This thesis reports a study of the sulfur problem which is the production of sulfuric acid via the oxidation of iron sulfide in the timbers of the Mary Rose a flagship of Henry VIII 's navy which sunk in 1535 and was raised in 1982. The work has involved a range of chemical and physical techniques with particular use of synchrotron sources to measure the iron and sulfur speciation in the timbers with X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements. XAS measurements are almost unique in providing the speciation of atoms in a sample via the XANES. They are particularly useful for sulfur, which has a wide range of oxidation states. However, the current work has shown the need to use the bulk and microfocus XAS measurements in parallel, particularly for archaeological samples. It is clear that the iron and sulfur contents and speciation can vary widely from sample to sample of the Mary Rose timbers. In the study on the effectiveness of chelating agents in the removal of iron species from the timbers care was taken, wherever possible, to ensure that the same samples and sample positions were used for the before and after treatment measurements. The nature of the iron and su~ur species is of extreme importance because it is assumed that it is Fe" that gives rise to the production of su~uric acid. The current study has shown that in the timbers that had not been PEG treated contained iron in the surface regions that was predominantly Fe", similar to the findings of other workers. Most of the work in this thesis used samples close to the surface of the timbers. It was only in samples taken deep into the timbers experiments that there were significant concentrations of Fe". A range of sulfur species were found in the samples. The predominant species were reduced sulfur species, elemental sulfur and sulfate. Very little pyrite was found -in the timbers studied, but it should be noted that these timbers had not been PEG treated. Some pyrite was found in the cell walls. The present studies were predominantly on the surface regions of the timbers and the conclusion is that the bulk of the pyrite which may have been present had oxidised in the moist, oxygen containing environment in which they had been stored after recovery from the sea bed. A key finding of the present study is the co-location of iron and sulfate in the timbers. This had been suggested but had not been experimentally verified. The production of sulfuric acid in the timbers is thought to involve the oxidation of iron sulfides in the presence of water to produce is iron sulfate and sulfuric acid. The fact that the present experiments show iron and sulfate in the same positions i'] the XANES maps strongly supports the proposed oxidation mechanism of iron sulfides. The bulk and microfocus XAS experiments show that a large fraction of the iron in the current samples was in the form of an oxide. This is most likely to be goethite (FeO(OH)). The XANES analysis and the fitting of the EXAFS are consistent with this identification. All the four chelating agents used in this work (EDTA, DTPA, ammonium citrate and calcium phytate) were effective in removing iron from the timbers. However, the more efficient are DTPA and calcium phytate in terms of amount removed at fixed molarity. For samples that had been treated with PEG the current work showed that the chelating agents were less effective. This is presumably due to the PEG blocking the penetration of the solutions of the chelating agents into the wood.

Tooth wear can record valuable information on diet, and non-dietary activities in different populations. In this study, assemblages from various behavioural groups are used to test the hypothesis that non-agriculturalists had a characteristic pattern of tooth wear which differs from the pattern of tooth wear of agriculturalists. The current study used an updated method to measure the proportions of dentine exposed in the occlusal wear facet and compared this to approximal wear and occlusal wear plane angle (separately). Assemblages used were from different behavioural groups (non-agriculturalists, transitionals and agriculturalists), environments (inland and coastal) and regions (North America and Levant). The non-agricultural groups were made up of assemblages from Carlston Annis, Ciggerville, El Wad, Indian Knoll and Kebara. The transitional group was from Calhoun County and the agriculturalists were made up of assemblages from Abu Hureyra, Florida Canaveral Peninsula, Hawikuh and Shannon. Results showed that the rate of occlusal wear corresponds greatly with the eruption timing of the dentition, agriculturalists and transitionals had greater approximal wear relative to Ml occlusal wear than non-agriculturalists and non-agriculturalists had a slower rate of change in occlusal facet angle relative to the extent of occlusal wear than the agriculturalists and transitionals.

No description available.

