We used AMS 14C dating to determine the age of the composite wedge formation in the Batagay Upper Sand unit. The composite wedges are interpreted as syngenetic structures; they have grown vertically upward with aggradation of the host sandy deposits. The formation of composite wedges in Upper Sand commenced no later than 38.3 cal ka BP and stopped not earlier than 25.5 cal ka BP in the northwestern part of the slump. In the formation of ice wedges within the Upper Sand, frost cracks extended to a depth of 5–7 m, surpassing the normal depth of 3–4 m observed in the Upper Ice Complex. The composite ice wedges in the Upper Sand formed at temperatures ranging from –47 to –54°C, as evidenced by the paleotemperature reconstruction of the isotope composition of the Upper Ice Complex’s ice wedges.

This review article discusses five volumes that provide the final report on the excavations in Insula ix at Silchester (the ‘Town Life Project’), which began in 1997 and were completed in 2014:

M Fulford, A Clarke and H Eckardt 2006. Life and Labour in Late Roman Silchester: excavations in Insula ix since 1997 (Britannia Monogr no. 22), Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, London [henceforth Vol 1]

M Fulford and A Clarke 2011. Silchester: city in transition. The mid-Roman occupation of Insula ix c AD 125–250/300. A report on excavations undertaken since 1997 (Britannia Monogr no. 25), Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, London [henceforth Vol 2]

M Fulford, A Clarke, E Durham and N Pankhurst 2018. Late Iron Age Calleva: the pre-conquest occupation at Silchester Insula ix (Britannia Monogr no. 32), Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, London [henceforth Vol 3]

M Fulford, A Clarke, E Durham and N Pankhurst 2020. Silchester Insula ix. The Claudio-Neronian occupation of the Iron Age oppidum: the early Roman occupation at Silchester Insula ix (Britannia Monogr no. 33), Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies London [henceforth Vol 4]

M Fulford, A Clarke and N Pankhurst 2024. Silchester Insula ix: oppidum to Roman city c 85–125/150 (Britannia Monogr no. 37), Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, London [henceforth Vol 5]

In the Mississippian Southeast and Midwest, large fabric-impressed pans have traditionally been associated with the evaporation of brine to make salt. Although many of these vessels were undoubtedly used for this purpose, their presence at non-salt-making sites suggests that they sometimes served other functions. Using compound-specific isotope analysis, a sample of 74 fabric-impressed pan sherds from 12 sites in the Middle Cumberland Region of Tennessee was tested for absorbed organic residues to better understand the role of this vessel form in Mississippian foodways. Four residues from four different sites yielded evidence of C4 plant contribution, indicating that these vessels were likely involved in the preparation of maize. Additionally, 27 interpretable residues suggest a broader range of use, with three samples containing potential indicators of fish or shellfish, pointing to their role in preparing nonmaize foods.

The Katakomben-Stichting (Catacombs Foundation) is a private institution established in 1913 by the wealthy Dutch textile entrepreneur Jan F.M. Diepen and his family on the site of a ‘facsimile’ of the most famous sections of the Roman catacombs (today Museum Romeinse Katakomben), constructed between 1909 and 1913 in an abandoned quarry in Valkenburg aan de Geul, the Netherlands. The Foundation owns a collection of early Christian artifacts, watercolours and cartoons aimed at the creation of replicas of the catacomb paintings, as well as an archive, all of which await proper study and dissemination. A careful survey of the archive has added a new and valuable piece to the history of research involving the Crypt of Saint Cecilia in the Catacomb of Saint Callixtus. Diepen, together with the Trappist monk Eugenius van Doorn, coordinated between 1912 and 1916 a pioneering stratigraphic analysis of the decorations of the so-called ‘palimpsest wall’ of the Crypt, after they discovered a previously unknown fragment of an early medieval wall painting containing the bust of a Christ hovering in the sky, from that moment known as Salvatore Olandese. The analysis was supported by meticulous documentation of the decorations, which remains largely unpublished within the Foundation’s archive. The reasons for not publishing this comprehensive study remain uncertain. Examining Diepen’s notebook and correspondence with Rome-based archaeologists and art historians reveals a ‘harsh’ picture of the so-called ‘Roman school’ of Christian Archaeology, marked by rivalries and hostilities and lacking scientific collaboration with foreign scholars. It was precisely within this environment that a certain obstructionism appears to have emerged against the Dutch amateur and his circle’s efforts to study and publish the Salvatore Olandese, contributing to the ‘cancellation’ of this fresco from collective memory to this day.

This study examines the overlooked protests at the 1968 Venice Biennale to reassess the role of the media in Italy’s sessantotto. While mainstream newspapers largely dismissed the student and cultural demonstrations, illustrated magazines and television news offered more varied and sometimes sympathetic coverage, reaching millions. First-hand accounts of police violence in the work of photojournalist Gianni Berengo Gardin and in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s evolving commentary for Tempo magazine show that protest could come from within the media itself. The analysis highlights the significance of television’s innovative current affairs programming, which, despite censorship, brought global and Italian unrest into homes. By exploring the media ecosystem beyond newspapers – magazines, photojournalism, and television – this research shows how these platforms played a crucial role in shaping public understanding of 1968’s cultural and political conflicts, offering a fresh interpretation of Italy’s ‘1968’ and the complex relationship between protest and the media.