Uli Schuessler

University of Wuerzburg | JMU · Department of Geography and Geology

Outstanding garnet beads were found recently in an elite tumulus dated to the fourth century AD and located at the cemetery of Hagar el‐Beida in the Upper Nubian Nile Valley region. Whereas contacts of Northeast Africa with South Asia have just been proven through analysis of glass beads found in Nubia and dating to the time of intensive Indian Oce...

Four isolated occurrences of Tertiary volcanic rocks in the northern Spessart at Beilstein, Hoher Berg, Madsteinand Kasselgrund are relics of volcanic vents or dikes. They display alkaline basalts (s.l.) with mainly trachybasalticcomposition, which, from normative mineral contents, may be designated as nepheline-bearing alkali-olivine basalts andba...

An Early Byzantine almandine garnet engraved with a Christian motif and dated to the late sixth to eighth century offers insight into trade practices in antiquity. The gemstone was characterized by a combination of nondestructive analytical methods including electron microprobe, portable X-ray fluorescence, Raman spectroscopy, and optical microscop...

Imperial Porphyry, a famous dimension stone of spectacular purple color, was quarried in the Mons Porphyrites area north of Jabal Dokhan in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, from the beginning of the first until the middle of the fifth century AD. During this period, the valuable material was processed as decorative stone and was used for objects of art...

The Münchberg Massif in northeastern Bavaria, Germany is an allochthonous metamorphic nappe complex within the Saxothuringian Zone of the Variscan orogen. From top to bottom it consists of four major units: Hangend-Serie, Liegend-Serie, Randamphibolit-Serie and Prasinit-Phyllit-Serie, which show an inverted metamorphic gradient of eclogite- to amph...

Stratigraphically well-defined volcanic rocks in Palaeozoic volcano-sedimentary units of the Frankenwald area (Saxothuringian Zone, Variscan Orogen) were sampled for geochemical characterisation and U–Pb zircon dating. The oldest rock suite comprises quartz keratophyre, brecciated keratophyre, quartz keratophyre tuff and basalt, formed in Upper Cam...

The archaeological site of Arikamedu, located in Tamil Nadu State on the east coast of India, was the centre for many centuries of a significant bead-producing industry. Beads were made of both glass and stone, including garnet, but the source of the garnet rough material has not been confirmed. To probe this question, garnet beads found at Arikame...

About the characterisation and the origin of central European ”High-magnesium glass”

Cu- and Mn-bearing tourmalines from Brazil and Mozambique were characterised chemically (EMPA and LA-ICP-MS) and by X-ray single-crystal structure refinement. All these samples are rich in Al, Li and F (fluor-elbaite) and contain significant amounts of CuO (up to ~1.8 wt%) and MnO (up to ~3.5 wt%). Structurally investigated samples show a pronounce...

Copper-bearing tourmalines are highly prized for their vivid coloration. We analysed the major and trace elements of some gem-quality Cu-bearing tourmalines (e.g. blue, greenish blue, yellowish green, green, violet and pink) from Brazil, Mozambique and Nigeria. Most of them contained significant amounts of Cu, Mn or a combination of both elements....

Glazes from tiles of representative historic Islamic buildings and tableware ceramic from Central Asia, the Middle East, Asia Minor and North Africa were analysed by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and two-dimensional micro-X-ray powder diffraction (m-XRD 2). From major element compositions, three main glaze types were identified: alkali, alkal...

Glazes from tiles of representative historic Islamic buildings and tableware ceramic from Central Asia, the Middle East, Asia Minor and North Africa were analysed by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and two-dimensional micro-X-ray powder diffraction (μ-XRD2). From major element compositions, three main glaze types were identified: alkali, alkali...

