E. Photos-Jones

A model for the origin of Al-rich efflorescences near fumaroles, Melos, Greece: enhanced weathering in a geothermal setting

Abstract Efflorescences in the geothermal field of SE Melos, Greece, contain significant amounts of hydrated Al sulphate, alunogen, which could represent the Melian alumen exploited in Roman times and commended by Pliny. The efflorescences at subaerial fumaroles are explained as follows: Sulphur crystallizes onoxidation of H2S emanating from depth. Weathering produces sulphuric acid enhancing groundwater alteration of volcanic rocks. The high geothermal gradient and arid climate stimulate efflorescences. Salts are recycled during wet and dry weather leading to Al-enrichment on loss of Fe(II,III) and other cations. δ34S‰ V-CDT values for sulphur in fumarole sublimates, solfatara soils and ‘veins’ range from -0.3 to 6.4‰, mean 3.8‰ (n = 8) while Al, Ca and Mg-sulphates in diverse settings range from -4.1 to 6.8‰ (n = 16). The values for sulphur indicate that the initial H2S had an igneous source and the signature is largely inherited by the sulphates. This study aims to underpin research into the exploitation of industrial minerals in the Roman period. When searching for early alumen workings, areas with evidence of acid sulphate alteration (white rocks) and sulphurous fumarole activity should be investigated.

Mycenaean black inlaid metalware in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens: a technical examination

Current technical interest in the nature of the black inlaid decoration on ancient metalware has stimulated an examination of some of the well-known bronze daggers, silver vessels, and other fragments, all with inlaid decoration and dating to the 16–14th centuries BC, from Mycenae, Prosymna, Dendra, Routsi, and Pylos. Results of non-destructive X-ray fluorescence analysis point to great versatility in working with copper (or bronze)–gold–silver alloys. The black inlaid decoration is usually copper/bronze–gold alloy with small quantities of silver. Four of the objects were also examined by X-ray radiography.

Kean miltos: the well-known iron oxides of antiquity

The island of Kea in the North Cyclades was well known in antiquity for its miltos, a naturally occurring red iron oxide valued for its colour and wide range of applications. By combining geological field work, physico-chemical analytical techniques, simulation (heating) experiments as well as simple laboratory tests, this paper describes the study of Kean iron oxides in an attempt to characterize this material which is still largely elusive in the archaeological record. The present work corroborates previous observations about the superior quality of some Kean iron oxides. Furthermore, it puts forward the hypothesis that miltos may have been considered an industrial mineral, and as such may have been used as an umbrella term for a variety of materials including mineralogically distinct purple as well as red iron oxides.

Between archives and the site: the 19th-century iron and steel industry in the Monklands, Central Scotland

Abstract A case is made that attention should shift from the archaeology of process, guided largely by the archival evidence, to the archaeology of practice by scrutinizing the material record. Holistic Context Analysis applied to the industrial soils and finds at Moffat Upper Steam Forge has led to a more coherent and realistic picture of construction and demolition at the site, as well as of its puddling industry, than could be learned from the historical narrative of the iron and steel industry in the Monklands, the most industrialized part of Scotland in the 19th century.

Archaeological medicinal earths as antibacterial agents: the case of the Basel Lemnian sphragides

Abstract This paper presents the scientific investigation of three Lemnian sphragides (terra sigillata, stamped earth), a famed medicinal clay in antiquity, dated to the sixteenth–seventeenth centuries, and presently in the Museum for the History of Pharmacy, University of Basel. The three specimens are compared with clays from the purported locality of its extraction, at Kotsinas, NE Lemnos, Greece. The study suggests a local origin for the Basel samples; it also demonstrates, for the first time, that the three Lemnian sphragides have a significant antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus, a common Gram-positive pathogen, but have no such effect against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Gram-negative microorganism. Clay samples from the purported locality of extraction showed no antibacterial effect against S. aureus. Subsequent analysis with ultra-performance liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) revealed the presence of organic constituents in one sphragis which were absent from a sample of modern clay. A fungal secondary metabolite is proposed here as the active ingredient but other factors may also play a role. The ongoing investigation into the bioactivity of some medicinal clays might aid in the re-evaluation of Belons statement included at the start of this paper, namely, that the Lemnian earth worked only because people in the past wished it to work.

