The Silchester ogham stone: a reconsideration

Antiquity ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 54 (211) ◽  
pp. 95-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Fulford ◽  
Bruce Sellwood
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Present Knowledge ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
The Other ◽  
Similar Material ◽  
Visual Examination ◽  
City Wall ◽  
Southern England ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
The City

A recent re-examination of the architectural and other sculpted stone fragments from Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum) drew attention to the small sandstone column on which is scored an ogham inscription. The commonest materials used for columns, capitals and ornamental sculpture at Silchester are the fine Jurassic limestones of Bath or Portland type. A very few pieces are carved intertiary sandstones or imported marble. This is the pattern for architectural masonry throughout southern England in the Roman period; limestone predominates and sandstone, usually greensand, is rare. On visual examination the particular stone with the ogham appears to be different from that of the other architectural fragments in the Silchester collection. It should also be noted that no similar material has so far been identified in the city wall or amongst any of the other ordinary building materials recovered from the Roman town. On the basis of visual examination alone it has been suggested that the stone originated from the calcareous grit of the Oxfordshire Corallian (Boon 1959, 87), but doubts about this identification led us to a more searching investigation to ascertain the character and source of the stone. Before introducing these analyses and their results it will be useful to summarize our present knowledge of the Silchester ogham. In this way the implications of the new results can be more satisfactorily appreciated.

scholarly journals The Ancient City of Babylon

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (40) ◽  
pp. 617-656
Author(s):  
Mohammed S. Mahan ◽  
Ghassan Muslim Hamza
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Large City ◽  
Aerial Photos ◽  
The North ◽  
City Gates ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
The City

       Babylon during Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) was a great city. It had been a large city since Old Babylonian times, but Nebuchadnezzar’s expansion of the city and large-scale rebuilding of important buildings with good baked brick instead of the traditional unbaked mudbrick created something exceptional. Babylon now was larger than Nineveh had been and larger than any of the cities in the known world. The political and economic base for this development was of course that it was the centre of the Neo-Babylonian empire created by Nebuchadnezzar’s father Nabopolassar (625–605 BC) and succeeding the Neo Assyrian empire as the main political entity in the Middle East.         An attempt for the first time to bring together the main results of the German excavations in Babylon with the main results from the Iraqi excavations there and thereby make use of the available cuneiform documentation and a selected use of the best of the classical tradition. With the help of a GIS software (QGIS) and a BIM program (ArchiCAD) the use of satellite images and aerial photos combined with inspection on the site, the historical development of the site has been studied and a digital research model of Babylon for different periods of the city’s history has been created.          Only main buildings and constructions have been considered and placed in the appropriate historical and archaeological context. Part 1 includes some information about the historical development of buildings and nature in Babylon, the rivers and groundwater in Baybylon, as well as basics about the building materials used in Babylon. Part 2 discuss the city walls and city gates, introductory matters about the history, excavation and other documentations of the walls and gates. The chapter also includes presentation of the walls and gates during Nabopolassar followed by a detailed discussion of the walls and gates during Nebuchadnezzar. The Ištar gate and the area around it with the different levels and the upper level glazed decoration have been treated separately. Detailed interpretations about the palaces, development of the main traditional South Palace and the new constructed North are discussed in part 3. Reasonable suggestions for the Hanging Gardens in the North Palace have be provided.          The temples are discussed in part 4 detailing the Marduk temple and the zikkurrat. The historical development of the four temples reconstructed on the site in Babylon on their old foundations, i.e. Nabû, Ištar, Ašratum, and Ninmaḫ temples, is discussed with indication which levels have been used for the reconstructions. The historical development of the other excavated temples, i.e. the Ninurta and Išḫara temples, are discussed in a similar way. Attention will be paid to the remains of wall decorations in the temples.  

scholarly journals Heritage Building Stones from Évora, Portugal

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Lopes
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
The Other ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Ancient Rock ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
The One ◽  
The City

