Abstracts KCHR-­‐BM International Workshop Early Historic Port Cities: Architectural Features, Construction Techniques and Conservation with Special Reference to Pattanam 23-­‐27 November 2015 Pattanam site and architectural features P J Cherian “It was the work of the best craftsmen from the cool Tamil country, together with sculptors from Magadha, skilled in working rare stone, goldsmiths from Maratha country, blacksmiths from Avanti, and Greek (Yavana) carpenters. The tall columns were fashioned of blocks of coral, their wooden capitals supporting beams encrusted with precious stones from which fringes of white pearls hung here and there. The dais was of cloth of gold, magnificently worked. The floor was not as usual covered with a layer of cow dung, but had been lined with gold plates”. -­‐ On craftsmen of a South Indian port-­‐city,from Manimekhalai (The dancer with the Magic bowl) by Merchant-­‐Prince Shattan. Translated by Alain Danielou with the collaboration of T.V.GopalaIyer.(1989) p. 81. Architectural interpretation of archaeological sites is critical to understand the character and material culture of the society under study. Built environment is capable of expressing and structuring social interactions. Functional considerations, spatial planning, building materials, building styles, etc can reflect the technological and creative levels of the society. Pattanam, presently, a densely populated village, is an archaeological mound of about 111 acres extent. The archaeological record of the site as well as corroborative evidence from written sources indicate that it could be an integral part of the ancient port city of Muziris, Muciri Pattinam or Vanji. The substantial quantity of the Non-­‐Indian artefacts of the site underlines its commercial interface with the Indian Ocean, Red Sea and Mediterranean littoral during the early historic period (3rd c BCE to 5th c CE). The artefacts from the Indian subcontinent region endorse the indigenous foundation of the culture. The architectural features at Pattanam site reflect the urban or planned lifestyle. Remains of the built structures are indicative of the residential, commercial, maritime and industrial 1 characteristics of the settlement. There were post-­‐holes, variety of brick walls, floors, platforms, pavements, tanks, a wharf and a kiln or furnace context. The associated finds were wattle and doab parts, toilet features, drainage contexts, ring-­‐wells, storage jars, roof tiles and iron nails. Large quantity of pottery sherds, brick bats, laterite crumbs and tile fragments suggest their use as reinforcements or fillers. Toilet features reflect the concern for hygiene, respect for privacy (emanating from self-­‐
respect) and technological acumen in designing sanitary provisions. The amount of planning, organisation, time and labour which went into the making of “Muziris Pattanam” is impressive. Building materials are predominantly local. The sector-­‐wise distribution of architectural features can aid in discerning the spatial planning and settlement pattern of the ancient port city of Pattanam. The depth range of the architectural remains in the cultural deposit when correlated with the cultural phases can provide insights into the technological history of the site. Life in Pattanam as Evidenced by the Unearthed Artifacts and Ecofacts Preeta Nayar Artifacts made, used, used and discarded by the early settlers and those survived them are the main source of information about the past. They tell their stories and the stories of their owners. They carry traces of human behavior, different associations, exchanges, the environment they were exposed to and the resources and opportunities they provided. Nine seasons’ excavations at Pattanam (2007-­‐2015) unearthed a huge volume of artifacts, Indian and non Indian ceramic shreds, eco facts and architectural features. The material evidences indicate that a civilized society existed at Pattanam some 2000 years before, who had maintained, along with inland trade, maritime contacts with the Mesopotamian and Mediterranean regions. They had settlement with buildings of bricks and tiles with fresh water tapping and sanitary systems, and knowledge of metallurgy, lapidary and ceramic technology. They were artistic and literate. Holocene palaeogeographic reconstruction of central Kerala, South India -­‐ evidences from coastal wetlands and palaeo-­‐beach ridges Linto Alappat, P G Gopakumar, S Sree Kumar, Manfred Frechen Palaeo-­‐geographical reconstructions on associated landforms at the coastal plains of various archaeological sites around the world has found useful in better understanding the adaptations of these cultural settings to variation in climate and sea-­‐level. Sedimentary structures incorporated in the stratigraphy of excavated test pits at Pattinam had shown evidences of 2 shore line facies associated with extensive buried land-­‐surfaces covering large areas in the Central Kerala coastal plain. The occurrence of early Holocene port town at Pattanam further towards inland to the present day shoreline and associated sedimentary structures extends unique opportunity to study these landforms to understand the development and abandoning of this port