1,721,012 research outputs found
Automatic extraction of petrographic features from pottery of archaeological interest
No full textThe microscopic description of ancient pottery is widely used for the fabric definition, classification and provenance assessment. In most cases, however, the description is qualitative. An improvement of the study of archaeological pottery needs a more objective approach with quantitative analysis. In classical scientific literature, the structural features and mineralogical composition of pottery are carried out on thin sections by means of transmitted polarized light microscope. The determination were obtained through observations with and without cross polarizator (nicols). The quantitative measurements are normally achieved with tedious and time consuming table with point counter. In this article the attention has been focused on the automatic identification of structural and textural components of the potteries through optical microscopy. Image analysis techniques have been then used to automatically classify the image components. Results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach: petrographic data collection becomes faster with respect to the traditional method providing also quantitative information useful for fabric recognition
Evaluation of the technological features of late roman cooking ware classes from Akrai (Syracuse, Sicily)
Full text linkIn this work, a provenance and technological investigation on cooking-ware potteries from the ancient
Greek -Roman town of Akrai (Palazzolo Acreide, Syracuse, Sicily) has proposed. A multi-methodological
approach have been used to study the manufacture quality of analysed materials; in detail, petrograp
hic, mineralogical, spectroscopic, chemical, porosimetric and micro-morphological analyses have been
applied. The study providesfundamental contribute in archeological issues related to circulation in Sicily of cooking
-ware productions during Late Roman Age; in fact, the obtained results allow to recognize in the site
the presence of different well-known cooking-ware Roman productions, highlighting interesting questions
about the technological and manufacture properties of this class of materials
Archaeometric identification of Maltese imports in prehistoric Sicily: Żebbuġ phase pottery from Licata-Caduta (Agrigento)
Full text linkDuring the study of a pottery assemblage collected at the Sicilian site of Licata-Caduta (Agrigento),
continuously occupied between the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, some ceramics presented typologies,
fabrics and surface treatments alien to Sicilian repertoires and closer to Maltese productions. Sampled
for petrographic (OM) and chemical (XRF) analyses one artefact turned out to be produced in Malta
and imported into Sicily. The search for its chronological and cultural placement has led to the discovery
of the first certified Żebbuġ phase import in Sicily
Artificial neural network for the provenance study of archaeological ceramics using clay sediment database
Full text linkAn artificial neural network (ANN) for archaeometric studies was created to facilitate provenance attribution of archaeological ceramics. A multilayer perceptron model (MLP) was applied to construct the network, including only one hidden layer. Moreover, correction parameters based on historical and archaeological evidences were applied to Bayesian probability factor. The ANN was trained by using clays mixings mathematically constructed based on a reference chemical database of Sicilian sediments. The clay mixing takes in consideration compositional variability within the same geological site and the extent of the ceramic manufacture processes. Test was performed by querying the ANN with compositional data of ceramics found in archaeological sites coherent with clays sampling areas. Up to 88% correct attribution was verified, with good correspondence between geological and archaeological contexts. Finally, merits of ANN were highlighted by comparing the extent of successfully provisional attribution with classical statistical methods (PCA and LDA)
Archaeometric investigation of a Late Roman marble statue from Kaucana (RG) with considerations on the diffusion of Thasos marble in Sicily
No full textIn this work, a Roman white marble fragment of a headless body and a limestone ballast have been studied. The artifacts were discovered during the underwater archaeological explorations carried out in the Late Roman Harbor of Kaucana in Palmento of Punta Secca (RG; Sicily). Petro-archeometrics analysis to identify their provenience were performed with the aim to constraint archaeological hypothesis. In particular, to characterize the white marble we used a multi-technique approach to the petrographic description including the distinctive parameters AGS, MGS and GBS carried out by optical microscopy (MO), whereas mineralogical and chemical analysis were obtained respectively by means of X-Ray Diffraction and X-Ray Fluorescence with a portable instrument. Furthermore, the determination of the ∂18O and ∂13C isotopic ratios gave important information for the identification of the provenience of marble by comparison with literature data. Regarding the ballast, the characterization of the limestone was carried out by traditional petrographic, mineralogical and chemical methods. Finally, information about morphology and causes of underwater deterioration suffered by the materials was obtained by SEM-EDS analysis. All the data strongly suggest the provenance from Capo Vathy quarry in Thasos island (Greece) for the marble. Whereas for the ballast, both a Thasian and south Sicilian origin is excluded. This paper contributes to reconstructing the marble routes from Greece to the western parts of the Roman Empire
Portable XRF: a tool for the study of corundum gems
Full text linkOrigin of gemstones is a key aspect not only in gemological field but also in Cultural Heritage studies, for the correct evaluation of precious artifacts. The studies on gems require the application of non-invasive and non-destructive methods; among them, portable spectroscopic techniques has been demonstrated as powerful tools, providing a fingerprint of gems for origin and provenance determination. In this study, portable XRF spectroscopy has been applied to test the potential of the technique for the origin determination of corundum gems. The obtained results allowed distinguishing natural and synthetic rubies and sapphire
Mobility of men versus mobility of goods: Archaeometric characterization of Middle Bronze Age pottery in Malta and Sicily (15th-13thcentury BC)
Full text linkThe aim of this paper is to offer the first petrographic and chemical characterization of Middle Bronze Age pottery of Malta (Borġ in-Nadur, half of 15th- early 12thcentury BC) to discriminate, in the multitude of Borġ in-Nadur vessels found in coeval sites of southeastern and central-western Sicily, between imports and imitations and to precisely define their provenance. The present research may provide new data in order to shed light on the long standing issue about 'mobility of men' and 'mobility of goods' between the two insular contexts. A significant amount of Borġ in-Nadur pottery from Malta and Sicily have been sampled and subjected to petrographic exam on thin sections; moreover, mineralogical and chemical analyses of major and trace elements were performed by X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, respectively. Finally, chemical data were treated with statistical method (Aitchison, 1986) in order to attempt to distinguish Maltese and Sicilian Middle Bronze Age pottery productions
Mortars and plasters from the Bruttii - Roman city of Taureana (Palmi, RC, Italy) - Preliminary data
No full textIn this work we present the preliminary results of the analysis of some plaster and mortar samples taken from the site of Taureana (Palmi, RC), an important Bruttii - Roman city. Two different construction phases of the city are investigated and refer to the presence of Bruttii (IV - I B.C.) and Roman (I B.C. - IV A.D.) settlements. The studied materials were collected from different architectonical structures and characterized by means of optical microscopy (OM), SEM/EDS and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. The study allowed to obtain preliminary interesting information about the evolutions in this chronological lap of production technology of plasters and mortars used in the different architectural structures. Furthermore, the petrographic observations have allowed the provenance of raw materials to be determined
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