Oliver Mecking

Kunsthistorische, technologische und materialtechnische Analyseergebnisse
zu einem jüdischen Hochzeitsring aus Köln
A golden Jewish wedding ring from
the Cologne City Museum raises a
number of questions. The small
golden object of unknown provenance
was recently analyzed by a
qualified restorer, an art historian
and a chemist.

Tavira gehört zu den Städten auf der Iberischen Halbinsel, die auf eine jahrtausendealte Besiedlung zurückblicken können. In der ersten Hälfte des 1. Jahrtausends v. Chr. war Tavira eine wichtige eisenzeitliche Siedlung mit einem bedeutenden phönizischen Niederschlag. Diese Erkenntnis beruht vor allem auf den archäologischen Untersuchungen, die in den letzten zwanzig Jahren im alten Stadtkern durchgeführt wurden. Im Rahmen des Projektes »Archäometrische Untersuchungen phönizischer Keramik von der Iberischen Halbinsel« wurden 40 Proben phönizischer Keramik aus Tavira, die zwischen dem Ende des 8. und der Mitte des 5. Jhs. v. Chr. datieren, mit mehreren Methoden auf ihre chemische Zusammensetzung hin untersucht. Der Großteil der Proben clustert in eine Gruppe und ist demnach wohl in einem über längere Zeit tätigen Produktionszentrum hergestellt worden. Dieses Zentrum ist wahrscheinlich in Tavira selbst oder in der Region zu lokalisieren. * * * * * Tavira es una de las ciudades de la Península Ibérica en la que se puede echar la vista atrás sobre un asentamiento milenario. En la primera mitad del 1er milenio antes de Cristo Tavira fue un asentamiento importante de la Edad de Hierro, con significativos restos de materiales fenicios. Estas conclusiones se basan principalmente en las investigaciones arqueológicas llevadas a cabo en los últimos veinte años en el casco antiguo. En el marco del proyecto »Investigaciónes Arqueométricas de la Cerámica Fenicia de la Península Ibérica« se analizaron con múltiples métodos la composición química de 40 muestras de cerámica fenicia de Tavira, que datan del periodo comprendido entre el final de los siglos VIII y la mitad del siglo V antes de Cristo. La mayoría de las muestras se agrupan en un grupo y, por tanto, fueron fabricadas en un único centro de producción que estuvo trabajando durante un largo período de tiempo. Este centro estuvo probablemente localizado en la propia Tavira o en la región. * * * * * Tavira is one of the cities on the Iberian Peninsula looking back on an extremely long-standing occupation. In the first half of the 1st millennium BC, Tavira was an important Iron Age settlement with a significant Phoenician material fallout. This conclusion is primarily based on archaeological investigations in the old town carried out in the last twenty years. Within the framework of the project »Archaeometric Investigations of Phoenician Pottery from the Iberian Peninsula« 40 samples of Phoenician pottery from Tavira, dating between the end of the 8th and the mid-5th century BC, were analyzed with multiple methods for their chemical composition. The majority of the samples is clustered in one group and therefore was manufactured in a single production center which was active over a long period of time. Most likely, this center can be localized in Tavira itself or in its surroundings.

The site of Eythra, a former village located on the western bank of the White Elster River, has yielded numerous
remains of a settlement that existed there during the early Neolithic cultures – the Linear Pottery culture
(LBK) and the Stroke Ornamented Pottery culture (SBK). The site covers some 30 hectares, making
it the largest excavated settlement of the LBK and SBK areas to date. Chemical analyses of the ceramic
fragments from the consecutive stylistic phases that were represented in Eythra were carried out. The objective
of this was to find out whether the stylistic changes in the shape and the decoration of the ceramic
material correspond to technological changes in regard to such aspects as clay composition and tempering.
The transitions between the earliest and the early LBK phases and between LBK and SBK were of particular
interest in this respect, as also were the localised developments that took place within the two phases
of the LBK and SBK.

Easy use and short measurement times per unit underlies the increasing application of the portable Xray fluorescence analysis (p-XRF) in determining the origin of pottery. This contribution is devoted to the comparison between p-XRF and classical laboratory analyses (Micro-XRF, ICP-MS, NAA). Pottery sherds from three archaeological projects were selected: Finds from the Linear Band pottery site Eythra (Saxony), grey wheel-made pottery from the Roman Imperial Period sites of Haarhausen and Frienstedt (Thuringia) and Phoenician pottery from 19 sites on the Iberian Peninsula. The results showed that with the p-RFA 70 to 90 percent of the Phoenician ceramics as well as of the grey wheel-made pottery can be classified into the same groups as with the classical laboratory methods. In comparison, the matches between p-XRF and classical analytic for the Neolithic pottery from Eythra were poorer. The reasons for this is, on the one hand, the smaller number of elements measurable with the p-RFA and on the other hand the inhomogeneous composition of the pottery. These inhomogeneities are caused by the temper as well as by the varying trace element concentrations within the clay matrix. Both phenomena have been studied in detail and their effects as well as the possibilities of metrological compensation are presented.