An understanding of the extent to which materials and energy are free to exchange across boundaries at shipwreck sites is fundamental to the archaeological interpretation of these unique resources. The limited previous work on the dynamics of shipwreck sites suggest that they can act as either near-closed systems (e.g. Mary Rose), or open systems at some state of dynamic/quasi- equilibrium with respect to their surroundings’ (e.g. Stirling Castle). Nonetheless, our understanding of the temporal evolution of shipwreck sites and thus, whether they are open or closed systems, is extremely limited. This thesis presents repeat (intra-annual; annual; and decadal) Multibeam Echosounder (MBES) surveys for five shipwreck sites (the largest published collection of shipwreck site MBES time-series to date) from a range of environments: the Richard Montgomery, tidally dominated (weakly asymmetrical); the Scylla, storm dominated; the Burgzand Noord site, tidally dominated (strongly asymmetrical); the Stirling Castle, dominated by large-scale geomorphological processes; and the Algerian, sheltered. By quantifying the temporal variability (through bed-level change plots) and the Metocean, geological and geomorphological conditions of these wreck sites, the impact of the differing marine environments on the wreck site’s taphonomic pathway was constrained. Through the collation of these MBES time-series the importance of being able to account for the uncertainty of the data when comparing two time steps was realised. To this end, a robust methodology for assessing the uncertainty of the MBES data was developed for the use with marine MBES data. The spatial patterns of scouring and deposition were accounted for through the application of the simple principles of scouring around bluff obstacles (cylinders, cuboids and piers etc.). Those sites which experienced a disturbance during the observation period (e.g. a storm event at the Scylla, sandbank migration at the Stirling Castle and the implementation of physical protection at the Burgzand Noord site) underwent a larger range of bed-level change and altered dramatically in their scour/deposition arrangement. Those sites at quasi-equilibrium (SS Richard Montgomery, Algerian and Scylla for the final time-step) underwent no perceivable net bed-level change over the observation period and had stable scour and deposition features. The comprehension of shipwreck site taphonomy gained through this thesis is fundamental to the efficacy of heritage management, allowing protective measures to be site-tailored and fills a large data- and knowledge-gap in the long term (multi-annual) evolution of scour around marine anthropogenic structures.

The funerary practices of many past cultures in Northwestern Europe involve the burial of the deceased in clothing and in wooden coffins. Although objects made from wood, textiles and leather that exhibit exceptional levels of preservation, or that hold great significance, are commonly analysed by a wide range of analytical techniques, fragments of degraded coffin wood and funerary clothing materials have not, to date, been chemically analysed. This material therefore represents a wealth of potential information that has yet to be investigated. By identifying and examining the preservation state of wood, textiles and leather placed in archaeological human burials, this research sought to explore the information that could be gained from analysing these degraded materials, and to develop an understanding of the long term decomposition trajectories of different archaeological materials buried in a range of burial environments. This analysis was complemented with data obtained from relatively shorter term burial experiments, aimed at investigating the short term diagenetic processes. A suite of appropriate analytical chemistry techniques were employed to assess the degradation that had occurred in wood, textiles and leather by comparison with undegraded modern analogues. Using this approach, it has been shown that by examining the component biopolymers, not only can their preservation state be assessed, but a greater depth of information regarding their provenance may be gained in comparison to traditional archaeological methods. The degradation modifications that have occurred within the burial environments were shown to be attributable to a range of fungal, microbial and chemical factors. The type and extent of the degradation allow conditions within the burial environments to be elucidated. These findings have potential implications for the understanding, interpretation and conservation of buried archaeological and forensic materials.

No description available.

No description available.

Phenomenological approaches in archaeology are often accused by their detractors of lacking an explicitly articulated method and being centred on first-person 'subjective' accounts. As a result, phenomenological research is perceived to lack rigour, data and accountability. This thesis addresses these concerns through the development of a phenomenological methodology created to address the failure of experimental archaeology to account for those who take part in experimental projects and their influence on the theory, practice and explanations of such projects. For its philosophical basis, the project draws on the thinking of Martin Heidegger, particularly Division I of his major work Being and Time (1962). This thinking is explored and developed in the context of the practice of roundhouse reconstruction. It is translated into a methodology to identify, examine and interpret the phenomena associated with everyday practice in the carrying out of skilled tasks in relation to a particular project. For its grounding in the world, the research analyses the reconstruction of a large roundhouse a Castell Henllys Iron age Fort. This analysis, through an explicitly Heideggerian phenomenological methodology, uses multi-media sources (video, audio, transcription, still images) and Qualitative Data Analysis software to generate qualitative, third-person phenomenological data on the experiences and contextual understandings of being involved in that reconstruction project. These experiences and understandings are then explored for their broader implications for the practice of field based experimental archaeology in general - and reconstruction practice in particular - and for interpreting the practice of building a roundhouse in the Iron Age in Britain. From the development and application of the methodology it is concluded that it is both possible and desirable to both create and express a phenomenological methodology and that contrary to popular belief, such studies can be rigorous and generate vast amounts of data that can be re-examined by others either repeating the method expressed or in different ways. In relation to reconstruction practice, it concludes that such practice is much more closely defined by those that take part in it than it is by 'scientific' methodological rigour and materials constraints, also that reconstruction is a deeply meaning giving practice and not at all 'neutral'. Finally, the thesis concludes that the phenomena observed in reconstruction practice would have been present in past building and that this leads one to consider that even this apparently mundane and everyday practice was deeply meaningful at every level, from an individual's ways of dealing with their tools, to overtly symbolic practices associated with the stages and layout of a roundhouse in the Iron Age.

