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Water seepage in grotto relics, i.e., Yungang Grottoes, Dazu Rock Carvings, is a key issue to accurately describe the deterioration and weathering process of grotto rock mass. Considering rainfall infiltration, Finite element simulation was performed for studying the water flow through macro-channel of fractured rock in the 4th cave of Yungang Grottoes, where a group of joints with directions of S62°E and N5°W are widely developed. A 3D atom-based representative model was derived from X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and the related semi-quantitative calculation of grotto rock powders, for visualizing the associated seepage characteristics through micro-channel by means of molecular dynamics simulation, for the first time. By analyzing various properties, ranging from the configuration and energetic behaviors to the dynamic characteristics, the calculated water flux and mass flow rate were equal to 270 ns−1 and 8.10 × 10–12 g s−1, respectively. A dynamic process of water transport from the entrance region to the exit region was examined and it is consistent with the relative concentration profiles at the corresponding stage. The tagged O atoms experienced a zigzag movement instead of linear motion as expected, roughly exhibited the same target direction. The seepage characteristics in grotto relics experienced a complex evolution process and three types can be summarized: water infiltrates through micro-channels with a low flow rate; it flows through fracture with a relatively high flow rate; it turned into a kind of analogous pipe flow in inter-connected fracture network, resulting in water seepage hazard. Current simulation studies provide helpful insights for understanding the water flow-infiltration behavior of fractured rock in grotto relics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Emperor Valerian's persecutions in 259, bishop Fructuosus and his two deacons Augurius and Eulogius were killed in the amphitheatre arena of the picturesque Roman city of Tarraco (Tarragona). This is the earliest martyrdom known from written sources in Hispania, mentioned by the author of the Passio Fructuosi, Augurii et Eulogii, an account probably written down by one of the witnesses to the events. The ashes of the martyrs were deposited in a vast necropolis extra muros. In the 4th century, a huge pilgrimage complex was built around their grave, to which pilgrims from all parts of the orbis christianus flocked. In the 6th century, a basilica was erected in their honour at the amphitheatre - the site of the martyrdom of the bishop and his deacons. Their relics were certainly venerated in Tarragona until the early 8th century, and the cult itself, after the relics were carried away from the city after the Arab invasion, probably lasted longer. Although the remains of the cult sites of the Tarragona martyrs are among the most extensively studied by researchers, many questions still remain unanswered. It is therefore worthwhile to re-collect the results of the hitherto research, to confront them with the written sources, and thus establish the current state of knowledge about these oldest places of cult of the martyrs in the Iberian Peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultural activities of the Hazara region can be traced back to the early Stone Age in Pakistan, although systematic and planned archaeological investigations throughout the region in the pre- and postindependence period were scantily available. During the colonial period, there were certain efforts, largely targeted at removing treasures from Buddhist monuments and other archaeological sites. For paying attention to the culturally rich and fertile land of the Hazara Division, the Hazara University (Mansehra) got the credit to establish the Department of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Management in 2006, which later (in 2008) grew into the School of Cultural Heritage and Creative Technologies comprising of five teaching departments (i.e., Archaeology, Architecture, Art & Design, Tourism & Hospitality, and Conservation. The Department of Archaeology made serious efforts to map up the cultural relics of the Hazara region with the help of many national and international funding agencies. The current research focusses on the GIS mapping of the rich Buddhist heritage of the present eight districts of Hazara division namely, Haripur, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Batagram, Torghar, Kohistan Lower, Kohistan Upper, and Kolai Palas. The GIS technology allows for the spatial analysis of Buddhist relics' distribution. This analysis revealed patterns of religious activities, trade routes, and cultural diffusion. By overlaying GIS data with historical records, researchers can develop new theories and insights into the dynamics of ancient civilizations in the region. GIS mapping of these relics will help develop the tourism industry by making it easier for travellers and tourists to locate and study these assets of archaeological and historical interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Ancient East, the temples were considered houses of the gods and that is why they were also identified with the noun bitu (house); in addition to this term, the term qds, mqds (sanctuary) was also found at Ugarit. At the royal palaces belonging to the ancient peoples of the Cannean space there were also chapels, where especially the deified ancestors were worshipped, and in these places there were also cult images, made of precious metals, but which - in general - were not preserved as historical relics, these being over the centuries the object of robberies, for their value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on pectoral crosses, which functioned as relic containers and amulets and were characterized by a blend of figural imagery and inscriptions. Arguably produced between the late eighth and the early ninth centuries, the geographical origins of the crosses are still contested between Byzantium and Rome, while other alternatives have yet to be fully considered. Some of these pectoral crosses bear inscriptions in Greek which have been interpreted as 'incorrect', but may reflect the conventions of spoken language in an evolving hellenophone Mediterranean. It is possible that their owners read the text during private prayer and meditation while holding the pendant. In particular, this paper considers a now lost enkolpion, the inscriptions of which, in Latin and Greek, reveal that it was intended for an audience familiar with both languages, at least in religious practices. One of its inscriptions quotes a well-known liturgical hymn sung at Mass before the celebration of the Eucharist. Thus, there is scope for a wider investigation into the function as well as cultural origins of pectoral crosses. The combination of figural illustrations and inscriptions and the variety of precious materials and relics on such pectoral crosses may have been intended