On Wed, 1 Dec 1999, Michael Weinert wrote:
> Dear List Members, I'm building a database form to patch to a GIS which
> will in effect act as a catalog of the iron and other metallic finds at
> a roman villa urbana/villa rustica site. I'm particularly interested in
> the iron finds and related artifacts. The artifact yield purportedly
> contains a good sample of agricultural implements, though many did not
> have their context recorded in the earlier excavations. The cornerstone
> of my experience with Roman farm implements is the work of K.D.White
> which is based largely on li My questions to you are . . .
Michael,
sounds like an interesting approach - not so novice at all! The following
is top of my head and certainly much more can be said about it.
> What are the essentials of a basic relational database of ferrous
> artifacts?
Methodological consistency. And a clear form-function relationship.
> Where can I study the lexicon of the forms created by the smith?
Types and shapes vary through time and space although functionality is of
prime importance. The degree of uniformity Roman smiths achieved when
forging iron implements is highly debatable and what you see from the
outside may not tell you a thing about what is actually inside!
> Is there a standard?
No such thing, I'm afraid.
> What are the standard central questions
> one would want answered as part of the initial recovery and cataloging
> process?
Intra-site distribution and extra-site origin. Should fit in well with
your GIS approach.
> And lastly, does anyone know of site reports or other sources
> where the provenance of iron tools are reported in situ. I'm getting
> precious little in context.
Every modern excavation aims to document finds in context and this should
be reflected in the finds catalogues (German ones are particularly
suitable for this). What I would call the bible for Roman period iron
tools is:
Guenter Ulbert (1984) Caceres el Viejo. Madrider Beitraege Band 11. Mainz:
Philipp von Zabern
Hope this helps for a start,
Irene
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Wer die Vergangenheit nicht kennt, kann die Zukunft nicht gestalten.
(Goethe)
Irene E Schrufer-Kolb
School of Archaeological Studies Tel.: +44-(0)1280-823102
University of Leicester FAX: +44-(0)116-252-5005
University Road e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Leicester LE1 7RH http://www.le.ac.uk/ar/ies1/
United Kingdom
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