Tin determination in fistula seals from Conimbriga and Augusta Emerita

The technology of polychrome glazed ceramics in Ifriqiya: new data from the site of Chimtou

Ifriqiya (roughly Tunisia and eastern Algeria) is believed to have played a significant role in the diffusion of ceramic glazed technologies into other regions of the Western Mediterranean. However, due to limited analysis on North African glazed ceramics, its role in technology transfer remains poorly understood. This paper uses SEM-EDS and petrographic analyses to understand the technology employed in the production of Tunisian ceramics through the study of 30 polychrome glazed ceramics from a medieval settlement at the site of Chimtou (ancient Simitthus), Tunisia, dated to the late ninth-twelfth century. The results show that these are lead-rich glazes with varying contents of alkalis, coloured with copper, iron and manganese oxide and applied over a calcareous body. Opaque glazes were obtained using cassiterite crystals as opacifier or by adding crushed quartz. The use of lead stannate as a colourant and opacifier in one light yellow glaze raises questions about the mechanisms of introduction of tin opacification technology in North Africa. Scrap metal seems to have been used as a source of lead for the glazes; while iron slag was probably used as a source of iron to colour the glaze in one sample, pointing to a cross-craft interaction between glazemaking and metallurgy.

Supplementary information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12520-024-01974-x.

Determinants of Residents’ Word-of-Mouth Behaviour and Support for Tourism

This research explores residents’ support for tourism by introducing—for the first time—the variable of residents’ word-of-mouth intention. The tested model proposes that residents’ support for tourism is influenced by residents’ word-of-mouth and tourism benefits; the model also examines the impacts of community attachment and community involvement on the benefits of tourism. The relationship between tourism benefits and residents’ word-of-mouth is the most significant indication of the tested model, followed by the linkage between tourism benefits and support for tourism. Besides this, the positive and significant effect of residents’ word-of-mouth on their support for tourism has been proven. The results stress the need for increased focus on the benefits of tourism by increasing community attachment, as they reveal that more attached residents lead to more positive perceptions of the benefits of tourism, consequently having a higher effect on their word-of-mouth intention and support for tourism.