Archeologisch Diensten Centrum (Netherlands)

The intention of the Roman administration to develop the Lower Germanic limes region into a military zone must have been a catalyst for (long-distance) human and faunal mobility in the course of the 1st century CE. A triple isotope approach (Sr-O-C) has been used on a total of 21 cremations (bone and pars petrosa) and 21 inhumations (dental elements) from the Dutch Lower Germanic limes borderscape region to study the demographicdynamics between 150 and 500 CE. The dental enamel 87Sr/86Sr range from 0.7086 to 0.7158. The variability in Sr within the cremated remains is more limited: 0.7089 to 0.7103. The δ18OPDB data range from −7.6 ‰ to −4.3 ‰. All but one individual dating to the Early and Middle Roman period exhibit Sr ratios that are consistent with the expected local (0.7088–0.7092) or regional (up to ± 0.7110) 87Sr/86Sr signature. The population dynamics drastically change in the subsequent Late Roman period. Fifty percent (6/12) of the investigated Late Roman population (partially) spent part of their childhood away from the Dutch river system or even the Batavian civitas. The cremated long bone 87Sr/86Sr possibly point towards residential stability during the last few years of life: all data are compatible with the expected regional Sr signature. The δ13CPDB data vary between −16.0 ‰ and −8.7 ‰: the latter was indicative of a diet rich in C4 food, which was not a staple in the Roman diet in the Lower Germanic limes region. Although more research is essential to better understand the population dynamics in the limes borderscape, it is clear that the isotope data reflect the political-military status of the Lower Germanic limes region, especially during the transition to a militarized zone in the later Roman period. Identifying possible regions of provenance is a challenge. Another proxy for provenance, namely the cultural artefacts associated with the excavated people, did not show a specific relationship between cultural background and geographical origin.

De site van Rotselaar toont op diverse manieren de complexiteit aan van de rurale vroegmiddeleeuwse archeologie. Het is een unieke site, voor België, want in het buitenland zijn al op diverse sites grote concentraties met hutkommen gevonden. De grote concentratie is het eindresultaat van een accumulatief proces. De hele inrichting begon met enkele hutkommen op één plek, zo tegen het einde van de 7e eeuw. Nadien werden er clusters hutkommen aan toegevoegd. Het lijkt erop dat vanaf de 9e eeuw enkele tientallen hutkommen gelijktijdig actief waren. Wat daarbij ook opvalt is het respect voor de oudere inplantingen: de hutkommen oversnijden elkaar niet, het uiteindelijke resultaat weerspiegelt een systematische inplanting, waarbij de uitbreiding van de inplantingen volgens een bepaald plan en dus via een zekere communale (?) organisatie lijkt gebeurd te zijn. Wat mooi is aan dit onderzoek is dat het, al zeggen we hetzelf, laat zien dat een interactie tussen nauwkeurige natuurwetenschappelijke data rond o.a. landschap, teelten, activiteiten en de herkomst van goederen, mooi hand in hand kan gaan met een bredere vraagstelling vanuit een probleem gericht historisch-archeologisch onderzoek. De grote sterkte van archeologie in een historische context is en blijft dat het andere en nieuwe informatie aanlevert in vergelijking met de geschreven bronnen.

Poor joint health is a significant burden to society. Millions of people suffer from some form of joint-related disorder or disease, most often osteoarthritis (OA). It was hypothesized that chicken eggshell membrane (EM) is effective in the regeneration of cartilage and/or immunomodulation (oral tolerance), and as such relieves pain and stiffness in joints commonly affected in arthritis. We tested this hypothesis in a double-blind, placebo-controlled EM intervention study. Of 150 male and female volunteers, 40–75 years of age and diagnosed with knee OA, 75 were randomly assigned to the EM intervention group and 75 to the placebo group. During 12 weeks, subjects received a daily capsule containing either 300 mg of EM or a placebo. The main primary dependent variable consisted of self-reported pain ratings on a Numerical Rating Scale Pain (NRS-P) 6 weeks after study start. As secondary dependent variables served NRS-P scores collected after 12 weeks, and Knee injury and self-reported Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores (Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores [KOOS]). NRS-P scores decreased for both groups at approximately the same rate, but only EM relieved self-reported pain scores obtained with the KOOS questionnaire starting 1 week after initiation of treatment. This effect was significant for two of five KOOS category scores, that is, “Pain” and “Daily Life” functioning, aggregate pain, and functioning scores composed of complaint ratings for a wide variety of daily activities. These scores showed long-lasting improvement, and demonstrated that EM extract successfully reliefs knee OA pain and contributes to daily life functioning.

Past studies of archaeological bog finds, such as bog bodies, wooden trackways and a wide variety of other materials, are characterized by a strong focus on material culture. Their original environmental and cultural context has received far less attention. This paper centres on the original landscape setting of bog bodies. Interdisciplinary reconstructions of the physical and cultural landscape at the time of deposition can lead to significant new and more detailed insights into the context and meaning of this remarkable phenomenon. We aim to show the value of such interdisciplinary research by reconstructing the original physical and cultural landscape setting of the most iconic bog body of The Netherlands: Yde Girl. This approximately 16-year-old girl was killed about 2000 years ago and deposited in a bog south of the modern-day village of Yde (province of Drenthe). Our interdisciplinary research team used a combination of research methods from physical geography, geomorphology, palynology and archaeology to analyse both the site itself and its wider environment. This kind of integrated, detailed landscape research on bog bodies has hardly been done yet. We expect that our research design, methodology and results may also be applied in future research of other bog bodies. Furthermore, they may inspire research on other types of archaeological find categories from peatlands.

Under climate warming, migratory birds should align reproduction dates with advancing plant and arthropod phenology. To arrive on the breeding grounds earlier, migrants may speed up spring migration by curtailing the time spent en route, possibly at the cost of decreased survival rates. Based on a decades-long series of observations along an entire flyway, we show that when refuelling time is limited, variation in food abundance in the spring staging area affects fitness. Bar-tailed godwits migrating from West Africa to the Siberian Arctic reduce refuelling time at their European staging site and thus maintain a close match between breeding and tundra phenology. Annual survival probability decreases with shorter refuelling times, but correlates positively with refuelling rate, which in turn is correlated with food abundance in the staging area. This chain of effects implies that conditions in the temperate zone determine the ability of godwits to cope with climate-related changes in the Arctic.

Aanvullend booronderzoek op het archeologisch bureauonderzoek. Onderzoeksgebied ligt op de oeverwal van de Vecht, aangrenzend aan crevassecomplex Aetsveldsche polders, waar ijzertijdbewoning aangetroffen is. Daarnaast zorgt de geplande vergraving tot het mogelijk bereiken van pleistoceen dekzand, waar oudere sporen te verwachten zijn.