to sea level variations and climate. The usage of geological methods is necessary to integrate morphological and environmental aspects to understand the development of this landscape. Coastal wetlands occur in the central part of Kerala (~15 km inland from the present day coast) and are sheltered by beach ridges from the Arabian sea, bounded by the latitudes and longitudes of 10°10`-­‐10°30`N; 76°10`-­‐76°20`E. The wetlands and beach ridges were studied along a landward trajectory orthogonal to the coast using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating, to deduce past sea-­‐level high stands and coastline progradation. The general stratigraphy of the wetland section comprised grey sandy clay resting on a lateritic/ crystalline basement at the bottom, overlain by a peat unit (1.1m thick at a depth of ~ 2m below present surface), plastic clay, fluvial/alluvial sand and 2m thick alluvial/colluvial sediments towards the top. The primary sedimentary structures in the beach ridges show hummocky cross stratification at the lower part, overlain by a sand unit with parallel laminations and exhibits reverse grading. This was overlain by a bioturbated sand unit with numerous root casts and parallel laminations, capped by light yellow aeolian sand. An OSL age of sand layer (7.0±1.2 ka) below the peat unit and radiocarbon ages of peat (between 7920-­‐ 7740 and 7560-­‐ 7340 calyrs BP) in the wetland sequence indicates that the unit was formed between 8-­‐6 ka ago and indicate that inundation by sea water during this period and consequent submergence of mangrove swamps resulted in the formation of carbonic wood/peat deposits. OSL ages from the beach ridges indicate a stage of coastline progradation and wide spread beach ridge formation at the west coast of Kerala between 5 and 3 ka. The OSL and radiocarbon ages from the study along with the Differential GPS (DGPS) data indicate that the sea-­‐level was higher than the present level around ~8-­‐6 ka and ~4-­‐ 3 ka. The palaeo-­‐estuary of River Periyar and associated tidal inlets in Pattinam area must have provided ideal channel ways for maritime transport. The continued regression of the coast abandoned the channels, which must have contributed to the destruction of the port. Building Techniques & Materials at the Ptolemaic-­‐Roman Red Sea Port of Berenike, Egypt Steven E Sidebotham Construction materials and methods used in the third century BC-­‐sixth century AD Red Sea port of Berenike changed over the 800 year history of the settlement. Various types of stones, bricks, coral, timber and metal appear in structures excavated by our project since 1994. Ptolemaic-­‐era (third-­‐first century BC) construction techniques include excavation into bedrock and use of locally available stone of varying sizes; larger stones appear especially in the early defensive city walls and tower. Partial excavation of a putative brick kiln indicates manufacture 3 on site. Fired bricks were used, most likely, in hydraulic structures. Unfired sand bricks appear in some Ptolemaic-­‐era building foundations. Some Ptolemaic-­‐era constructions employed unworked stone while larger gypsum/anhydrite ashlars, likely quarried on Ras Benas north of Berenike, appear in structures of Ptolemaic, possibly Ptolemaic and early Roman date. These large ashlars were often joined together using wooden clamps. Few structures of early Roman date (late first century BC-­‐second century AD) have thus far been identified and those appear to be either of earlier Ptolemaic construction with use carrying over into the early Roman era or wharfs, break waters and quay walls built of stone. In the late Roman era (mid-­‐fourth century AD on) the predominant building material was fossilized coral heads locally available in huge quantities from extinct coral reefs at or near Berenike. This building tradition was common to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean coast of Africa through relatively recent times. Such structures rested on shallow foundations. Supplementing these were ashlar blocks of gypsum/anhydrite recycled from earlier periods for use as seats, stairs, wall quoins, altars, etc. The discovery of several “stone yards” comprising many pieces of clearly recycled ashlars, basins, columns, inscriptions, etc. found in the courtyard of one of the late Roman buildings and in the adjacent street indicates a widespread practice. In one instance a metal door pivot inserted into an ashlar block had been reused as a threshold in a late Roman building. Timbers (cedar and teak) from large dismantled boxes and ships (a common practice in Egypt for thousands of years) recycled into the walls of fossilized coral heads provided added stability. In one instance a large piece of iron, possibly the fluke of a ship’s anchor, had been recycled into a late Roman-­‐era coral wall. Numerous late Roman-­‐era structures made of coral heads were multiple storied as the survival of staircases indicates. Roofs and floors of upper stories were also of timber as, in one instance, fallen beams made of palm wood demonstrate. Some fossilized coral head walls contained worn out basketry, matting and textiles along with mud as binding materials. Buildings