Luxurious Merovingian Textiles Excavated from Burials in the Saint Denis Basilica, France, 6th-7th century

A new examination of the textile fragments found in the Merovingian burials in the basilica of Saint Denis, near Paris, has recently underscored the diversity of fabrics used to make garments in which members of the royal court were buried. Among them, some woolens of fine quality had been dyed with indigotin. The most astonishing fibre found belongs to a mixed textile (not skin) with beaver fibers and wool. Silks contained shellfish purple and in one case kermes? Two dyestuffs associated with royalty and privilege. Along with this was large number of gold threads, probably produced locally and that were used in tablet-woven borders or for embroideries. In addition, several figured silks, of oriental origin, testify to the importance of this "foreign" material and the taste for textiles woven with complex techniques and probably what had originally had beautiful designs. Although none of these designs have been preserved and many colors have been greatly damaged, the technical characteristics of the remnants indicate proveniences as far as Byzantium, Sassanid Persia and the Chinese court. Such precious textiles show the high social status and political power of the Merovingian court, a testament to their ability to access such luxurious and costly textiles through diplomacy and/or trade with other powerful empires. The examination of these rare textiles along with other fine silks and luxury objects from the same period found in France expand our view of the fundamental role of textiles in the political sphere of this early period of European history.

The design of artificial nestboxes for the study of secondary hole-nesting birds: a review of methodological inconsistencies and potential biases

The widespread use of artificial nestboxes has led to significant advances in our knowledge of the ecology, behaviour and physiology of cavity nesting birds, especially small passerines Nestboxes have made it easier to perform routine monitoring and experimental manipulation of eggs or nestlings, and also repeatedly to capture, identify and manipulate the parents However, when comparing results across study sites the use of nestboxes may also Introduce a potentially significant confounding variable in the form of differences in nestbox design amongst studies, such as their physical dimensions, placement height, and the way in which they are constructed and maintained However, the use of nestboxes may also introduce an unconsidered and potentially significant confounding variable clue to differences in nestbox design amongst studies, such as their physical dimensions, placement height, and the way in which they are constructed and maintained Here we review to what extent the characteristics of artificial nestboxes (e g size, shape, construction material, colour) are documented in the 'methods' sections of publications involving hole-nesting passerine birds using natural or excavated cavities or artificial nestboxes for reproduction and roosting Despite explicit previous recommendations that authors describe in detail the characteristics of the nestboxes used, we found that the description of nestbox characteristics in most recent publications remains poor and insufficient We therefore list the types of descriptive data that should be included in the methods sections of relevant manuscripts and justify this by discussing how variation in nestbox characteristics can affect or confound conclusions from nestbox studies We also propose several recommendations to improve the reliability and usefulness of research based on long-term studies of any secondary hole-nesting species using artificial nestboxes for breeding or roosting.

Mummies and skeletons from the Coptic monastery complex Deir el-Bachit in Thebes-west, Egypt

Deir el-Bachit is the largest known Coptic monastery complex in Thebes-West. It dates to the Late Antiquity period between the 6th and the beginning of the 10th century AD. So far, at least 26 individuals from the site were analysed anthropologically. 22 of them were excavated directly at the necropolis, the other 4 are special burials that were found at other locations nearby.Most individuals from the necropolis are male adults. There are two categories of human remains: “mummified” and “skeletonised”. The differences are probably due to social stratification. A substance similar to bitumen was found at the mummies. At that time, resin containing oils and bitumen were normally not used any more. One of the Special burials was an approximately three years old child which was found enclosed within a wall. Another special burial was a juvenile or young adult female who was found in the vault of an abandoned granary. The female was most likely pregnant and fell victim to a violent crime. This is indicated by the bones of a six months old foetus and an intravital skull fracture. She was no contemporary from the time the monastery was cultivated but was later deposited in this area.