This thesis seeks to show that by using the principles of experimental archaeology it is possible to reconsider the extent to which the ancient writers understood the use of artillery in the field and under siege conditions. A combination of philological and experimental approaches has been taken to determine not only how catapults could be used by Hellenistic armies, but also why certain actions were taken when artillery was brought into the field. The experimental approach is discussed throughout the thesis, with attention drawn to its merits and disadvantages, and how these can be used to improve the methodologies through which we can further develop our understanding of Hellenistic military history and technology. There are three main sections to the thesis. The first takes a philological approach to considering the ancient artillery treatises by Philon, Heron, and Biton, with reference to Vitruvius' work on catapults. Each treatise is assessed with regard to its level of technicality and the extent to which it can be used for the purpose of constructing catapults. The treatises are then used in the second part of the thesis to construct functional replicas of the Hellenistic stone-thrower and the Hellenistic bolt-shooter. In the third part of the thesis, the catapults are tested against the ancient writers' descriptions of their use in the field. The findings of this thesis show that the ancient writers were broadly accurate in their descriptions of catapult use, but that they appear to be largely unaware of the reasoning behind their deployment. The thesis also highlights problematic parts of the technical treatises which previous scholars have ignored, in particular gaps in the descriptions of some components necessary for the catapults to function. Moreover, solutions are offered to complete the gaps left by the technical writers, especially where none are offered by the commentaries on these works. This thesis also demonstrates that catapults had a specific function in Hellenistic warfare which focused largely on sieges and static engagements. Most importantly, however, this thesis shows that not only can practical experimental methods successfully be applied to otherwise text-based research, but that it produces significant results which can aid in our understanding of military history, ancient technology, and the reliability of the ancient writers.

Traditional and well-established applications of airborne remote sensing to archaeology involve standard aerial photographic recording, either oblique or vertical, of archaeological phenomena visible as shadow, soil or cropmarks, all of which require particular conditions before they become visible. Cropmarks have made the most important contribution to archaeological site discovery and are the most complex of the phenomena, whose occurrence relies upon the differential availability of moisture to a crop growing over buried archaeological remains, reflecting different soil depths and precipitation, to create differential growth patterns in times of moisture stress. Consistently successful aerial photographic reconnaissance for cropmarks relies on dry weather and well-drained soils in arable agriculture. There is, thus, in Scotland a bias in the discovery of archaeological sites in favour of drier eastern districts, supporting arable agriculture, compared to the west with its wetter climate focussed on pastureland. Because cropmarks are linked to moisture stress in growing plants they are potentially detectable in bands outside the visible part of the electro-magnetic spectrum. Although historically cropmark detection has used film, whose sensitivity closely approximates the human eye, hyperspectral scanning allows consideration of a wider range of different wavelengths, beyond the visible spectrum, many of which are more sensitive to changes in vegetation status. The main objectives of this research are to test to what extent hyperspectral and multispectral imagery can reveal otherwise invisible archaeological sites surviving as cropmarks; to assess the relative usefulness of the different sensors employed; and to investigate the potential of hyperspectral and multispectral imagery to augment cropmark detection rates in areas less conducive to their production. It uses a range of imagery (CASI 2, ATM and digital vertical photographic data) acquired by NERC ARSF from two case study sites in Lowland Scotland, one in the east and one in the west, selected to facilitate comparison between areas of good and poor cropmark production. Following processing, comparison and detailed analysis of this data, this thesis has demonstrated the high efficacy of this imagery in the identification of archaeological cropmarks; has established the most appropriate range of bandwidths and processing methods applicable to that imagery; has demonstrated its potential for the discovery of previously unrecognised archaeological sites in areas of lowland pasture; and has reinforced the value of systematic block coverage as compared to traditional ‘observer-directed’ archaeological aerial reconnaissance.