include military, commercial, religious and domestic and choices of building materials employed reflect their proximate availability and/or the preferences of the builders based on their own traditions. Large and small scale sculpture both relief and in the round also survives in different media: stone, metal, terracotta and wood. 4 The architectural features of ancient Myos Hormos (Quseir al-­‐Qadim), Egypt Roberta Tomber This talk will outline the key architectural features of the findings from the University of Southampton campaign to Quseir al-­‐Qadim between 1999 and 2003. The fieldwork explored layers relating to late 1st century BC through the mid-­‐third century AD, with reoccupation in the Mamluk period, which will not be discussed here. The main architectural features to be presented are the wharf/quayside, and a number of buildings that represent different domestic, industrial, religious and possibly administrative functions. The use of local limestone, mudbrick and re-­‐used pottery (mostly amphorae) in these features indicate that the site was self-­‐sufficient in its building materials. The majority of the buildings share construction techniques and although many are poorly preserved, they nevertheless show that different finishing techniques distinguished their functions. Ancient harbours in the Mediterranean: the world-­‐wide context David Blackman In the Mediterranean the pioneers in harbour engineering were the Phoenicians (probably drawing on a Late Bronze Age tradition in the Levant); the stimulus came with trade and colonisation. The Greeks built harbour-­‐works rather like land structures, with much use of heavy stone blocks. The Romans continued the use of existing harbours, but were able to build on inhospitable coasts with advanced engineering techniques -­‐ especially the use of concrete. Military harbours were an important feature of the Greek and Roman Republican periods, but not in the pax Romana of the Roman Imperial period. Military dockyards declined, but commercial structures grew in size and importance: quays, storehouses, market-­‐places, lodging-­‐houses, etc. Throughout antiquity river-­‐mouth harbours were attractive because they afforded easy access to the interior, but also posed problems: notably siltation and soil liquefaction. Dredging was used, but subsidence remained a problem (many sites have produced evidence of subsided buildings). We see the response in the use of arched moles, and probably the increased use of timber. Ships could be moored to timber posts as well as stone bollards. Flushing systems to deal with harbour siltation are attested early on. Recent developments in the geoarchaeology of harbours have shed much light on harbour use and dating. When seamen emerged from the Mediterranean they had to meet new challenges – from tides to monsoons. They must have realised, and learnt from local experience, that lighter materials were more suitable for dealing with subsidence problems; and anyway stone was often not available. In northern waters the Romans learnt from the Celts, and built harbours with much 5 use of timber (e.g. Roman London, and the Rhineland); sailing into the Red Sea they would have learned to follow local traditions. Technological know-­‐how would have been exchanged along with goods in the new contacts of the late Hellenistic and Early Roman period. In the Mediterranean the pioneers in harbour engineering were the Phoenicians (probably drawing on a Late Bronze Age tradition in the Levant); the stimulus came with trade and colonisation. The Greeks built harbour-­‐works rather like land structures, with much use of heavy stone blocks. The Romans continued the use of existing harbours, but were able to build on inhospitable coasts with advanced engineering techniques -­‐ especially the use of concrete. Military harbours were an important feature of the Greek and Roman Republican periods, but not in the pax Romana of the Roman Imperial period. Military dockyards declined, but commercial structures grew in size and importance: quays, storehouses, market-­‐places, lodging-­‐houses, etc. Throughout antiquity river-­‐mouth harbours were attractive because they afforded easy access to the interior, but also posed problems: notably siltation and soil liquefaction. Dredging was used, but subsidence remained a problem (many sites have produced evidence of subsided buildings). We see the response in the use of arched moles, and probably the increased use of timber. Ships could be moored to timber posts as well as stone bollards. Flushing systems to deal with harbour siltation are attested early on. Recent developments in the geoarchaeology of harbours have shed much light on harbour use and dating. When seamen emerged from the Mediterranean they had to meet new challenges – from tides to monsoons. They must have realised, and learnt from local experience, that lighter materials were more suitable for dealing with subsidence problems; and anyway stone was often not available. In northern waters the Romans learnt from the Celts, and built harbours with much use of timber (e.g. Roman London, and the Rhineland); sailing into the Red Sea they would have learned to follow local traditions. Technological