Patterns of functional enzyme activity in fungus farming ambrosia beetles

Introduction In wood-dwelling fungus-farming weevils, the so-called ambrosia beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae and Platypodinae), wood in the excavated tunnels is used as a medium for cultivating fungi by the combined action of digging larvae (which create more space for the fungi to grow) and of adults sowing and pruning the fungus. The beetles are obligately dependent on the fungus that provides essential vitamins, amino acids and sterols. However, to what extent microbial enzymes support fungus farming in ambrosia beetles is unknown. Here we measure (i) 13 plant cell-wall degrading enzymes in the fungus garden microbial consortium of the ambrosia beetle Xyleborinus saxesenii, including its primary fungal symbionts, in three compartments of laboratory maintained nests, at different time points after gallery foundation and (ii) four specific enzymes that may be either insect or microbially derived in X. saxesenii adult and larval individuals. Results We discovered that the activity of cellulases in ambrosia fungus gardens is relatively small compared to the activities of other cellulolytic enzymes. Enzyme activity in all compartments of the garden was mainly directed towards hemicellulose carbohydrates such as xylan, glucomannan and callose. Hemicellulolytic enzyme activity within the brood chamber increased with gallery age, whereas irrespective of the age of the gallery, the highest overall enzyme activity were detected in the gallery dump material expelled by the beetles. Interestingly endo-β-1,3(4)-glucanase activity capable of callose degradation was identified in whole-body extracts of both larvae and adult X. saxesenii, whereas endo-β-1,4-xylanase activity was exclusively detected in larvae. Conclusion Similar to closely related fungi associated with bark beetles in phloem, the microbial symbionts of ambrosia beetles hardly degrade cellulose. Instead, their enzyme activity is directed mainly towards comparatively more easily accessible hemicellulose components of the ray-parenchyma cells in the wood xylem. Furthermore, the detection of xylanolytic enzymes exclusively in larvae (which feed on fungus colonized wood) and not in adults (which feed only on fungi) indicates that only larvae (pre-) digest plant cell wall structures. This implies that in X. saxesenii and likely also in many other ambrosia beetles, adults and larvae do not compete for the same food within their nests - in contrast, larvae increase colony fitness by facilitating enzymatic wood degradation and fungus cultivation.

Comparison of the immediate effects of gaseous ozone and chlorhexidine gel on bacteria in cavitated carious lesions in children in vivo

Clinical application of ozone gas has been shown to arrest the progression of dentinal caries in children. In this study, we compare the immediate effects of gaseous ozone and chlorhexidine gel on bacteria in cavitated carious lesions in children. Forty children, each with at least two open occlusal carious lesions, were enrolled in the study. Two teeth were chosen randomly. In one lesion, overlying soft biological material was removed, whilst the other lesion was not excavated. Cavities were rinsed with sterile water and dried with air. A standardised sample was taken from the mesial part of each lesion. Then, gaseous ozone (HealOzone) or 1% chlorhexidine gel (Corsodyl) was applied for 30 s on both lesions of 20 children each, and a second sample was taken from the distal part of each lesion. The anaerobic microbiota was cultivated; the number of colony forming units was calculated per milligram sample. The two-sided paired t test showed no significant (P > 0.05) differences in the reduction of total bacterial counts per milligram comparing samples before and after ozone or chlorhexidine application. The tests also showed no statistically significant difference whether the superficial decayed dentine had been removed before ozone or with chlorhexidine treatment or not. It can be concluded that gaseous ozone or chlorhexidine gel application for 30 s to deep occlusal carious cavities had no significant immediate antimicrobial effects whether the superficial decayed layers dentine were removed or not.

News from an Old Excavation: Two Hitherto Unnoticed Measure Capacity Signs on an Egyptian Stone Vessel of the Middle Kingdom from Royal Tomb II at Byblos

Excavated by French Egyptologist P. Montet in the 1920s, Royal Tomb II at Byblos (Bronze Age Gubla) yielded a significant number of Egyptian objects of the Middle Kingdom. Among these finds is a stone vessel with lid that carries the cartouche of a king named Amenemhat, often believed to be Amenemhat IV of the late Middle Kingdom. Hitherto unnoticed by the scholarly community, however, are two Egyptian measure capacity signs on the stone vessel itself. Since measure capacity signs on stone vessels dating to the Middle Kingdom are only rarely attested even in Egypt, the signs on the stone vessel from Royal Tomb II at Byblos therefore contribute considerably to our understanding of the use and application of such signs. The article deals with the examination of these signs and tries to correlate them with the actual capacity of the vessel.

