scholarly journals A Snapshot in Time: a review of current approaches to archaeological archiving in Scotland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter McKeague
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Architectural History ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
Professional Drivers ◽  
Web Map ◽  
Historical Monuments ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
History Of ◽  
A Site ◽  
Community Projects

Hosted by Historic Environment Scotland (HES), the National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) is the primary place of deposit for archaeological archives in Scotland. Built up over several decades, the archives hold over 1.6m items, both analogue and digital, linked to a site inventory of over 320,000 site records relating to the archaeological and architectural history of Scotland. Initially the survey archive of the former Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, the collections now include project archives from professional archaeological companies, academic researchers and, increasingly, community projects. A range of policy and professional drivers, as well as best practice, encourage archival deposition. The digital component of the archive has grown considerably over the last decade. In response, the NRHE has invested in preservation software to manage these holdings and has submitted an application for CoreTrustSeal. The NRHE is available online through the Canmore database and web-map applications. The online presence is assessed against the FAIR Data principles.

Archaeological Materials :Rocks and Minerals

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Herz ◽  
Ervan G. Garrison
Keyword(s):  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Rock Types ◽  
Historic Monument ◽  
Historical Monuments ◽  
Archaeological Materials ◽  
History Of ◽  
Geological Map ◽  
Lithic Artifacts ◽  
A Site

This chapter is only a brief introduction to lithic archaeological materials. Archaeologists with but little knowledge of rocks and rock-forming minerals are urged to learn about them in greater detail than that presented here. Lithic resources are abundant in almost every archaeological site, and lithic artifacts are invariably the best preserved of any remains. Early societies learned how to exploit these resources, and the use and production of lithics go back to the earliest known sites, at least 1.5 million years. In fact, the earliest cultures are distinguished on the basis of their lithic industries and lithic artifacts. Horror stories in misidentification of lithics abound. Not only have misidentified artifacts proven embarrassing to the archaeologist, but also they have made it difficult to make meaningful comparisons of different societies using published descriptions. In addition, conservation strategies for historical monuments cannot be developed without an understanding of the nature of the material used in their construction. Some egregious examples of ignorance of the rocks and minerals from our personal experience include the following: 1. An archaeologist asked if a quartzite scraper was either flint or chert. When told that it was neither, he asked, "Well then, which is it more like?" (answer, still neither). 2. Egyptian basalt statues have been called limestone in publications (and several other rock types). 3. Sources for alabaster were searched to explain a trading link between a site and elsewhere when the geological map showed the site was adjacent to a mountain of gypsum, the mineral component of alabaster (the gypsum may have merely rolled down the hillside to the workshops, where it became the more salable alabaster). 4. Conservators searched for methods to preserve an allegedly granitic historic monument, or so it had been identified. Chemical analysis revealed only abundant Ca, Mg, and carbonate. Fossils were also abundant in the "granite," which dissolved easily in hydrochloric acid (the "granite" was clearly limestone). Petrology is the branch of geology that deals with the occurrence, origin, and history of rocks. Petrography is concerned with descriptions of rocks, their mineralogy, structures, and textures.

Design and Contestation in the Jewish Settlement of Hebron, 1967–87

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-102
Author(s):  
Noam Shoked
Keyword(s):  
Architectural History ◽  
Military Strategy ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Jewish Settlement ◽  
History Of ◽  
Six Day War ◽  
The Government ◽  
A Site ◽  
Settlement Design

In Design and Contestation in the Jewish Settlement of Hebron, 1967–87, Noam Shoked explores how this settlement, built on lands Israel captured from Jordan in the Six-Day War of 1967, became a site of both collaboration and confrontation among architects, settlers, and government officials. Working for the government, architects at first sought to mitigate the ambitions of the settlers, but their plans were undermined by unexpected actors, such as amateur archaeologists and volunteer architects, who commandeered their designs. Unearthing the architectural history of the settlement, this article questions the received history of settlement design as the outcome of military strategy and points to the unanticipated ways in which Hebron's religious settlers drew on mainstream architectural culture to fashion their identities.

Howard Montagu Colvin 1919–2007

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Mordaunt Crook
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Architectural History ◽  
Fine Art ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
Historic Buildings ◽  
Historical Monuments ◽  
Historical Manuscripts ◽  
The Creation

Sir Howard Colvin played a key role in the creation of architectural history as a university discipline. Before he began work in the 1940s, much of what passed for design attribution was based on little more than legend. Colvin's labours put paid to all that. He also had a significant career in public service. Colvin spent fourteen years on the Historic Buildings Council for England (1970–84); thirteen years on the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments of England (1963–76) and twelve years on its Scottish counterpart (1977–89); as well as seven years on the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (1981–8) and ten years on the Royal Fine Art Commission (1962–72).

Mapping Chengde: The Qing Landscape Enterprise. By Philippe ForÊt. [Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2000. xvii+209 pp. $32.95. ISBN 0-8248-2293-5.]

2003 ◽  
Vol 173 ◽  
pp. 214-251
Author(s):  
Lucie Olivova
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Architectural History ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Symbolic Meaning ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The Road ◽  
History Of ◽  
University Of Hawai'i ◽  
A Site

This is the first monograph in English on the Chengde imperial summer resort (bishu shanzhuang), declared by UNESCO in 1994 a site of World Heritage. The author nonetheless attempts more than a survey of monuments (see chapter three for the architectural history of the complete resort: the road, palace, hill stations and outer temples). He comes with a distinct, new approach, when analysing and reading the symbolic meaning of this cultural landscape.

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