Western Wall Research Articles

From Where Did the Romans Breach into Masada?

In his book, The War of the Jews, Flavius Josephus describes the Roman conquest of Masada. He reports that the Roman soldiers breached the site’s western wall with a battering ram installed on a siege tower and positioned at the top of a siege ramp. In this paper, I challenge this narrative and argue that the Romans entered Masada from the south through the Southern Gate.

“Rede hit sofft”: John Audelay's Practice of Care

“Rede hit sofft”: John Audelay's Practice of Care

Slope Stability Analysis: Case of the West Wall of the EMZ Pit at the Essakane Gold Mine in Burkina Faso (West Africa)

Slope Stability Analysis: Case of the West Wall of the EMZ Pit at the Essakane Gold Mine in Burkina Faso (West Africa)

An Intriguing Inscription from Hatshepsut’s Punt Portico Mentioning a Royal Elephant Hunt

The aim of this article is to re-analyse an inscription about a royal elephant hunt in the land of Niyi, carved on the west wall of the Punt Portico in the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el- Bahari. A re-examination and new collation of the original text led to the conclusion that the inscription was a later addition, whose insertion required a modification of the original decoration of this section of the wall. The author observed that, contrary to the generally accepted view of scholars, the cartouche in the first column of the inscription does not include Thutmose I’s throne name but rather that of Hatshepsut, which was subsequently changed to Thutmose II’s. This article also discusses the historical ramifications of the abovedescribed reconstruction of the creation process and the subsequent modification of the inscription in question.

СИМВОЛІКА ГЕРБОВОГО ФРИЗУ СЕРЕДИНИ ХІІІ ст. НА ПРИКЛАДІ ГЕРБОВОГО ЗАЛУ ГОЦЦОБУРГУ, КРЕМС, НИЖНЯ АВСТРІЯ

Since in the Middle Ages the ability to read and write was mainly reserved for monks and thus only for a very small part of the population, there was a need for an alternative form of identification. This was expressed in the spread of coats of arms. Heraldic signs were used in different ways and found application on armor and shields in military conflicts, as well as at festivals, tournaments, and competitions, on houses, flags, and fabrics. If someone wore a coat of arms, they could be assigned to a certain group. Family coats of arms had legal significance as a symbol of the status and legal rights of their bearers. In addition, coats of arms became an integral part of imperial and royal courts. Since the late Middle Ages, coats of arms have been used to publicly mark property rights, for example, on buildings, boundary stones or maps, and as decor. Armorial halls were and still are partly representative rooms. One example of such a hall of arms from the early thirteenth century is the Gozzoburg in Krems, Lower Austria. The process of identifying coats of arms, their dating, affiliation, and place in the visual concept is the central issue of this study. As we will see, the core of the coat of arms frieze is the figure of King Otokar II, although Gozzoburg never belonged to him. The western wall shows the lands that belonged to the king, and the other three walls show his spheres of influence. Thus, on the North wall are the coats of arms of the Holy Roman Empire, on the South wall – coats of arms from outside the empire. The concept on the Eastern Wall, as well as several unidentified coats of arms, remains an open question even after identification. Comparing the scarce information about the owner of the house with the heraldic program, we realize that Gozzo was one of the king’s closest associates and owed him his status and position. He wanted to emphasize this connection publicly to demonstrate his authority to visitors to the house. The analysis of coats of arms is a valuable auxiliary tool in understanding this medieval hierarchy.

Multi-Objective Optimization of Ultra-Low Energy Consumption Buildings in Severely Cold Regions Considering Life Cycle Performance

Net-zero energy buildings (NZEB) have received widespread attention for their excellent energy and carbon reduction potential in various countries. However, relatively little research has been conducted on the life performance of its primary form: the ultra-low energy building (ULEB). This paper proposes an optimization method combining meta-models to investigate the carbon reduction potential of ultra-low energy buildings in severely cold regions of China. The XGBoost algorithm is used to construct a meta-model of building performance, and the grid search method is used to obtain a high-precision meta-model with an R2 of 0.967. Secondly, NSGA-II is used to find passive technical solutions based on the meta-model that minimize the global warming potential (GWP), global cost (GC), and operation energy consumption (OE). Finally, the variables affecting the life-cycle performance of buildings were ranked by sensitivity analysis. The results show that GWP, GC, and OE are reduced by 12.7%, 6.7%, and 7.4% compared with the original building through the optimization process proposed. Sensitivity analysis showed that for GWP, the top four sensitivities are window type (TW) > WWR of south wall (WWRS) > roof insulation thickness (IR) > WWR of north wall (WWRN). For GC, the top four sensitivities are: TW > WWRS > IR > WWR of west wall (WWRW); for OE, the top four sensitivities are: TW > IR > WWRS > WWRN. This paper’s optimization framework and research results can effectively guide the design of the ULEB in severely cold regions.

