The 20th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists kicks off in Istanbul this week and to celebrate I took a look in our online archive and pulled out a few gems that focus on Turkish archaeology.
'The Latest Link in the Long Tradition of Maritime Archaeology in Turkey: The Yenikapı Shipwrecks', European Journal of Archaeology
Thirty-six shipwrecks dated from the fifth to tenth centuries AD have been discovered in the Theodosian (Byzantine) harbour of Istanbul, in the district of Yenikapı. Under the auspices of the ‘Istanbul University Yenikapı Shipwrecks Project’, carried out by Istanbul University's Department of Conservation of Marine Archaeological Objects, our team has undertaken the recording and dismantling of twenty-seven shipwrecks as well as conservation/restoration and reconstruction projects of thirty-one shipwrecks in total. Shipwrecks of various types and sizes have been exposed since 2005; the majority are still under study...
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'Archaeology against cultural destruction: the case of the Ilisu dam in the Kurdish region of Turkey', Public Archaeology
The llisu dam in the Kurdish region of Turkey, if built, would displace up to 78,000 women, children and men, causing immense destruction of culture, past and present. The article outlines some major issues arising as a result of work by an archaeologist to examine the dam's cultural impacts, work that has supported villagers opposing the dam and aiming to contribute to campaigns in Europe...
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'Melian obsidian in NW Turkey: Evidence for early Neolithic trade', Journal of Field Archaeology
Archaeological investigations carried out at the Early Neolithic coastal site of Coşkuntepe in northwestern Turkey yielded an assemblage of 110 obsidian artifacts displaying the macroscopic characteristics of the well-known obsidian deposits on the Cycladic island of Melos. Analysis of three samples from this homogeneous obsidian assemblage using both X-Ray Fluorescence and Laser Ablation High Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry confirmed that these artifacts were derived from Melos...
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Application deadline: ASAP
Start date: February 2014
Applications are invited for a three-year PhD studentship to undertake research in the area of Structural Monitoring, Modelling and Materials Science of the Mary Rose Hull structure during the environmentally controlled drying phase of its conservation.
Funding - Courtesy of The Mary Rose Trust
University tuition fees at home/EU level will be fully covered and a tax-free bursary of £13,726 per year will be provided for the three-year duration. Home/EU applicants are eligible for full funding.
Project description
The successful applicant will join the Structural Engineering research group in the School of Civil Engineering and Surveying at Portsmouth University.
The objectives of the proposed research are to:
• Study and understand local movement in The Mary Rose timbers due to shrinkage and
collapse.
• Monitor and interpret global movement of the timbers and their reliance on existing and
any additional supporting structures, cradle and barge.
• Investigate additional structural monitoring methodologies and propose/optimise suitable
future structural support mechanisms for The Mary Rose.
The applicant is also expected to actively participate in the publication of journal and
conference papers.
Entry requirements
Applicants should hold a Masters degree or First (or Upper Second) Class Honours degree in Engineering, Physics or Material Science.
Further information
If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact the academic
supervisor Dr David Begg.
How to apply
Applications (preferably by email) should consist of a letter of application explaining your reasons for applying for the position and your initial thoughts on the research area, a detailed CV (including expected or actual degree class), together with the names and contact details of two academic referees who can be contacted prior to interview.
These should be sent to Dr David Begg by email: David.Begg@port.ac.uk, or by post to Dr David Begg, School of Civil Engineering and Surveying, University of Portsmouth, Portland Building, Portsmouth, PO1 3AH.
You may have seen in the news last week that further diving at the Elizabethan wreck that sank off Alderney in the Channel Islands, UK in the 16th Century has been carried out by the Alderney Maritime Trust and staff from Bournemouth University. They have uncovered three cannon and "substantial ship timbers" in addition to over 1,000 artefacts that were salvaged from the first dive to the wreck in 2008. The unnamed ship sunk in November 1592 and was discovered by local fishermen
Bertie Costeril and Fred Shaw in 1977.
Mike Harrison, coordinator trustee, said more work on the site was going to
go ahead next summer and explained the large lapse in time between dives by stating that "[t]hings move very slowly with marine archaeology, the work we've
done in the last few years... has been conserving objects." However he also noted that "it's very, very expensive... we've got a lot of fundraising to do, it's tens of
thousands of pounds, conserving a cannon is £10,000 for example."
I took a look in our online archive to read more about conservation in maritime archaeology and came across the article 'In situ conservation of cannon and anchors on shipwreck sites' by Ian Donald MacLeod in a 1996 issue of Studies in Conservation. In the article the author explains how a wrought iron anchor and a cast iron carronade from the wreck of HMS Sirius (1790) received In situ electrolysis treatment using sacrificial anodes in the shallow waters off Norfolk Island in the South Pacific Ocean.This pre-treatment stabilises the artifacts and ensures that they can be safely recovered and transported.
Monitoring on the seabed and in the laboratory showed that approximately 80% of the chlorides had been removed from the carronade before excavation. The cathodic
pre-treatment results in a significant improvement in the quality of the surface of the metals. He argues it is possible to maintain artifacts on the seabed by continued use of sacrificial anodes.
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