scholarly journals Rune Carvers in Military Campaigns

Viking ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laila Kitzler Åhfeldt

Runic inscriptions, such as those found in the probable Varangian contexts of Hagia Sofia and Piraeus, as well as on the Black Sea island of Berezan, where the origin of the carver is less obvious, show that some of the Scandinavians in such contexts knew how to write runes. Domestic Scandinavian runestones also display traces of martial activities, as in the inscription about the carver Ulfr, who participated in the taking of giald in England. In addition, a number of objects inscribed with runes have been found in the Garrison at Birka. Previously, runestones have figured in debates regarding  conflict, tribute, and political expansion within Scandinavia. One of the questions that has been addressed deals with runestones in certain parts of Scandinavia – Bornholm, Gotland and Öland – and whether they were produced by locals, or by carvers from other parts of Scandinavia. Runestone characteristics that were earlier attributed to mainland Swedish influences on Gotland and Bornholm can in fact also be dependent on chronology, or be seen as regional eastern Scandinavian features. One of my queries has been whether it is possible to reach a more profound understanding of such phenomenon by analysing carving techniques, since my results indicate that some runestones on these islands were produced by travelling and visiting carvers, and could be indicators of the status of cross-regional relationships.

Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 458
Author(s):  
Olena P. Bilous ◽  
Agata Z. Wojtal ◽  
Natalia O. Ivanova ◽  
Petro M. Tsarenko ◽  
Olga V. Burova ◽  
...  

The Sasyk Reservoir is one of the largest seaside reservoirs in Ukraine, artificially maintained as a freshwater area including various floodplain areas. The Reservoir originated from an estuary to now being an almost freshwater reservoir. The diatoms (Bacillariophyta) in benthos were investigated for analyzing the coastal zone diversity of the Black Sea inside the borders of Ukraine. The indicated diatom composition was formed by 97 species (100 infraspecies taxa). Some rare marine and freshwater taxa were noted, as well as three species reported in Ukrainian territory for the first time (Navicula vandamii Schoeman et R.E.M. Archibald, Sellaphora difficillima (Hustedt) C.E. Wetzel, L. Ector et D.G. Mann, and Mastogloia laterostrata Hustedt). The bioindicative characteristics of the diatom composition testified to the freshwater condition of the reservoir. Changes to the salinity level of the Sasyk Reservoir were exposed due to the composition of benthic diatoms. The presence of mesohalobous species (7 taxa) acknowledges conditions that are typical for estuaries and mouths of rivers and reveals the salinity changes in the Sasyk Reservoir. Likewise, the prevailing number of oligohalobous diatoms (61 taxa) reveal presence of freshwater in the reservoir. The implementation of the Polish phytobenthos lake assessment method for the nearby Ukrainian Reservoir was conducted for the first time. The multimetric Diatom Index for lake values varied from 0.39 to 0.76, and revealed alterations in the status over the Sasyk sites, ranging from good, moderate, to poor. Thus, it may be concluded that the current ecological status relating to the composition of benthic diatoms of the reservoir located in the coastal zone of the Black Sea is evaluated as having a moderate status class with some exceptions.


Author(s):  
Mykhailo Bibik ◽  
Hryhorii Moroz ◽  
Vitalii Kyrylenko ◽  
Artem Kuzmenko