to elicit a sort of 'tactile prayer', suggesting the use of synesthetic ways to apprehend the Incarnate Logos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers a previously unpublished collection of writings relating to the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo, fought in Belgium on 18 June 1815.1 The author of these documents, Thomas Ker, was a Scottish merchant living in Brussels at the time of the battle, and this discussion places his observations on the battlefield in the days following the famous encounter between Napoleon and Wellington in the context of accounts by civilian visitors published soon after the event (mostly between 1816 and 1817). These include works by Sir Walter Scott, Robert Hills, James Simpson, and, importantly also, women, with Charlotte Eaton, Georgiana Capel, and Anne Laura Thorold among them. These writings are used here to provide insight into the transformation of Waterloo from a scene of carnage to a popular tourist attraction, with a particular focus on the role of relic collection in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photius's Library contains numerous references to issues that had sparked theological debates in earlier centuries, starting with Origenism and the problem of the resurrected body. They are not due to mere scholarly curiosity, for this topic repeatedly challenged the sensibilities of Photius and many of his associates. The question arises whether Photius, in his role as patriarch, tried to draw doctrinal boundaries to counter hidden but somehow still active social groups that wanted to resume the fight against icons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on deep geological repositories, designed for safe long-term storage of nuclear waste, and analyses the RK&M project, which considers how these sites could be marked and remembered for imagined futures. The project, it is argued, mirrors some of the universalising problems of the term “Anthropocene”. Counter to this, the author describes the ongoing art research project Pazugoo, which draws on myths of flight and the earth, local to specific radioactive burial sites, generating digital designs for composite demons, which are figures of personification for the waste, buried for future unearthing, unknown by whom or by what. The addressee of the work differs from the imagined addressee of the RK&M project, offering a speculative viewpoint on the present moment, in its entanglement with deep times past and future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay "Bell Beakers in the Masurian Lakeland in Northeast Poland - Relics and Identification Problems" confirms that the influence of the Bell Beaker culture extended to the Vistula Basin. New discoveries in the North Podlachian Lowland, especially in the Masurian Lakeland, show that this region was heavily influenced by the Iwno culture, which spread the Bell Beaker influence in this part of Europe. The analysis of ceramic and flint artifacts from the Ząbie X and Szestno II sites revealed that these objects can clearly be associated with Bell Beakers and have no connection to the local Iwno culture. This suggests that in the late Neolithic period, individuals with the cultural heritage of the Bell Beaker culture reached the area of the Masurian Lakeland and the North Podlachian Lowland. [Extracted from the article]

The landing point on the south bank of the Dalian Bay Subsea Tunnel project passes under the district-level immovable cultural relic site "Wharf C of Darini Port" in Zhongshan District, Dalian. During the execution of the project, the project development organization strictly implemented relevant national cultural relics preservation laws and regulations,organized the compilation of cultural relics preservation scheme and completed the relevant cultural relic preservation procedures according to law, while the constructor formulated a cultural relics protection plan with the guiding principle of "disassembling and reassembling" and adopted several cultural preservation measures during the construction process. The cultural relic value of Wharf C of Darini Port was very well preserved. The experience obtained during the implementation of cultural relic preservation practice can provide some reference for future construction planning involving immovable cultural relics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The story of the Śrāvastī miracles is one episode of the Buddha's biography that is depicted in the art forms of Dvāravatī from about the 7th to the 11th centuries CE. The fact that many artefacts were produced—in such variety, over such a long period, and at so many sites—shows the popularity of the scene of the Śrāvastī miracles in the Dvāravatī culture. The objective of this research paper is to analyze the significance of the story of the Śrāvastī miracles that affected the creation of Dvāravatī art in Thailand by examining the textual sources together with the Dvāravatī artefacts. The analysis shows that the stories of the Śrāvastī miracles were significant in various ways, being one of the Buddha's necessary deeds, a principal miracle only performed by the Buddha, a means of converting others to Buddhism, and a key source for the idea of making Buddha images as an act of merit. These significant features may explain the popularity of the Śrāvastī miracle theme in Dvāravatī culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliquaries were among the most highly valued items in the medieval churches, and cathedrals accumulated hundreds of them. Their shapes and materials, the relics contained within, and other essential details were registered in lists written by cathedral treasurers. In the Nordic countries, most medieval reliquaries as well as written documents concerning them have disappeared. However, a few inventories with relics and reliquaries from Nordic cathedrals are preserved. This essay examines how the material dimensions of reliquaries were put into words in those lists and what the chosen words reveal about the way these objects were perceived by their keepers and audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stories involving lost items, sick or missing birds and animals, and the strange behaviour of objects such as coins, candles and relic containers are frequently encountered in high medieval miracle collections, with the 'jokes' of St Foy of Conques being a well-known example. Such miracles, in which saints were thought to incongruously exercise their powers on 'minor' or 'trifling' matters, provoked a range of reactions, from laughing delight to unease and outright dismissal. This essay argues that the 'trifling' miracle would be a useful addition to typologies of medieval miracles, and contrasts the ways in which two late twelfth-century monks at Canterbury, Benedict of Peterborough and William of Canterbury, worked to integrate and explain stories like these in their collections of the miracles of Thomas Becket. