Papers by Christopher J Davey
‘To Aleppo gone …’: Essays in honour of Jonathan N. Tubb, eds Irving Finkel, J.A. Fraser & St John Simpson, Oxford: Archaeopress, 98–103, 2023
The paper reports on an investigation of the orientation of north Syrian Bronze Age long-room tem... more The paper reports on an investigation of the orientation of north Syrian Bronze Age long-room temples in relation to the sunrise using Google Earth Pro. It found that seven temples faced the sunrise on about 21 October and 20 February and may have been associated with the annual agricultural cycle involving the god Dagan and the New Year. Three others faced the sunrise on 5 November and 5 February, and one was directed toward the winter solstice. The clustering of the data seems to validate the method.
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Buried History 58, 5-16, 2022
The context and content of the debate between Archibald Henry Sayce, Professor of Assyriology and... more The context and content of the debate between Archibald Henry Sayce, Professor of Assyriology and Samuel Rolles Driver, Regius Professor of Hebrew, Oxford University, are described. The inter-related backgrounds of both men are discussed. While Sayce’s criticism was focussed on the literary analysis of the Old Testament, Driver criticised Sayce’s aims, which he had misunderstood. The debate revealed that different methodologies were applied by the two men and these reflected the distinct mindsets associated with archaeological research and biblical studies.
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Buried History 58, 35-42, 2022
Abstract: The 2018 season of the Kourion Urban Space Project (KUSP) continued the excavation of B... more Abstract: The 2018 season of the Kourion Urban Space Project (KUSP) continued the excavation of Building 4, a large structure situated just to the southwest of the Earthquake House on the Kourion promontory. Focusing on tracing the architecture of this building, this season revealed the northwest perimeter wall and identified two internal rooms: the courtyard and Room 35. Building 4 continues to yield high quality and imported artifacts including glass vessels and fragments of marble statuary along with imported marble and stone construction materials. These artifacts combined with the overall large size of this structure and construction materials suggest that this building served the elite class at Kourion, though it is still uncertain if it served a public or private purpose. This report was lodged with the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus, in January 2022 and is published here with the authors’ affiliations as they were at the time of the excavation.
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Buried History 58, 27-34, 2022
The 2016 season of the Kourion Urban Space Project (KUSP) focused on the excavation of a structur... more The 2016 season of the Kourion Urban Space Project (KUSP) focused on the excavation of a structure situated to the southwest of the Earthquake House on the city’s acropolis. Excavation revealed a large building, designated Building 4, that had been damaged suddenly and further decayed over time. Though it is uncertain if Building 4 was a domestic structure, administrative facility or both, it is evident from the construction materials, particularly marble and painted plaster wall facing, and imported finds that it served elite members of the Kourion community. This paper provides a preliminary description and analysis of the archaeology of Building 4. It was lodged with the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus, in January 2018 and is published here with the authors’ affiliations as they were then.
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Journal of Australasian Mining History 20: 108-129, 2022
As the Chief Mine Captain at the Burra Burra Mine from 1847 until the underground mine closed twe... more As the Chief Mine Captain at the Burra Burra Mine from 1847 until the underground mine closed twenty years later, Henry Roach (1808–1889) was a significant mining identity in Australia, but unlike Captain Hancock at Moonta, Roach has had no biographer. The paper discusses Roach’s origins and identifies his family in South Australia, who have no memory of him. It also ponders why the Australian mining fraternity have no knowledge of his family and considers the implications of this situation for biographical research about him. Roach’s contribution to mining in Australia is briefly commented upon.
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BASOR 385: 201-218, 2021
After a brief introduction to pot-bellows, their corpus is reviewed, identifying objects and evid... more After a brief introduction to pot-bellows, their corpus is reviewed, identifying objects and evidence that have emerged since the first paper about them was published by the author (Davey 1979). The propositions made in that paper are assessed and most are found to have stood the test of time. If anything, the new evidence has added complexity to this field of study, especially where the origin of the technology is concerned.
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Buried History 57: 33-44, 2021
Alan C. Mellaart’s book about his father James Mellaart: The Journey to Çatalhöyük is reviewed. T... more Alan C. Mellaart’s book about his father James Mellaart: The Journey to Çatalhöyük is reviewed. The memories of the author, who attended Mellaart’s lectures at the Institute of Archaeology, London, are recounted and discussed in relation to the Dorak affair. The paper also includes the perspective of G.R.H. (Mick) Wright, who excavated with Mellaart in the 1950s. The discussion reflects on the context and consequences of the controversies surrounding Mellaart.
