Reports of recent lectures
02 Feb 2010 – Michael Harris - ' Invasions of Armies and Ideas into India'
This
lecture gave an introduction to the complicated religious history
of India, covering the periods from the 5th Century BCE through to the
16th Century AD. The armies that brought bloodshed to the sub-continent
during this period also brought diverse religious and philosophical
ideas. These new systems of thought from the outside world blended with
the ways and perspectives for seeing the world that had existed in
India for millennia. Some existing faiths died out in India, other new
ones were rejected and others became uniquely Indian.
05 Jan 2010 – Elisabeth Szlezak-Wittmann: The Romans in Vienna.
In pre-Roman times, the area between the river Danube and the Alps was inhabited by Celtic tribes. On the south bank of the Danube at the location of today’s Vienna there was already a Celtic settlement with the name of Vindobona. The Roman presence in Austria began in 15 BC, when Emperor Augustus decided to enlarge the Roman Empire to the north beyond the Alps. But north of the Danube and east of the Rhine the Germanic tribe of the Marcomanni under their King Marbot withstood the Roman pressure further north, until eventually, after the disastrous defeat of the Romans in the Battle of Teuteburg Forrest (east of the lower Rhine) the Romans drew back their legions to build a frontier 
(Limes) along the rivers Rhine and Danube. The Danube Limes was to last for the next 400 years. For stationing defence troops along this limes, a chain of reinforced camps was built. One of them was at the Celtic settlement of Vindobona. Another one close by was Carnuntum, which at the end of the 2nd century AD became the capital of the Roman province of Upper Pannonia and, with about 50.000 inhabitants, was one of the most important metropolises of the empire. Vindobona in contrast stayed a small town with a civilian settlement and a port next to the legion's camp. The outlines of the rectangular camp are still to be seen in the street grid of today's Vienna, as the camp walls became town walls during Medieval times. Only a small amount of scattered archaeological excavations can be conducted in a densely inhabited
modern city like Vien
na. Excavations performed since the 19th century led to a full, virtual reconstruction of the camp, as all Roman camps were built in accordance to the same master plan. A very interesting video depicting a 3D virtual reconstruction of the Vindobona camp was shown by Elisabeth. The camp has been built on a plateau next to the Danube, protected by a steep slope to the river at the north, a natural canyon to the west and three parallel ditches plus wooden palisades to the south and east. The camp itself was 400x500m in size and was surrounded by a 10m high massive wall and defence towers. There were four big gates, one to each side, connected by the main streets, t
he Via Principalis (also called Via Cardialis) and the Via Decumana. These streets, 9m wide, were paved with big stone slabs, had a drainage 
system and roof-covered footpaths at both sides. At their crossing the headquarters of the legion was located. The minor streets provided a regular grid for all other buildings necessary to give accommodation for about 6000 soldiers and 4000 civilians. There were barracks for the lower graded soldiers, baths, workshops, storehouses, stables etc. The commander, belonging to the senatorial class, had a 
palace for him and his family, equipped with a hypocaust (under floor) heating system. Around the fortress a prospering urban settlement developed, one part of which was in close connection to the military administration and had shops, workshops, taverns, leisure facilities as well as places for worship. Further out there was an independent civilian quarter with inhabitants consisting for a large part of the native Celtic people. In the outskirts of Vindobona and beyond estates and farmhouses were established. In the course of the development it was destroyed in169 AD as a result of a Germanic raid. It was reconstructed soon after and there was another period of prosperity until the end of the 3rd century AD, when border conflicts led to a crisis. There was a gradual decline of the urban settlement outside the fortress and the civilian town of Vindobona. In addition, a landslide destroyed large parts of the legionary fortress. After the Roman defeat at the battle of Adrianople (380 AD) by the Goths, the invasion and settlement by Huns and East Germanic tribes continued. At about 400 AD the camp and town were finally destroyed.