<p>The city of Évora, a World Heritage Site recognized by UNESCO in 1986, also owes this recognition to the stones that built its monuments and preserve them until today.</p><p>This work brings together the contributions that we have gathered over the past three decades and allow us to have a very complete idea, not only about the materials used in the hundreds of monuments and historic buildings but also about their provenance. If some materials are so emblematic that they allow an immediate identification with the naked eye, others needed more sophisticated and precise techniques so that there was no doubt about their origin.</p><p>The igneous rocks and gneisses of granite composition are part of the “Massif of Évora” on which the city is built. Thus, and quite naturally they are by far the most represented group in monuments from all historical periods. Its function is essentially structural, but there are also functional, ornamental and decorative objects. For example, the oldest megalithic structures found in the vicinity of the city are made up of large granite blocks that often had to be transported to their locations.</p><p>On the other hand, many gargoyles and statues that decorate the churches are also made up of these granite rocks. On these, the natural erosion of centuries of exposure to the environment has led to a state of alteration, sometimes very accentuated, which would justify its replacement by replicas sculpted in similar rocks. Provenance studies have made it possible to identify old quarries in the vicinity of the city where, on the one hand, the ancient rock extraction techniques can be observed and on the other hand, they allow the obtaining of the raw material necessary for these restoration and conservation works. In any case, they are places that need to be inventoried and protected, with the municipality already aware of their existence.</p><p>As well as the monuments of the Roman Period, also the structures of the Medieval Period, such as the city walls, the Cathedral (started to be built in 1186 AD) and all the great churches, were also built with these granitoids.</p><p>In addition to these rocks, many others of multiple varieties and origins are present. The marbles, especially the Estremoz Marbles (Global Heritage Stone Resource), are ubiquitous in the city, but there are also emblematic marbles from other places, some easily identifiable (ie Viana do Alentejo, Escoural, Trigaches, Serpa and Vila Verde de Ficalho, for presenting mineralogy, textures, colors and patterns which, together with more recent analytical techniques, have confirmed its provenance.</p><p>Sedimentary rocks, with emphasis on Portuguese Mesozoic limestones, ie Lioz - GHSR and Brecha da Arrábida - GHSR candidate, among others more rare and with very specific use in ornamental details, are also present and contribute to enrich a heritage in stone that makes this city so special and very popular with tourists of all nationalities.</p><p>Acknowledgments: the authors thank to FCT for funding the ICT (UID/GEO/04683/2019), as well as COMPETE POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007690.</p>

Research on Color Design in Reconstruction of Architectures Alongside Streets Based on Building Materials

2013 ◽  
Vol 743 ◽  
pp. 13-16
Author(s):  
Ye Ling Li ◽  
Xin Yu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Housing Project ◽  
City Image ◽  
Color Design ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
The City

With the development of the society, peoples requirement for façade and image of the constructions in the city has changed. This thesis, taking the warm-housing project in Changchun for example, studies the color design and the choice and improvement of the materials used in architectures, and it also analyses the influence of the color design and the choice of architectural material on the whole city image and the importance of the design in architectures.

scholarly journals Les caractéristiques architecturales et constructives de la muraille médievale à la période Hammadite à Bejaia (Algérie)

X ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naima Abderrahim Mahindad
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Eleventh Century ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
City Wall ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Comprehensive Knowledge ◽  
Petrographic Analyses ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
The City

The architectural and constructive characteristics of the medieval wall of Bejaia city during the Hammadite periodBejaia, is a coastal city of Central-East Algerian which has seen succeeding on its lands several civilizations: Byzantine, Roman, Hammadite, Spanish and Ottoman It reached its peak from the beginning of the eleventh century, when the Hammadite ruler, An-Nasir made it the capital. The city maintained this important status until the sixteenth century, when it was considered the jewel of the Maghreb. At that time, the city was fortified with a large surrounding wall, which spanned more than 5000 m. This city wall was flanked with bastions and towers, and rose in tiers from the sea-side to Mount Gouraya. Its layout was perfectly designed and blended with the city’s topography It consisted of three walls: one to the east and another to the west, which were connected by a third wall, which ran along the seaside. Today, two gates are preserved from the city of Bejaia’s rich defensive heritage: Bab El Bahr, which opens onto the sea, and Bab El Fouka, which opens onto the plains, as well as some parts of the walls, dotted around different parts of the city. This heritage is threatened and its preservation, restoration and enhancement require a comprehensive knowledge of the architectural and constructive styles, which characterize it, and of the materials used in its construction. This contribution aims to identify the architectural and constructive features of this defense system, developed by the Hammadites, as well as a characterization of the construction materials used, such mortar, through physical, chemical and petrographic analyses.

