seventeenth centuries, and presently in the Museum for the History of Pharmacy, University of Basel. The three specimens are compared with clays from the purported locality of its extraction, at Kotsinas, NE Lemnos, Greece. The study suggests a local origin for the Basel samples; it also demonstrates, for the first time, that the three Lemnian sphragides have a significant antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus, a common Gram-positive pathogen, but have no such effect against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Gram-negative microorganism. Clay samples from the purported locality of extraction showed no antibacterial effect against S. aureus. Subsequent analysis with ultra-performance liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) revealed the presence of organic constituents in one sphragis which were absent ...
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
This report describes the results of three archaeological excavations which took place within the... more This report describes the results of three archaeological excavations which took place within the medieval burgh of Dumbarton, two by Eric Talbot between 1971 and 1972 on the High Street and at College Street and the third, on the High Street, by SUAT in 1997. Evidence of medieval activity, including metal working, was found on burgage plots in the High Street. A large pottery assemblage provided an important opportunity to investigate medieval trends in a west coast burgh, an area hitherto under-represented in ceramic studies. Glass waste at College Street may have originated from the site of the late 18th/19th-century Dumbarton Glassworks.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Archaeological fieldwork on the old garage site on Bridge Street, Kelso, has revealed the extensi... more Archaeological fieldwork on the old garage site on Bridge Street, Kelso, has revealed the extensive and well-preserved remains of buildings associated with the Abbey precinct. A series of large, substantial structures lay immediately to the west of the site of the cloister's west range. Pottery from the site includes stratified examples of an early pink Gritty Ware, similar to that found in early levels at Jedburgh. A rare condiment dish, possibly thirteenth-century in date, was also found. Evidence of copper-based alloy working was also identified. Two principal phases of construction were identified, separated by a major reorganisation and landscaping of the site, in perhaps the late-thirteenth or early-fourteenth century. One of the later buildings is tentatively identified as the monastic granary. There are indications that this part of the precinct was possibly abandoned prior to the Dissolution in the late-sixteenth century. Forming part of the later glebe lands, the area ...
In Greece, holy springs (ayiasmata) are normally discussed in the context of the chapels and the ... more In Greece, holy springs (ayiasmata) are normally discussed in the context of the chapels and the saints with whom they are almost always associated. This paper sets out to present and discuss six holy springs from the island of Lemnos, NE Aegean, based on the hydrogeological parameters that characterize them and the archaeological landscape that surrounds them; also to juxtapose data deriving from this group with similar data from ordinary springs which are used for irrigation and/or drinking. Preliminary results suggest that hydrogeological data do not demonstrate substantial differences between holy springs and ordinary springs. This observation implies that any single natural spring has had, in principle, the potential to become an ayiasma but selection may have rested on aspects of the physical environment conducive to healing and less so on the physicochemical parameters of the waters involved. However, other physical parameters (microbiological) which are not addressed here ma...
Efflorescences in the geothermal field of SE Melos, Greece, contain significant amounts of hydrat... more Efflorescences in the geothermal field of SE Melos, Greece, contain significant amounts of hydrated Al sulphate, alunogen, which could represent the Melian alumen exploited in Roman times and commended by Pliny. The efflorescences at subaerial fumaroles are explained as follows: Sulphur crystallizes on oxidation of H2S emanating from depth. Weathering produces sulphuric acid enhancing groundwater alteration of volcanic rocks. The high geothermal gradient and arid climate stimulate efflorescences. Salts are recycled during wet and dry weather leading to Al-enrichment on loss of Fe(II,III) and other cations. δ34S‰ V-CDT values for sulphur in fumarole sublimates, solfatara soils and ‘veins’ range from —0.3 to 6.4‰, mean 3.8‰ (n = 8) while Al, Ca and Mg-sulphates in diverse settings range from —4.1 to 6.8‰ (n = 16). The values for sulphur indicate that the initial H2S had an igneous source and the signature is largely inherited by the sulphates.This study aims to underpin research into ...
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2017
This paper presents the scientific investigation of three Lemnian sphragides (terra sigillata, st... more This paper presents the scientific investigation of three Lemnian sphragides (terra sigillata, stamped earth), a famed medicinal clay in antiquity, dated to the sixteenth–seventeenth centuries, and presently in the Museum for the History of Pharmacy, University of Basel. The three specimens are compared with clays from the purported locality of its extraction, at Kotsinas, NE Lemnos, Greece. The study suggests a local origin for the Basel samples; it also demonstrates, for the first time, that the three Lemnian sphragides have a significant antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus, a common Gram-positive pathogen, but have no such effect against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Gram-negative microorganism. Clay samples from the purported locality of extraction showed no antibacterial effect against S. aureus. Subsequent analysis with ultra-performance liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) revealed the presence of organic constituents in one sphragis which were absent ...
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Papers by Effie Photos-Jones