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Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021
Abstract The study of a well-preserved crucible fragment from the Middle Kingdom Egyptian fortres... more Abstract The study of a well-preserved crucible fragment from the Middle Kingdom Egyptian fortress in Buhen in lower Nubia revealed the unexpected presence of numerous prills of very arsenic- and nickel-rich coper alloy in what looks like a smelting slag. Based on optical and scanning electron microscopy on a polished section, this paper discusses the potential metallurgical process that was carried out in this Middle Kingdom Egyptian type of crucible. Strongly reducing conditions preserved in the sample taken from near the low-sitting spout of the vessel indicate that it was likely used for smelting a very rich secondary copper-arsenic ore, rather than for the more oxidising refining of raw copper, or simple casting of copper-arsenic alloy. However, the evidence is not unambiguous, and these alternative interpretations are also discussed, considering the chronology and geographical context of the fortress near a known copper deposit in what was then the southern border of pharaonic Egypt.
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Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (with Wouter Claes and Stan Hendrickx), 2019
During excavations in the spring of 2015 in the settlement of Elkab, a complete and almost intact... more During excavations in the spring of 2015 in the settlement of Elkab, a complete and almost intact crucible was discovered on the floor level of a Second Dynasty building. This article describes the crucible and its archaeological context, it explores the design of the crucible in comparison with contemporary crucibles of a corresponding style and it foreshadows the character of ongoing research. The crucible has the shape depicted in Old Kingdom tomb metal-working scenes. Its profile became the hieroglyphic ideogram denoting metal-workers implying it was an iconic implement, although this is currently the only example of this kind of crucible from Egypt. Indeed, this is the earliest complete crucible for melting copper yet found anywhere.
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During excavations in the spring of 2015 in the settlement of Elkab, a complete and almost intact... more During excavations in the spring of 2015 in the settlement of Elkab, a complete and almost intact crucible was discovered on the floor level of a Second Dynasty building. This article describes the crucible and its archaeological context, it explores the design of the crucible in comparison with contemporary crucibles of a corresponding style and it foreshadows the character of on-going research. The crucible has the shape depicted in Old Kingdom tomb metal-working scenes. Its profile became the hieroglyphic ideogram denoting metal-workers implying it was an iconic implement, although this is currently the only example of this kind of crucible from Egypt. Indeed, this is the earliest complete crucible for melting copper yet found anywhere.
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Buried History 54, 2018, 23-32
Two papers about the introduction of the spritsail during the Roman-period in previous editions o... more Two papers about the introduction of the spritsail during the Roman-period in previous editions of Buried History are updated with additional references and hypotheses. A revised interpretation of Problem 7 in the Aristotelian corpus Mekhanika is given but the foregoing proposition that the introduction of spritsails made sailing to windward routine for Roman merchant sailing ships is retained. It is suggested that extremes of wind strength were the main inhibitors of windward sailing because it reduced boat speed, which in turn diminished lateral resistance and increased leeway.
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The Artefact 41, 2016, 15-29.
George Ware Dixon (1924 – 2017) studied European Prehistory at the Institute of Archaeology, Lond... more George Ware Dixon (1924 – 2017) studied European Prehistory at the Institute of Archaeology, London, 1951 – 1955 where he attended lectures given by Professor V Gordon Childe and the other distinguished members of the faculty. George kept his lecture notes, which have been scanned and, hopefully, will be deposited in the Institute of Archaeology, London. The paper describes George’s life until he moved on from archaeology after his return to Australia in 1956; it discusses his experience of archaeology while in London and reflects on his return to Australia about one year before Childe returned. It seeks to understand why a student of arguably the most influential archaeologist of the twentieth century did not find a worthwhile place in the nascent discipline of archaeology in Australia.
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in E. Ben-Yosef ed. Mining for Ancient Copper: Essays in Memory of Professor Beno Rothenberg, Tel Aviv: Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University, 2018, 495-503.
This paper describes the role and process of copper refining. It then argues that the crucibles d... more This paper describes the role and process of copper refining. It then argues that the crucibles depicted on the walls of some Egyptian Old Kingdom tombs and found at the Isin-Larsa period site of Tell edh-Dhiba‘i, were originally devised and used as refining vessels. The reasons why they have not often been discovered at smelting sites are discussed and the terminology used by the ancient Egyptians for crucibles is considered
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Materials Research Proceedings 2, 2016, 515-520 (with David Saunders, Vladimir Luzin, Joseph Bevitt, Jennifer Webb, James Donlon, and Mihail Ionescu)
This paper presents the results of a residual stress analysis that is part of a wider study of Cy... more This paper presents the results of a residual stress analysis that is part of a wider study of Cypriot Bronze Age knife and other weapon blades from a corpus of artefacts held by a number of institutions in Australia. The current focus is on knives from Early/Middle Bronze Age burial sites at Bellapais Vounous, Cyprus; a significant number of the blades were found on excavation to be bent. The aim of the study was to provide, by means of non-destructive neutron residual stress analysis, likely insights into fabrication methodologies of the knives and determine the stage in the life of each knife blade at which bending occurred. Two Vounous knives from the Australian Institute of Archaeology collection, one measurably bent and the other severely bent and broken, were studied
using neutron diffractometer KOWARI to establish the residual stress profiles through the thickness of the knives at several locations. Since the knives were 1 - 2 mm thick at their thinnest sections, a very high through-thickness spatial resolution of 0.1 mm was used to resolve the residual stress profiles. The experimental data from the knives suggested forging/hammering as a possible method of fabrication of functional (hard edge) knife blade. Most significantly, however, the post fabrication bending of both knives at ambient temperature was established. The residual stress data for the two knives were considered in the context of reported metallurgical studies and the archaeological
information from Cypriot Bronze Age sites.
