No description available.

The Scottish vitrified forts form a unique assemblage of archaeological monuments exhibiting the common feature of partly melted masonry generally found in the vicinity of a ruined wall. Although they have received considerable attention from scholars since their discovery in the late eighteenth century many questions relating to origins, purpose and chronology remain unanswered. This work represents the first coherent attempt to develop and apply direct dating to vitrified rocks _ using thermoluminescence (TL) techniques to establish the time elapsed since the last heating of the sample. The technique is based on equating the thermoluminescence acquired by minerals within vitrified rocks, during the period following vitrification, to the levels of natural ionising radiation within and around the samples. Study sites were selected on the basis of a mineralogical, analytical and dosimetric survey of material from museum collections, and sampled from secure contexts using a portable diamond coring tool. Radiation dose rates to the samples were determined using a combination of thermoluminescence and low level counting methods coupled to standard microdosimetric models for specific mineral phases. A promising new method of rapid beta dose rate measurement was developed during this work. Thermoluminescence measurements of separated mineral extracts were performed using computerised eqUipment to determine the total radiation dose experienced since firing. Particular attention was paid to the form of the radiation dose dependence of samples from different Sites, and to the stability and reproducibility of TL signals. Coherent thermoluminescence ages were obtained from the sites of Finavon,Craig Phadrig, Dun Lagaidh, Langwell, Knockfarrel and Tap 0 Noth, using feldspar fractions extracted from the samples, and indicate a long time span for the monuments stretching from the 2nd millenium Be to the first millenium AD. This evidence considerably extends the timespan attributable to the monuments and paves the way for further work to establish the relationship between the morphology and chronology of a wider range of sites.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2003. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: p. 238-266.

Thesis (Ph.D)--University of Wollongong, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 192-207.

Thesis (B.S.)--University of Wisconsin -- La Crosse, 2007. / Also available online. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Thesis ( M.A.) -- University of Texas at Arlington, 2008.

Eggshell of the African Ostrich, Struthio camelus, frequently occurs in African archaeological sites, some of which are beyond the limit of radiocarbon dating. In order to date those sites beyond the range of ¹⁴C dating using amino acid geochemistry, an understanding of the reaction kinetics governing amino acid chemistry must be achieved. The integrity of the eggshell matrix provides an excellent medium to investigate the kinetics of protein hydrolysis, amino acid decomposition, and isoleucine epimerization. Mathematical equations are derived from high temperature simulations of time and well-dated sites at ambient temperatures to determine rate constants for the reactions to a D/L ratio of 1.0. The reactions studied are Free and Total isoleucine epimerization, "classical" and "extended" hydrolysis, and the change in concentrations of free, bound, and total amino acids. Arrhenius plots aided in deriving the equations for each method which are then applied to predict kinetic parameters. Temperatures can be predicted within a 2°C range and time within 15% of its actual value if the appropriate method is used.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2008. / Title from file title page. Melinda Hartwig, committee chair; Maria Gindhart, Glenn Gunhouse, committee members. Electronic text (128 p. : col. ill.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Oct. 3, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 124-128).

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