The Late Roman necropolis of Fag el-Gamus on the eastern edge of Egypt's Fayum Oasis is a valuable archaeological site for exploring issues of personal and cultural identity in Roman Egypt. Former scholarship regarding the people buried at Fag el-Gamus has claimed-based on narrow evidence--that they represent an exceptionally early Christian community in Egypt. However, a more careful look at the evidence-using recent theoretical approaches, data-driven analyses, and comparisons with contemporary sites throughout Egypt and neighboring areas-reveals a more complicated portrait of their religious affiliation and other aspects of their identity. This study examines several potential markers of religious affiliation at Fag el-Gamus placed in the context of burials from throughout the Roman and early Byzantine eras in Egypt. Aspects of burial that appear to be "Christian" innovations or first occur in the period during which Christianity first appears are highlighted. Conclusions from this broader and more in-depth evidence suggests that the case for the early arrival of Christianity in Egypt is highly ambiguous, and any arguments concerning it must be correspondingly complex. The necropolis of Fag el-Gamus, due to its extensive size and excellent preservation, provides valuable evidence for the unfolding of this slow and piecemeal change and for the discussion of multiple aspects of identity.

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) can be a useful geophysical instrument in the search and detection of clandestine graves in a forensic context. Controlled research in the field of forensic archaeology has demonstrated the applicability of this technology and is vital for improving GPR search methods. The objectives of this research was to evaluate the applicability of GPR, using 250 MHz and 500 MHz antennae, to locate shallow graves containing small pig cadavers in various burial scenarios over a 12 month period. Data was collected on a controlled grid containing six graves at 0.5 m in depth: five graves containing pig carcasses and one control grave. The five graves containing the pig carcasses were devised to test a number of common forensic burial scenarios. The reflection profile data was processed using the computer program REFLEXW. The results demonstrate that the additional grave items did not always increase the detection of the grave for this monitoring period. Further, the low demarcation of the grave containing disturbed backfill illustrated that the hyperbolic reflection features were the result of the pig carcasses and not the disturbed soil. In terms of antenna performance, the 250 MHz data initially provided a higher resolution within the first few months. However, over time the higher detail provided by the 500 MHz data consistently resulted in easily discernable reflections.

Historic-archaeological research on the Alamanni, an early medieval population in the periphery of the Frankish Empire, primarily focuses on themes such as their military character or issues of ethnicity, while the actual functioning of Alamannic societies remains conjectural. Aiming at presenting an integrated approach to the concepts of social organisation and social identities in Alamannic populations, this study examines and defines Alamannic identity and society by creating a dialogue between the disciplines of archaeology, biological anthropology and socio-cultural sciences. A bioarchaeology of identity explores the Alamanni of Pleidelsheim and Neresheim via their funerary and skeletal evidence, allowing for the factor of different environments that influence the interactions of a community. A key theme is the investigation of indicators for biological and social "status" by direct association of bioanthropological with funerary archaeological data, as well as by evaluation of present interpretations made from material culture in the light of bioanthropological analysis as a paramount focus. The results are interpreted in terms of social status and the perception of certain social parameters, exploring interrelations between factors such as sex and gender, age, status and activity for the entirety of a society. This research offers new perspectives on Alamannic societies and helps to comprehend Alamannic social organisation as a multi-layered phenomenon, emphasizing the importance of a biocultural approach. Beyond common perceptions, this study forms the basis for a new understanding of the Alamanni, as the results reveal a society that was complex and diverse, displaying its own characteristics in the Merovingian world. / AHRC. British Archaeological Association

No description available.

<p> A series of shallow intrusive and extrusive silicic volcanic rocks near Mamainse Point, Ontario, were sampled and analyzed for major and trace elements. The rocks are mainly fine grained, silicified rhyolites grading to dacites containing phenocrysts of quartz and feldspar. The analyses performed (XRF, AAS) indicate that many of these rocks have been altered from the normal igneous spectrum of rocks to potassic keratophyres. An enrichment in potash from potash metasomatism has accompanied low grade, burial metamorphism to produce a secondary mineral assemblage including chlorite, carbonate, and sericite. Local intense alteration of some rocks involved the depletion of mobile alkalis and addition of water and co2 to form calcite and kaolin. The overall field and chemical evidence suggest a single magmatic source for these rocks. </p> / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

<p> Magnetization associated with the emplacement or a rock body may be thermo-remanent magnetization (TRM) in an igneous body or detrital-remanent magnetization (ORM) in a sedimentary deposit. At the time or Formation the acquired remanence will tend to lie in the ambient field direction. This primary remanence may not remain unchanged through geologic time. Viscous demagnetization may progressively destroy the remanence in the primary direction or it may be reset as VRM in a later different ambient field direction. The amount or acquired VRM will depend on the temperature the rock is heated to and the length or time the heating lasts as well as the magnetic properties or the remanence carriers.</p> <p> The remanence may also be changed by chemical reactions taking place in the magnetic minerals. The remanence acquired during these chemical changes (CRM) is round, by this work, to be a determining factor in the stability or and initial NRM during thermal remagnetization. </p> <p> Synthetic samples were stored for up to 32 days at 400 C it is possible to access geologic time. To simulate viscous changes over geologic time elevated temperatures applied for laboratory times are related to longer times at lower temperatures using the thermal activation curves. Changes in remanence during the storage were observed at various times throughout the experiment. The remanence in samples with an initial NRM was diminished, remanece in samples with a weak initial NRM increased in intensity but the remanence direction lay in the Field direction after as little as l/2 a day storage time. </p> <p> Thermal demagnetization allows separation of the magnetization on the basis of blocking temperature spectra. During the storage the initial magnetite was oxidized to cation deficent magnetite with significantly higher blocking temperatures than those found in the magnetite. Hysteresis measurements, and thermomagnetic mesurements indicate that this change results primarily From the shirt in Tc due to cation deficency. Apparently the change in T did not significantly affect the mechanisms responsible for blocking remanence but merely shifted the blocking temperatures by a similar amount. In samples with a weak initial NRM the chemical change completely reset the magnetization and in samples stored for times as short as only 8 days the initial remanence direction could not be recovered. </p> / Thesis / Bachelor of Science (BSc)

No description available.

The inclusion of animal remains in funerary contexts was a routine feature of Anglo-Saxon cremation ritual, and less frequently of inhumations, until the introduction of Christianity during the 7th century. Most interpretation has focused either on the animal as symbolic of identity or as an indication of pagan belief, with little consideration given to the interaction between these two aspects. Animals were a fundamental and ubiquitous part of early medieval society, and their contribution to mortuary practices is considered to be multifaceted, reflecting their multiple roles in everyday life. This project considers the roles of animals in mortuary practice between the 5th-7th centuries across five counties in eastern England – Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Essex – in both cremation and inhumation rites. Animal remains have been recognised in 5th to 7th century burials in eastern England from an early date, and the quality of the existing archives (both material and written) is investigated and discussed as an integral part of designing a methodology to effectively summarise data across a wide area. From the eastern England dataset, four aspects of identity in mortuary practice are considered in terms of their influence on the role of animals: choice of rite (cremation/inhumation); human biological identity (age & gender); regionality; and changing expressions of belief and status in the 7th century. The funerary role of animals is argued to be based around broadly consistent cosmologies which are locally contingent in their expression and practice. / Arts & Humanities Research Council Studentship under the Collaborative Doctoral Award scheme with Norwich Castle Museum as the partner organisation.

No description available.

No description available.