know-­‐how would have been exchanged along with goods in the new contacts of the late Hellenistic and Early Roman period. The use and design of concrete in Roman harbour and other maritime infrastructure Christopher J Brandon The discovery by the Romans of a concrete that could be shaped and set underwater had a significant impact on the design and construction of coastal fishponds, harbour moles, piers jetties and docks. Initially used in the construction of elaborate fish-­‐rearing tanks along the west coast of Central Italy the technology spread to harbour construction not only in Italy but across the Mediterranean. Between 2002 and 2009 the ROMACONS team, studied 11 Roman harbour and fishpond sites in Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt and Israel. As well as taking 36 core 6 samples of the concrete remains, the design of the structureswere also studied together with the corpus of material published on 82 other sites. The development and use of this technology from the 1st century BC through to the 2nd AD produced numerous examples of Rome’s marine engineering ingenuity. The fact that so much of the material has survived for over 2000 years is due to the extraordinary properties of Roman concrete. Kadal mallai-­‐ An early historic port city of Tamil Nadu Coast-­‐ Revisited S Rajavelu Kadal Mallai, the ancient sea port on the Coromandal Coast, is variously referred to as Mamallapuram, Mahamallapuram, Mahabalipuram, Mallapuri, Jananathapuram.This ancient port reached its zenith during the time of Pallavas of Kanchi. It became the royal port town and the hub of architectural monuments of that period. However, the antiquity of this celebrated port city clearly suggest that Kadal mallai was a florishing trade centre and one of the important port cities on the northern part of ancient Tamizhagam in the pre pallava period i.e. in the early historic period. The archaeological evidences and the literature of the Sangam period suggest that the port city was busy with both inland and sea trade activities. This port city was referred to as Nīr peyarru in Perumpanaaruppadai and closely associated with the Tondaiman Ilandiraiyan king of Kanchipuram. This paper deals with the probable location of the port city, its archaeological and architecutural potentialities with the light of literature of Early historic period. Coastal structures on Tamil Nadu coast and their relevance to maritime archaeology Sundaresh Ancient ports of Tamil Nadu have played a dominant role in the transoceanic trade and commerce with many countries since very early times. The important ports such as Kaveripattinam, Nagapattinam, Korkai, Alagankulam, periyapattinam, etc are noted not only for brisk maritime trade but also for dissemination of the Indian culture in foreign land from the beginning of the Christian era. Many such port towns that existed on the coastal region got vanished or submerged in the sea probably due to coastal erosion, sea level changes and neo-­‐
tectonic activity etc. Large numbers of structural remains found along Tamil Nadu coast are believed to be the remnants of ancient ports. Among many such port towns, Poompuhar and Mahabalipuram were extensively explored and found large number of structural remains found in the intertidal zone and offshore region. 7 Kaveripattinam also known as Poompuhar, a flourishing port in the beginning of the Christian era played a major role in maritime activities and cultural expansion in the history of India. The texts of Sangam literature vividly describe about its location, habitation and the town planning. The marine archaeological explorations around Poompuhar brought to light the remains of brick structures, terracotta ring wells, storage jars in the inter tidal zone. Brick structures, stone structures, pottery from offshore explorations support the existence of the ancient settlement. Mahabalipuram is said to have been a seaport right from the beginning of Christian era. The Geophysical survey and underwater archaeological exploration revealed structural remains including a fallen wall running about 10 m in length with three coarse, scattered dressed stone blocks, a few steps leading to a plat form, a lion figure and three more fallen wall remains and many other structural remains at various locations between 4 to 8 m water depth. The structures were badly damaged due to underwater strong currents and swells. The structures found along Tamil Nadu coast at Poompuhar, Mahabalipuram, Tranquebar including the remains of light house at Kodikarai, are the evidences to support the maritime activities. The data collected at the above sites are supporting the literary evidences to prove their existence as ports. The major cause for the submergence of these port towns may be due to shoreline changes caused by coastal erosion. The present paper describes the structural remains found along Tamil Nadu coast and their importance relating to maritime archaeology. Architectural remains from Arikamedu and the Sangam Tamil Texts V Selvakumar Arikamedu was an important port town of the Early Historical period on the east coast of South India. With a variety of material cultural evidence for Roman Contacts this site has