Anmerkungen zu den (spät)persischen Samaria-Bullen aus dem Wadi ed-Dalije. Hellenisches, Persisches und Lokaltraditionen im Grenzgebiet der Provinz Jehud

The present article deals exemplarily with the remarkable iconographic attestations connected with the Wadi ed-Daliye (WD) findings. The discussed bullae were attached to papyri which provide a clear dating of the hoard between 375-335 BCE. Considering style and convention the preserved motives are to be classified as Persian, Greek or Greco-Persian. A major goal of the following presentation is the contextualization of the very material; this is achieved by taking into account local parallels as well as relevant attestations of the dominant / “imperial” cultures of Persia and Greece. The correlation of motives with the (often more complex, more detailed or more contoured) examples stemming from the “source-cultures” follows a clear agenda: It is methodologically based on the approach that was employed by Silvia Schroer and Othmar Keel throughout the project „Die Ikonographie Palästinas/Israels und der Alte Orient (IPIAO). Eine Religionsgeschichte in Bildern” (2005, 23ff). The WD-findings demand a careful analysis since the influencing cultures behind the imagery are deeply rooted in the field of Greek mythology and iconography. Special attention has to be drawn to the bullae, as far as excavated, from a huge Punic temple archive of Carthago (Berges 1997 and 2002) as well as those from the archive of the satrap seat in Daskyleion in the Northwest of Asia Minor (Kaptan 2002), which are chronologically close (end 5th and 4th century BCE) to the WD-finds. Not each and every single motive and artifact of the WD-corpus comprising more than 120 items can be dealt with in detail throughout the following pages. We refer to the editio princeps by Leith (1990, 1997) respectively to the concerning chapter in Keel’s Corpus volume II (Keel 2010, 340-379). The article gives a brief history of research (2.), some basic remarks on the development of style (3.) and a selection of detail-studies (4.). A crosscheck with other relevant corpora of stamp-seals (5.) as well as a compressed synthesis (6.) are contributions in order to characterize and classify the unique iconographic assemblage. There are rather few references to the late Persian coins from Samaria (Meshorer/Qedar 1999), which have been impressed about contemporaneous with the WD-bullae (372-333 BCE), as there is an article by Patrick Wyssmann in this volume about that specific corpus. Through the perspective of the late Persian iconography, Samaria appears as a dazzling metropolis at the crossroads of Greek and Persian culture, which is far away from a strict and revolutionary religious orthodoxy

Schmiede ─ Heiligtum ─ Wassermühle. Cham-Hagendorn (Kanton Zug) in römischer Zeit. Ausgrabungen 1944/45 und 2003/04

