Combined dendrochronological and radiocarbon dating of three Russian icons from the 15th–17th century

Dendrochronology is usually the only method of precise dating of unsigned art objects made on or of wood. It has a long history of application in Europe, however in Russia such an approach is still at an infant stage, despite its cultural importance. Here we present the results of dendrochronological and radiocarbon accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS) dating of three medieval icons from the 15th–17th century that originate from the North of European Russia and are painted on wooden panels made from Scots pines. For each icon the wooden panels were dendrochronologically studied and five to six AMS dates were made. Two icons were successfully dendro-dated whereas one failed to be reliably cross-dated with the existing master tree-ring chronologies, but was dated by radiocarbon wiggle-matching. Wiggle-matching of radiocarbon dates is the most promising method for dating Russian icons in the absence of a dense dendrochronological network. However, for this case uncertainties connected with the radiocarbon method have to be taken into account and further studies of these uncertainties must be undertaken by comparing dendro-dated and radiocarbon-dated wooden works of art. Our results, moreover, showed that in two cases art-historical dates were by five to ten decades older than the earliest possible time of the creation of the icons, based on dendrochronology.     

International Congress of the German Mycological Society,University Hamburg,Sept. 16th–23th 2010

Announcement

International Congress of the German Mycological Society, University Hamburg, Sept. 16th–23th 2010     

Dental investigation of mummies from the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo (circa 18th–19th century CE)

Within the framework of the Sicily Mummy Project, the orofacial complex of a significant sample of individuals (n = 111) from the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Italy, was inspected. The heads and dentitions of the mummies were documented and the recorded findings described: the state of preservation of skeletal and soft tissues; dental pathologies such as carious lesions and alveolar bone loss; enamel hypoplasia; and ante- and post-mortem tooth loss. Despite limitations in data collection, the oral health of these mummies was assessed and the frequencies of pathologies were compared to those of similar populations. From their position within the corridors of the Catacombs, sex and social status of the mummies were also inferred, allowing the dental pathologies to be specified in the social and historical context. Most interestingly, the rate of oral health problems did not differ between the groups of the members of the Capuchin Order and the laymen of the city of Palermo, despite their different lifestyles.     

6th SETAC-Europe Meeting: LCA — Selected Papers

A study of industry’s use of LCA has been performed as a special analysis of the Business Environmental Barometer (B.E.B.). The B.E.B. is an international questionnaire survey on industry’s environmental management practices (LCA included), repeated every two years. The first round in 1993 included the Nordic countries. The 1997 round will include eight European countries. This analysis intends to describe industry’s LCA use as such (e.g. active industrial sectors, applications, changes over time) and differences between companies working with LCA and those not working with LCA. The survey indicates that industry is in the process of internalising LCA knowledge, although most companies are still in the learning phase. LCA companies have more developed environmental management systems than non-LCA companies. A company’s LCA use seems to be a competitor-driven activity, judging from LCA distribution among industrial sectors.