"Die Methode der Röntgenfluoreszenzanalyse (RFA) wird schon seit vielen Jahren für archäometrische Untersuchungen von Keramik eingesetzt. Der technische Fortschritt der letzten Jahre und vor allem die fortschreitende Miniaturisierung technischer Komponenten führten zur Entwicklung von portablen Handspektrometern (p-RFA). Die Anwendung dieser Geräte für die Analyse von Keramik erfordert eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit ihren Möglichkeiten und Grenzen. Gezielt durchgeführte Teststudien und konkrete Anwendungen erlauben es, sowohl die Grundlagen als auch das Potenzial der Geräte genauer darzulegen. Dabei sind neben den gerätebedingten Parametern auch die materialkundlichen und geochemischen Besonderheiten der Artefakte für den erfolgreichen Einsatz der mobilen Handspektrometer zu berücksichtigten. So kann damit nicht jede Art von Keramik untersucht und auch nicht jede Fragestellung zufriedenstellend beantwortet werden. Ein möglicher Einsatz hängt von der Zusammensetzung der Keramik und vor allem der zugegebenen Magerung ab. Aufgrund der geringeren Präzision und Genauigkeit der Messwerte der p-RFA sollten diese immer mittels präziserer Labormethoden überprüft werden.

X-ray fluorescence analysis is a widely used technique for the analysis of pottery. The technological progress in the last years and especially the miniaturization of technical components led to the development of portable handheld XRF-spectrometers (p-XRF). The use of these spectrometers for the analysis of pottery must be critically examined in regard to its possibilities and limitations. Systematically conducted test studies and practical applications explain in more detail both the basics and the potential of the device. In addition to the device-related parameters, the samples and the geochemical peculiarities of the samples must also be considered for the successful use of a mobile hand-held spectrometer. How ever, the device is not suitable for every kind of ceramic or research problem. An appropriate use depends on the composition of the pottery and especially the addition of temper. Because of their lower precision and accuracy, the p-XRF results should be always verified by"

The early Neolithic site of Eythra, distr. Leipzig, excavated in forefront of the opencast lignite mining Zwenkau, represents the largest excavated settlement area of Linear and Stroke Pottery Culture (LBK and SBK). Situated on the western bank of the river Weiße Elster the site provided, along with a small earliest LBK settlement on the eastern bank, a large amount of ceramics dating from the earliest LBK to the younger SBK phases. Thus the ceramic data is most suitable for studies of cultural change and continuity. Typological, geochemical (ICP-MS) and elemental distribution maps (micro-XRF) are used to analyse the changes between the major phases of the LBK and SBK each. So far the results demonstrate that the changes from the earliest to the older LBK were gradual and slow, especially with respect to the coarse ware. The most recent analyses proved the marked differences in pottery technology between the LBK and SBK. Also different clay mixtures were used between the LBK and SBK. This can be shown with the trace element analysis.When this change first occurred is still open to debate and to further analyses.The Poster will present the current analyses and interpretation with special focus on a comparison of LBK and SBK pottery technology.

The early Neolithic site of Eythra, distr. Leipzig, excavated in forefront of the opencast lignite mining Zwenkau, represents the largest excavated settlement area of Linear and Stroke Pottery Culture (LBK and SBK). Situated on the western bank of the river Weiße Elster the site provided, along with a small earliest LBK settlement on the eastern bank, a large amount of ceramics dating from the earliest LBK to the younger SBK phases. Thus the ceramic data is most suitable for studies of cultural change and continuity. Typological, geochemical (ICP-MS) and elemental distribution maps (micro-XRF) are used to analyse the changes between the major phases of the LBK and SBK each. So far the results demonstrate that the changes from the earliest to the older LBK were gradual and slow, especially with respect to the coarse ware. The most recent analyses proved the marked differences in pottery technology between the LBK and SBK. Also different clay mixtures were used between the LBK and SBK. This can be shown with the trace element analysis.When this change first occurred is still open to debate and to further analyses.The Poster will present the current analyses and interpretation with special focus on a comparison of LBK and SBK pottery technology.

The second volume of the manifold research about the Bandkeramik enclosure of Herxheim and its ritual context contains artefact group analyses like stone implements, clay figurines and other small clay artefacts, faunal rests, mollusks and also further analyses of human bones from the rescue excavation. The importance of the natural scientific and archaeometric analyses (aDNA, isotopes, pottery raw material) is shown by their highly interesting results. New insights into the chronological position of the events at Herxheim are given by the interpretation of the 14C-dates. The volume also presents a synthesis and interpretative approaches for this special site.

Band 3 der Erfurter Schriften widmet sich der aschkenasischen Schrift- und
Bildtradition vornehmlich des Hochmittelalters. Er stellt Illuminationen in den Mittelpunkt des Interesses: Illustration, Mikrographie, Ornament und Layout werden im Zusammenhang einer reichen jüdischen Bildtradition und eines pointiert jüdisch-christlichen Diskurses verortet.
Bedeutungsmuster und Interpretationsansätze dieser komplexen Wechselrede
von Annäherung und Adaptation, Nähe und Distanz, Modulation und Autarkie, Überformung und Übersetzung werden ausdifferenziert und rezeptionsgeschichtlich erweitert: als Übungen im Bilderlesen. Durch die Einbindung von Objekten der jüdischen Zeremonialkultur gelingt eine Erweiterung dieser Lesarten und Interpretationsmodelle unter Maßgabe des inner- wie interreligiösen ikonografischen Kontextes.
Ein schönes Beispiel sind die methodologisch wie gegenstandsbezogen ausgreifenden Analysen zur Erfurter jüdischen Bronzeampel, ihrem Funktions- und Bildkonzept und ihrer Materialität. Im Spannungsfeld zwischen Hochkultur und Kunsthandwerk konturieren sie den kunsthistorisch einzigartigen Platz des kostbaren Kultgerätes im Netz der Auslegungsmöglichkeiten.
Der Tagungsband konstituiert in einem dichten Bezugsfeld von Bild und
Text einen mehrdimensional ausgeschrittenen rezeptionsästhetischen Ort.
Er ist damit im wirkungsgeschichtlichen Raum selbst kontextstiftend.