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kant's 1770 Dissertation is surprisingly rarely read as a cosmological treatise about the "world." The few commentators who do so invariably claim that, in the fourth section of the work, Kant presents a purely intellectual cosmology, a relic of dogmatic, Leibnizian-Wolffian metaphysics. This article aims to show that attention to some often-overlooked passages yields a very different picture. Key to how Kant conceives of the form of the world is his distinction between the relations of co-ordination and subordination of substances. On the basis of this distinction, the author argues that the "principle of the form of the intelligible world" does not pertain to a transcendent intelligible world. Instead, the principle concerns an intellectual perspective on the world of substances co-ordinated in space and time. This interpretation has various consequences for our understanding of the development of Kant's critical philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Architectural remains include courtyards and large building complex foundations made of rammed earth, a barbican formed by enclosing walls, and remains of buildings constructed by the formwork of wooden planks. Keywords: Gongyi City of Henan Province; Shuanghuaishu site; three encircling trenches; residential area; Yangshao culture EN Gongyi City of Henan Province Shuanghuaishu site three encircling trenches residential area Yangshao culture 17 31 15 11/16/22 20221101 NES 221101 Postscript The original article , prepared by Wanfa Gu , Xu Wang , Yayi Hu , and Yingjun Xin , was published in Kaogu (Archaeology) 2021.7:99-106 with 42 figures. The enclosing wall Q1 is about 261m long and has a foundation trench of 1.1m to 1.7m wide, while Q3 is about 84m long and has a foundation trench of 1.2m to 1.9m wide. The foundation trench underneath the north wall is 1.2m to 2.2m wide and 0.4m to 0.8m deep; the foundation trench underneath the west wall is 1.2m to 2.2m wide and 0.5m to 1m deep; the foundation trench underneath the east wall, although subject to no trial excavation, is 1m to 1.6m wide. [Extracted from the article]

The antechamber is square in plan, while the main chamber and the two side chambers are round in plan. Khitan figures are painted between the pilasters in the east chamber, while Han figures are painted between the pilasters in the west chamber. The tomb chambers are built with bar-shaped bricks, and the gaps between the tomb pit and the brick walls are filled with layers of sand, brick fragments, and sandy soil, which are rammed layer by layer to make them solid and dense. Keywords: Beizhen City; Liaoning Province; Hongjiajie cemetery; epitaph; Han Derang; Liao dynasty EN Beizhen City Liaoning Province Hongjiajie cemetery epitaph Han Derang Liao dynasty 121 134 14 11/16/22 20221101 NES 221101 Postscript The original article , prepared by Weiwei Si , Xiongfei Wan , Chang Liu , Lei Cui , and Jiujiang Yu , was published in Kaogu (Archaeology) 2020.4:58- 76 with 47 illustrations. [Extracted from the article]

Keywords: Pengyang County; Ningxia; Yaoheyuan city site; high-ranking tombs; capital city of the Huo state; Western Zhou period EN Pengyang County Ningxia Yaoheyuan city site high-ranking tombs capital city of the Huo state Western Zhou period 53 64 12 11/16/22 20221101 NES 221101 Postscript The original article , prepared by Qiang Ma , was published in Kaogu (Archaeology) 2021.8:3-22 with 32 illustrations and five notes. Combined with the unearthed artifacts, its age can be dated to the late Western Zhou, which corresponds to the high-ranking burial area in the northeast, confirming that the age of the Yaoheyuan city site extended from the early to the late Western Zhou, which is also consistent with the information obtained from the investigation and excavation. Through the ongoing archaeological excavations in recent years, it is clear that the Yaoheyuan capital city of the state of Huo lasted from the early to the late Western Zhou until the eastward migration of the Zhou people to Luoyi. Yaoheyuan city site, high-ranking tombs, capital city of the Huo state, Pengyang County, Ningxia, Western Zhou period. [Extracted from the article]

Graph: Figure 23 Type A crucible fragment (G7 (1):57). Keywords: Huangpi District; Wuhan; Guoyuanzui site; bronze casting; Shang dynasty EN Huangpi District Wuhan Guoyuanzui site bronze casting Shang dynasty 32 52 21 11/16/22 20221101 NES 221101 Postscript The original article , prepared by Gang Hu , Xiaofeng Cheng , Yuwu Xie , and Shirui Lin , was published in Kaogu (Archaeology) 2021.7:49-77 with 92 illustrations, one table, and eight notes. The soil is unusually hard and compact, with a maximum thickness of 0.35m; the lower layer (Layer 4) is reddish-brown soil, interspersed with scattered Shang dynasty pottery sherds, and occasionally there are red burnt soil granules, pebbles, and smoke traces. Monuments of Huangpi District, Wuhan. [Extracted from the article]

Despite the historians' growing interest in material culture, collections of sacred objects have largely been overlooked by scholars of religious history and art history alike. While the former tend to reduce church artifacts to their religious function, the latter focus mostly on individual items of singular artistic import. This essay examines a collection of displaced relics from the perspective of their shifting meanings and multiple uses as ritual objects, offerings, gifts, and commodities. Charting the parallel displacements of objects and people during the Polish-Ottoman wars of 1672–1699, I argue that the mutability of the relics shaped the refugees' attempts to deal with the conflicting social obligations and economic pressures of exile. Drawing on the church inventories and trial records of the Armenian communities in Poland-Lithuania, this essay offers a wider analytical framework with which to approach the problems of migration, displacement, and collective possessions in the early modern world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A silkworm deity was a Trade God worshipped by the court and the folk, and was also a spiritual symbol of sericulturists in medieval China. Images of the silkworm deity in ancient Chinese art are important relics of material heritage for studying culture and ritual activities in medieval China. This paper investigates images of silkworm worship from the Han Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty to distinguish between their use by the court and the folk. This paper explores the gradual personification of the silkworm deity in medieval China, as well as the differences in the identity of the silkworm deity connected to the varying status of worshipers and the functions of the silkworm deity. It is proposed that silkworm deity worship is evidence of a tendency toward polytheism, and has a variety of identities and unified functions under the trend of continuous integration of three major religions and folk religion. The worship of the silkworm deity has the characteristics of