Category: Bioarchaeology

Environmental Monitoring – Vindolanda

Published on by Gillian

In 2021 we started a journey of environmental monitoring at Vindolanda. The journey started with questions on what was happening across the site many years earlier, but the decision taken by the Vindolanda Trust to fully engaged in continuous environmental monitoring was bold and forward thinking.

I joined the Trustee board  in 2022 and followed the journey as projects have developed, including around climate change and art, artefact degradation and how this has impacted and shaped the strategic plan for the trust 2024-2034.

It was an absolute pleasure to see the new west gate entrance, where the underpinning science is presented to the public, through the amazing design capabilities of the Vindolanda trust staff.

2024 – more than 150 unprecedented climate disasters

Published on by Gillian

Two posts about climate in one day.. but it is that important for us to look at..

Publications of the ‘state of the global climate 2024’ today the 19th march
Key messages
  • Key climate change indicators again reach record levels
  • Long-term warming (averaged over decades) remains below 1.5°C
  • Sea-level rise and ocean warming irreversible for hundreds of years
  • Record greenhouse gas concentrations combined with El Niño and other factors to drive 2024 record heat
  • Early warnings and climate services are vital to protect communities and economies

This is a sobering yet fantastic read: state of the climate report 2024

There is a short commentary here – Floods, heatwaves and supercharged hurricanes occurred in hottest climate human society has ever experienced

Image: Coastal side of Skara Brae – Neolithic houses on a very exposed site, susceptible to coastal erosion

BBC Radio 3: Vindolanda Leather

Published on by Gillian

What I love about my job is the range of people I meet and the interest in my laboratory work.. had a lovely chat with Rose Ferraby who is the creator of the series Earthwork on BBC Radio 3. Rose was interested in our leather research work, this is conducted with Dr Elizabeth Greene, Western Ontaro. The chat was transcribed into a great programme which is part of the Earthworks series.. highly recommended for a 15 minutes break and a cup of tea.

The series of EarthWorks  aired the other week, but still available online

The link to the series is here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0015v2l/broadcasts/upcoming

The link to your episode is here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0026ykc

And the link to previous series of EarthWorks here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0015v2l/episodes/player

We all love leather shoes right…

New paper

Published on by Gillian

I know it has been a busy start to the new year.. second paper of the year..

This new paper, marks the last of the thesis paper from Dr C Bisker, Comparative soil bacterial metabarcoding after aboveground vs. subsurface decomposition of Mus musculus

Link: Comparative soil bacterial metabarcoding after aboveground vs. subsurface decomposition of Mus musculus | Scientific Reports

Abstract

Outdoor microcosms, metabarcoding with next-generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA bacterial gene, total body score (TBS) and physicochemical analyses were used to monitor Mus musculus decomposition aboveground (A) and in the subsurface (S), and compared to soil-only controls (C). As determined by MaAsLin2 analysis, significant shifts in bacterial communities at 30 cm depths within the A, S and C treatments distinguished control from experimental soils, and between aboveground and subsurface deposition, demonstrating the potential for gravesoil discrimination during the first 90 days. For example, Dokdonella (p = 0.0002), Edaphobaculum (p = 0.0004) and Lacibacter (p = 0.0034) recorded significant shifts relative to sampling time. Furthermore, Massilia (p = 0.0005), Mycobacterium (p = 0.0006) and Sandaracinus (p = 0.0007) increased in abundance for the aboveground mice treatments. This was confirmed with ANOSIM where p = 0.0082 showed statistically significant difference between the aboveground and subsurface deposition. TBS and physicochemical analyses suggested that nutrient release into the soils occurred during active decay and skin rapture on days 7–13 in the subsurface and days 13–20 aboveground, with a particular increase in soil potassium concentration on day 15. Significant differences in soil temperatures resulted between A and S vs. C microcosms, aligning with atmospheric temperature changes. In summary, complementary application of metabarcoding, total body score, exogenous and physicochemical methods for postmortem interval estimation and clandestine grave location highlighted the feasibility of using temperature records downloaded from meteorological stations and portable X-ray fluorescence as indicators for various phases of decomposition.