occupied an important place in the Early Historic commercial networks of the Indian Ocean. Apart from Ceramics, architectural remains are the most important material cultural evidence at this site. A variety of structures have been excavated from the early excavations by R.E.M Wheeler, A. Ghosh and Krishna Deva to the latest excavations by Vimala Begley, Steven Sidebotham et al. The paper focuses on the techniques, materials and methods of construction of the structures at Arikamedu. One of the primary issues in archaeological excavations has been the identification of the function of ancient structures. The interpretation of the function of the archaeological structures is debated right from the early structures of the Indus Valley. The paper looks into the function of the structures excavated at Arikamedu. It also seeks to correlate the evidence from Arikamedu with the references in literature. 8 Urban Geography of Early Historic Poompuhar as gleaned from the literature Athiyaman Evidence shows that during early historic period (ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE) Poompuhar port town near the confluence of River Kaveri was busy trading with Southeast Asia and Red Sea region. Archaeological as well as Marine Archaeological investigations provide only scanty proofs to the allusion in the literature. As propounded by the well known Tamil Scholar Kamil V. Zvelebil that there is no need to doubt the authenticity of the early historic Tamil Literature. Because exaggeration in those literatures is less dominant than the vivid descriptions in the literature. Though sporadic attempts have been made by the scholars to reconstruct the plan of port city as gleaned from the literature, no structured approach has been made. In this work an attempt is made to locate the various settlement attributes based on the literature namely Pattinappalai and Cilappatikaram. These literature talk extensively on the settlement geography of the erstwhile port-­‐town. An attempt is made to locate those urban elements on the basis of field work. Structural remains of the Early Historic Period ports of the east coast of India Sila Tripati and Rudra Prasad Behera Vestiges of maritime activities of the eastern littoral datable to the early historic period onwards have been discovered during exploration and excavation. These findings corroborate with the literary sources which mentioned about the ports and trade centres of the Indian subcontinent including maritime contacts with far and wide overseas countries. Coastal maritime structures such as dockyards, jetties, lighthouses, wharfs and warehouses have been located at Arikamedu, Dharanikota, Chilika Lake, Mahabalipuram and Poompuhar on the east coast of India. Even, similar kinds of structures have been located along the west coast of India. In comparison with maritime history of the Indian subcontinent, very limited number of maritime structures has been documented; further exploration may yield more structures related to maritime activities. The structures found along the east coast of India are datable from the early historical period to the historical period. The study of maritime structures provides their use and period, construction methods, abandonment and causes of decline of port site. This paper details the coastal structures of the east coast of India and tentative dates are ascribed in relation to the maritime history of the east coast of India. 9 Consumerism, Economy and Ports Prathapachandran S and Ananya Chakraborty Consumerism may be defined as the practice of consumption necessitated not entirely by absolute utility considerations but predominantly by the aspirations of consumers for a better standard of living and as a means of vertical social mobility. In other words, it is an economic order that encourages purchase of goods and services in greater amounts. Archaeologists have made numerous contributions to scholarly understanding of ancient state economies, in cases those that are documented in literary sources and those lacking such documentary data. The most important requirement for economic prosperity is resources, which can both be natural and human in nature. India is a vast country and being rich in natural and human resources, was a major supplier of both since earlier times. Excess resources are usually utilised in wealth creation in most of the modern societies, and the ancient societies were no exception. The demand from most part of the developed world for these resources from very early times resulted in the development of the trade connections which is evident from the number of ports dotted all along the Indian coastline. Consumerism or consumption based economy, which eventually gave rise to all the associated developments, was prevalent in societies from time immemorial, but in various forms. This was facilitated by the increase in ports, which had a major role to play in disseminating the surplus thus created. Major resources like minerals, timber, textiles, antler/ivory, spices etc. formed items of demand from the Indian sub continent. Added to these, were precious and semi-­‐precious stones, copper, tin, marine shells etc. procured from a variety of sources and processed