hybridity, integrated and patriarchal, as well as the social edification and practical functionality caused by the different mentality of official and folk silkworm deity worship in medieval China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a survey of archival and primary source material, this article discusses the existence of St. Thomas Becket's relics in Siena cathedral. The institution's inventories indicate that, from 1482 until ca. 1529, the relics were housed in an ostensory kept in the sacristy. Today, this object is displayed in the Sala del Tesoro, in the Museum of the Opera del Duomo in Siena. Although the ostensory has been examined in previous scholarship concerned with mapping the cathedral's heritage, its function as a vessel for the relics of Thomas Becket, and indeed the very presence of these relics in Siena, remain unexplored. Thus, seeking to understand the nature of Becket's reception in Siena, I examine the whereabouts of his relics within the cathedral, to then widen the investigation to the city at large. The evidence shows that although there were no chapels, altars or churches dedicated to Thomas Becket within the city walls, Siena still engaged with Becket's sainthood and legacy on multiple levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a book titled "An Artful Relic: The Shroud of Turin in Baroque Italy" by Andrew R. Casper. The book explores the artistic and cultural significance of the Shroud of Turin during the Baroque period in Italy. Casper argues that the Shroud could be interpreted as an object of art without blasphemy, and that it was considered a work of art of divine origin. The author also examines the emotional and aesthetic perception of the Shroud, and its enduring power as an artistic relic. The article praises Casper's work for shedding new light on the subject and providing a unique perspective. [Extracted from the article]

Cosmologies with Light Massive Relics (LiMRs) as a subdominant component of the dark sector are well-motivated from a particle physics perspective, and can also have implications for the σ8 tension between early and late time probes of clustering. The effects of LiMRs on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and structure formation on large (linear) scales have been investigated extensively. In this paper, we initiate a systematic study of the effects of LiMRs on smaller, non-linear scales using cosmological N -body simulations; focusing on quantities relevant for photometric galaxy surveys. For most of our study, we use a particular model of non-thermal LiMRs but the methods developed generalizing to a large class of LiMR models – we explicitly demonstrate this by considering the Dodelson–Widrow velocity distribution. We find that, in general, the effects of LiMR on small scales are distinct from those of a ΛCDM universe, even when the value of σ8 is matched between the models. We show that weak lensing measurements around massive clusters, between ∼0.1  h −1Mpc and ∼10  h −1Mpc, should have sufficient signal-to-noise in future surveys to distinguish between ΛCDM and LiMR models that are tuned to fit both CMB data and linear scale clustering data at late times. Furthermore, we find that different LiMR cosmologies indistinguishable by conventional linear probes can be distinguished by non-linear probes if their velocity distributions are sufficiently different. LiMR models can, therefore, be best tested by jointly analyzing the CMB and late-time structure formation on both large and small scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contributing to the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within Target 11.4 "Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world's cultural and natural heritage", it is critical to monitor the spatial and temporal stabilities of cultural heritages. The study of the interactive relationship between earthquakes and the protection of cultural heritages needs to be strengthened. On 27 September 2021, the destructive Mw 5.9 Arkalochori earthquake occurred ~25 km away from the city of Heraklion (Greece) where the Heraklion City Wall (HCW), a representative cultural heritage of Greece and Europe, was located. This offered a proper case to investigate the shortcomings aforementioned. Here, we intend to set up and answer the following three questions (Whether, Where and What, 3Ws): Whether there were impacts on the HCW caused by the Arkalochori earthquake? Where did the maximum deformation occur? What was the relationship between seismic deformation between the epicenter and the HCW over time? We performed two-dimensional (2D) InSAR measurements for both co-seismic and post-seismic deformations using the ascending and descending Sentinel-1A SAR images. The spatial-temporal characteristics of Up–Down (UD) and East–West (EW) were revealed. The 2D co-seismic deformation field showed that the near-filed deformations were dominating compared with the deformations at the HCW, the UD deformation was mainly featured with subsidence with a maximum value of ~21 cm, the EW deformation was ~9 cm westward and ~10 cm eastward. The time-series measurements showed that: (1) temporally, the HCW responded quickly to the Arkalochori earthquake, and the accumulative deformations at the seven different bastions of the HCW showed the same trend as the near-field area over time. (2) Spatially, the closer to the Mw 5.9 epicenter, the larger the deformations that occurred. (3) The EW and UD deformation trends of the HCW that were consistent with the Mw 5.9 epicenter were interrupted at the middle time spot (22 January 2022), indicating the influence of another earthquake sequence consisting of eight earthquakes with magnitudes larger than 3.5 that happened on 16–18 January 2022. Respectively, to summarize and address the aforementioned 3Ws based on the post-seismic analysis accomplished by the MSBAS method, the Arkalochori earthquake did affect the HCW; besides, the influences of the ~13 km earthquake sequence were also detected; the nearest part to the epicenter suffered the most; the deformation trends of the HCW were approximately the same with the epicenter area of the Arkalochori earthquake both in the UD and EW directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many degradation processes of cultural heritage objects are associated with unsuitable microclimatic conditions. One of the most ubiquitous deteriorations is the crystallization of salts in pores, which can accelerate the erosion rate of masonry historical relics. In this study, the microclimate of the burial tomb and exfoliation of sandstone in the Yongling Mausoleum of the Former Shu Dynasty in Chengdu were monitored for 1 year to determine the development of the degradation. We established a connection between the monitoring data and exfoliation variations of the stone with time. To predict the deterioration of the stone, a three-dimensional computational finite element model was used to simulate the detailed process of the thermo-hygrometric