09 Dec 2009 - Richar Harrison: Lost Worlds from the Spanish Bronze Age. For many years Dr. Harrison’s 
research centred on field projects and excavations designed to obtain first class data to model palaeo-economic changes and patterns of intensification in the Copper and Bronze Ages of Spain and Portugal. This work established the dynamism and local autonomy of societies with a low population density and showed unexpected routes to stability, through specialised horse breeding, for hunting, and secondary products exploitation. The work was extended to study extensive modes of exploitation through dehesas (community property, wooded pasturelands). These findings were shown through examples of his work from the Spanish sites of Moncin and Majaladares in Zaragoza and Frias de Albarracin in Teruel; all three sites in the region of Aragon, in collaboration with specialists from the Departamento de Ciencias de Antigüedad, University of Zaragoza.
03 Nov 2009 – Jean-Yves Blot : Jean Boudriot and the Great ‘59 Legacy.
The naval Battle of Lagos took place on August 19, 1759 during the Seven Years' War between Britain and France. The scheme of King Louis XV’s ministers was to invade Britain with the combined squadrons of 21 ships lying at Brest and the 12 which were to be brought round from Toulon by de la Clue. Admiral Boscawen with his 14 ships was given the task of blockading de la Clue. De la Clue, however, passed the straits of Gibraltar while Boscawen was at port in Gibraltar f
or provisioning and refitting. The British fleet hurried out to sea and pursued de la Clue’s ships. Five of de la Clue's ships steered for Cadiz. The other 7 were overtaken by Boscawen and attacked. One was captured, while two altered course to the west, and escaped. The remaining 4 fled to the north into Portuguese waters near Lagos, where 2 ships were captured and 2 ships were driven ashore and destroyed. The wreck lying in open water off Salema.was identified as being from de la Clue's 74-gun flagship, Océan, by some bronze cannons recovered and by careful exploration comparing the findings to the studies of Jean Boud
riot, an important French architect and major historian, whose drawings in technical detail of the French men-of-war of the period are crucial to the study of any naval event and wreck identification from the second half of the 17th Century. Jean Yves presented his findings at a recent symposium sponsored by the Lagos Câmara to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the battle. By way of introduction to his talk Jean Yves-Blot 
had noted that nautical archeology in Portugal was a fledgling science, not much supported by public funding unlike its land-based counterpart. Also the diving expertise required for Nautical exploration had not existed in Portugal until recently. The site of the Océan still exists today, relatively unharmed although fragile. It is a miracle that there is no visible destruction at site that is so accessible. But what if diving tourism will bring a kind of diving to the Algarve that did not exist before?
Jean Yves continued his talk with many visuals illustrating the varied and complex nature of nautical archeology and the various fields of expertise used. Especially the use of a magnetometer which has been more useful than sonar in finding scattered remains. The sciences of naval architecture and 
engineering helped to identify wrecks and the manner of the decomposition of their component parts and cargos. Taking a global perspective, necessary because of the vast range of commerce, different countries used different construction methods; the Chinese double scarf joints of their large vessels were totally different to the more flexible, caulked hulls of the European navies. All these things provide clues to the identity of the wrecks. Where wood still exists it can be carbon dated. The land/sea-scape at a site also alters with time. At Carrapeteira, near Lagos but on the west coast of the Algarve, the bay which at one time contained a cove harbour is now a bay of sand dunes – the probable result of the great earthquake of 1755 off the coast. This discovery was a result of magnometer scans of the seabed which showed clear anomalies and trenches just off Carrapateira caused by the collision of tectonic plates which continue to cause tremors in this part of the ocean. The wide ranging talk ended with an enthusiastic plea for nautical archeology, particularly its complexity and the diverse range of sciences required which he had referred to during the talk: Ethnology, Seismology, Jurisprudence, International law, History, Diving, Navigation, Marine engineering, Naval architecture – to name but a few!
