Since 1984, underwater archaeological excavations have studied the Amsterdam, a ship of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Three annual reports (Gawronski 1985; 1986; 1987) have been published by the VOC Schip Amsterdam Foundation covering excavations and research in 1984, 1985 and 1986. Rooij – Gawronski (1989) presents a detailed account of the history, methods and results of the Amsterdam project and background information about the ship and the VOC.

The Amsterdam, built in 1748 in Amsterdam, was lost during her maiden voyage, outwardbound for Batavia, the modern Djakarta, in January 1749 near the little town of Hastings on the south coast of England (FIGURE 1). The excavations form part of an integrated historical and archaeological programme to create relevant historical models for understanding the ship and its contents. This project aims to contribute to a more detailed and realistic view of the shipping and trade of the VOC in the 18th century.

The Canary Islands, 1000 km southwest into the Atlantic from Iberia, are close to the African coast; at the latitude of southern Morocco, they are far southern outliers to Europe as presently defined by its nation-states. The archaeology of their indigenous people, the Guanches, is caught up now in the contemporary politics of the Islas Canarias.

The Limestone Massif of northwest Syria has the largest concentration of late antique churches in the world. All date from between the second half of the 4th century and the first decade of the 7th century and are remarkably consistent in their conformity to a recognizably ‘Syrian’ architectural style. Almost without exception they are apsed basilicas varying only in terms of size and the quality of decoration.

This region was extensively surveyed in the 1950s by Georges Tchalenko, whose monumental three-volume study Villages antiques de la Syrie du nord remains the definitive work on the area. Of the many ecclesiastical buildings included in this survey Tchalenko identified a group of approximately 45 churches possessing a bema. The bema is a horseshoe-shaped structure in the nave that mirrors the curve of the apse. Entered via steps at the east end, it provided benches for the clergy and a pulpit at the west end that was used for scriptural expositions and homilies.

So far as is known to the writer, the only published studies of this subject are one by himseIf, made many years ago, and a more recent one by Professor André Pochan, though references to the appearance and colour of the stones are not uncommon. Thus both Jomard (who climbed the pyramid) and Maspero (who apparently did not climb the pyramid, but relied upon Jomard's description) both say that the portion of the casing of the pyramid of Chephren, still remaining in place at the apex, is coloured reddish in patches by lichen, the identification of this apparently having been made by the well-known botanist Delile, who accompanied Jomard on his climb up the pyramid.

Professor Pochan, who also climbed the pyramid of Chephren, 2nd examined the stones at the apex, states that he saw lichen, but only on the north side, where the colour was blackish, and that the stones in general are of a reddish-brown colour. No proof that the black was indeed lichen is given, and the very dry situation would seem to make the presence of lichen improbable, unless it is growing on the patches of bird excrement that Jomard noticed, which, however, are not likely to be confined to the north side.

The last 25 years has been a period of rapid change in the approach to archaeological fieldwork in Britain and this has been reflected in the development of survey within the Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), the government financed body responsible for maintaining the national record of archaeology and architecture. The monolithic county-based inventory approach of RCAHMS' first 60 years has been replaced by a more broadly-based archaeological strategy founded on programmes of work that range from national overviews and regional surveys to individual site plans. Archaeological mapping has superseded monument planning as the key field objective, and all survey, whether terrestrial, aerial or desk-based, is underpinned by the RCAHMS Geographical Information System (GIs). The radical changes in field data-capture have been mirrored by parallel developments in making that data accessible once it has been collected.