performance that led to salt crystallization and artwork deterioration. Two results were obtained. In the simulation of the microclimate, the temperature ranged from 15 to 22.6 °C, and the relative humidity was heterogeneous and varied between 60 and 100%. The other was the relationship between the microclimate and exfoliation. It was found that the exfoliation was more severe in the higher relative humidity areas where the water vapor frequently interacted with the relics. The crystallization and hydration of sulfate produced stress, which damaged the stone relics. These results provide a rationale analysis and a reference for better management of the environmental interactions and reduction of the environmental impacts in the subsequent scientific conservation of ancient Chinese cultural relics in tombs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bernardo de Toro (Seville 1570–Rome 1643) was a devotee of the Immaculate Conception and the last leader of a mystic group called the Brotherhood of La Granada. This article analyses what Toro did to create two shrines dedicated to the Brotherhood in the convents of La Concepción (Lebrija) and La Encarnación (Seville) of which neither has survived. This article reassembles their original components, which included the remains of the four leaders of the Brotherhood and investigates how Toro combined the relics of the four men, their portraits and the image of the Immaculate Conception in order to safeguard their spiritual legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examination of shrine and idol destruction stories included in three hagiographic texts rewritten by élite Carolingian authors shows that this thematic element may illuminate the concerns and horizon of expectation of the revisers. Destruction episodes contributed to stories of eponymous heroes that shaped the heritage and identity of monastic communities, and even seemed worth projecting into the ancient Christian past. In the absence of uniform disciplinary and doctrinal guidance regarding relics, stories of the destruction of unholy matter may also have delineated the boundary separating legitimate from illegitimate devotional objects and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The execution of Maximilian of Habsburg and his two generals, Miguel Miramón and Tomás Mejía at Cerro de las Campanas, Querétaro, on June 19, 1867, produced a series of visual vestiges such as lithographs, photographs, and paintings that tried to reflect the condition of lay martyr that the ill-fated emperor acquired from that moment on. Many of these images tried to establish an analogy with respect to the biblical passage of the crucifixion since they portray a man about to die next to two prisoners, as well as the inclusion of crosses, pious witnesses, and priests. This dissertation also contemplates the construction of places of memory, such as the expiatory chapel of the Cerro de las Campanas to perpetuate the memory of a man who, according to the artists, sympathizers and witnesses of the trance, had died unjustly. Through an iconographic analysis of some of these visual representations that appeared both in Mexico and in Europe, we will try to confirm this hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of civilizations of South and Southeast Asia seem meaningless without an insight on Hinduism and Buddhism that exerted an enormous influence in the region before the arrival of Islam. The two beliefs, though originated in India, but contributed greatly to the development of socio-cultural relations among countries as far as Afghanistan in the west and China, Japan, and Indonesia in the east. About the beginning of the Common Era, Indian merchants may have settled there, bringing Hindu and Buddhist priests with them. These religious men were patronized by rulers who converted to Hinduism or Buddhism. The earliest material evidence of Hinduism in Southeast Asia comes from Borneo, where late 4th-century Sanskrit inscriptions testify to the performance of Vedic sacrifices at the behest of local chiefs. Chinese chronicles attest an Indianized kingdom in Vietnam two centuries earlier. The dominant form of Hinduism exported to Southeast Asia was Shaivism, though some Vaishnavism was also known there. The current study tries to explain how Hinduism and Buddhism could influence Socio- Cultural Relations between Pre- Islamic India and Afghanistan taking into account of historical records and inscriptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We revisit the thermal production and annihilation of magnetic monopoles and their relic abundance in order to gain a deeper physical interpretation on the monopole phenomenology predicted from the Baines et al.'s effective field theory, recently proposed in the description of monopole pair production via Drell–Yan and photon fusion processes. In this sense, we use of the vacuum cross sections for the Drell–Yan reactions derived within the mentioned framework to evaluate the cross section averaged over the thermal distribution associated to other particles that constitute the hot medium where the monopoles propagate. In the considered range of monopole mass with spin-zero and spin-half, our findings suggest that the thermally averaged cross sections for the pair production are highly suppressed, while at higher temperatures those for the annihilation of lighter pairs reach larger magnitudes. Besides, we observe that smaller temperature leads to a rate of annihilation for scalar monopoles smaller than the one for fermionic monopoles, which might be interpreted as a theoretical evidence of a more pronounced stability for spin-zero and heavier monopoles. Then we input these thermally averaged cross sections into the kinetic equation that describes the evolution of the monopole abundance via an extension of a freeze-out theory. Our results infer that heavier monopoles achieve the equilibrium at earlier stages of the expansion, and consequently at higher temperatures. In addition, larger monopole masses produce higher values of the relic abundance. Besides, the results indicate that the abundance does not behave differently for spin-zero and spin-half relic monopoles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near-ultraviolet (NUV) spectroscopic studies have suggested that passively evolving massive, early-type galaxies host sub-one per cent fractions of young stars in their innermost regions. We shed light on the origin of these stars by analysing NGC 1277, a widely studied nearby prototypical massive compact relic galaxy. These are rare galaxies that have survived without experiencing significant size evolution via accretion and mergers since their formation at high redshift. We obtain a spectrum in the UV range within the central 1 kpc region of NGC 1277. We compare a carefully selected set of optical and NUV line-strengths to model predictions with star formation histories characteristic of massive galaxies. We find a 0.8 per cent mass fraction of young stars