06 Oct 2009 – Our autumn lecture programme started with a good turnout at both venues to hear Carolyn Perry, 
Director of the MBI al Jaber Foundation, speak on the broad category of the impact of Islam on all 
aspects of art. Members and visitors alike were fascinated by the array of examples shown, many from the British Museum 
where Carolyn was previously head of the Arab World Education Programme. Carolyn opened with a photo of a fabulously ornate mosque lamp, a symbolic (and functional item) that demonstrated that God is light, a refuge from darkness. Wealthy families often make gifts of lamps to mosque, both as de
monstration of a profound faith but also as a bit of competition with other wealthy families. Following on with a few photos of regional artwork prior to the founding of Islam, we marvelled at the work of the Nabateans. At the time that Mohammad proclaimed 
Islam in Mecca, the city was already an important trading and pilgrimage centre, especially as a stop on the frankincense route, and existing religious sites such as the Kaaba and Zam Zam Well were incorporated into the new religion. The five pillars of Islam (faith in one god, daily prayers, charity for the poor, fasting during Ramadan and a once in a life-time pilgrimage to Mecca) with the exception of fasting, offer examples that the faith has influenced all aspects of art . . . from painting, architecture, and metalwork to enamel and lustre ware, glassware, and calligraphy. The examples of architecture were particularly dramatic, showing the basic features of a mosque and how the shape of mi
narets developed from a Roman lighthouse basis to the more common style seen throughout the Middle East today. A special favourite was the minaret with a spiral ramp on the outside, thus allo
wing the muezzin to be carried on horseback to the top of the minaret to deliver the call to prayer. The Arabic language script is very important in Islamic arts and led to the development of many different regional styles. Whether written on parchment as part of religious texts or lavished on walls or decorative objects, the language itself is a thing of beauty, with the scripts from Iraq and Afghanistan shown as particularly ornate.
The lecture concluded with an answer to the question – What is Islamic Art? In major museum collections, a visitor will find examples of a wide array of items . . . do not be surprised to also find Christian and Jewish artefacts. Why? Because the term Islamic Art refers to items made during the period when Islam was at the height of its influence; many of the artisans were not Muslim and the influence of the religion was such that non-Muslims adopted techniques and materials from the era.
02 June 2009 - John Bennet shone his light on several other late
Mycenaen Bronze Age site in 
Messenia (the south western
Peloponnese), with Pylos being the most important one, but about
which less is heard compared to the more famous one of Minoan Knossos
or Mycenae itself. However, references to all three sites were made
in the hieroglyphics of Amenhotep III in Egypt. 
Trade across the
Mediterranean was evidently well established and the appearance of
characteristic pottery in places far from its origin confirms this.
The discovery of a beautiful amber necklace at Pylos (amber
originating from the Baltic sea) throws light on just how extensive
were the ancient trade routes. Illustrations
of shaft graves at Mycenae and the more sophisticated tholos tombs at
Pylos pointed out the different characteristics of the two sites. We
were given a conducted tour of the Pylos site, known popularly as the
Palace of Nestor, which was excavated by Carl Blegen from 1939 to
1952. It is in a superb position overlooking Navarino Bay in the
Western Peloponnese.
The evolution of the palace complex was
explained. The central megaron, which was virtually the throne room,
has some remains of what must have been very beautiful wall paintings
but the palace was burned to the ground at some point. It was because
of this that so many of the tablets inscribed with Linear B script
were preserved. The complex writing system, which had baffled the
archaeologists since it was first discovered at Knossos, was
fortunately deciphered at about the same time as the site was opened
up. As a result much is known about the kingdom of Pylos which was
administered from the palace. The area consisted of 2 main provinces
divided by the Aigaleon range of mountains in the western Peloponnese
and was subdivided into other districts. Decipering the tablets was
an enormous achievement byh Ventris. His discovery that the script
was in fact a representation of Greek was hugely important in the
understanding of the society that gave rise to the Palace. It was
interesting to learn that it was principally used as a short term method of keeping records. It was apparently not used for literary
purposes as there was a strong tradition of story telling as part of
the celebrations and 
ceremony at the Palace. 
In this way a rich
mixture of historical fact and legend embellished by the narrators
was passed down. These narrators may well have also used the palace
paintings as visual prompts. This amalgam of fact and fiction was
beautifully described as a ‘river of song’. This picture, Prof.
Bennett argued, is consistent with the complete disappearance of
wring at the end of the Aegean Late Bronze Age and with the
continuity or oral performance into the so-called Greek Dark Age.
