Centre Camille Jullian

International audience

Page du site internet de valorisation du site archéologique de l'oppidum du Castellar à Cadenet sur la vie quotidienne.

Graphical representations of data are pervasive in modern communication and are often used to convey socio-economic, scientific, and medical information. Despite their popularity, it is still unknown whether they can enhance the long-term retention of their content. We conducted a delayed-recall task with psychology undergraduates (N = 92), in which participants read about the evolution of a socio-economic phenomenon, with five to six datapoints presented as graphics, text, or table; recall was operationalized as correct reporting of the trend in the data, 2 h after the information was presented. We found that graphics facilitated the delayed recall of such trends. No advantage was found on immediate recall of trends or specific datapoints in another sample of participants (N = 80). Thus, even for equal initial encoding of data, and even for very concise materials, graphics facilitate long-term retention. Overall, the study reveals the potential of graphics as effective tools for enhancing memory retention and therefore highlights their valuable role in educational settings.

• Identification of a canal located in the Rhône Delta between Arles and Fos-Sur-Mer. • Chrono-stratigraphical and palaeoenvironmental analyses of the ancient canal. • The canal was navigable during the Roman period. • A palaeochannel from the 1st millennium BCE existed before this Roman canal. The Marius Canal is considered the first significant Roman hydraulic infrastructure in Gaul. This navigable canal, constructed at the end of the 2nd century BCE, was located in the Rhône Delta in southern France, connecting the Rhône River to the Mediterranean Sea. In the period following the construction of the canal, the large port known as Fossae Marianae was built on the coast. Despite numerous references in ancient sources, the precise location of the canal has remained unknown for the last two millennia. However, recent geophysical surveys in the eastern Rhône Delta have revealed a linear anomaly, alongside the discovery of Roman artefacts, which may indicate the presence of a Roman canal. The objective of this study is to examine morphological, sedimentary and chronological attributes of this structure, postulated to be the Canal of Marius. Sedimentary cores extracted from the supposed canal and the banks are studied on a high-resolution scale using a detailed multi-proxy methodology (grain-size, carbonate content, organic matter, magnetic susceptibility) combined with twenty-one 14 C dates. The morphological analyses and palaeoenvironmental data are consistent with the hypothesis of a navigable canal operable during the Roman period, built in a complex area where an ancient lagoon was partly eroded by a palaeochannel of the Rhône dated to the 1st millennium BCE. However, further archaeological research is needed to definitely confirm that this is the canal known as the Marius Canal.

Despite the widespread use of raw earth materials in prehistoric times in the Aegean – mainly due to their availability and easy processing – their use in funerary contexts is still under-documented. This brief overview looks at their use by distinguishing between tomb architecture and funerary process. What we are looking at is the reuse of techniques developed in domestic architecture or, conversely, innovation through uses that are specific to funerary practices. The example of mudbrick cists, the emergence and decline of which in the Middle Helladic period coincided with a period during which tombs were often built in the ruins of recently abandoned dwellings, demonstrates the relevance of this issue and the symbolic links that can be established between the space of the dead and that of the living.

Cette contribution s’intéresse aux vestiges de la Basilica Aemilia de Rome et de ses prédécesseurs. Les deux dernières tentatives de restitution de la Basilica Fulvia et Aemilia , manifestement fautives, sont confrontées à une nouvelle proposition qui correspond davantage à l’image d’une architecture romaine marquée par l’hellénisme. L’imposante construction érigée en 179 av. J.-C. sur le Forum piscarium a remplaçé une salle hypostyle à un seul niveau construite sur une trame très comparable à celle de la Salle hypostyle de Délos. Selon Tite-Live, l’édifice, qui fut le premier à recevoir le nom de basilica , avait été réalisé à la hâte pour remplacer provisoirement l’ Atrium regium , incendié en 210 av. J.-C. Le bâtiment détruit correspondait à la βασιλικὴ αὐλή de l’administration financière ptolémaïque. Comme elle, il servait de bourse pour le grand commerce. Les dénominations latines Atrium regium et Basilica s’appliquaient à deux bâtiments différents situés au même endroit à Rome. Lors de sa latinisation, le terme Basilica a été créé pour désigner la fonction du bâtiment. L’impressionnante halle de 179 av. J.-C., avec son espace intérieur couvert sans piliers, devait devenir, sous le nom de Basilica Aemilia , le prototype de la forme architecturale canonique de la basilique romaine décrite par Vitruve, qui a durablement marqué l’histoire de l’architecture en Occident. L’étude se termine par un plaidoyer en faveur d’un inventaire minutieux des vestiges architecturaux comme condition préalable à la détermination de la valeur antique du pied comme unité de mesure utilisée lors de la conception et de la réalisation d’un édifice antique. Seule cette mesure peut permettre d’accéder aux intentions planimétriques d’un maître d’œuvre antique.

The Villenave-d’Ornon wreck was discovered in 2013 south of Bordeaux, near the Garonne River. Its scientific interest led the DRAC Nouvelle Aquitaine to prescribe a preventive excavation, which was begun by Inrap in 2019. Initial observations indicate a robust boat, keel-built, adapted to transporting goods in coastal areas and riverine environments. Several radiocarbon dates provide a chronology between the second half of the 6th and the end of the 7th century. As the dismantling of the wreck could not be completed in 2019, a second operation is under way until September 2022.

Human activities have affected the surrounding natural ecosystems, including belowground microorganisms, for millennia. Their short- and medium-term effects on the diversity and the composition of soil microbial communities are well-documented, but their lasting effects remain unknown. When unoccupied for centuries, archaeological sites are appropriate for studying the long-term effects of past human occupancy on natural ecosystems, including the soil compartment. In this work, the soil chemical and bacterial compositions were compared between the Roman fort of Hegra (Saudi Arabia) abandoned for 1500 years, and a preserved area located at 120 m of the southern wall of the Roman fort where no human occupancy was detected. We show that the four centuries of human occupancy have deeply and lastingly modified both the soil chemical and bacterial compositions inside the Roman fort. We also highlight different bacterial putative functions between the two areas, notably associated with human occupancy. Finally, this work shows that the use of soils from archaeological sites causes little disruption and can bring relevant information, at a large scale, during the initial surveys of archaeological sites.

Longtemps délaissées, les zones humides bénéficient en France de politiques actives de conservation. Par une méthodologie de recherche participante, les caractéristiques et enjeux des jugements des experts impliqués dans la mise en œuvre de ces politiques sont analysés. Malgré des atours purement techniques, ces jugements engagent une compréhension projective et chargée de valeur de la conservation des zones humides. Cette analyse appelle à une refonte des cadres qui structurent le travail des experts.