According to the results of the study of soils in the Northwest of the Black Sea region, it is determined that here, in the profile of vorony-calcic and calcic Chernozems, both residual and weak alkalinity are manifested. It was found out, nowadays, in the national soil science, there are no clear criteria for the selection of sodic soils and for the determination of their alkalinity degree. Furthermore, there is also the question of the differentiation of the actually sodic and residual-sodic soils. It has been established that on the territory of the Northwest of the Black Sea region polygenetic soils – vorony-calcic and calcic Chernozems weakly and residual-sodic were formed and the diagnostics of their classification and taxonomic position for the moment is rather ambiguous. The diagnostic of the alkalinity degree of vorony-calcic and calcic Chernozems in the Northwest of the Black Sea region was carried out in four methodological approaches. It was established, that it is impossible to carry out precise and unambiguous diagnostics of the alkalinity degree of soils of the territory of the study according to existing methods. Thus, the sodic and residual-sodic soils, according to classification of 1977, are almost entirely positioned as weakly sodic in accordance with the “Field determinant of soils”. In turn, taking into account the Novikova approach, the status of these same soils varies from non-sodic to solonetzes according to the degree of illuviation, the final diagnosis of which, however, contradicts the low content of exchangeable sodium. An integral approach to the determination of the alkalinity degree of soils is proposed, which is based on the chronological features of the course and direction of the sodification process. According to this approach, if the alkalinity of the studied soils is relict, its degree should be diagnosed by the illuviation of silt and by the content of exchange Na+ (Ni> 8 %, Na+<3 % – residual-sodic soils, Ni> 8 %, Na+ ≥ 3 % –sodic soils).In turn, in the case of the modern alkalinity, its degree should be determined by the ratio Ca2+/Mg2+ (<4,8) and by the content of the exchangeable Na+ (<3 % – residual-sodic soils, and ≥3 % – sodic soils). Key words: Chernozems, the alkalinity degree, diagnostic, steppe, the Northwest of the Black Sea region.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 540-559
Author(s):  
Denis V. Konkin

When the Crimea acquired the status of Russian territory in 1783, it became an imperial ‘borderland’ a long way from Saint Petersburg. However, in the geopolitical aspirations of European powers, and, also, from the viewpoint of the Russian Empire, the Crimea was not a remote periphery. The Russian government consistently sought to attract colonists from abroad to the thinly-populated Black Sea region. Several attempts to do so ended in failure; one of these was the organization of farming colonies at the Sea of Azov for French royalist emigrants and military men from Condé’s army. In the era of Napoleon, France paid particular attention to the peninsula; in the complicated foreign policy conditions, France did not miss any opportunity to reconnoitre the internal situation of this potentially unstable province of Russia, with the goal to infl uence the position of the Ottomans towards this territory which at that time was largely populated by Muslims. The author emphasizes that an important aspect of Napoleon’s foreign policy was supporting anti-Russian sentiment in the Ottoman Empire. One of the obvious means to achieve this goal was focusing on the Crimea issue and promising assistance for returning the peninsula into the Ottoman sphere of infl uence. The Russian authorities did not neglect these attempts and countered them skilfully. The author argues that the success of Russia’s policy in the Crimea was mainly related to certain Frenchmen in Russian service. During the Russian-Ottoman confl ict of 1806-1812, the military and administrative measures conducted by Armand de Richelieu, the Governor of New Russia, and Jean de Traversay, the commander of the Black Sea Navy, became an important factor for providing a stable situation within the peninsula.