This 'river' of Homeric-like poems eventually led to a tranquil lake
of written stories from Homer onwards into which we can dip at will.
From the scant evidence on site a number of highly conjectural images
have been conjured up by artists to do essentially what Arthur Evans
did for us at Knossos.
05 May 2009 - One
of our longstanding members Michael (Mike) Pease gave us an
enthusiastic, knowledgeable and entertaining lecture on the topic of
The Roman Legions – A British Soldier’s Perspective. In
the early 1950’s Michael was a young officer serving in an Armoured
Division. He was stationed at Minden, North Western Germany, not far
from the Teutoburg Forest where, in AD9 the 17th, 18th, and 19th
Roman legions together with 6 cohorts of auxiliaries, drawn from
conquered tribes, 3 squadrons of cavalry and camp followers were
slaughtered by Germanic tribesmen led by Hermanus. In recent times,
archaeological discoveries, centred on Osnabruck University, have
defined more precisely the course of the 3-day battle of
Teutoburgwald and its final catastrophic conclusion near Kalkriese
Hill. 
The number of those killed, approximately 20,000, equated to
the number of men in the armoured division in which Mike served. This
historical event inspired Michael’s interest in the Roman legions
and the similarities between their structure and 
organisation and
those of the British army he knew. Michael’s review of the
structure and organisation of the Roman Legions focussed on the
reforms (called thew Marian reforms) that Gaius Marius (157-86 BC)
introduced during the period of his 7-times elected Consulship.
Until that time soldiers serving the Republic had to belong to the
fifth cencus class or higher and own property over a certain value.
In addition they were to provide their own arms and uniforms. Faced
with a militatary crisis with regards to troop numbers as a result of
these minimum requirements and the fear of invasion by the Barbarian
hordes, Marius decided to ignore these requirements altogether and
allow all Roman citizens entry into the army, regardless of social
class and property of the potential soldier. Standard equipment
and uniforms were provided and for greater mobility of the troops as
well as to deminish the enormous mule bagage trains, soldiers had to
carry all their equipment, clothes, food, as well as parts for camp
making, which resulted into a weight of 27 kg to be carried on a
frame on their back (Marian's Mules). The restructuring also included
a change in tactics from the Greek/Etruscan massive but unwieldy
Phalanx, used by the Hoplites, to more widely spaced and flexible
cohorts that permitted greater room for individual fighting and for
variations in troop disposition with differing military experience.
However, this greater flexibility called for much greater initiative
and leadership at junior officer and non-commissioned officer levels.
This was a theme to which Michael harked throughout his talk and he
drew parallels with the flexibility of western armies facing
centrally controlled Communist forces during the Cold War of the
1950’s.Under Gaius Marius reforms were extensive, resulting in the
loyalty of legionnaires being transferred much more towards their
direct field commanders (who could at the end of their service bring
about a land distribution on their behalf) and away from Rome.
Michael dwelt in some detail on such aspects as: recruitment,
discipline, morale, pay, retirement, clothing, food, intelligence
services, health, hygiene and battlefield medicine. He also described
logistics, weapons, equipment and armour, artillery, engineering and
camp layout, tactical formations and specialised units. In all these
aspects he drew parallels to modern day military practices.