in the centre of NGC 1277, similar to that found in massive early-type galaxies. Given the limited accretion history of NGC 1277, these results favour an intrinsic, in situ , process triggering star formation at later epochs. Our results suggest a general constraint on the amount of young stars in the cores of massive early-type galaxies. This amount should be assumed as an upper limit for the young stellar contribution in massive galaxies, as there might be present other contributions from evolved stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abell 3266 is a massive and complex merging galaxy cluster that exhibits significant substructure. We present new, highly sensitive radio continuum observations of Abell 3266 performed with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (0.8–1.1 GHz) and the Australia Telescope Compact Array (1.1–3.1 GHz). These deep observations provide new insights into recently reported diffuse non-thermal phenomena associated with the intracluster medium, including a 'wrong-way' relic, a fossil plasma source, and an as-yet unclassified central diffuse ridge, which we reveal comprises the brightest part of a large-scale radio halo detected here for the first time. The 'wrong-way' relic is highly atypical of its kind: it exhibits many classical signatures of a shock-related radio relic, while at the same time exhibiting strong spectral steepening. While radio relics are generally consistent with a quasi-stationary shock scenario, the 'wrong-way' relic is not. We study the spectral properties of the fossil plasma source; it exhibits an ultrasteep and highly curved radio spectrum, indicating an extremely aged electron population. The larger scale radio halo fills much of the cluster centre, and presents a strong connection between the thermal and non-thermal components of the intracluster medium, along with evidence of substructure. Whether the central diffuse ridge is simply a brighter component of the halo, or a mini-halo, remains an open question. Finally, we study the morphological and spectral properties of the multiple complex radio galaxies in this cluster in unprecedented detail, tracing their evolutionary history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive early-type galaxies (ETGs) show several strong CO absorption features in their H - and K -band spectra that cannot be explained by state-of-the-art stellar population models. For many years, the disagreement has been attributed to the presence of intermediate-age stellar components that are dominated by stars in the asymptotic giant branch phase. However, no robust evidence of this scenario has been provided so far. One way to test this claim is by comparison of CO indices for ETGs and for relic galaxies. Lacking the intermediate-age stellar populations, relic galaxies provide us with a unique opportunity to address the origin of strong CO absorptions in ETGs. Here, we utilize the prototype relic galaxy NGC 1277 and compare the CO absorption features of this galaxy with the ones of a representative sample of massive ETGs. We show that the CO lines in both systems have similar strengths, significantly stronger than the predictions of stellar population synthesis models. We conclude that intermediate-age stellar populations in massive ETGs are not the culprit of the strong CO absorptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex and constantly changing environment of underwater excavation sites makes it extremely difficult to protect fragile cultural artifacts during excavation and to keep them intact in situ. It has mostly been through the control of conditions above water that these fragile relics have been extracted. Currently, the temporary solidity of a material named veratraldehyde can provide some temporary structural strength to relics underwater, allowing them to be brought to the surface and be handled on land. This material is, however, not perfect, and the search for better materials to enable the extraction of very fragile historical relics from below the surface of the water is still necessary. In this article, a large number of materials or substances were screened in comparison with veratraldehyde for efficacy in this process, and it was found that 4-dihydrochromone performed better and proved to be more suitable than veratraldehyde for this purpose. It was found that 4-dihydrochromone has a more suitable underwater crystallization time, higher compressive strength, and lower crystal shrinkage than veratraldehyde. Finally, 4-dihydrochromone was used to simulate the extraction of fragile underwater relics and was found to successfully strengthen the aging wooden woven frame to a sufficient degree that it could be transported onto land and restored to the state it was originally in while it was still underwater. This shows that 4-dihydrochromone is a superior material to use in the extraction process and that its ability to temporarily reinforce and extract fragile underwater cultural relics is better than that of veratraldehyde. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the Andreis, an account of the 1462 Roman adventus of St Andrew's head relic. While the text is most commonly known from Book VIII of Pope Pius II's Commentaries (1462‐64), it appeared in discrete parts and circulated independently from 1462. The Andreis is revealed as a compilation of texts by several authors, undermining Pius' traditional role as the sole author of the Andreis and later Commentaries. Additionally, the Andreis is identified as an early festival book, with similar norms of circulation, impact, and elite presentation. Recreating the adventus through texts written for the event, the Andreis reflects contemporary expectations for festival books, while also encouraging support for an Ottoman crusade. Thus, circulating separately and later as part of the Commentaries, the Andreis contributed to Pius' crusade campaign and reputation, arguing for the pope's authority as Peter's heir, his popularity as a leader, and his rightful role as the protector of Eastern Christians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aim to carry out a radio study of the SoUthern Cluster sCale Extended Source Survey (SUCCESS) sample consisting of 20 massive (M500 > 5 × 1014 M⊙), nearby (redshift <0.3) and southern (−50° < δ < −30°) galaxy clusters detected by the Planck satellite and the South Pole Telescope. Here, we report targeted GMRT observations (325/610 MHz) for a subsample of nine clusters. We also use the first data release of MeerKAT Galaxy Cluster Legacy Survey (1283 MHz) for five of these nine clusters. The properties of the mini-halo in RXC J0528.9-3927, a candidate mini-halo in A3322, the radio halo and candidate double relics in A3399, and the radio halo in RXC J0232.2-4420 are presented. We also report a detection of candidate radio relics at distances 1 and 1.9 Mpc from the centre of RXC J0232.2-4420. The southeast relic of A3399 is consistent with the radio power–mass scaling relation for radio relics, while the