adequately before being made into a tradable item, which of course increased their value in the market. A steady consumption based economy would require procurement of raw materials, production of items and their proper distribution. All these had to be cost efficient and the production centres needed to be situated near the sources of raw materials. The distribution centres, in this case, the ports, thus needed to be strategically located for optimisation in the balance of trade. The concept of ‘value’ plays an important role in the trade of certain items. For, the overall value of an item usually increases with the amount of labour required for production and also technological processes involving numerous stages. The growth and stabilisation of any state is dependent upon the creation of newer forms of wealth and the ports played a major role in the exchange of goods and the uplift of economy. It also played a major role in the support and legitimization of political powers, the degree of which fluctuated over time. 10 A thorough look by Archaeologists into the economic activities of the peninsular region during the second urbanization of the Gangetic valley is overdue considering the economically rich terrain and the evidences for existence of ports all along the coasts of the peninsula. Field Observations on Ancient Harbours on the Western Coast of India with special focus on the ‘Periplus’ port of Kamrej on Tapi Sunil Gupta Researches on ancient harbours on the Indian coastlands have not yet gone into deep investigation, except perhaps the studies of the Bronze Age Harappan port of Lothal in Gujarat and more recently, the Iron Age – early Historic harbor at Pattanam in Kerala. What is required is a multi-­‐variate analysis of several features – geomorphological, maritime, climatic, archaeological, architectural – which would present a comprehensive case for a coastal settlement to be designated a harbor, and more ambitiously a trade port or an entrepot with long distance connections. Port-­‐sites on the Indian coastlands have been broadly classified , such as estuarine/deltaic (Bharuch on the river Narmada or Tamralipti on the river Rupnarayan), lagoonal (Arikamedu and Karaikadu in south India) and creek ports (Kuda at the head of the Janjira creek in the Konkan Coast or Udyavara at the head of the Malpe Creek in the Kanara coast). We can also speak of island harbours, like Elephanta or Janjira off the western coast and the riverine island of Haigunda at the mouth of the river Sharavati in Karnataka. In my presentation I propose to put forward my field observations on the ancient harbor sites investigated by me on the western coast of India from 1992 – 2003, including the results from my excavations at the ‘Periplus’ port of Kamrej on the river Tapi. Burnt Bricks and Roof-­‐tiles in Tamil literature and Archaeological Sources V Selvakumar Burnt Bricks and roof-­‐tiles are fabricated construction materials introduced in India after the prehistoric period. The first urbanization of India, i.e. the Bronze Age Indus civilization has produced evidence for bricks, and the roof-­‐tiles were perhaps introduced during the second urbanization in the Early Historical period. The so called urban centres of the Early Historical period have produced a few varieties of bricks and roof tiles. Bricks of large size i.e. 40+ cm in length were used at many of the early historic sites. Interestingly, the triple-­‐grooved roof-­‐tiles are found all over India, indicating the spread of roof-­‐tile tradition in the Early Historic period. The size of the bricks falling in the range of around 40 cm indicates that hand span and cubit measures were used in determining the dimensions of the bricks. The roof-­‐tiles underwent modification during the medieval and modern periods in India. This paper traces the history of bricks and roof-­‐tiles in Tamil Nadu based on the evidences from archaeological and textual sources. 11 Connecting Indian Ocean port sites: the ceramic evidence Roberta Tomber Numerous documents, particularly the Peirplus Maris Erythraea, make clear the interconnections between numerous trade ports in the western Indian Ocean. These trade documents make occasional reference to foodstuffs traded from the Roman world and Arabia in ceramic vessels and therefore the distribution of foreign ceramics throughout the Indian Ocean is expected. Yet, large quantities of pottery not mentioned in the documents also circulated throughout the Indian Ocean. Taking Pattanam as its starting point, this talk will explore the connections between Pattanam and Indian Ocean port sites, particularly through Roman (amphorae and sigillata) and Indian (those local to Pattanam and from elsewhere) wares as well as briefly looking at pottery types emanating from South Arabia and the Persian Gulf. By doing so it will emphasise the importance of the movement of people as well as goods throughout the region. Building type-­‐sites. Architecture as Museography Luis Feduchi The presentation will consider the role of architecture in establishing meaningful dialogues between specific loci, histories and contemporary material cultures. The design work, developed as part of a Masters in Architecture