Using a lysimeter study to assess the parameters responsible for oak wood decay from waterlogged burial environments and their implication for the in situ preservation of archaeological remains

In situ protection and conservation of the Underwater Cultural Heritage are now considered a primary choice by the scientific community to be preferred, when possible, over the practice of recovery. The conservation of the artefacts within their environmental context is essential in fact for a correct interpretation of archaeological presences and to preserve their true value intact for future generations. However, this is not an easy task because modern technological equipment is necessary to make the work carried out by underwater restorers and archaeologists faster and more efficient. To this end, the paper presents three innovative underwater power tools for the cleaning, conservation, and consolidation activities to be performed in submerged archaeological sites. The first one is an underwater cleaning brush tool for a soft cleaning of the underwater archaeological structures and artefacts; the second one is a multifunctional underwater hammer drill suitable to be used as a corer sampler, chisel, or drill; the last one is an injection tool specifically designed to dispense mortar underwater for consolidation techniques of submerged structures.

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In Situ Preservation of Marine Archaeological Remains Based on Geodynamic Conditions, Raja Ampat, Indonesia

Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites ◽

10.1080/13505033.2016.1182775 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 18 (1-3) ◽

pp. 364-371 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ira Dillenia ◽

Rainer Troa ◽

Eko Triarso

Keyword(s):

Archaeological Remains ◽

In Situ Preservation

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A Full-Ocean-Depth Sampler for Hadal Microbes Based on Multistage Membrane Filters With In-Situ Preservation

Marine Technology Society Journal ◽

10.4031/mtsj.55.2.10 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 55 (2) ◽

pp. 25-34

Author(s):

Jiawang Chen ◽

Weitao He ◽

Peng Zhou ◽

Jiasong Fang ◽

Dahai Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ribonucleic Acid ◽

Gene Pool ◽

Special Structure ◽

High Quality ◽

Mariana Trench ◽

Membrane Filters ◽

In Situ Preservation ◽

Microbial Samples ◽

Flow Pump

Abstract In order to obtain high-quality microbial samples from the hadal zone, which has a depth of over 6,000 m, a full-ocean-depth sampler with the function of in-situ filtration and preservation was developed. A flow pump and several membrane filters were used for in-situ filtration under the sea. With a multistage filtering structure, the microbes can be initially screened according to their sizes. To avoid the degradation of microbial ribonucleic acid (RNA), a special structure was designed to inject the RNAlater solution into the samples immediately after the filtration. The sampler was tested in our laboratory and deployed during Mariana TS-15 in 2019. It was installed on a hadal lander of Shanghai Ocean University and deployed at MBR02 (11.371°N, 142.587°E, 10,931 m) in the Mariana Trench. A total of 20 L of in-situ seawater was filtered, and membranes with pore sizes of 3 and 0.2 μm were preserved. The study is expected to provide important support for the establishment of a hadal microbial gene pool.

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Dating the End of the Neolithic in an Eastern Sahara Oasis: Modeling Absolute Chronology

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200047093 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 54 (3-4) ◽

pp. 305-318 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Michel Wuttmann ◽

François Briois ◽

Béatrix Midant-Reynes ◽

Tiphaine Dachy

Keyword(s):

Bayesian Modeling ◽

Liquid Scintillation ◽

Nile Valley ◽

Archaeological Remains ◽

Middle Holocene ◽

Cultural Complex ◽

Scintillation Method ◽

First Time ◽

Ostrich Eggshell

The Neolithic site KS043, excavated by the Institut français d'archéologie orientale (IFAO), is situated in the southern basin of the Kharga Oasis (Egypt). It is one of the very few stratified prehistoric sites of the eastern Sahara. The archaeological remains were found near artesian springs that provided water for pastoralists during the dry Middle Holocene. In situ settlement features provided well-preserved material (charcoal, ashy sediment, ostrich eggshell) sufficient to perform radiocarbon dating in the IFAO laboratory in Cairo by the conventional liquid scintillation method. In 2 cases, ostrich eggshell and charcoal within the same in situ context gave significantly different results of, respectively, ∼600 and ∼1200 yr younger dates for the ostrich eggshells. The strong discrepancy is here highlighted for the first time and we suggest that it may be linked with postdepositional phenomena in the vicinity of the artesian springs. A thorough review of 14C dates available for the Holocene in eastern Sahara shows that ostrich eggshells have been widely used. They seem slightly more prone to be discarded than other material but were never the object of a particular study in this context. Bayesian modeling shows that the Neolithic occupation at site KS043 spans a range from 5000 to 3950 cal BC (and concentrated around 4600–4350 cal BC). Characteristic flint tools and pottery relate this occupation to the end of the Neolithic and show links with the Tasian culture, confirming the timing of the presence of this cultural complex in the desert before its appearance in the Nile Valley.

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