candidate relics around RXC J0232.2-4420 are outliers. This indicates an origin of the candidate relics near RXC J0232.2-4420 to be independent of this cluster and a cluster merger-shock origin for the relic in A3399. In this subsample of clusters, 1/9 hosts a radio halo and double relics, 1/9 hosts a radio halo and 2/9 host mini-haloes. The dynamical states based on X-ray morphology show that A3399 is a disturbed cluster; however, the radio halo cluster RXC J0232.2-4420 is relaxed, and the mini-halo clusters have intermediate morphologies, adding to the cases of the less commonly found associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that two heavy Majorana right-handed neutrinos are sufficient to generate the baryon asymmetry in the present universe. Thus, it is interesting to identify the third right-handed neutrino N with the dark matter. We impose a new discrete symmetry Z 2 on this dark matter neutrino to stabilize it. However, the U (1) B − L gauge boson A ′ couples to the right-handed neutrino N. If the B − L breaking scale V B − L is sufficiently low, the dark matter neutrino N can be in the thermal bath. We find that the thermal relic N can explain the dark matter abundance for the B − L breaking scale V B − L ∼ O (10) TeV. After considering all the constraints from the existing experiments, a narrow mass region of the thermal produced right-handed neutrino dark matter N is still surviving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating multi-level features of cultural relics into aesthetic posters suitable for social sharing can enhance cultural value dissemination. However, this task meets two major challenges: (i) generating professional captions for cultural relics that encompass color, shape, form, and metaphor details; (i i) combining designers' expertise and cultural relics' unique aesthetic features to create visually appealing posters through layout, color, and font selection. Existing methods for poster generation primarily target merchandise or scientific publications. Constrained by product style or traditional design rules, which are unsuitable for cultural relics with multi-level aesthetic features. In this work, we propose CrePoster , an attention-based C ultural re lic Poster generation framework that incorporates multi-level feature extraction. Taking Chinese cultural relics as the case study, after the photos are uploaded, CrePoster leverages a large-scale pre-trained image segmentation network to obtain the critical object. Subsequently, a multi-level feature extraction-based caption generator is utilized to generate professional captions. Afterward, an attention-based dual-scale fusion network is employed to represent the aesthetic characters and guide the layout matching. Compared with existing methods, CrePoster can generate higher-quality captions and posters with more aesthetic value. • A novel problem of generating aesthetic cultural relic posters. • An attention-based dual-scale fusion network for aesthetic character representation. • Use the synergy between multi-level feature extraction and attention mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has become widely acknowledged that certain underwater cultural relics, in a state of severe decay, should be salvaged for further protection. Underwater temporary reinforcement materials provide the possibility for such protection. These materials can achieve both the reinforcement of cultural relics underwater, as well as their reversible removal after extraction, without causing damage to the cultural relics in either process. In this context, two kinds of hydrogels based on polyethylene glycol-derived polymers were developed in this study. They are denser than water and can undergo gelatinization by UV-induced or oxidant-induced reactions in the underwater environment. Additionally, they possess enough mechanical strength to provide the necessary support in the bonding process. Both hydrogels have been successfully used to extract fragile underwater archaeological wooden artifacts in situ under laboratory conditions. The experimental results revealed that, in the case of UV-induced hydrogels, the compression strength was 115 kPa with a tensile strength of 20 kPa. For oxidant-induced hydrogels, the compression strength was 382 kPa, while the tensile strength was 8.2 kPa. During the actual extraction processes, the UV-induced hydrogel exhibited a lower water absorption ratio, maintained a more stable mechanical property underwater, and was easier to remove after extraction. On the other hand, the oxidant-induced hydrogel could complete the gelation process quickly through a rather convenient operation; however, it tended to absorb surrounding water and swell, thereby reducing its mechanical property. These two methods would be adapted to different underwater archaeological sites as convenient, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective novel methods for extracting fragile underwater wooden relics. Two kinds of environmental stimulant-responsive hydrogels successfully solidified and extracted fragile archaeological wood underwater. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relic gravitational waves (RGWs) originating from the early stages of the universe represent one of the most significant and highly focused targets for future gravitational wave (GW) detections, due to that these waves contain crucial information about the evolution of the cosmos and serve as key evidence for various cosmological models such as the big bang. RGWs cover exceptionally broad frequency bands encompassing the gigahertz (GHz) range (109 Hz), and the schemes based on electromagnetic (EM) response to GWs have been long and widely studied for such GHz band. Differently to previous works, we work out analytical and numerical forms of EM signals (with acquired novel characteristics and distinctive behaviors) caused by relic high-frequency GWs (RHFGWs) in simulated resonant cavity. By joint application of constructed effective and targeted deep learning neural networks, we successfully identify these EM signals amidst noise, and for the first time distinguish the different oscillating factors in focused model of RGW; also, we estimate typical parameters of corresponding RHFGWs and associated cosmological models, and establish a new scheme to explore the possible extra polarizations of RHFGWs in resonant cavity. In brief, we obtain new connections between the distinctive features of caused EM signals in cavity and corresponding parameters of cosmological models and RGWs; the results and methods would not only contribute to current theoretical investigation but also could provide valuable insights and preparation for potential experiments aimed at detecting such RHFGWs in the future, or may placing constraints on relevant GW parameters and theories of gravity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of finding Early Archaic and initial era of the Middle Archaic site near floodplains of Haw River in North Carolina.

