Under the direction of Dr. Bernard Wailes, MS Elizabeth Hamilton will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. Using both metallographic (optical and SEM) and compositional (PIXE) analysis, she will analyze a series of objects recovered from the site of Titelberg which is located in Luxembourg. The site contains well excavated and clearly stratified deposits which cover the period of ca. 150 B.C. to A.D. 300. It is unusual because it is one of the few in Western Europe which spans the transition from "Celtic" or pre-Roman culture through Gallo-Roman times when this region of Europe was assimilated into the Roman empire. The underlying question which MS Hamilton wishes to address involves culture contact and change. The goal is to discover the extent to which, in cases such as this one, cultural change occurs on a more than superficial level. To what extent are basic patterns of behavior altered? MS Hamilton will address this through a study of metal objects which were produced at Titelberg. She will compare pre and post-contact materials both stylistically and technologically. While it is clear that some stylistic change did occur, to what extent was more basic technology affected. Did change at this more profound level take place? To reconstruct the past archaeologists rely heavily on material culture because most often it is objects of stone, ceramics or metal which are most resistant to decay and thus recovered through excavation. In recent years researchers have come to realize that it is as interesting - and often more fruitful - to look at how things are made rather than what their final form might be. Although there is relatively little exchange of information this change in emphasis can be seen in the analysis of not only metals but also lithic and ceramic remains. As yet it is unclear how ultimate form and technology interrelate and MS Hamilton's project is important because she will be able to examine this interaction at a well excavated and securely dated site in a relatively well understood recent past. The work is important not only for what it may show about Western Europe but also because it will examine a basic methodological issue. The project is also valuable because it will assist in the training of a promising young scientist.
