The Sutton Hoo lyre and the music of the Silk Road: a new find of the fourth century AD reveals the Germanic lyre's missing eastern connections

A recent re-examination of finds from Soviet-era excavations in Dzhetyasar, Kazakhstan, has identified the remains of two wooden objects as stringed instruments. Dating to the fourth century AD, one bears a strikingly close resemblance to lyre finds from Western Europe, including the instrument from Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo: the Sutton Hoo lyre.

Comparative Morphology and Taxonomic Study of Chlorophytum sabiense And Two Other Species in the Genus Chlorophytum Ker-Gawl

Chlorophytum sabiense Omok. (a newly identified species in the family Asparagaceae) is unique, having multiple styles emerging from fused ovaries. This specialized character may be overlooked in conjuring up archetype for the genus Chlorophytum, since the genus is characterized by single and simple style. Comparative morphology and taxonomic study of Chlorophytum sabiense and two other species in the genus (Chlorophytum macrophyllum and C. stenopetalum) was carried out to appraise level of relatedness of Chlorophytum. sabiense and these existing members. Distribution of the three species is sympatric in the North Central part of Nigeria. Chlorophytum sabiense may be confused with either of the two species because of the attributes they have in common. Samples collected were raised in a garden and closely observed for duration of three years. Data collected from morphological studies were analyzed statistically. The three species show similarity in most of the vegetative characters studied, however Chlorophytum sabiense is distinguished from the two others having; multiple styles, smaller fruit size and shorter length of pistil relative to the stamen. Exceptional characteristics exhibited by Chlorophytum sabiense makes it stand out among species in the genus, while its close resemblance with its allies accounts for reason why it had escaped recognition for a long time.

Stochastic Intermittency Fields in a von Kármán Experiment

We discuss the application of stochastic intermittency fields to describe and analyse the statistical properties of time series of the generalised turbulence intensity in an anisotropic and inhomogeneous turbulent flow and provide a parsimonious description of the one-, two-, and three-point statistics. In particular, we show that the three-point correlations can be predicted from observed two-point statistics. Our analysis is motivated by observed stylised features of the energy dissipation in homogeneous and isotropic situations where these statistical properties are well represented within the framework of stochastic intermittency fields. We find a close resemblance and conclude that stochastic intermittency fields may be relevant in more general situations.

History of Jirga Laws in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa - Do Islamic Law and Jirga Laws had the same Historical Jurisprudential Approach?

Jirga, a historical legal antique has been an informal adjudication of Pakhtūns. In the present research endeavor conventional Jirga and its various facets had been critically examined from Sharī’ah perspective i.e. whether such Jirga and its procedure is based on Islamic law or not. Jarga bears a very close resemblance in terms of structure and procedure with Qad̝ā and Taḥkīm. Jirga has been simple with no binding implementation. Since 18th century and on-wards, Jirga has evolved into an informal institution of dispute resolution. The criterion for Jirga-Mārān, and Qād̝ī or Ḥākim, astonishingly, have been identical. Besides the free consent, justice dispenser (Jarga-Mār/Qād̝ī or Ḥākim) was supposed not be relative or party (himself) in the matter at all. The fuqahā, both classical and contemporary, have discussed the intermediation through Jirga. This study focuses on compliance and non-compliance of Jirga to Qad̝ā.

Problemy odbioru i odbiorcy w pracach Jurija Łotmana. Część 1

The article presents Yuri Lotman’s reflections on the reception of a literary work in the context of contemporary theories of reading. The first part of the article demonstrates Lotman’s approach in an evolutionary perspective from Lectures on structural poetics (1964) to Culture and explosion (1992). The second part considers Lotman’s approach with reference to numerous contemporary conceptions of reception and indicates a close resemblance to Umberto Eco’s ideas, which were developed in his book Lector in fabula.