Ressourcen und Rohstoff e in der Bronzezeit Nutzung – Distribution – Kontrolle Beiträge zur Sitzung der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Bronzezeit auf der Jahrestagung des Mittel-und Ostdeutschen Verbandes für Altertumsforschung in Brandenburg an der Havel, 16. bis 17. April 2012 Brandenburgisches Landesamt für Denkmalpfl ege und Archäologisches Landesmuseum W...

The electron microprobe (EMP) Th-U-Pb monazite bulk chemical dating method was applied to granulite-facies rocks of the Wilson Terrane in Antarctica. A combination of this method to isotopic U-Pb-SHRIMP ages for the evaluation of metamorphic processes required the analysis of reference monazites. These can be subdivided into three groups: a) Monazi...

Cu- and Mn-bearing tourmalines from Brazil and Mozambique were characterised chemically (EMPA and LA-ICP-MS) and by X-ray single-crystal structure refinement. All these samples are rich in Al, Li and F (fluor-elbaite) and contain significant amounts of CuO (up to ~1.8 wt%) and MnO (up to ~3.5 wt%). Structurally investigated samples show a pronounce...

We show and discuss unusual impact melt rocks from the sedimentary target of the Azuara/Rubielos de la Cérida multiple impact in Spain: a silicate melt rock originating from the melting of shale, a carbonate-phosphate melt rock showing liquid immiscibility of carbonate and phosphate melt, carbonate and sulfate melt rocks, a carbonate-psilomelane me...

Comprehensive geochemical investigations of metabasites yielded constraints for a correlation of, or discrimination between the different tectonic units within the northeast Bavarian crystalline basement. The Münchberg nappe pile consists of at least five large tectonic units which exhibit differences in lithology, in part also in metamorphic grade...

The Ringgold Knoll pegmatite, a late-stage member of the Granite Harbour Intrusives, crosscuts high-grade Wilson gneisses of the Oates Coast. The pegmatite mineral assemblage consists of K-feldspar, plagioclase, quartz, garnet (almandine-spessartine-pyrope), dark tourmaline (schorl-dravite), muscovite, apatite, monazite, zircon, blue Al-rich tourma...

About 100 fragments of Roman mosaic and millefiori glass were stylistically attributed to a Hellenistic type, a Ptolemaic and Romano-Egyptian period type and an early imperial period type. Twelve representative fragments were studied by electron microprobe analysis and Raman microspectroscopy. Eleven of them display a Na-pronounced recipe with low...

The Bafoussam area in western Cameroon is part of the Central African Orogenic Belt. It is dominated by granitoids which belong to the Pan-African syn- to post-collisional post-650 Ma group. Syenogranites are predominant, but alkali-feldspar granite, monzogranite, quartz-monzonite and quartz-monzodiorite occur as well. Four granitoid suites, biotit...

Ancient coloured glass beads from Sri Lanka and Oman were analysed by Raman microspectroscopy for non-destructive identification of inorganic pigments in the glass. Calcium phosphate (Ca3(PO4)2), cassiterite (SnO2), cuprite (Cu2O) and a Pb(Sn,Si)O3-type lead tin oxide were found to be used as colouring agents. Moreover, a distinction between lead-b...

Mikroanalytische Untersuchungen gewinnen in der Archäometrie aus verschiedenen Gründen immer mehr an Bedeutung. Zum einen hat sich die Zahl der unterschiedlichen Methoden in den vergangenen zehn bis fünfzehn Jahren deutlich vergrößert. Neben der traditionell weit verbreiteten Elektronenstrahl-Mikrosonde stehen heute unterschiedliche Typen von Laser...

In 2001 the 433 m deep Messel 2001 bore hole was drilled in the centre of the Messel Pit, 25 km south of Frankfurt (Germany). Interdisciplinary, geoscientific results obtained from this drilling proved the origin of the circular-shaped basin as a maar-diatreme-structure beneath the surface. Recovered deposits consist of sedimentary rocks (0-240 m)...