Cathedral of Power: Battersea Power Station in Dystopian Visual Culture

Cathedral of Power: Battersea Power Station in Dystopian Visual Culture

The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity, Yahweh before Israel: Glimpses of History in a Divine Name and Yahweh: Origin of a Desert God

The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity, Yahweh before Israel: Glimpses of History in a Divine Name and Yahweh: Origin of a Desert God

Thermal performance evaluation of a novel building wall for lightweight building containing phase change materials and interlayer ventilation: An experimental study

In this work, to enhance the daytime insulation effect and prevent phase change material (PCM) from releasing heat into the room at night, a new composite phase change material (CPCM) with low thermal conductivity was synthesized and a novel solar-powered interlayer ventilation-phase change wall (SPIV-PCW) combining CPCM, air cavity, and solar powered fan system was presented. To evaluate the thermal performance of the SPIV-PCW, three experimental rooms, one experimental room with a west wall of a normal lightweight wall (Room 1), one with a west wall of phase change lightweight wall (Room 2), and one with a west wall of SPIV-PCW(Room 3), were built and experimental studies were conducted for three consecutive days. The results show that taking day 1 as an example, the maximum inner surface temperature of the west wall and the maximum indoor air temperature are 49.6 °C and 46.8 °C for Room 1, 46.0 °C and 45.3 °C for Room 2, and 44.6 °C and 44.4 °C for Room 3. The interlayer temperature difference between PCW and SPIV-PCW is up to 7.4 °C. More importantly, the thermal performance of SPIV-PCW is more outstanding than PCW in terms of peak temperature reduction (PTR), attenuation coefficient (AC), and total nighttime heat flow (TNHF), simultaneously, the maximum heat flow at night of SPIV-PCW was reduced by up to 78.5 % compared to PCW. In conclusion, SPIV-PCW is an outstanding candidate for building cooling energy conservation in hot climates.

ALMA Data Cubes and Continuum Maps of the Irradiated Western Wall in Carina

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of the continuum and line emission of 12CO, 13CO, C18O, and [C i] for a portion of the G287.38-0.62 (Car 1-E) region in the Carina star-forming complex. The new data record how a molecular cloud responds on subarcsecond scales when subjected to a powerful radiation front, and provide insights into the overall process of star formation within regions that contain the most-massive young stars. The maps show several molecular clouds superpose upon the line of sight, including a portion of the Western Wall, a highly irradiated cloud situated near the young star cluster Trumpler 14. In agreement with theory, there is a clear progression from fluoresced H2, to [C i], to C18O with distance into the photodissociation region (PDR) front. Emission from optically thick 12CO extends across the region, while 13CO, [C i] and especially C18O are more optically thin, and concentrate into clumps and filaments closer to the PDR interface. Within the Western Wall cloud itself we identify 254 distinct core-sized clumps in our data cube of C18O. The mass distribution of these objects is similar to that of the stellar initial mass function. Aside from a large-scale velocity gradient, the clump radial velocities lack any spatial coherence size. There is no direct evidence for triggering of star formation in the Western Wall in that its C18O clumps and continuum cores appear starless, with no pillars present. However, the densest portion of the cloud lies closest to the PDR, and the C18O emission is flattened along the radiation front.

Thermal performance analysis of lightweight building walls in different directions integrated with phase change materials (PCM)

Phase change materials (PCM) can improve the thermal performance of lightweight building walls (LBW), but the effect is not only dependent on the PCM parameters but also high on the heat exchange between the surface and the ambient environment. For actual buildings, there are differences in the outdoor thermal environment of the walls in different directions, especially the solar radiation intensity. Therefore, a small-scale lightweight building was made in this study and its thermal environment in different directions were tested. Then, the influence rules and suitability of PCM parameters on the thermal performance of LBW in different directions were analyzed by developing a typical two-dimensional heat transfer model. The results show that the application effects and suitable parameters of PCM in walls in different directions are different. PCM location (phase-transition temperature) is adapted to the middle (20–30 °C) for the east and south-facing wall, while the inside (18–28 °C) and outside (24–34 °C) is optimal for the west and north-facing wall. The thermal performance improvement with the most noticeable in the east and west-facing walls at suitable PCM parameters and their peak and average heat flux can be reduced by 62.8–66.4% and 28.2–29.5%, and delay time increased by 5–5.34h compared to reference wall.