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Buried History 52, 2016, 35-44, Dec 2016
Iconographic evidence and the shipwreck archaeological record seem to indicate that merchant ship... more Iconographic evidence and the shipwreck archaeological record seem to indicate that merchant ships dramatically increased in size and tonnage toward the end of the 2 nd century BC. The experience gained from sailing replicas, such as the Kyrenia II, has demonstrated that ships powered by a single mainsail lacked controlled manoeuvrability and sometimes needed to resort to auxiliary power such as oars. It is argued that the development of the spritsail-artemon discussed previously (Davey 2015) provided the necessary means to control ships and thereby facilitated this increase in size.
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Buried History 51, 2015, 31-44
The iconography of Roman period merchant ships reveals them to have a different sail-plan to thos... more The iconography of Roman period merchant ships reveals them to have a different sail-plan to those of earlier times because they often have a small square sail rigged near the bow called a spritsail. The significance of the spritsail ceased to be appreciated in the early nineteenth century soon after it became obsolete. This paper discusses the role of the spritsail especially as it assisted Roman period ships to sail to windward.
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Buried History 50, 2014, 21-30
The origin of the relationship between the University of Melbourne and the Australian Institute o... more The origin of the relationship between the University of Melbourne and the Australian Institute of Archaeology is described together with the roles played by Maurice Goldman and John Thompson. The circumstances of William Culican’s arrival in Melbourne are discussed, and the expectations of the founder of the Institute, Walter Beasley, in relation to Thompson and Culican are briefly explored.
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in, J.R.B. Stewart: An Archaeological Legacy, edited by A. Bernard Knapp, Jennifer M. Webb and Andrew McCarthy, Åström Förlag, Uppsala 2013, 211-222
The relationship between James Stewart and Walter Beasley was based on a common interest in archa... more The relationship between James Stewart and Walter Beasley was based on a common interest in archaeology and is traced in this paper to its sad demise. While Stewart never excavated with Beasley’s financial support, the relationship facilitated Stewart’s return to Australia to begin the tertiary study of archaeology in Australia and to inspire the enduring interest of Australian archaeologists in Cyprus.
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Buried History 49, 2013, 37-52, 2013
The life of Mick Wright is described drawing on the reminiscences of his friends and himself, his... more The life of Mick Wright is described drawing on the reminiscences of his friends and himself, his personal documents and published papers. The role of the archaeological architect is briefly commented upon in the context of Mick’s published perspectives.
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Linda Evans ed, Ancient Memphis, Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 214, 2012, Leuven: Peeters, 85-108., 2012
The crucible shape depicted in Old Kingdom tomb images was significant enough to become the hiero... more The crucible shape depicted in Old Kingdom tomb images was significant enough to become the hieroglyphic sign associated with metal workers and copper. The metal working tomb scenes raise a number of questions that have been resolved with the discovery of comparable crucibles at the Old Babylonian site of Tell edh-Dhiba’i. This technological understanding in turn contributes to an appreciation of the images themselves, their artistic form, and the technological practices they represent. This review concludes that the earliest depictions are in part eyewitness records of Memphite metallurgical activity and that three artistic styles are identifiable. The metal working scenes depict the production of luxury objects and may have had a didactic purpose for the benefit of the tomb owner in the afterlife.
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Papers by Christopher J Davey
using neutron diffractometer KOWARI to establish the residual stress profiles through the thickness of the knives at several locations. Since the knives were 1 - 2 mm thick at their thinnest sections, a very high through-thickness spatial resolution of 0.1 mm was used to resolve the residual stress profiles. The experimental data from the knives suggested forging/hammering as a possible method of fabrication of functional (hard edge) knife blade. Most significantly, however, the post fabrication bending of both knives at ambient temperature was established. The residual stress data for the two knives were considered in the context of reported metallurgical studies and the archaeological
information from Cypriot Bronze Age sites.
using neutron diffractometer KOWARI to establish the residual stress profiles through the thickness of the knives at several locations. Since the knives were 1 - 2 mm thick at their thinnest sections, a very high through-thickness spatial resolution of 0.1 mm was used to resolve the residual stress profiles. The experimental data from the knives suggested forging/hammering as a possible method of fabrication of functional (hard edge) knife blade. Most significantly, however, the post fabrication bending of both knives at ambient temperature was established. The residual stress data for the two knives were considered in the context of reported metallurgical studies and the archaeological
information from Cypriot Bronze Age sites.