07 Apr 2009 - Derek Roe and
Sarah Milliken returned to speak about Two and a half
million years of stone tools. This lecture was given as a
powerpoint presentation, with many outstanding illustrations of stone
artefacts from all periods, starting with the beginning of the
Palaeolithic period and ending with modern times. Derek Roe covered
the Palaeolithic period and Sarah Milliken later Prehistory and more
recent times. The ability to make stone tools was one of the
characteristics that distinguished the emerging first humans from
other members of the Primates. When looking at stone tools from the
maker’s and user’s point of view one should realize that workable
stone was abundant and easy to find, that basic knapping, the
striking of a flake, is extremely easy, while stone cutting edges are
amongst the sharpest in the world. While the earliest stone tools,
dating back 2.5-2.8 million years ago and found in the Sub-Saharan
region at Oldowai, were extremely simple chopper-like pieces, they
were still highly effective. During the long 
Palaeolithic period, as
humans evolved physically and mentally, several important
manufacturing techniques were developed and the repertoire
of manufactured tools became quite sophisticated. Large handaxes
(pointed or almond-shaped) and cleavers (with 
axe-like ends), made
bifacially from large flake blanks or suitable flat nodules, typical
for the Aecheulian lasted for a million years during the Lower
Paleolithic, spreading widely within the Old World, and remaining
remarkably consistent, whatever the rock types. The Middle
Palaeolithic saw emphasis on fine flake tools, made on blanks of
predetermined size and shape, struck from prepared cores. Various
specialised tool types appear, including some blades and the first
obvious projectile points. In the Upper Palaeolithic, from c.45,000
b.p. (in Europe), technology included regular use of blades, making
possible many new tool types. Among many new techniques introduced in
this period was pressure flaking: regular flat removals of retouch
flakes by pressure, not percussion. Because stone artefacts have a
high capacity for survival (unlike huminid fossils and most organic
remains), they are a vital element in the archaeological evidence
documenting the gradual spread of humans over the Old World and into
the New World during the Pleistocene period. The Neolithic period
brought further innovations, which can be linked to the change from
nomadic hunter-gatherer economies to sedentary food-producing ones.
After metal-working was introduced, stone tools and weapons continued
to be made, and various distinctive types exist in the Bronze and
Iron ages of Europe, and in chronologically equivalent stages of
Prehistory in other parts of the world. Indeed, stone tool
manufacture has continued into the historic period in 
various
ethnographic contexts. Some stone artifacts that were obviously too
big and heavy to be used as tools or showed only intricate decorative
designs (the Mayan eccentrics) may also have played an import part in
religious practices. In our own times some of the same knapping
techniques that were known to early humans have even become the basis
of an art-form, particularly in America. Stone tools can yield vital
information about many aspects of human life in the Prehistoric
period: the study of them is as important to present-day
archaeologists as the use of them was to their original makers. While
some of the traditional approaches based on typological
classification are still useful, archaeological science had added
many new methods of extracting information from stone artefacts - for
example, microscopic study of use-wear traces, which may tell us
exactly how an individual stone tool was used, and what material it
was used to work. At well-preserved archaeological sites, it may be
possible to reconstruct the entire life cycle of stone artefacts,
from the obtaining of the rock, through manufacture, use, including
various stages of reshapening, to eventual discard.
03 Mar 2009 - Professor
John Burland made a welcome return to speak to the AAA with a
lecture titled ‘A Tale of Two Towers – Rescuing Pisa and
Big Ben’. …Construction of the Pisa tower began in 1173
and was 
completed in 1370. Construction occurred in 3 phases and
calculations showed that if the long pauses between the three phases
of construction had not taken place the tower would have fallen over.
The pauses allowed consolidation of the soft sediments to take place
thereby increasing the strength of the ground. In 1838 the architect
Alessandro della Gherardesca excavated a walk-way (catino) around the
base of the tower. It is known that the tower lurched to the south by
nearly half a metre which brought it very close to collapse. Because
of fears for its stability the Pisa Tower was closed to the public in
January 1990 and the Italian Prime Minister set up a Commission to
stabalize the tower in March 1990. 
Measurements that had already
begun in 1911 showed that during the twentieth century the
inclination of the tower had been increasing inexorably each year and
the rate of tilt had doubled since the 1930’s. Years of study and
trials showed that tilt was not caused by an uneven settling of the
foundatioins in the soft underlying marine clay but by a rotation of
the foundation. Commencement of rotation each year coincided
with very sharp rises in the ground water level predominantly under
the foundation of the north side following the heavy rainstorms that
always occur in the period September to December. Temporary
stabilisation of the foundations was achieved by the application of
900 ton of lead weights to the north side of the foundations.