New Book published

Published on by Gillian

It is with great pleasure to announce the publication of a book chapter in:

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Experimental Approaches to Roman Archaeology

At the AIA I was able to finally to get my hands on it, as the first print run sold out..
the volume has some amazing chapters, including ‘Chapter 11: Roman Leather Manufacture and the Archaeological Record: An Experimental Approach
Hrafnhildur Helga Halldórsdóttir and Gillian Taylor (Teesside University, UK)’

Out of the lab.. Vindolanda shoes and Lepidina’s Slipper

Published on by Gillian

For two weeks only in January, the Vindolanda museum closes to allow cleaning and scheduled maintenance, but which also allows is in to take a closer look at items on display..

It was an absolute privilege to get a closer look at lepidina  slipper:  Here is a link to more shoes and information: This lady’s slipper was also found in the Cerialis’ house and is sometime affectionally called Lepidina’s slipper. It is the equivalent of a flip flop in design but a very expensive one at that. It was made in Gaul (modern France) by Lucius Aebutius Thales, we know this because he stamped the shoe with a maker’s mark. The shoe is further stamped with vine leaves and two cornucopiea interlocked across an ear of corn. Whether it was Lepindia’s or not it was definitely owned by a women who had money to spend on nice shoes. A simple breakage of the toe thong and she has thrown it away. Many other shoes from the site show evidence of repair but this one was discarded.

AIA Philadelphia

Published on by Gillian

It was an absolute please to present at the Archaeological Institute of America annual meeting in Philadelphia.

I was presenting in the climate impact session, showcasing our latest work on climate change upon leather artefacts, entitled ‘The impact of climate change on oxygen-reduced archaeological contexts at Vindolanda, UK’ lead author Elizabeth Greene, Western Onatrio and discussing our ‘ Use of continuous monitoring as a strategy to assess climate change at Magna Roman Fort, UK. 

We are busy working on the publications on both of these topics, so watch this space

Community engagement

Published on by Gillian

On the 11th May, had a fantastic time presenting climate change monitoring data with Dr Andrew Birley, Vindolanda Trust. It was a community event, considering Hadrian’s Wall in our time – safeguarding for the future.

The range of talks and conversation afterwards was fascinating, so many people passionate about protecting our heritage.

New paper: Rapid deterioration in buried leather: archaeological implications

Published on by Gillian

This recent paper was the accumulation of work by Helga Halldorsdottir, huge data sets and some really novel results. The experiment set up was amazing..

Non-destructive FTIR-ATR analysis was applied to experimentally buried vegetable-tanned leather and archaeological leather excavated at the Roman site of Vindolanda, UK. Analyses focused on observing and monitoring changes in functional groups related to leather tannin, collagen and lipid components following burial. FTIR spectra were also collected from the tannin material and untanned hide, capturing the major structural differences between four stages of the leather material life cycle: The raw material, the tanned leather, the decaying buried leather, and archaeological leather.

Results highlighted rapid changes following experimental burial in wet soil, tentatively associated with early onset microbial activity, targeting readily available lipids but not tightly bound collagen. Before burial, major differences were present in leather spectra based on manufacture, but early after burial in wet soil, FTIR-ATR spectra indicated de-tanning could occur rapidly, especially in waterlogged conditions, with archaeological leather becoming more uniform and similar to untanned leather. Thus, comparison of FTIR-ATR results from archaeological leather to experimentally buried leather samples of known pre-burial manufacture proved useful, while comparison to FTIR-ATR data from modern unburied leather did not. Despite de-tanning occurring soon after burial, the vegetable-tanning method does impact long-term preservation of leather in wet soil. The impact could not be directly associated with the proportion of condensed to hydrolysable tannin, suggesting alternate variables impacted the preservation. Furthermore, mineral components introduced into the leather through the animal skin, tannin material and/or tannin liquid are tentatively suggested to contribute to this impact. A high degree of heterogeneity in error results within the experimentally buried sample material underlined that any changes in collagen ratios cannot be overinterpreted and must be considered within the context of larger datasets.