Synthesis and evaluation of phase change material suitable for energy-saving and carbon reduction of building envelopes

Phase change materials (PCMs) reduce building energy consumption, but practical errors often occur due to material mismatches with the application environment. In this paper, taking Guangzhou as an example, to prepare PCMs with a phase transition temperature (TP) close to 26 °C, the Schrader equation is used, and therefore capric acid (CA) and stearic acid (SA) are selected as raw materials. The experimental results show that at a mass ratio (CA/SA) of 9:1, the PCMs can form a eutectic structure with TP and enthalpy of 24.9 °C and 157.3 J/g, respectively. Furthermore, the simulation results confirm that in the whole life cycle the energy-saving rate of proposed PCMs in Guangzhou is high at about 20 %. The study also provides recommendations for optimizing PCMs use in the hot summer and warm winter climates, i.e. on the outside of the envelope, especially on the west wall and roof, increasing the PCMs amount can better save energy. These results are a guideline on building envelope energy efficiency by using PCMs, which can be applied in the optimization of PCMs selection in different climatic zones.

Antarctic Bottom Water Jets Flowing from the Vema Channel

Properties of the abyssal current of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) from the Vema Channel are studied based on temperature, salinity, and velocity profiler (CTD/LADCP) data. Previous studies over a period of almost 30 years revealed that very intense current of AABW exists in the Vema Channel. Later, it was found that this current consists of two branches. One branch spreads over the bottom of the channel; the other branch is elevated over the western wall of the channel. The deepest branch decays after it passes approximately 100 km while the upper one continues further to the North Atlantic and is the source of abyssal waters in the Canary and Cabo Verde basins of the North Atlantic. Data analysis suggested that the upper jet splits into two. One of these descends down a canyon at 24°30′ S, while the other (the third one) remains on the continental slope, and indications of its existence are also found at 24°00′ S. This research analyzes the existence and pathway of this third branch that can be traced up to latitude 24° S. Velocity measurements in 2022 allowed us to confirm the existence of this third branch.

An Imaging Evidence of the East Wall Structuring of Eastward Drifting Depletions Observed Near the EIA Crest in India

AbstractStructuring on the west (east) wall of eastward (westward) drifting airglow depletion under quiet (storm) time is common. Here, we report for the first time the rare occurrence of the east wall structuring of an eastward drifting depletion near the crest of equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) in India on 16 April 2012 under quiet geomagnetic conditions. We observed a linear depletion having a westward tilt of ∼25° and eastward drift speed of ∼129 m/s in the beginning. First prominent structuring occurred on its west wall that later swiftly surged poleward within next 6–12 min and bifurcated, that is, behaved like a secondary depletion growing on the primary one. Second west wall structuring then occurred but had considerably subdued growth. Meanwhile, main depletion bent slightly eastward above its branching node, and two structuring appeared on the east wall in succession. Secondary depletion then slightly contracted equatorward, and structuring emerged from its east wall, too, that later stretched eastward, got linked with main depletion and formed grid mesh shaped feature. Second structuring on the west wall started fading; while, those on the east wall swiftly evolved, surged poleward and gained prominence. Also, their westward tilt decreased. During the occurrence of these events, gravity waves (GWs) and the retreat of EIA were active overhead. Current study serves as first imaging evidence of Zalesak et al. (1982, https://doi.org/10.1029/JA087iA01p00151) simulations that the east wall of a westward tilted depletion can become unstable and host secondary instabilities. Possibly these structuring were excited by GWs via Rayleigh‐Taylor instability.

Visualizing Dunhuang: The Lo Archive Photographs of the Mogao and Yulin Caves

Visualizing Dunhuang: The Lo Archive Photographs of the Mogao and Yulin Caves

Geology and colour of Kupalo crater on Ceres

Kupalo is a ∼4 ​Ma old, 26-km diameter impact crater on dwarf planet Ceres, which exhibits extensive areas of bright bluish material. Here we describe, for the first time, the geology of Kupalo on a regional and local scale in detail, based on Dawn Framing Camera (FC) imagery. We find the crater has a complex geology consistent with a brittle and heterogeneous crust in this area. Through analyses of the FC colour data, we identify a correlation between the geologic units and the spectral variations, which can be explained by a mixture of subsurface materials in response to the impact. The brightest sites of Kupalo, located at the upper west wall and the central ridge, show similar FC colour and spectral IR data, which suggest that the bright material in these locations likely has the same origin. To explain the distribution of the bright bluish material in the crater and its vicinity, we propose two scenarios for the structure of the upper Cerean crust. Both require deep-seated brine or salt reservoirs, possibly connected to a brine ocean at the crust-mantle transition. • Geology of Kupalo suggests that Ceres' crust is rather heterogeneous (69). • Mixture of impacted subsurface materials explains correlation of spectra and geology (84). • Bright material in Kupalo would have originally been deposited at a depth of ∼3 ​km (82). • The brightest exposures are linked to subsurface reservoirs of hydrated carbonates (82).