scholarly journals Integrated geophysical surveys for the knowledge of a monument of Lecce: the sixteenth-century fortifications

ACTA IMEKO ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Giovanni Leucci ◽  
Giacomo Di Giacomo ◽  
Lara De Giorgi ◽  
Immacolata Ditaranto ◽  
Ilaria Miccoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Wide Band ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
City Wall ◽  
Geophysical Surveys ◽  
Geophysical Investigations ◽  
The City ◽  
Archaeological Excavations

Within<strong> </strong>the project for the<strong> </strong>restoration of the<strong> </strong>northern section of the sixteenth-century city wall of Lecce, CNR-IBAM carried out geophysical surveys aimed at the study and the reconstruction of the fortifications system. In particular, the investigations focused on a wide band of land outside the two bastions at the northern far end of the fortifications. The integrated use of GPR and ERT systems has allowed to detect anomalies related to the main ditch outside the city wall and to characterize the rocky bench in which it was excavated; at the time of the surveys, this ditch was still buried and the results of the measurements have guided its excavations. Moreover, the investigations have allowed to identify also other possible ditches or quarries and more ancient structures, which subsequent archaeological excavations have dated at the Roman period. Moreover, geophysical surveys highlighted the presence of modern walls, corresponding with the foundations of the stadium constructed in the first half of the 1900s close to the fortifications. So, geophysical investigations were very important since they allowed not only to direct the archaeological excavations, but also because they allowed to formulate some hypotheses on the ancient topography of the not excavated area.

Analysis of Building Facade Materials Usage Pattern in Tehran

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 46-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Jalali ◽  
Danial Monsefi Parapari ◽  
Mohammad Javad Mahdavinejad
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Microsoft Excel ◽  
R Software ◽  
The Past ◽  
Software Packages ◽  
Building Facade ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The City ◽  
Selection Of

Clever decision making in the selection of building materials is a topic that focuses on important aspects of the building industry.‏ The materials used in the facade of the building not only affect the appearance of the building and the city but also affect the environmental, social, economic, energy efficiency and other kinds of aspects. Considering the importance of this issue, in this research, the city of Tehran‏ was studied in terms of building materials and tried to solve the problems of Tehran by identifying and analyzing the current situation. Statistical analysis was performed using R software packages version 3.5.0 and Microsoft Excel. The most important result of the data is that travertine has been identified as the most commonly used material in Tehran since the past 10 years. In this research, after examining the various types of materials used in the facade of the buildings in Tehran, we seek to discover the relationship between the type of building materials and the building age. In addition, after examining sample buildings, several common types of combinations of materials have been presented in the facades of Tehran's buildings. Keywords: building materials, building facade, travertine

An Ancient Chinese Capital. Earthworks at Old Ch'ang-an

Antiquity ◽  
1938 ◽  
Vol 12 (45) ◽  
pp. 68-78
Author(s):  
Carl Whiting Bishop
Keyword(s):  
Group Living ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
The Other ◽  
City Wall ◽  
The Past ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The City ◽  
Chinese Empire