Stabilization work began in 1999, using a controversial method of
silt extraction from under the north side of the foundation which
brought the top of the tower back 44 cm in the horizontal plane, back
to the position it held in 1838. The lean of Big Ben’s tower
was not as serious as that of Pisa but there was still a need
for correction as the inclination of this tower had been
influenced by a number of construction activities: the construction
of the underground car park beneath New Palace Yard in the 1970’s
and in the 1990’s, the construction of the Jubilee Line extension
tunnels. The stability of the clock tower has been controlled by a
different but equally novel method of injecting grout beneath the
foundations. The two stories of stabilizing these two famous towers
intertwined in a fascinating way demonstrating the marrying up of
scientific and engineering skills in order to save these towers for
posterity. One was left with the feeling: What if these two
monumentous treatments had gone wrong? Prof. Burland and his team are
to be congratulated for the work and the confidence with which they
tackled the unique projects. The entire lecture can be found at : http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/events/reports/2001-2002/rae_02.pdf
the way the medieval builders constructed their foundations on different terrains, and the problems that ensued when those foundations went wrong. Construction of the Chichester cathedral was started in 1080 after the Norman Conquest and was constructed on earlier Roman remains. It's spire collapsed in 1861. It was found that the interior 15th century screen had been removed at some point and this led to the collapse of the tower into the cathedral itself. With extensive repairs to the supporting walls the tower was rebuilt and opened again on 28th June 1866. 
Winchester Cathedral problems began at the beginning of the 20th century. Being also built on Roman remains, this cathedral was first commenced in 1079 and was finally completed in 1525. Even so during the construction the original tower had collapsed in 1107. In 1905, when there was a request for a memorial window to be inserted in an outside wall, a huge crack was found. A survey showed that the eastern extension of the original romanesque cathedral was built on top of a peat layer which had started to indent over time, causing the tilt of the extension. Trenches dug for the restoration of the foundation, however, filled up with water as soon as the peat layer was perforated, causing a 13 feet layer of water. With the help of a deep-sea diver the peat was first sealed off with bags of cement before the water could be pumped out and reconstruction work continue. In May 1912, King George V and Queen Mary were at the celebrations to mark the end of the restoration. The tower of Salisbury’s cathedral is miraculously still standing. Construction of the Cathedral had been started in 1220 on a virgin site with 2 adjacent rivers and in 1330 a spire was added. The foundations are on 5ft of flint gravel and there was also a similar problem of water beneath the foundations. In the 17th century Christopher Wren was employed to examine the tower. He recommended that due to the threat of collapse iron bands should be added to the spire. A plumb line was attached and since then the movement of the spire and the walls have been constantly monitored. To date it has been decided to leave the spire as it is. 06 Jan 2009 - Professor Trevor Haywood presented The Romans in Iberia.
Why did the Romans come to Iberia? It was principally due to the two heads of the emerging empire in its early days, Rome and Carthage watching each other expand. We were deftly led through the characters of the Punic Wars, which eventually came to a head in Eastern Spain. Hasdrubal of Carthage finally agreed to a dividing line along the River Ebro, but with the town of Satguim retained by Rome, south of the river. Later, Hasdrubal, in order to even the boundaries seized the town and outright war was declared. As a result Hasdrubal decided to march on Rome. However, it was his son, Hannibal, who eventually took the lead, and after crossing the Alps, he defeated the Roman army in three pitched battles. Successive members of the Scipio family, supported by Roman legions, eventually seized back various parts of the Iberian peninsular. The following 200 years saw the rising of strong local defence against this Roman colonisation by the native tribes including the fierce Lusitanians. This led to the rise of the Lusitanian hero, Viriatus, a strong and capable military leader. Viriatus was eventually murdered by his own men at the behest of Rome. A period of relative peace followed, permitting Rome to consolidate its new colony. They withdrew their forces at the beginning of the 5th century. Lusitania became a great asset to the Roman Empire. The Alentejo area was the bread basket of Rome, some 85% of its olive oil came from there. Gold and silver were mined to great effect, benefitting the tax collectors, consuls and governors. Rome brought town planning with roads, aqueducts, markets, temples and the veneer of civilisation which lasted well into the time of the Moorish invasions.’ The Roman legacy is represented by remains found at such locations as Merida, Itálica and Milreu.