1944/1945 wurde in Cham-Hagendorn eine Wassermühle ausgegraben, die dank ihrer aussergewöhnlich guten Holzerhaltung seit langem einen prominenten Platz in der Forschung einnimmt. 2003 und 2004 konnte die Kantonsarchäologie Zug den Platz erneut archäologisch untersuchen. Dabei wurden nicht nur weitere Reste der Wassermühle, sondern auch Spuren älterer und jüngerer Anlagen geborgen: eine ältere und eine jüngere Schmiedewerkstatt (Horizont 1a/Horizont 3) sowie ein zweiphasiges Heiligtum (Horizonte 1a/1b). All diese Anlagen lassen sich nun in das in den neuen Grabungen erkannte stratigraphische Gerüst einhängen (s. Beil. 2). Dank der Holzerhaltung können die meisten Phasen dendrochronologisch datiert werden (s. Abb. 4.1/1a): Horizont 1a mit Schlagdaten zwischen 162(?)/173 und 200 n. Chr., Horizont 1b um 215/218 n. Chr. und Horizont 2 um 231 n. Chr. Ferner konnten in den neuen Grabungen Proben für mikromorphologische und archäobotanische Untersuchungen entnommen werden (Kap. 2.2; 3.11). In der vorliegenden Publikation werden der Befund und die Baustrukturen vorgelegt, (Kap. 2), desgleichen sämtliche stratifizierten Funde und eine umfassende Auswahl der 1944/1945 geborgenen Funde (Kap. 3). Dank anpassender Fragmente, sog. Passscherben, lassen sich diese zum Teil nachträglich in die Schichtenabfolge einbinden. Die mikromorphologischen und die archäobotanischen Untersuchungen (Kap. 2.2; 3.11) zeigen, dass der Fundplatz in römischer Zeit inmitten einer stark vom Wald und dem Fluss Lorze geprägten Landschaft lag. In unmittelbarer Nähe können weder eine Siedlung noch einzelne Wohnbauten gelegen haben. Die demnach nur gewerblich und sakral genutzten Anlagen standen an einem Bach, der vermutlich mit jenem Bach identisch ist, der noch heute das Groppenmoos entwässert und bei Cham-Hagendorn in die Lorze mündet (s. Abb. 2.4/1). Der antike Bach führte wiederholt Hochwasser ─ insgesamt sind fünf grössere Überschwemmungsphasen auszumachen (Kap. 2.2; 2.4). Wohl anlässlich eines Seehochstandes durch ein Überschwappen der Lorze in den Bach ausgelöst, müssen diese Überschwemmungen eine enorme Gewalt entwickelt haben, der die einzelnen Anlagen zum Opfer fielen. Wie die Untersuchung der Siedlungslandschaft römischer Zeit rund um den Zugersee wahrscheinlich macht (Kap. 6 mit Abb. 6.2/2), dürften die Anlagen von Cham-Hagendorn zu einer in Cham-Heiligkreuz vermuteten Villa gehören, einem von fünf grösseren Landgütern in diesem Gebiet. Hinweise auf Vorgängeranlagen fehlen, mit denen die vereinzelten Funde des 1. Jh. n. Chr. (Kap. 4.5) in Verbindung gebracht werden könnten. Diese dürften eher von einer der Überschwemmungen bachaufwärts weggerissen und nach Cham-Hagendorn eingeschwemmt worden sein. Die Nutzung des Fundplatzes (Horizont 1a; s. Beil. 6) setzte um 170 n. Chr. mit einer Schmiedewerkstatt ein (Kap. 2.5.1). Der Fundanfall, insbesondere die Schmiedeschlacken (Kap. 3.9) belegen, dass hier nur hin und wieder Geräte hergestellt und repariert wurden (Kap. 5.2). Diese Werkstatt war vermutlich schon aufgelassen und dem Verfall preisgegeben, als man 200 n. Chr. (Kap. 4.2.4) auf einer Insel zwischen dem Bach und einem Lorzearm ein Heiligtum errichtete (Kap. 5.3). Beleg für den sakralen Status dieser Insel ist in erster Linie mindestens ein eigens gepflanzter Pfirsichbaum, nachgewiesen mit Pollen, einem Holz und über 400 Pfirsichsteinen (Kap. 3.11). Die im Bach verlaufende Grenze zwischen dem sakralen Platz und der profanen Umgebung markierte man zusätzlich mit einer Pfahlreihe (Kap. 2.5.3). In diese war ein schmaler Langbau integriert (Kap. 2.5.2), der an die oft an Temenosmauern antiker Heiligtümer angebauten Portiken erinnert und wohl auch die gleiche Funktion wie diese gehabt hatte, nämlich das Aufbewahren von Weihegaben und Kultgerät (Kap. 5.3). Das reiche Fundmaterial, das sich in den Schichten der ersten Überschwemmung fand (s. Abb. 5./5), die um 205/210 n. Chr. dieses Heiligtum zerstört hatte, insbesondere die zahlreiche Keramik (Kap. 3.2.4), und die zum Teil auffallend wertvollen Kleinfunde (Kap. 3.3.3), dürften zum grössten Teil einst in diesem Langbau untergebracht gewesen sein. Ein als Glockenklöppel interpretiertes, stratifiziertes Objekt spricht dafür, dass die fünf grossen, 1944/1945 als Stapel aufgefundenen Eisenglocken vielleicht auch dem Heiligtum zuzuweisen sind (Kap. 3.4). In diesen Kontext passen zudem die überdurchschnittlich häufig kalzinierten Tierknochen (Kap. 3.10). Nach der Überschwemmung befestigte