Deamidation of glutamine (Q) and asparagine (N) has been recognized as a marker of degradation and aging in ancient proteins. Using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) to study deamidation in wool textiles, we identified eight peptides from α-keratin proteins in sheep wool that could potentially be used to assess the level of degradation. For each chosen peptide, the extent of deamidation was determined by comparing the calculated theoretical distribution with the measured distribution using a genetic algorithm that gives the best fit to the measured distribution. Variations in the levels of deamidation were observed between peptides and in modern wool samples buried for up to 8 years in which deamidation levels were relatively low under short-term burial. In contrast, deamidation was higher in archeological textile fragments from medieval sites ranging from the 9th to 13th century in York (United Kingdom) and Newcastle (United Kingdom) and from the 13th to 16th century in Reykholt (Iceland). Major differences were observed between the British and the Icelandic samples, showing a negative correlation between age of samples and levels of deamidation, but highlighting the effect of local environment. In addition, nanoscale liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (nanoLC-ESI-MS/MS) data indicated that deamidation in wool's α-keratin was influenced by primary and higher-order structures. Predominance of deamidation on glutamine rather than asparagine in the archeological samples was attributed to a higher abundance of Q in the α-helical core domain of keratins, neighboring residues and steric hindrance preventing deamidation of N.

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YesResinous substances were highly prized in the ancient world for use in ritual contexts. Details gleaned\ud from classical literature indicate that they played a significant role in Roman mortuary rites, in treatment\ud of the body and as offerings at the tomb. Outside of Egypt, however, where research has shown that a\ud range of plant exudates were applied as part of the mummification process, resins have rarely been\ud identified in the burial record. This is despite considerable speculation regarding their use across the\ud Roman Empire.\ud Focusing on one region, we investigated organic residues from forty-nine late Roman inhumations\ud from Britain. Using gas chromatographyemass spectrometry and the well-attested biomarker approach,\ud terpenic compounds were characterized in fourteen of the burials analysed. These results provided direct\ud chemical evidence for the presence of exudates from three different plant families: coniferous Pinaceae\ud resins, Mediterranean Pistacia spp. resins (mastic/terebinth) and exotic Boswellia spp. gum-resins\ud (frankincense/olibanum) from southern Arabia or beyond. The individuals accorded this rite had all\ud been interred with a package of procedures more elaborate than the norm.\ud These findings illuminate the multiplicity of roles played by resinous substances in Roman mortuary\ud practices in acting to disguise the odour of decomposition, aiding temporary soft-tissue preservation and\ud signifying the social status of the deceased. Nevertheless, it was their ritual function in facilitating the\ud transition to the next world that necessitated transportation to the most remote outpost of the late\ud Roman Empire, Britain.R.C.B is supported by a PhD studentship from the Art and Humanities Research Council (43019R00209)

This paper reports on the excavation of a small, but high-status, later seventh-century Anglo-Saxon cemetery in Ely. Of fifteen graves, two were particularly well furnished, one of which was buried with a gold and silver necklace that included a cross pendant, as well as two complete glass palm cups and a composite comb, placed within a wooden padlocked casket. The paper reports on the skeletal and artefactual material (including isotopic analysis of the burials), and seeks to set the site in its wider social and historical context, arguing that this cemetery may well have been associated with the first monastery in Ely, founded by Etheldreda in ad 673.

We investigate the origin of archaeological wool textiles preserved by anoxic waterlogging from seven medieval archaeological deposits in north-western Europe (c. 700–1600 AD), using geospatial patterning in carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N) and non-exchangeable hydrogen (δ2H) composition of modern and ancient sheep proteins. δ13C, δ15N and δ2H values from archaeological wool keratin (n = 83) and bone collagen (n = 59) from four sites were interpreted with reference to the composition of modern sheep wool from the same regions. The isotopic composition of wool and bone collagen samples clustered strongly by settlement; inter-regional relationships were largely parallel in modern and ancient samples, though landscape change was also significant. Degradation in archaeological wool samples, examined by elemental and amino acid composition, was greater in samples from Iceland (Reykholt) than in samples from north-east England (York, Newcastle) or northern Germany (Hessens). A nominal assignment approach was used to classify textiles into local/non-local at each site, based on maximal estimates of isotopic variability in modern sheep wool. Light element stable isotope analysis provided new insights into the origins of wool textiles, and demonstrates that isotopic provenancing of keratin preserved in anoxic waterlogged contexts is feasible. We also demonstrate the utility of δ2H analysis to understand the location of origin of archaeological protein samples.