In order to interpret pre-historic cultural interactions, the provenance of amphibolitic raw material used for flat-axes and adzes in lower to middle Neolithic cultures throughout present day Germany were investigated by elemental and Sr, Pb isotopic methods. Within all settlements studied, a homogeneous actinolite-hornblende schist rock type (AHS)...

The high-grade basement of the northwestern Wilson Terrane at Oates Coast is subdivided into three roughly north-south trending zones on the basis of tectonic thrusting and differences in metamorphic petrology. New results of detailed petrological investigations show that metamorphic rocks of the central zone were formed in course of one single, cl...

A pegmatite from Diethensdorf, Saxonian Granulite Massif, Germany, contains fine-grained aggregates of at least three different varieties of niobian rutile and a (W, Sc)-rich ferrocolumbite. In addition, rutile 1 occurs as larger grains. Electron microprobe analyses of niobian rutile gave compositions close to the general formula (Fe,Mn)x(Nb,Ta)2xT...

A metamorphosed ultramafic rock, penetrated by the KTB pilot hole at a depth of 1382.36 m, contains the assemblage Caamphibole - anthophyllite - chlorite - talc, formed at about 630degreesC/10 kbar under conditions of the high-P amphibolite facies. EMP analyses of the Ca-amphibole yielded magnesiohastingsite (to pargasite) compositions with (Al+Fe3...

Metasediments in the three early Palaeozoic Ross orogenic terranes in northern Victoria Land and Oates Land (Antarctica) are geochemically classified as immature litharenites to wackes and moderately mature shales. Highly mature lithotypes with Chemical Index of Weathering values of ≥ 95 are typically absent. Geochemical and Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd isotope...

We report on the Azuara impact structure and its Rubielos de la Cérida compa- nion crater, which establish the largest terrestrial doublet impact structure presently known. Both structures have diameters of roughly 35 - 40 km and they have been formed in a purely sedimentary target. From stratigraphic considerations and palaeontologic dating, an Up...

The Rubielos de la Cérida impact structure forms a companion crater to the Late Eocene-Oligo-cene Azuara impact structure. Both are located more or less at the margin of the Iberian chains and the Ebro basin south of Zaragoza. Within the Rubielos structure, silicate melt rocks, carbonate-phosphate melts with small-scaled immiscibility features, ver...

Within the basement of the northern Wilson Terrane at Oates Coast, a very-high-grade central zone is distinguished from high-grade zones to the east and west. In the central zone, P–T estimates of 8 kbar and 800°C derive from the relic assemblage: (1) Crd+Bt+Sil+Spl+Pl+Qtz for an earlier medium-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism which is also d...

The energy gap of zinc-blende epitaxial layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy has been determined over a wide range of composition using optical transmission and reflection and an empirical formula for the energy gap at room temperature is also given. In addition in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry was used in order to determine the temperature dep...

In the Proterozoic Schist Belt of Nigeria, lenticular bodies of metabasites and meta-ultramafics are frequently intercalated within staurolite bearing metapelitic schists. Such a metamorphosed mafic-ultramafic complex is particularly well exposed in the Mokuro riverbed between the towns of Ife and Ilesha. These outcrops display contact relationship...

Beads from graves of the Samad Culture. Sultanate of Oman, and from an ancient craftsmen quarter of the old kingdom of Ruhuna. excavated in Sri Lanka, were investigated using electron microprobe analysis and X-ray powder diffraction. Both experimental methods were optimized towards a non-destructive analysis of archaeo­ logical finds. Based on thei...

&#112K–Ar and Rb–Sr age determinations on muscovites and biotites and K–Ar age determinations on amphiboles are presented for leucocratic gneisses, amphibolites and (meta-)igneous rocks from the Zone of Erbendorf Vohenstrauss (ZEV) and the KTB boreholes located in the northeastern ZEV and leucocratic gneisses from the Erbendorf Greenschist zone (EG...

