We present results, analyses, and an in-depth historical contextualization of the fieldwork undertaken in 2012 and 2013 at the Kindoki site in the Lower Congo (DRC). This site is linked to Mbanza Nsundi, one of the Kongo Kingdom's provincial capitals, which turns out to be archaeologically 'elusive'. Pinpointing its location proved to be particularly challenging. To this end, a historically informed survey methodology was applied that has rarely been implemented on such a scale in Central Africa before. We combined a strategy Afr Archaeol Rev (2015)
Raman spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis are commonly applied to archaeological objects as a fast and nondestructive way to characterize the materials. Here, micro-Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics on handheld XRF results were used to completely characterize beads found during archaeological excavations in the Congo. Metallic objects, organogenic materials, and glass beads were studied. Special attention was paid to the glassy materials, as they seem to be of European production. The matrix family and crystalline phases assemblage, as well as the results from principal components analysis on the elemental data, were used to define groups of beads of similar composition, and therefore probably of similar origin. This research project establishes the feasibility of this approach to archaeological glasses, and can be used to confirm and support the bead typologies used by archaeologists.
The dependency of current high energy performance buildings on external energy supply options can further be reduced by increasing the building's energetic selfsufficiency (ESS), up to the level of complete energy autonomy. A dynamic techno-financial analysis is carried out for different levels of ESS, up to the qualitative 100% ESS-level, for a greenhouse residence in Belgium. The energy demand, retrieved by means of dynamic whole building simulation, is to a large extent covered by on-site renewable energy sources (RES), combined with a capacity of electrical energy storage which are both sized using external scripts. The financial feasibility of the ESSvariants is evaluated for a variety of both static and dynamic pricing mechanisms under three economic cornerstone scenarios. The results indicate that increased (annual) ESS requires highly oversized on-site RES and energy storage options during most part of the year, thereby making the investment financially unattractive. The hypothesis that the techno-financial feasibility of various ESS-levels is highly dependent on the considered boundary conditions (e.g. end-use, time and spatial boundaries) is furthermore confirmed. Key Innovations• Dynamic techno-financial feasibility study of different levels of energetic self-sufficiency (ESS) towards complete energetic autonomy. • Dynamic whole building simulation in EnergyPlus and external scripts for sizing energy storage technologies in relation to different levels of ESS. • Implications of various -and in the future more realistic-energy pricing mechanisms and cornerstone scenarios on the financial feasibility of the ESS-levels of a building are tested. Practical ImplicationsRelevant end-use, spatial, economic and time boundaries are to be considered in energy-cost assessments, as the techno-financial feasibility is highly affected by it. Allow energy storage to serve both the building and the energy grid towards increased ESS. Programmable energy management is a promising solution to raise financial attractiveness of increased ESS. A zonal model to determine the effects of the greenhouse on the energy demand of a building is more accurate than a single zone model in EnergyPlus.
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