architectural design studio, will investigate the concept of building as ‘type-­‐site’, a term adapted from geological, archaeological and museographical discourses, by developing detailed interventions within a nominated list of emerging and internationally recognised archaeological, cultural, heritage and environmental sites of significance. Through this design research, it is argued that the application of ‘type site’ as a linguistic framework will allow new forms of interaction and tension between content and the architecture of museography to emerge. Here, it is argued that the museum should become more than just a book or a building. It has the potential to become a book that can be walked through and a building that can be read. The Mary Rose museum; the inside story Christopher J Brandon The Mary Rose was launched in 1511 having been ordered by King Henry VIII of England when he came to the throne. She was his flag ship and favorite and had a successful career until she capsized and sank during an engagement with the French on the 19th July 1545. Described as 12 England’s Pompeii, the wreck of the Mary Rose and her contents were sealed beneath meters of silts that preserved thousands of objects, a unique time capsule of Tudor life. The Mary Rose museum was designed from the inside out, at its centre is the hull of the Mary Rose with galleries wrapped around it. The museum is arranged over three levels that correspond with the deck levels of the ship, the ground floor is at the main deck level, level -­‐1 is positioned in-­‐between the hold and the orlop deck and the 1st floor is aligned with the walkway that ran between the bow and stern castles. The unique aspect of the Mary Rose project is the extraordinary assemblage of objects that were found within the preserved starboard half of the ship. In capsizing to one side and sinking into the mud a large number of personal objects and shipboard equipment were saved. The fact that the wreck was so carefully excavated underwater over a period of 11 years meant that the objects could be re-­‐ positioned with reasonable accuracy in the location and setting they had been in the seconds before the Mary Rose capsized and sank. The divers found a jumble of material, guns, skeletons, clothing, personal possessions and stores all heaped onto of each other on the starboard side where they had fallen as the ship heeled over. Un-­‐picking this has been an extraordinary achievement of the archaeologists of the Mary Rose Trust. The other significant factor is the extraordinary state of preservation and the quality of the conservation and restoration of the objects that makes them so special. Traditional Timber Conservation theory and practices of the East Binumol Tom Men have been building from time immemorial. Timber had been one of the most sort after material for building construction as well as artefact making, which forms a repository of the insight, wisdom and knowledge of the previous generations. Imbued with a message from the past, it preserves not only, the traces of the history of design and construction of timber buildings, but also, the craftsmen’s understanding of the logic and nature of wood, as a building material: the strength of which, lies in the fact that it is often over centuries, well tested, which is indeed, a sufficient guarantee for their reliability and durability. They should not be just regarded as, mere isolated objects worthy of preservation, but as sources of inspiration and living evidence of different methods of sustainable building practices and deep understanding of material science (dravyavigyan), developed by the foregone generation. This knowledge, which has been handed over from generation to generation, through the transmission of tradition, must enter the realm of scientific knowledge, which is necessary to keep the traditions alive. The purpose of this paper is to rediscover the dynamic knowledge of practices of construction and conservation of timber of the East and making a comparison with the western philosophy and practices. This becomes quite relevant in the light of Nara Conference on Authenticity, held in Nara, Japan (1995), jointly organized by UNESCO, ICOMOS, ICCROM and the Japanese Agency 13 for Cultural Affairs, which strongly recommended the international preservation bodies, to take into account the increasing awareness of the legitimate right of cultures, to express their own values, through the preservation of their cultural heritage, even in the sphere of globalisation which brought in a transformation from the Eurocentric preservation ideologies to complete recognition of the philosophical doctrine of cultural relativism. We should be able to interpret the traces left by the tools of the ancient builders on the timber of existing buildings and also on timber artefacts, in order to understand their innovative techniques and construction technology to suggest sustainable practices of their conservation. To rediscover such a, one needs to have a scientific understanding of the material ‘timber’, by making a scrupulous reading of the traces left on the surviving timber structures, by our ancestors.
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