Kavkaz-forum ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
К.Ю. РАХНО

Статья посвящена анализу фольклорно-эпических мотивов иранского происхождения, которые наличествуют в исторической повести «Тарас Бульба» Николая Гоголя. Они обнаруживают параллели как в нартовском эпосе осетин, так и в поэме Фирдоуси «Шахнаме», сказаниях таджиков Систана и татов Дагестана. Делается вывод, что сюжет и многие детали этой знаменитой повести, как и многих других произведений Гоголя, отражают эпическую традицию ираноязычного населения причерноморских степей, которое стало этническим субстратом украинцев. Первым на данную параллель указал Василий Иванович Абаев, сравнивая описания повседневности запорожских казаков, как это имеет место в произведении Н.В. Гоголя «Тарас Бульба», с аналогичным описанием образа жизни нартов в нартовском эпосе. Описываемая повседневность включает в себя не только практику военных походов, но и веселья, включая специфический характер песен, танцев, системы ценностей, языческого мировоззрения. В качестве сравнительного материала автором привлекаются ритуальные пляски массагетов в описании Геродота, а также саков в описании Страбона. Проводится параллель между гоголевским Тарасом Бульбой и иранскими эпическими героями – нартом Батрадзом, Рустамом из поэмы Фирдоуси «Шахнамэ». Схожие черты выявляются в зоонимике, связанной с потусторонними силами, в характере казни убийц, в отношении к данному слову и реакции последствий за его нарушение. Несомненно, в повести отражены древние эпические мотивы степей Причерноморья, восходящие к ираноязычным кочевникам, позже ассимилированных славянами. Они обнаруживают параллели как в нартовском эпосе осетин, имеющем скифские и сармато-аланские корни, так и в персидском литературном эпосе, преданиях систанцев, сказках татов, имеющих отношение к южноиранской эпической традиции, возможно, имеющей скифо-сакские истоки. The article is devoted to the analysis of folklore-epic motifs of Iranian origin, which can be traced in the historical novel “Taras Bulba” by Nikolay Gogol. They find parallels both in the Narts’ epos of the Ossetians, and in Firdousi’s poem “Shahname”, the tales of Tajik Sistans and the Tats of Dagestan. It is concluded that the plot and many details of this famous story, like many other works by Gogol, reflect the epic tradition of the Iranian-speaking population of the Black Sea steppes, which has become the ethnic substrate of the Ukrainians. The first to point to this parallel was Vasily Ivanovich Abaev, comparing the descriptions of the everyday life of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, as is the case in the work of N.V. Gogol's "Taras Bulba", with a similar description of the lifestyle of the Narts in the Nart epic. The described everyday life includes not only the practice of military campaigns, but also fun, including the specific nature of songs, dances, a system of values, a pagan worldview. As a comparative material, the author uses the ritual dances of the Massagets in the description of Herodotus, as well as the Saka in the description of Strabo. A parallel is drawn between Gogol's Taras Bulba and Iranian epic heroes - Nart Batradz, Rustam from Firdousi’s poem “Shahname”. Similar features are revealed in the zoonymy associated with otherworldly forces, in the nature of the execution of murderers, in relation to this word and the reaction of the consequences for its violation. Undoubtedly, the story reflects the ancient epic motifs of the steppes of the Black Sea, dating back to the Iranian-speaking nomads, later assimilated by the Slavs. They find parallels both in the Nartian Ossetian epos, which has Scythian and Sarmatian-Alanian roots, and in the Persian literary epos, the traditions of the Sistans, and tales of the Tats, related to the South Iranian epic tradition, possibly having Scythian-Saka sources.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (Special Issue) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulgen Aytan ◽  
Fatma Basak Esensoy ◽  
Yasemen Senturk ◽  
Esra Arifoglu ◽  
Kaan Karaoglu ◽  
...  

The occurrence of micro- (<5 mm), meso- (5–25 mm) and macroplastics (>25mm) was investigated in seven commercial fish species of the Black Sea. Plastics were found in gastrointestinal track of all species analysed: Engraulis encrasicolus, Trachurus mediterraneus, Sarda sarda, Belone belone, Pomatus saltatrix, Merlangius merlangus and Mullus barbatus. A total of 352 plastic particles were removed from 190 individuals (29% of all individuals examined). The mean number of plastic particles per fish was 0.81±1.42 par.ind-1 (considering all fish analysed, n=650) and 2.06±1.09 par.ind-1 (considering only the fish that ingested plastic, n=190). The most common types of plastics were fibres (68.5%), followed by films (19%), fragments (11.9%), foams (0.3 %) and microbeads (0.3%). The most common plastic colour was black (39.3%) followed by blue (19.5%) and transparent (18.1%). The length of plastics ranged from 0.05 to 26.5 mm with an average of 1.84±2.80 mm. 93.2% of plastics were microplastics, 6.5 % as mesoplastics and 0.3% macroplastics. Plastic occurrence was higher in S. sarda (plastic in 70% of the analysed individuals) and lower in M. merlangus (plastic in 9% of the analysed individuals). The main synthetic polymers identified by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were polypropylene (29.8%), polyester (17.5%), acrylic (15.8%), polyethylene (14%) and polystyrene (1.8%) and 21.1% of polymers were cellulosic. Results show that commercial fish of the Black Sea is contaminated by plastics. This might affect vital functions of fish and pose a risk to ecosystem and human health. The study contributes to a better understanding of the status of plastic pollution in the fish from different habitats of the Black Sea and provides baseline data to implement the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in the basin.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Cemal Gücü ◽  
Batıkan Bilir ◽  
Coşkun Menderes Aydın ◽  
Murat Erbay ◽  
Savaş Kılıç