man für 215 n. Chr. (Kap. 4.2.4) das unterspülte Bachufer mit einer Uferverbauung (Kap. 2.6.1). Mit dem Bau eines weiteren, im Bach stehenden Langbaus (Kap. 2.6.2) stellte man 218 n. Chr. das Heiligtum auf der Insel in ähnlicher Form wieder her (Horizont 1b; s. Beil. 7). Von der Pfahlreihe, die wiederum die sakrale Insel von der profanen Umgebung abgrenzte, blieben indes nur wenige Pfähle erhalten. Dennoch ist der sakrale Charakter der Anlage gesichert. Ausser dem immer noch blühenden Pfirsichbaum ist es ein vor dem Langbau aufgestelltes Ensemble von mindestens 23 Terrakottafigurinen (s. Abb. 3.6/1), elf Veneres, zehn Matres, einem Jugendlichen in Kapuzenmantel und einem kindlichen Risus (Kap. 3.6; s. auch Kap. 2.6.3). In den Sedimenten der zweiten Überschwemmung, der diese Anlage um 225/230 n. Chr. zum Opfer gefallen war, fanden sich wiederum zahlreiche Keramikgefässe (Kap. 3.2.4) und zum Teil wertvolle Kleinfunde wie eine Glasperle mit Goldfolie (Kap. 3.8.2) und eine Fibel aus Silber (Kap. 3.3.3), die wohl ursprünglich im Langbau untergebracht waren (Kap. 5.3.2 mit Abb. 5/7). Weitere Funde mit sicherem oder möglichem sakralem Charakter finden sich unter den 1944/1945 geborgenen Funden (s. Abb. 5/8), etwa ein silberner Fingerring mit Merkurinschrift, ein silberner Lunula-Anhänger, eine silberne Kasserolle (Kap. 3.3.3), eine Glasflasche mit Schlangenfadenauflage (Kap. 3.8.2) und einige Bergkristalle (Kap. 3.8.4). Im Bereich der Terrakotten kamen ferner mehrere Münzen (Kap. 3.7) zum Vorschein, die vielleicht dort niedergelegt worden waren. Nach der zweiten Überschwemmung errichtete man um 231 n. Chr. am Bach eine Wassermühle (Horizont 2; Kap. 2.7; Beil. 8; Abb. 2.7/49). Ob das Heiligtum auf der Insel wieder aufgebaut oder aufgelassen wurde, muss mangels Hinweisen offen bleiben. Für den abgehobenen Zuflusskanal der Wassermühle verwendete man mehrere stehen gebliebene Pfähle der vorangegangenen Anlagen der Horizonte 1a und 1b. Obwohl die Wassermühle den 28 jährlichen Überschwemmungshorizonten (Kap. 2.2) und den Funden (Kap. 4.3.2; 4.4.4; 45) zufolge nur bis um 260 n. Chr., während gut einer Generation, bestand, musste sie mindestens zweimal erneuert werden – nachgewiesen sind drei Wasserräder, drei Mühlsteinpaare und vermutlich drei Podeste, auf denen jeweils das Mahlwerk ruhte. Grund für diese Umbauten war wohl der weiche, instabile Untergrund, der zu Verschiebungen geführt hatte, so dass das Zusammenspiel von Wellbaum bzw. Sternnabe und Übersetzungsrad nicht mehr funktionierte und das ganze System zerbrach. Die Analyse von Pollen aus dem Gehhorizont hat als Mahlgut Getreide vom Weizentyp nachgewiesen (Kap. 3.11.4). Das Abzeichen eines Benefiziariers (Kap. 3.3.2 mit Abb. 3.3/23,B71) könnte dafür sprechen, dass das verarbeitete Getreide zumindest zum Teil für das römische Militär bestimmt war (s. auch Kap. 6.2.3). Ein im Horizont 2 gefundener Schreibgriffel und weitere stili sowie eine Waage für das Wägen bis zu 35-40 kg schweren Waren aus dem Fundbestand von 1944/1945 könnten davon zeugen, dass das Getreide zu wägen und zu registrieren war (Kap. 3.4.2). Kurz nach 260 n. Chr. fiel die Wassermühle einem weiteren Hochwasser zum Opfer. Für den folgenden Horizont 3 (Beil. 9) brachte man einen Kiesboden ein und errichtete ein kleines Gebäude (Kap. 2.8). Hier war wohl wiederum eine Schmiede untergebracht, wie die zahlreichen Kalottenschlacken belegen (Kap. 3.9), die im Umfeld der kleinen Baus zum Vorschein kamen. Aufgrund der Funde (Kap. 4.4.4; 4.5) kann diese Werkstatt nur kurze Zeit bestanden haben, höchstens bis um 270 n. Chr., bevor sie einem weiteren Hochwasser zum Opfer fiel. Von der jüngsten Anlage, die wohl noch in römische Zeit datiert (Horizont 4; Beil. 10), war lediglich eine Konstruktion aus grossen Steinplatten zu fassen (Kap. 2.9.1). Wozu sie diente, muss offen bleiben. Auch der geringe Fundanfall spricht dafür, dass die Nutzung des Platzes, zumindest für die römische Zeit, allmählich ein Ende fand (Kap. 4.5). Zu den jüngsten Strukturen gehören mehrere Gruben (Kap. 2.9.2), die vielleicht der Lehmentnahme dienten. Mangels Funden bleibt ihre Datierung indes ungewiss. Insbesondere wissen wir nicht, ob sie noch in römische Zeit datieren oder jünger sind. Spätestens mit der fünften Überschwemmung, die zur endgültigen Verlandung führte und wohl schon in die frühe Neuzeit zu setzen ist, wurde der Platz aufgelassen und erst mit dem Bau der bestehenden Fensterfabrik Baumgartner wieder besetzt.