Anisotropic Lagrangian dispersion in zonostrophic turbulence in a closed basin

This article studies the anisotropic particle dispersion in a continuously forced, two-dimensional turbulent flow on a β-plane. The flow is immersed in a large-scale closed basin with free-slip walls. The anisotropy is analyzed in two sets of numerical experiments characterized by the magnitude of the imposed, time-dependent forcing (weak and strong). Both experiments exhibit typical features of zonostrophic turbulence: eddy motions that, on average, form alternating east–west circulation bands due to the β-effect. The dispersion anisotropy is investigated through three Lagrangian statistics calculated by zonal and meridional components: (i) relative dispersion between pairs of particles; (ii) dispersion ellipses; and (iii) finite-scale Lyapunov exponents (FSLE), also measured with particle pairs. In the experiment with weak forcing, the relative dispersion and dispersion ellipses show anisotropy with a zonal preference toward the west; however, the FSLE did not reveal significant anisotropy. In the experiment with strong forcing, the relative dispersion and dispersion ellipses show zonal anisotropy toward the west when the particles are far from the boundaries. As the particles reach the western wall and are redistributed to fill the domain, the anisotropy ceases. The FSLE show zonal anisotropy for a wide range of particle separations. The results are examined further by using no-slip boundary conditions and a rectangular domain geometry.

Seasonal variation in leaf area index and its impact on the shading effects of vertical green facades in subtropical areas

Vertical green facades (VGFs) are considered promising design strategies for reducing building energy consumption. The leaf area index (LAIv) has been considered a critical parameter in evaluating the thermal behaviour of VGFs. The LAIv is not static for a plant and changes over seasons. However, research on the seasonal variation of the LAIv and its impact on the shading effects of VGFs is limited. The present study addresses this research gap. First, a shading coefficient (SC) model was developed to describe the capability of VGFs to intercept solar radiation. Then, the SC and one-year LAIv variations of two deciduous plants and one evergreen plant were observed to verify the accuracy of the SC model and develop the seasonal LAIv prediction (SLP) model. Finally, the SLP model combined with local climate parameters was employed to analyse the solar heat gain on the east, south, west, and north walls with and without VGFs. The results indicated that the VGFs composed of deciduous plants could be considered a self-adjusting shading system, intercepting over 90% of incident solar radiation in summer and transmitting approximately 75% of incident solar radiation in winter.

The Image Narration of Jataka: Analysis of The Deer King Survana in Cave 257

The Jataka of the Deer King Survana is one of the vital themes of Dunhuang frescos, which display the combination of Buddhism visual art and Chinese traditional art. The paper compares the differences between the fresco on the west wall in Dunhuang Cave 257, the relief at Bharhut in India, and the murals in Kizil Grottoes by analyzing the distinctive compositions and the adaptions of sutras, and speculates the function of frescos in Dunhuang.

An elite burial of the Early Turkic period from the Upper Irtysh Region

In the second half of the 1st millennium AD, Early Turkic tribes started penetrating the territory of Central Asia, Kazakhstan, and Siberia. Under their influence on the territory of the Upper Irtysh, the process of develop-ment of a Kimek-Kipchak state formation began. The initial stage of this process, reflected in the funeral rite and characteristic elements of the material culture, is barely known. In this paper, materials of the kurgan 1 of the bar-row cemetery of Menovnoye XII, located in the territory of the Upper Irtysh 2.1 km to the southeast of the village of Menovnoye, Tavrichesky district, East Kazakhstan Region, are analysed. Under the mound of the kurgan was a fence with an annex containing a burial of a person, a dog, and two pairs of horses. The central male burial has been robbed. In the sacrificial pit, located south of the grave, there were remains of two horses: one had been laid on the stomach with its legs bent under the body and head to the east; the other, overlaying the first one, had been placed on a banket, laid on the right side with its legs bent under and head to the east. The man was ac-companied by a child lying on the back with the head to the north, placed in a stone box attached to the eastern wall of the fence. The burial of the dog was in a pit placed in the aisle of the western wall of the fence. In the pit of the annex, there were remains of two horses: the complete carcass and the hinder part of the carcass. The grave goods were represented by a leather rendering and parts of a horse harness (iron stirrups and a bone belly buckle). The belts of the horse ammunition were adorned with silver and bronze decorations: badge-triplets, onlays, and buckle tips. To adjust the strain of the check-straps, a bronze buckle with an iron prong was used. Two horses showed traces of saddle bags containing iron adzes. The features of the funeral rituals and analysis of the material remains allow attributing the burials of the kurgan 1 of the Menovnoye XII burial ground to the Early Kimek period of the Turkic epoch within the 7th–8th centuries AD.