02 Dec 2008. The talk was given by Sonja Frisell Schroeder assisted by her husband Peter. Her talk was entitled ‘Further Archaeological Journeying in Peru’ and continued on from her previous talk to the AAA. Sonja began by describing the Nasca culture (c.100 -800AD) and pointed out that there did not seem to be any major population centre for these people. Of particular interest was the great pyramid at Cahauachi that had contained a number of mummified remains from this group. There was also evidence that many of the dead were decapitated and it has been suggested that perhaps one tenth of the population had met this fate. Sadly, as Sonja pointed out, a good deal of archaeological evidence that could have been retrieved has been lost due to grave robbers who are known to have sold mummies at the roadside. The great pyramid originally made of mud brick is now restored and is open to the public. The famous Nasca lines were also featured and it was explained that there have been many theories as to their purpose and construction. Amongst other theories it has been suggested they had astronomical connections, or created by kinship groups for ritual walking. Travelling to the north of Peru and the Sican culture (c.700- 1370AD) Sonja’s pictures showed how the dead were buried in a seated position, their graves containing valuable spondylus shell objects, gold crowns and body ornaments. In one place there had been 20 inhumations associated with 1 ton of precious materials. Sacrifice seemed to have been the norm as special knives called Tumis have also been found in this region. At some point 4000 years of pyramid building seems to have come to an end. The Chan Chan culture (c. 900 -1471AD) was responsible for the construction of the world’s largest adobe city which was later conquered by the Incas. The Chachapoyan (c.200 -1472AD) were also conquered by the Inca and because they supported the Spanish against the Inca these peoples were relieved of paying taxes to Spain. It was at this point that the audience really became aware of the amount of travelling Sonja and Peter had done, often in extreme environments as far as the geology and terrain were concerned. To view the land and its incredible history that has been described as travelling through the ‘land of strong men, warriors of the clouds’, the intrepid pair journeyed, on one occasion, on a single track for 14 hours covering 260kms up and down the valleys, gorges and mountainsides – a distance of only 80kms as the crow flies! The only signs of modern life being the Nestlé lorries out collecting cow milk. On another occasion while journeying to Isla del Sol near to Lake Titicaca they walked for 2 hours at an altitude of 3800 metres behind a donkey that was carrying their luggage. This place was especially sacred to the Inca (c.1200 -1532AD) as they believed the sun god rose from the lake and created the Inca race. It was evident from Peter’s excellent photographs how the Inca peoples had enormous skill in the use of stone for building especially at Machu Picchu where they combined this with the use of the natural rock formations. Sonja also reminded us that the Inca had no horses, iron, wheels or carts to transport the stone to create this wonder. As with many similar monuments this ancient citadel is a popular tourist destination and Sonja explained that now the authorities are trying to limit the numbers who use the Inca Trail to 800 per day. This area is so popular that it has been known for some well-healed tourists to visit by helicopter…now forbidden due to the damage caused by the vibrations! This report cannot do justice in full to Sonja’s excellent and enthusiastic talk and they have to be congratulated for giving us a glimpse of what must have been a wonderful experience of civilization at high altitude –‘Living in the Clouds’.