John Garstang at Sirkeli Höyük, Cilician Plain, in 1936-1937: Old Photographs and New Evidence from the Renewed Excavations

During the winter of 1936-1937, British archaeologist John Garstang (1876-1956) excavated several trenches at the site of Sirkeli Höyük, located in the Plain of Cilicia (18 km west of modern-day Ceyhan). After a single campaign, however, he left the site and his interest shifted to site of Yumuktepe/Mersin, where he then excavated for a number of years. Apart from two very brief preliminary reports of his excavations at Sirkeli Höyük, which were published in the journal 'Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology of the University of Liverpool', not much is known about the trenches and their associated finds. Unpublished photographs kept in the Special Archives of University College London shed new light on the location and orientation of some of Garstang’s trenches at the site. Furthermore, in the 2012 campaign of the renewed Turkish-Swiss excavations at the site, a trench was found in the western part of the northern terrace that most probably was excavated by Garstang, but was not mentioned by him in his reports. This hitherto unknown trench may be related to his discovery of a lion-shaped column base made of basalt that is now kept in the collections of the Archaeological Museum of Adana.

Neue Überlegungen zur Datierung der westlichen Befestigungsanlagen Aššurs

This paper focuses on the construction date of the Neo-Assyrian city walls on the western front of Ashur. W. Andrae and his team excavated the walls on a large scale and established that they were both referred to in Shalmaneser III’s inscriptions. However, a reconsideration of the archaeological and textual evidence suggests that not the „Binnenwall,“ but the „Niederwall“ was constructed at the same time as the „Außenwall.“ This implies that Shalmaneser III’s inscriptions actually never mentioned the „Binnenwall“ which was probably not built until the end or even sometime after of his reign.

A Possible Case of Möller-Barlow Disease in Northwestern Switzerland (7th Century)

The excavation site Reigoldswil is located at 550 m above sea level on the Jura chain hillside in north-western Switzerland. The mountains divide the Rhine valley from an agriculturally rich region. The origin of the village lies in the early medieval time. Until now the skeletons of one cemetery have been morphologically studied. Around 216 individuals were excavated from under the foundation walls of a church and in the open field. They date to the 7/8th up to the 10th century. The striking part is the high amount of subadult (0-18 years) individuals with 58% (n=126). One of these children, an approximately 1.5 year old toddler from the 7th century, was buried in a stone cist. Its bones show morphological traces like porotic lesions of the greater wings of the sphenoidale, the squama, the mandibule and the scapula as new bone formation on both femora and tibiae. These signs could be an indicator for Möller-Barlow disease (Ortner 2003, Brickley and Ives 2008, Stark in press). As scurvy is associated with an insufficient intake of vitamin C, malnutrition must be assumed. A reason might be the geographic location or/and a harsh climat with crop failure and famine the first settler had to face. Besides the morphological diagnose amino acids of the bone collagen have been analyzed (Kramis et. al.). Further examinations, such as radiocarbon dating and stable isotope ratios (C, N, O, S) to specify nutrition, are planned.

