Roof coverings are crucial elements in the architectural design of any building, from the most rudimentary to the most elaborate, because of the protection against weathering they offer to the buildings. Despite its important role, it remains many gaps or grey areas in our historical and technical knowledge of this stony materials used to make them. In north-western Europe, although roof tiles seem to have attracted the attention of researchers in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Great Britain, it must be said that slate did not benefit from the same interest. In Belgium as well roofing using slate has not been the subject of particular attention for periods r anging from the late medieval period to the 18th century. Situated at the crossroads of archaeology, archaeometry and history, this study aims to take stock of the use of this material in the southern part of the former Duchy of Brabant and more particularly in the Brussels Region. The available bibliography, archival sources and data from the geological analysis of samples from archaeological excavations will be mobilised to address several key questions: the goeographical origin of the roofing slates and, therefore, their transport – the Brussels Region is devoid of slate deposits and is dependent on import trade routes for its supply; the particular uses of slate (social groups, types of building); the question of the organisation of the slate roofers’ trade; the question of costs in relation to other raw material, tiles in particular; and finally, special attention will be paid to the various implementations observed in situ. This last approach will include a reflection on the diverted uses of this stony material in other types of structural work. In short, this contribution will seek to characterise the roofing slate in the history of construction in Brabant and Brussels and will resonate with a major ongoing research project dedicated to the evolution of the Brussels roof frames.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
Morphological and genetic evidence put dog domestication during the Paleolithic, sometime between 40,000 and 15,000 years ago, with identification of the earliest dogs debated. We predict that these earliest dogs (referred to herein as protodogs), while potentially difficult to distinguish morphologically from wolves, experienced behavioral shifts, including changes in diet. Specifically, protodogs may have consumed more bone and other less desirable scraps within human settlement areas. Here we apply Dental Microwear Texture Analysis (DMTA) to canids from the Gravettian site of Předmostí (approx. 28,500 BP), which were previously assigned to the Paleolithic dog or Pleistocene wolf morphotypes. We test whether these groups separate out significantly by diet-related variation in microwear patterning. Results are consistent with differences in dietary breadth, with the Paleolithic dog morphotype showing evidence of greater durophagy than those assigned to the wolf morphotype. This supports the presence of two morphologically and behaviorally distinct canid types at this middle Upper Paleolithic site. Our primary goal here was to test whether these two morphotypes expressed notable differences in dietary behavior. However, in the context of a major Gravettian settlement, this may also support evidence of early stage dog domestication. Dental microwear is a behavioral signal that may appear generations before morphological changes are established in a population. It shows promise for distinguishing protodogs from wolves in the Pleistocene and domesticated dogs from wolves elsewhere in the archaeological record.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2020