A Carved Wooden Door from Kayseri

The article deals with a little-known mo- nument of Seljuk woodcarving — a door from an ancient Friday mosque (Jami-i Kebir) in Kayseri (Turkey). The carved door, exhibited now in the Ankara Museum of Ethnography, has not yet been the subject of a comprehensive publication. Therefore, this artifact belongs to the group of Anatolian Seljuk woodcarvings, made in the 12th — early 13th centuries, that have a special significance. As rare monuments of Islamic art of the pre-Mongol Middle East, they stood at the origins of the blooming of Anatolian Seljuk art that would occur some decades later.The door was ordered and installed during the Jami-i Kebir mosque renovation, carried out in the second reign of the Seljuk Sultan Giyseddin I Kayhosrov (1205—1211), on the instructions of one of his emirs — Muzaffar al-din Mahmud son of Yagy-Basan, a descendant of the Danishmendid dynasty. The article considers the door’s ornamental decoration, organized as a classic “mihrab” composition, in a set of technical and stylistic aspects. For a comparative analysis, the author inspects a wide range of woodcarvings of the 11th—13th centuries from Anatolia and Iran. The close resemblance of used techniques and decoration, as well as motifs, ornamental themes and epigraphy makes it possible to suggest that the cabinet maker Ibrahim son of Abu-Bakr al-Rumi, who left his signature on the Minbar of the Alaaddin Mosque in Ankara Fortress, could be the author of the magnificent carved door from Kayseri’ Jami-i Kebir.

Innovation and Inland Oil Spill Response

Advances in technology and a sustained demand for oil mean exploration is being driven into more remote, fragile environments (Ivshina et al, 2015). Therefore, the number of drilling campaigns in remote inland locations is set to increase, so we should be prepared for a corresponding increase in the number of spills. This changing risk profile should in-turn be reflected in the oil spill response organisation (OSRO) community. Whilst advances in offshore techniques and specialist equipment are plentiful, there appears to be scope for greater innovation in inland response. It is not uncommon for response plans to bear a close resemblance to those written in excess of 10 years ago, when the Macondo blow-out stimulated investment and a subsequent increase in offshore response capabilities. This apparent disparity is surprising given offshore responses tend to orientate round either traditional containment and recovery measures or the use of dispersants, in contrast with inland response tactics which are often subject to a higher degree of site specificity. There is a real appetite to add to the range of tactics available to OSROs. Precursors to change might include one or more of the following; field trials, better information sharing between response organisations and impressing upon manufacturers the potential value of developing proprietary inland spill equipment. This poster will explore some of the areas in inland response where there is scope for innovation.

Seismological evidence for the earliest global subduction network at 2 Ga ago

The earliest evidence for subduction, which could have been localized, does not signify when plate tectonics became a global phenomenon. To test the antiquity of global subduction, we investigated Paleoproterozoic time, for which seismic evidence is available from multiple continents. We used a new high-density seismic array in North China to image the crustal structure that exhibits a dipping Moho bearing close resemblance to that of the modern Himalaya. The relict collisional zone is Paleoproterozoic in age and implies subduction operating at least as early as ~2 billion years (Ga) ago. Seismic evidence of subduction from six continents at this age is interpreted as the oldest evidence of global plate tectonics. The sutures identified can be linked in a plate network that resulted in the assembly of Nuna, likely Earth’s first supercontinent. Global subduction by ~2 Ga ago can explain why secular planetary cooling was not appreciable until Proterozoic time.

On a new synonymy in the spider genus Nephila Leach, 1815 (Araneidae, Nephilinae) from India with supplementary notes on colour polymorphism in the genus

The golden orb-weaving spider genus Nephila Leach, 1815 currently has four representatives in India: Nephila dirangensis Biswas & Biswas, 2006, Nephila kuhlii (Doleschall, 1859), Nephila pilipes (Fabricius, 1793) and Nephila robusta Tikader, 1962 (World Spider Catalog 2020). While N. kuhlii has its type locality in Java (Doleschall 1859) and that of N. pilipes in Australasia (Fabricius 1781), N. dirangensis and N. robusta are both confined to India (World Spider Catalog 2020). Tikader (1962) described the species N. robusta based on a single female specimen collected in West Bengal. The original genitalic illustrations of this species, however, show close resemblance to that of N. pilipes, indicating its possible synonymy with the latter. To confirm the novelty of N. robusta, we examined its type specimen and the result is presented below. Additionally, we discuss the occurrence of colour morphs in the Indian populations of N. pilipes.