Thermal and collisional history of Tishomingo iron meteorite: More evidence for early disruption of differentiated planetesimals

Tishomingo is a chemically and structurally unique iron with 32.5 wt.% Ni that contains 20% residual taenite and 80% martensite plates, which formed on cooling to between -75 and -200 °C, probably the lowest temperature recorded by any meteorite. Our studies using transmission (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray microanalysis (AEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) show that martensite plates in Tishomingo formed in a single crystal of taenite and decomposed during reheating forming 10-100 nm taenite particles with ∼50 wt.% Ni, kamacite with ∼4 wt.%Ni, along with martensite or taenite with 32 wt.% Ni. EBSD data and experimental constraints show that Tishomingo was reheated to 320-400 °C for about a year transforming some martensite to kamacite and to taenite particles and some martensite directly to taenite without composition change. Fizzy-textured intergrowths of troilite, kamacite with 2.7 wt.% Ni and 2.6 wt.% Co, and taenite with 56 wt.% Ni and 0.15 wt.% Co formed by localized shock melting. A single impact probably melted the sub-mm sulfides, formed stishovite, and reheated and decomposed the martensite plates. Tishomingo and its near-twin Willow Grove, which has 28 wt.% Ni, differ from IAB-related irons like Santa Catharina and San Cristobal that contain 25-36 wt.% Ni, as they are highly depleted in moderately volatile siderophiles and enriched in Ir and other refractory elements. Tishomingo and Willow Grove therefore resemble IVB irons but are chemically distinct. The absence of cloudy taenite in these two irons shows that they cooled through 250 °C abnormally fast at >0.01 °C/yr. Thus this grouplet, like the IVA and IVB irons, suffered an early impact that disrupted their parent body when it was still hot. Our noble gas data show that Tishomingo was excavated from its parent body about 100 to 200 Myr ago and exposed to cosmic rays as a meteoroid with a radius of ∼50-85 cm.

Unearthing the roots of degradation of Quercus pyrenaica coppices: A root-to-shoot imbalance caused by historical management?

Slow growth, branch dieback and scarce acorn yield are visible symptoms of decay in abandoned Quercus pyrenaica coppices. A hypothetical root-to-shoot (R:S) imbalance provoked by historical coppicing is investigated as the underlying driver of stand degradation. After stem genotyping, 12 stems belonging to two clones covering 81 and 16 m2 were harvested and excavated to measure above- and below-ground biomass and nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) pools. To study root system functionality, root connections and root longevity were assessed by radiocarbon analysis. Seasonality of NSC was monitored on five additional clones. NSC pools, R:S biomass ratio and fine roots-to-foliage ratio were higher in the large clone, whose centennial root system, estimated to be 550 years old, maintained large amounts of sapwood (51.8%) for NSC storage. 248 root connections were observed within the large clone, whereas the small clone showed comparatively simpler root structure (26 connections). NSC concentrations were higher in spring (before bud burst) and autumn (before leaf fall), and lower in summer (after complete leaf expansion); they were always higher in roots than in stems or twigs. The persistence of massive and highly inter-connected root systems after coppicing may lead to increasing R:S biomass ratios and root NSC pools over time. We highlight the need of surveying belowground organs to understand aboveground dynamics of Q. pyrenaica, and suggest that enhanced belowground NSC storage and consumption reflect a trade-off between clonal vegetative resilience and aboveground performance.

Eine sozialtopographische Analyse der Wohngebiete von Nuzi

The archaeological evidence from Late Bronze Age Nuzi has ever since the publication of R.F.S. Starr’s final report in 1939 experienced few attention, leaving the interpretation of the inner structure of this extraordinarily extensively excavated settlement to a thriving philological research. This paper presents a macroscopic spatial analysis of mobile inventories in the domestic areas. Based on the comparison with stationary installations and the formal architectural structure a revised socio-topography is proposed. The combination with the evidence from the investigations of the private archives elucidates the great potential for the consideration of multiple approaches in the future research on the function, meaning and sociology of spaces in Near Eastern Archaeology.