The temperature dependence of the energy gap of zinc‐blende CdSe and Cd 1-x Zn x Se has been determined over the entire range of composition from optical transmission and reflection measurements at temperatures between 5 and 300 K. The experimental results can be expressed by the following modified empirical Varshni formula, whose parameters are fu...

We have investigated optical properties of ZnTe epilayers, Zn1−xMgxSeyTe1−y epilayers, and ZnTe/Zn1−xMgxSeyTe1−y quantum wells (QWs) grown on (100)-InAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. We observed several sharp photoluminescence lines close to the excitonic position and no detectable luminescence from deep levels in ZnTe epilayers. Bright lum...

ZnTe and CdSe with lattice constants of 6.10 and 6.09 Å are nearly lattice matched to InAs with a lattice parameter of 6.06 Å. InAs is available as a high quality substrate material for molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and X-ray diffraction studies have been performed to investigate the nature of the...

The temperature dependence of the energy gap of zinc-blende CdSe and Cd 1x Zn x Se has been determined over the entire range of composition from optical transmission and reflection measurements at temperatures between 5 and 300 K. The experimental results can be expressed by the following modified empirical Varshni formula, whose parameters are fun...

The metagabbro-amphibolite sequences in the KTB pilot hole contain intercalations of talc-chlorite-amphibole felses (or ''hosbachites''), which show transitional contacts to the adjacent metagabbros. The hosbachites are characterized by relics of a primary igneous texture and still contain igneous minerals like clinopyroxene, biotite and pseudomorp...

As laid out in Chapters V.B.1 and V.B.2, the parautochthonous Thuringian fades of the Saxothuringian Belt has been overthrust from the SE by nappes, which have survived in the core of the Vogtland Synform. These are the tectonic klippen of Münchberg, Wildenfels, and Frankenberg (in order from W to E; see Fig. 1). The klippen represent, in fact, ero...

Calc-silicate rocks occur as elliptical bands and boudins intimately interlayered with eclogites and high-pressure gneisses in the Munchberg gneiss complex of NE Bavaria. Core assemblages of the boudins consist of grossular-rich garnet, diopside, quartz, zoisite, clinozoisite, calcite, rutile and titanite. The polygonal granoblastic texture commonl...

K-Ar dating on hornblendes and micas from the Tepla Domazlice zone revealed a pattern of dates which significantly deviates from the mid-Carboniferous to early Permian one that is found in the adjacent low-pressure metamorphic Moldanubian and Saxothuringian. Especially for the Marianske Lazne metabasic complex, confirming early Czech determinations...

Major-, trace- and rare-earth element chemistry studies of metabasite intercalations within different tectonic units of the East Bavarian crystalline basement leads to the following geochemical classification: The flaser amphibolites of the Erbendorf-Vohenstrauss Zone (ZEV) exhibit an enriched, E-MORB- or intraplate-like tholeiitic character, where...

The polymetamorphic Moldanubian (MO) of the northeasthern margin of the Bohemian Massif has been thrust to the north onto the mainly Paleozoic sedimentary Saxothuringian of the Fichtelgebirge (FG). These two units have undergone polyphase deformation and the last regional event to affect both units was a low-pressure metamorphism in which temperatu...

Die Antikenabteilung des Martin von Wagner Museums in Würzburg besitzt etwa 200 Fragmente von Mosaikgläsern, die aus dem Kunsthandel stammen und von denen jetzt 100 archäologisch bearbeitet wurden [1]. Bei diesen Gläsern handelt es sich um Gefäße, Einlagen und Verkleidungs-platten, die aus einzelnen kleinen Scheibchen von vorgefer-tigten Mosaikglas...

Various amphibolites, metagabbros and eclogitic relics of the Mariimske Lazne complex, and amphibolites from the Cerna Hora Massif exhibit an uniform geochemical character which compares well with modern mid-ocean ridge basalts. Geochemically these metabasites are similar to the amphibolites of the My to area and to schistose. partly striped amphib...