Not least in interest among subjects of archaeological study is that which has to do with the types of fortification constructed by organized communities in the past. These, once the habit of town-dwelling had become fixed, seem to have tended to fall into two major classes : the arx, acropolis, or citadel, one of whose functions it was to provide a temporary refuge in emergency; and the enceinte or city-wall proper, designed to afford permanent protection to the group living within it. Sometimes the two forms occur in combination; more often, singly.The first type we frequently, though by no means always, find situated on a height ; the acropolis of Athens and the Capitoline Hill at Rome are familiar examples. The second class, on the other hand, seems to have developed more especially in those alluvial plains on which sprang up the great river-valley civilizations of the Ancient World. To it belong the tremendous earthworks constructed slightly over two thousand years ago about the city of Ch‘ang-an (meaning ‘Long Peace’ ; possibly Ptolemy’s ‘Sera Metropolis’), the capital of the then recently established Chinese empire.

Properties and Characterization of Building Materials from the Laosicheng Ruins in Southern China*

2014 ◽  
Vol 1656 ◽  
pp. 15-26
Author(s):  
Ya Xiao ◽  
Ning Wang ◽  
Haibin Gu ◽  
Weimin Guo ◽  
Feng Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Construction Material ◽  
Energy Dispersive Spectrometer ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Hunan Province ◽  
Scanning Calorimetry ◽  
City Wall ◽  
The City

ABSTRACTAs one of the most typical ancient cultural relics in southern China's minority regions near Changsha in Hunan province, the magnificent Laosicheng ruins excavated recently have been included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Tentative List. Urgent conservation of excavated Laosicheng ruins brings about the need for a study of the formulation and properties of construction materials used, including earth, stone, mortar, and brick. In the present study, comprehensive analyses were carried out to determine their raw material compositions, mineralogical, and microstructural properties using sheet polarized optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometer, thermogravimetric/differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Special attention was paid to mortars, which were the most widely used in building the Laosicheng. Results show that mortar used as external render of the city wall is mainly built up from inorganic CaCO3 and MgCO3 based hybrid materials produced by the carbonation of Ca(OH)2 and Mg(OH)2 with a small amount of sticky rice. In contrast, mortar used to bond stones of the city walls is a traditional mortar that does not contain sticky rice. This study is a part of a huge interdisciplinary project aimed to clarify the role of organics in ancient China’s organic-inorganic hybrid mortar, which can be considered as one of the greatest invention in construction material history. The results provide valuable basic data and restoration strategies that can be used in the conservation of the ruins as well.

scholarly journals Brucite-Aragonite Precipitates as Weathering Products of Historic Non-MgO-Based Geomaterials

Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 599
Author(s):  
Javier Martínez-Martínez ◽  
David Benavente ◽  
Nicoletta Fusi ◽  
Juan Carlos Cañaveras
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Assemblage ◽  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Mineralogical Composition ◽  
Pore Waters ◽  
Mineral Precipitation ◽  
City Wall ◽  
Puff Pastry ◽  
The City

This paper analyses the mineralogical composition, texture, and structure of a stalactite sampled from the city-wall storerooms of the Nueva Tabarca fortress (southeast Spain). This speleothem presents an uncommon mineral assemblage: aragonite, brucite, gypsum, silica, and halite. Internally, it shows complex structure: (1) a central soda-straw composed by aragonite; (2) an external puff-pastry cone-crust formed preferentially by aragonite and brucite; and (3) an internal branching of coralloids, showing a subtle layering between brucite and aragonite. Gypsum, halite, and silica locate in the outer coating of the cone-crust. The sequent mineral precipitation sequence has been established: aragonite > brucite > gypsum/silica > halite. Speleothem formation is directly related to the chemical weathering of the rocks and mortars used as building materials of the city-wall. Brucite precipitates has been always linked to the presence of MgO-based geomaterials. However, the lack of these compounds as building materials in Nueva Tabarca fortress makes this investigation a unique example of brucite precipitation. PHREEQC calculations showed that interaction between pore waters and the minerals of mortar aggregates (dolomite, pyroxene, and amphibole) leads to rich-magnesium solutions. Evaporation modelling of lixiviated waters describes the precipitation of the mineral assemblage of the brucite-aragonite speleothems.

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