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In the context of the BEFIM project (“Meanings and Functions of Mediterranean Imports in Early Iron Age Central Europe”) the life history of (drinking) vessels from the Early Celtic hillfort settlements of the Heuneburg was examined, studying the way of production and use. In order to do so, we set up an extensive experimental program of dozens of experiments directed at a better understanding of the way this pottery was made and used. The participation of an experienced potter allowed us to reproduce exact replicas of the supposed drinking ware and explore in detail the traces of production and the effect of temper, baking temperature and so forth on the development of production traces and wear. Especially variations in the temper material, like the frequently observed addition of calcite in the archaeological pottery, strongly affected the characteristics of the use-wear marks that developed from the preparation of different products (grape wine, honey wine, different kinds of porridge etc.). The influence of alcohol production, including fermentation, on the pottery was explored. We also tested the effect of different gestures of preparing food and drink (mixing, stirring, pounding), different ways of storage and handling, and the manner of consumption like decanting using various kinds of utensils. The traces we observed on the experimental vessels, using an integrated low and high power approach, formed the basis for our interpretation of the archaeological vessels from the Heuneburg.

The Egyptian collection of the RMAH comprises about one hundred execration figurines made of unbaked clay, bearing curses written in hieratic script (a cursive writing system related to hieroglyphs) and dating to the Middle Kingdom (c. 1850 BC). These represent captured (foreign) enemies and were buried ritually in order to symbolically neutralise foreign and domestic enemies and general threats. Nearly 90 years after their discovery, the red and black pigments used to inscribe these four millennia old objects are now faded or damaged. The Execration texts on these figurines are regarded as one of the most renowned collections of written sources for ancient Near Eastern studies, Egyptian history and Biblical studies for the early 2nd millennium BCE. When it comes to documenting every characteristic of an object in a highly detailed way, clay artefacts inscribed with ink and other pigments, such as the aforementioned figurines, pose a particular challenge. These three-dimensional media with curved surfaces hold traces of writing that, in some cases, have faded or have disappeared completely. The study of these objects is generally hampered by their poor state of conservation, any handling can result in a considerable loss of material (and therefore also valuable information). The EES project aimed to develop new imaging techniques (using interactive 2D, 3D and multispectral images) that can improve the legibility of faded inscriptions and enhance the decorations on clay objects. Combining 3D digitisation and multispectral imaging in a userfriendly and transportable system, that is also manageable by curators, conservators, researchers and other stakeholders in the museum, is a truly pioneering project. It must facilitate the management of recorded collections and offer numerous possibilities for historical and art-technical studies on these objects, while the future handling is limited to a minimum, thus ensuring their sustainability. nrpages: 66 status: published

Mardels, small closed depressions, are distinctive landforms on the Luxembourger Gutland plateau. In the present landscape most mardels are shallow fens, filled with colluvial sediments. The genesis of mardels has been studied intensively, inside and outside Luxembourg. Some researchers suggested a natural development and consider mardels as subsidence basins due to subsurface solution of gypsum veins, other researchers suggested cultural causes and consider mardels as prehistorical quarries. In the Gutland, mardels occur on various substrates. Mardels on the Strassen marls (li3) are abandoned quarries, related to clay excavation in Roman Time. Mardels on the Luxembourger sandstone (li2) are sinkholes, related to joint patterns in the sandstone formation. Mardels on the Keuper marls (km1,3) are originally subsidence basins, related to subsurface dissolutions of gypsum lenses and veins, filled with colluvial clay. The results of pollen analysis and archaeometrical tests demonstrate Roman extraction of clay for the production of ancient ceramics. So, the natural depressions have been enlarged to the present mardels. After excavation, the sedimentation of colluvium restarted in the abandoned quarries.

ispartof: pages:193-204 ispartof: Networks in the Hellenistic World according to the pottery in the Eastern Mediterranean and Beyond pages:193-204 ispartof: Networks in the Hellenistic world according to the pottery in the eastern Mediterranean and beyond location:Köln-Bonn date:23 Feb - 26 Feb 2011 status: published

ispartof: Studies in Honour of K. Levent Zoroğlu pages:527-540 ispartof: pages:527-540 status: published

The Egyptian collection of the RMAH comprises about one hundred figurines made of unbaked clay, bearing curses written in hieratic script. They represent captured enemies and were buried ritually in order to symbolically neutralise foreign and domestic enemies and general threats. The red and black pigments used to inscribe these four millennia old objects are now, nearly 90 years after their discovery, faded or damaged. With these Egyptian execration figurines as a case-study, an on-going research project aims to develop new imaging techniques (using interactive 2D, 3D and multispectral images) that can improve the legibility of faded inscriptions and decorations. One of the objectives is indeed to identify and evaluate the factors that may affect the reflection of infrared and ultraviolet light. For the development of these techniques, the project sets out from a comprehensive analysis of the state of preservation of the objects. This article therefore presents the preliminary results of a study of the preservation of the surfaces, the composition of the materials, the possible interventions that the artefacts may have undergone and other factors affecting the legibility of the texts. This report will furthermore elaborate on the conservation reports of the objects and their classification in conservation categories, and provides preliminary observations on the clay and the pigments based on the results of X-Ray Fluorescence analyses. ispartof: Bulletin van de Koninklijke Musea voor Kunst en Geschiedenis vol:87/88 pages:5-29 status: published

Handheld X-ray Fluorescence (HH-XRF) is growing in terms of its popularity for use in archaeological studies. It has been regularly used for studying soils, obsidians and metals, but the extent to which it can be applied to other, more heterogeneous archaeological materials, for example, glass and ceramics, is still under debate. Some of the concerns which need to be addressed include: how reliable are the studies that are undertaken using this technique? And, to what extent is a trained ‘expert’ needed to conduct and interpret the analysis? The influence of the size, shape and thickness of an object on the obtained analytical data can pose some significant problems. The appropriate instrumental parameters of the HH-XRF including analysis time, current and voltage settings vary between objects and material types. The attenuation properties and resultant critical depths also vary and require some knowledge of the system before analysis. These issues all have an impact on the qualitative, semi-quantitative and quantitative analyses that can be achieved with the use of this technique. HH-XRF has huge potential for in-situ archaeometrical analyses, but the potential pitfalls for the unwary user can be many and great. This paper seeks to highlight some of the dangers associated with a ‘point and shoot’ technique by taking one material, an experimental glass, and determining the minimum basic parameters needed for a useful analysis.

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