The Pyramidellidae of the islands of Saint Helena and Ascension are studied. New information is provided on the Pyramidellids described in the work of SMITH (1890a). Five species new to science are described: Cingulina boirai n. sp, Miralda verhaeghei n. sp., Parthenina stanyi n. sp., Odostomia lucsegersi n. sp. and Odostomia templadoi n. sp. Syntypes of Obeliscus (Syrnola) sanctaehelenae, Obeliscus (Syrnola) pumilio, Turbonilla truncatelloides, Turbonilla haroldi, Turbonilla brachia, Turbonilla assimilans, Leucotina minuta and Odostomia glaphyra are figured. A lectotype is designated for Turbonilla (Dunkeria) eritima, considered a synonym of T. assimilans. New generic allocations are proposed for seven species.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023 OA
Adulis, located on the Red Sea coast in present-day Eritrea, was a bustling trading centre between the first and seventh centuries CE. Several classical geographers—Agatharchides of Cnidus, Pliny the Elder, Strabo—noted the value of Adulis to Greco-Roman Egypt, particularly as an emporium for living animals, including baboons (Papio spp.). Though fragmentary, these accounts predict the Adulite origins of mummified baboons in Ptolemaic catacombs, while inviting questions on the geoprovenance of older (Late Period) baboons recovered from Gabbanat el-Qurud (‘Valley of the Monkeys’), Egypt. Dated to ca. 800–540 BCE, these animals could extend the antiquity of Egyptian–Adulite trade by as much as five centuries. Previously, Dominy et al. (2020) used stable isotope analysis to show that two New Kingdom specimens of Papio hamadryas originate from the Horn of Africa. Here, we report the complete mitochondrial genomes from a mummified baboon from Gabbanat el-Qurud and 14 museum specimens with known provenance together with published georeferenced mitochondrial sequence data. Phylogenetic assignment connects the mummified baboon to modern populations of P. hamadryas in Eritrea, Ethiopia, and eastern Sudan. This result, assuming geographical stability of phylogenetic clades, corroborates Greco-Roman historiographies by pointing toward present-day Eritrea, and by extension Adulis, as a source of baboons for Late Period Egyptians. It also establishes geographic continuity with baboons from the fabled Land of Punt (Dominy et al., 2020), giving weight to speculation that Punt and Adulis were essentially the same trading centres separated by a thousand years of history.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
The present article discusses the integration of urban geoarchaeological and archaeobotanical data of a series of Dark Earth deposits situated in the alluvial valley of the Senne River in Brussels, Belgium. Due to their homogeneous character, their interpretation is a huge challenge for archaeologists. Through a caseby-case approach, a detailed picture of the sequence of different activities and (semi-) natural events, leading to the build up of Dark Earth at each individual site has been obtained. Among the activities, agricultural practices and waste management, which are rarely archaeologically recorded in urban contexts, have been identified. Despite being situated in a valley context, none of the sites presented an excellent preservation of the organic plant remains. However, through the integration of geoarchaeological and botanical data, the taphonomical history of the botanical remains could better be understood, allowing us to document the evolution of the environment surrounding the sites. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that the botanical study of Dark Earth units can also provide valuable information on vegetal consumption, in particular fruits. On a broader scale, this integrated geoarchaeologial and archaeobotanical study sheds some light on the process of urbanisation of the Senne alluvial valley between the 11the12th and the 16th century AD.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2017