The Black Sea anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus ponticus) is not only the top commercial species with around 250 thousand tonnes of annual catch but a key species of the Black Sea ecosystem facilitating the flow of energy within the food chain. The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean has assessed the status of its stock for the Mediterranean since 2013. Underlining the shortcomings in the assessments, the commission has recommended diversifying and strengthening the data used and promote methods that provide biomass and abundance indices, such as hydroacoustics. This study aims to help fulfill the underlined deficiency by pursuing the implementation of the hydro-acoustic research surveys in the Turkish Black Sea EEZ. The survey was carried in November/December 2020, when the anchovies were accumulated within the Turkish EEZ, and cruise tracks were designed to cover the distribution areas of juvenile (0-year-old) and adult (Age 1 and over) anchovies displaying different distribution patterns within the Turkish EEZ in winter. The results show that the stock size is noticeably smaller than in previous years. Pelagic trawl sampling conducted alongside the acoustic data collection to estimate the size composition of anchovies indicated that the juvenile fish constitute an alarmingly large part of the overwintering stock.


Author(s):  
Raisa Belogurova

The article is focused on the history of studing the fishfauna of Karkinitsky Gulf of the Black Sea in the XX–XXI centuries. There have been singled out three stages in studying fishfauna of the region: since the late 50’s of the XIX century up to the early 20th century. (K. F. Kessler); at the turn of the 20th century (expeditions of S. A. Zernov, later – researches of L. V. Arnoldi, V. A. Vodyanitsky, K. A. Vinogradov, etc.) up to the 60s of the 20th century; since 2008 to the present day (A. R. Boltachev, E. P. Karpova). Data on the fishfauna of Karkinitsky Gulf during a half-century period has been found insufficient: since late 50s of the 20th century up to the beginning of the 21st century. There has been shown the importance of Karkinitsky Gulf as a habitat for the rare protected fish species and the feeding area of valuable fish juveniles. The influence of anthropogenic factors over the past 50 years has been proved to cause qualitative changes in the composition of the fishfauna of Karkinitsky Gulf: degradation of the seagrass biocenosis in shallow bays caused by siltation due to the discharge of fresh water from the fields and rice paddies, and the replacement of native ichthyofauna by freshwater species. The importance of systematic studies in this area is emphasized to assess the status of the fishfauna of Karkinitsky Gulf


1999 ◽  
Vol 65 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 21-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nataliya A. Milchakova
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Tamar Beridze ◽  
Elisa Boscari ◽  
Fleur Scheele ◽  
Tamari Edisherashvili ◽  
Cort Anderson ◽  
...  

AbstractThe eastern part of the Black Sea and its tributaries are suitable habitats for several sturgeon species, among which Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, A. stellatus, A. nudiventris, A. persicus, A. sturio, and H. huso are well documented. However, different threats have led these species to a dramatic decline, all of them are currently listed as Critically Endangered, and some Locally Extinct, in that area. We tested 94 wild sturgeon samples from the Black Sea and Rioni River by analyzing the mitochondrial Control Region and nuclear markers for hybrid identification. The data analyses (1) assessed mitochondrial diversity among samples, (2) identified their species, as well as (3) indicated instances of hybridization. The data collected, besides confirming a sharp decrease of catches of Beluga and Stellate sturgeon in recent years, also revealed four juvenile hybrids between Russian and Stellate sturgeon, providing the first evidence of natural interspecific hybridization in the Rioni. The present communication raises concerns about the status of sturgeon species in this area and underlines the urgent need for conservation programs to restore self-sustaining populations.


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