A Medieval bloomery mound in Glen Docherty, Kinlochewe, Highland

Summary An iron-working bloomery mound was excavated by CFA Archaeology Ltd in 2004 at the head of Glen Docherty, near Kinlochewe, Achnasheen, Highland. A mound of waste material was excavated and dated to the 15th–17th centuries on the basis of radiocarbon analysis. A solidified bed of ferruginous deposit was revealed during the bloomery mound excavations but was found to be of an earlier date (1050–1285 AD). There was no further evidence for metalworking installations. A charcoal-burning platform was also excavated in Glen Docherty in 2005 and radiocarbon dated to the 15th–17th centuries. The above provide evidence for a long involvement with iron making in this part of the western Highlands and prior to the 17th century when the area, and the north shore of Loch Maree in particular, became known as the location for the installation of the first charcoal-operated blast furnace in Scotland.

The building and industrial remains at Agrileza, Laurion (fourth century BC) and their contribution to the workings at the site

A detailed programme of sample collection and laboratory analysis was undertaken at Agrileza, an ore-dressing installation in the Laurion. The site consists of three compounds with associated washeries (Agrileza A, B, and C), some excavated partially, others in full, in the late 1970s and early 1980s and dating to the last quarter of the 4th cent. BC. The particular functions of some of the rooms in compound C are tentatively put forward. The main part of the paper is concerned with the nature, composition, and particle size distribution of the tailings recovered both from washeries A and C and from elsewhere in compound C. The silver-to-lead ratios and particle size distribution of the tailings may suggest that the series of basins and channels making up each washery served not merely as a water purification device, but as a means of trapping ore that had escaped the first washing, for the purpose of dressing it further.

p-XRF analysis of multi-period Impasto and Cooking Pot wares from the excavations at Stromboli-San Vincenzo, Aeolian Islands, Italy

ABSTRACT This exploratory study focuses on the elemental analysis by p-XRF (portable X-Ray Fluorescence Analyser) of 62 samples of coarse wares, consisting of Bronze Age handmade burnished ware, so-called Impasto, and of Cooking ware (dated from the Roman period to Modern times). All wares originate from the site of San Vincenzo, Stromboli, and Aeolian Islands. The question addressed here is whether it is possible to differentiate between local (Aeolian) and imported (non-Aeolian) fabrics with the use of the p-XRF; 42 of the 62 samples were also subjected to petrographic analysis as a way of testing our hypothesis. Our results show that p-XRF analysis can clearly assist in distinguishing between Aeolian vs. non-Aeolian wares. Analyses can take place in the field and large quantities of sherds can be processed as a result. We suggest that no further demands should be made of the technique in providing answers to more detailed provenance questions. This is because finer separation in subgroups (as achieved recently by combined petrographic and EPMA analysis on select samples) is not possible given the nature of coarse pottery and the limitations of the technique in measuring key light elements (Na, Mg). Furthermore, for some elements (e.g Cr) accuracy is below acceptable levels in which case results for these particular elements are considered semi-quantitative.

From mine to apothecary: an archaeo-biomedical approach to the study of the Greco-Roman lithotherapeutics industry

ABSTRACT Western biomedicine has only partially developed its own tradition of mineral medicinals (lithotherapeutics), at least compared to botanicals. This is perhaps because these minerals were site-specific, and fundamental information associated with the empirical processes of mineral extraction, beneficiation, storage, trade and preparation was not widely available. In other words, there are many and serious breaks in the multi-link chain from mine to apothecary. This long-term investigation aims to rebuild this chain, on a mineral-by-mineral basis, by pulling together the extant documentary record, material culture, mineralogy, geochemistry and microbial ecology, as well as by testing against known pathogens as an indicator of their antimicrobial activity. Critical to understanding the nature and efficacy of lithotherapeutics is the recognition that these materials need to be investigated simultaneously at two levels: the empirical (ancient sources and practices); and the biomedical (application of physical and biological sciences). Both approaches require the same starting point, namely the field (mine or quarry) and in particular the ‘point of contact’ (relationship) between minerals and their microbiome.

“Harvesting” the Ore: The Use of Iron Seepages in the Early Bloomery Furnace in Ireland

In this paper we suggest that iron-seepages, a precursor form of bog iron ore, must have been among the earliest iron ores used in early bloomery furnaces in Ireland. This is because: of their bright orange colour; the dramatic red-staining of the associated water-red springs or meinn in Gaelic; their rapid regenerative nature which means that they would have been “harvested” on a cyclical basis rather than “mined”; and also because there is an absence of solid bog ore remains within the relict furnaces. Archaeological evidence for iron-seepage ore, consisting of fine powdery material, in early bloomery furnaces would be elusive on account of its clay-like pasty nature and the fact that it will easily merge into a background of soil and metallurgical waste. We assume that the original wet clay-like pasty mass would have been dried prior to charging in the furnace and purer than our modern sample; and also, possibly, but not necessarily, shaped into small lumps.