Traditional digital geometry mainly focuses on local geometric features such as curvature and normal of 3D models. Although the curvature can describe the geometric curvature of the model surface, these local geometric properties cannot describe the global functional structure and associated properties of the 3D model. The purpose of this paper was to study the accurate splicing of cultural relic fragments based on the intrinsic structural features of the 3D model, such as geometry, texture, and function, whose method is the key to realizing the virtual reconstruction of damaged cultural relics. In this paper, a method for analyzing the intrinsic structure of 3D point cloud data is proposed, the feature representation method of 3D discrete curves and surfaces is studied, and a method for identifying geometric features of 3D point clouds based on the similarity measure of the principal curvature is proposed, which realizes the effective extraction of geometric features of the 3D point cloud model of cultural relics. By calculating the visual curvature distribution of the model under multiscale constraints, the effective extraction of the structural primitives of cultural relics with rich surface noise is realized. The experimental results in this paper show that the initial matching time is 1.416 seconds, the final matching time is 1.555 seconds, the average number of iterations is 13, the average stitching error is 1.7233 mm, and the standard deviation is 1.0265 mm. The experimental data show that the algorithm proposed in this chapter has good convergence characteristics and effectively avoids the divergence phenomenon that is easy to occur in the existing stitching algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical studies have indicated that African religions, in the pre-colonial period, were dynamic and multilayered with long histories of contradictions, contestations, and synthesis. Using the Pokot of north-western Kenya as a case in point, this contribution attempts to demonstrate the fluidity that was inherent in African religions. The Pokot originally were an agro-pastoral group inhabiting the Cherang'any and the Sekerr ranges. During the first half of the nineteenth century, a section of them descended the hills to pursue pastoralism. In their pastoral excursions, they came into contact with Plain Nilotes, especially the Karimojong. What followed was cross-cultural bartering of religious artefacts, both ideological and material, in which process the Pokot adopted selected religious aspects from the Karimojong and fused them with their previous beliefs to formulate syncretism. This contribution not only highlights the religious concepts that were fused but, also, attempts to explain the process of fusion itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From a diachronic perspective, and considering both textual and visual evidence, this article traces the relic cult of SS Gregory Nazianzen and John Chrysostom. It focuses on two historical contexts, hitherto not compared with each other, in which both the relics and the architectural frame in which they were placed acquired significant additional meaning and value: tenth-century Constantinople and sixteenth- century Rome. I will show how Emperor Constantine VII, in the Holy Apostles, and Pope Gregory XIII, in St. Peter's, used the same relics as an instrument in a process of meaning-making, thereby asserting their own authority and prestige. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Starobinsky inflationary model of theoretical description of the early Universe is used to calculate the precision parameters of relic microwave radiation by analytical and numerical methods with allowance for subleading corrections to the number of e-foldings characterizing duration of inflation. The Mukhanov–Chibisov formula for the spectral index of scalar relic radiation perturbations is generalized with accuracy up to cubic terms of the number e-foldings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dragon washbasin is one of Chinese cultural relics, which could produce interesting water spurting phenomenon when rubbing by hands. The multi-degree-of-freedom modal model is established in this work. By means of the perturbation method, the perturbation solution of the modal piece-wise governing equations is obtained, with the help of a method to determine the integral limits in integration process of the perturbation method when the term of the governing equation is piece-wise. Based on the perturbation solution, the general amplitude–frequency and phase–frequency curves are given to illustrate the effects of the physical parameters. The results match well with numerical ones and provide more detailed descriptions of the system. As the dragon washbasin is a classical type of solid–liquid coupling system, the results can be used for reference to other complex research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relic galaxies are massive compact quiescent galaxies that formed at high-redshift and remained almost unchanged since then. In this work, we search for analogues to relic galaxies in the TNG50 cosmological simulations to understand relic formation and test the ability of TNG50 to reproduce such rare objects. Using stellar mass, age, radius, quiescence, and stellar assembly criteria, we find five subhaloes in TNG50 that could be potential relic analogues. We compare their properties with other constraints imposed by a sample of 13 observed relic galaxies. We find one analogue in TNG50 that simultaneously satisfies most of the available observational constraints, such as metallicity and morphology. It also shows similarities to the confirmed relic NGC 1277, regarding environment and dark matter fraction. By taking into account a degree of relicness, a second relic analogue may also be considered. However, the central parts of the brightness and density profiles of the analogues are less steep than that of real relic galaxies, possibly due to limited numerical resolution. We identify two formation pathways of relic analogues in TNG50 depending on their environment: they either have their remaining gas stripped during the infall into a cluster at z ≲ 1.2 or consume it before z > 1.5. They are then deprived of significant star formation, leaving their stellar populations almost unaltered during the last 9 Gyr. We also find that the analogue progenitors at z ∼ 4 inhabit more massive haloes than progenitors of quiescent galaxies with similar stellar mass at z ∼ 0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Cult of the Dead: A Brief History of Christianity" by Kyle Smith explores the devotion to martyrs throughout history and its impact on Christian art, literature, and spirituality. The book discusses the preservation and honoring of relics from martyrs' bodies, as well as the connection between tomb and shrine. It also examines the development of historical accounts of martyrs and the use of relics for healing and protection. The author acknowledges the reservations and criticisms of the relic cult, but emphasizes the enduring significance of martyrdom in the communion of saints. [Extracted from the article]