04 Nov 2008 The talk was given by the two students that received grants last year and who previously gave their lectures in October 2007.This time the talks were reversed because of the two different venues. Florian Fuhrmann reports. ‘At Loulé, João Marreiros spoke about the type of ship used during the ‘Age of Discoveries’. Primarily it was a small fishing vessel with a typical triangular sail called a lateen sail. This kind of vessel was becoming the preferred trading ship of the Mediterranean countries. From that use the name Caravel may have been derived; ‘cargo a vela’, meaning ‘cargo by sail’. As the lateen sail has a better performance in the wind than a rectangular one and taking was easier, these ships were the ideal vessels for the early Portuguese discoverers, especially in order to sail up the great African rivers. Lateen sails are limited to a certain size and so with the growing dimensions of ships there was a demand for more masts and this led to the use of rectangular sails instead of or in combination with lateen sails. Thus a wide spectrum of variations in the rigging of Caravels is known. There are historical books about the construction of caravels, but since the writer/illustrator and the shipbuilder were never the same person there tended to be a lack of accurate information, and hence, the importance of the evidence gained from maritime archaeology. At the Lagoa venue Luis Jesus gave a short overview on the various methods of shipbuilding over time. In particular he explained the fundamental difference between the construction methods of ‘hull-first’ and ‘skeleton –first’, the latter being that commonly used today for ships of all sizes. However in the past the ‘hull-first’ method was used for vessels up to the size of the Viking longboat. This method created good lines without a lot of ‘design effort’, providing that the craftsman was skilled in the basic principles of ‘hull-first’ construction. Thus a good Viking crew is said to have been able to replace a lost ship while away fm home by their own means and within a reasonable time. As part of the talk a video was shown which demonstrated how Danish experimental archaeologists built a longboat using the same methods as the Vikings would have used and also based on evidence from the discovery of shipwrecks around Denmark. From the choosing and cutting of the wood, the splitting of tree trunks in order to obtain flexible planks, the preparation of wood tar and the weaving of cloth for the sails, every step of the old craft could be watched culminating in the final launch of the reconstructed vessel’
07 Oct 2008 The new season was started by Prof. Nuno Bicho who spoke about ‘The Last Neanderthals in Southwest Iberia’ ‘Professor Nuno Bicho is the Prof. of History and Archaeology at the University of Faro, a specialist in Iberian Prehistory and an old friend of the AAA. In a wide-ranging talk he drew together the evidence for the final disappearance of Neanderthals having occurred in southern Portugal around 27.000 years ago. He also discussed the questions which continue to be speculative. Excellent diagrams demonstrated that 150.000 years ago the ancient ancestors of modern man (Homo Sapiens Sapiens) were still on the African continent whilst Neanderthals (Homo Neanderthalensis) lived throughout sub-glacial Europe and Asia. Yet by 40.000 BP the Neanderthals had been largely replaced by modern man and were no longer in the lands bordering the Mediterranean area – except for Iberia. We were shown the tools used by the modern archaeologist. We were gently introduced to the mysteries of the DNA in mitochondria in human ova where the relative quantity indicates alternative genetic origins and species. For dating within the past 35-40.000 years the technique of sampling organic material for Carbon 14 content gives high accuracy, earlier errors in readings have been corrected by examination of cores taken from millennia-old ice sheets. The design and variety of stone tools was analysed, with obvious differences even when the toolmakers appear to have lived in close proximity. A relevant digression considered man’s closest relatives, the various species and sub-species of orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees and the bonobos, with 98% of the same DNA as Homo Sapiens. With dramatic charts Prof Bicho finally considered the evidence for twin migrations of Homo Sapiens into the Iberian Peninsular from two different directions - the north being via the Douro and Vale de Côa and in the south along the coast of Spain, through Andalucia and Algarve. Both routes ended on the Estremadura coast. These movements occurred 30.000 -27.000 BP and caused the retreat and elimination of Homo Neanderthalensis.
What then were the reasons for the total disappearance of the Neanderthals and as identifiable species? Was it simply genetic superiority - the two ‘species’ certainly could interbreed – or cultural adaptations where Homo S. Sapiens was superior? Was he more warlike? The stone tools developed by early man were more sophisticated in range and design but physical differences between the species were not great – both were not much different from modern humans. Neanderthal males were on average 1.65m and weighed 65kgs. Females were 5% or so less. Naturally they were muscular that Modern Man. Cranial capacity was 1450 cm3, actually larger by 100cm3 than today’s examples. Notably, in appearance Neanderthal skulls were long and low, with little forehead, a thickly developed brow ridge, little chin and very large teeth – but similar features can be seen today. On the limited quantity of evidence from scattered sites – some in the Algarve – it appears that the jury is, for the present, still out on exactly was caused this massive reversal. For sure we only know that it happened.’
Interestingly there is an article on the subject including the latest DNA research in the November issue of the National Geographic Magazine (Portuguese version). An article on Prof Bicho’s talk has appeared in the December issue of the Good life magazine.