1,721,034 research outputs found
Clays from the Bay of Naples (Italy): New insight on ancient and traditional ceramics
No full textThe features of two clayey raw materials from the Bay of Naples and their fired products were investigated via minero-petrographic and physical techniques.Clay preparation and firing dynamics were performed following a process similar to that performed by ancient and traditional potters. A high-CaO marine clay from Ischia was mixed with different amounts of volcanic temper in order to replicate most common ware. These mixtures show a fair mechanical resistance starting from relatively low firing temperatures (>850◦C). The addition of temper resulted in different technological characteristics. A low-CaO weathered pyroclastics from the Sorrento Peninsula was prepared to simulate heat resistant and refractory ceramics. Fired products are characterised by a less resistant ceramic body up to 1000◦C compared to Ischia ceramics. Despite worse strength these ceramics show a porous structure, yielding better refractory performances
Production technology of mortar-based building materials from the Arch of Trajan and the Roman Theatre in Benevento, Italy
No full textThis research deals with the archaeometric study of mortars of two outstanding examples of Roman architecture in Benevento (southern Italy): The Roman Theatre and the Arch of Trajan. Mortars were analysed by means of a multi-analytical approach (i.e., polarized light microscopy, thermal analyses, infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersed spectrometry) according to existing recommendations. Two different types of recipes were identified for the mortars of the Roman Theatre: a lime-based pozzolanic mortar and a hydraulic one, the hydraulicity of which, in both recipes, was due to the occurrence of natural pozzolanic admixture in air-hardening lime. As far as the Arch of Trajan is concerned, the investigated mortars are highly hydraulic as a consequence of the concomitant effect of a pozzolana-based aggregate and of a binder deriving from a marly-limestone-like stone. Although having the same function, the two different recipes identified for the bedding mortars of the Roman Theatre are clearly referred to different building phases of the monument associated to two out of the three documented construction phases
La ceramica a vernice nera dal santuario di Hera alla foce del Sele: i primi risultati delle indagini archeometriche
No full textUnicuique suum tribuere: The latent geological influence on "Fiano di Avellino DOCG" terroir. Case study
No full textCampania Region hosts prestigious terroirs, the most famous interesting the Irpinia area. Actually, Lapio district (Avellino province) represents a reliable example of the relationship between wine production and territory development. The present study reports the geological and mineropedological features of the selected territory and aims at appraising the typicalness of a prestigious wine production, the Fiano di Avellino DOCG by spreading the results of such an interdisciplinary study
Multi-analytical and non-invasive characterization of the polychromy of wall paintings at the Domus of Octavius Quartio in Pompeii
No full textThe materials and techniques of wall paintings decorating the Domus of Octavius Quartio, an outstanding patrician villa in ancient Pompeii, were investigated by means of a multi-analytical and non-invasive approach. Chemical and mineralogical characterization of pigments was obtained by the combined use of external reflection Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (ER-FTIR), sequentially shifted excitation Raman spectroscopy (SSR-RS) and portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy. ER-FTIR and SSR-RS provided complementary molecular information for the characterization of both organic and inorganic pigments and helped to identify the pigments in the white, red, yellow, black, blue and pink paints. XRF spectroscopy provided elemental characterization of the inorganic pigments and assisted in the determination of pigment mixtures mainly constituting the green paints. Results pointed to the use of a characteristic Roman palette, consisting of calcite, cinnabar, red and yellow ochre, green earths, Egyptian blue and carbon black. A fresco application of the pigments was suggested for the execution of the wall paintings. The combined approach by spectroscopic techniques also recognized that wax had been applied as a consolidant or protective coating, and weathering products in the form of gypsum and calcium oxalate also occur
Archaeometric characterization of common wares from Ancient Appia Landscapes Survey (Benevento - Italy): new elements to reconstruct a Late Roman micro-regional ceramic production.
No full textThe Ancient Appia Landscapes project (AAL) has been operating since 2011 in partnership with the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Salerno, Avellino, Benevento and Caserta. The main idea of the research was the topographic reconstruction of the Via Appia Antica along the stretch between Beneventum and the so-called Appian Bridge on the Calore River, the final goal being the reconstitution of the ancient landscape in this area strongly characterised by Via Appia, in a holist approach to environmental events, population dynamics, settlement patterns and economic activities.
The areas concerned with the hypothetical route have been detected using intensive survey techniques and, in some cases, also thematic surveys in sites of specific interest.
There is no doubt that one of the most important and complex parts of the research survey is the quantification and classification of ceramic finds.
In this study of all the ceramic assemblages of the AAL Surveys and the completion of archaeometric analyses will provide more information towards understanding the production, distribution and consumption patterns of late antique ceramics in the south-east area of Benevento. For now, the pottery analysis of UT 0466 clearly shows that local productions adopted the morphological repertoire that circulated in Naples and Campania in the 5th-6th century, using similar manufacturing techniques, intentionally associated with particular forms of a different cultural tradition.
Twenty-four samples from thousands of fragments were selected for archeometric analyses. The procedures applied were: macroscopic analyses, to describe the ceramic paste following the scheme proposed by Williams (1990); optical microscopy observations of thin sections using a Nikon Eclipse 6400 POL microscope with polarised light (20x, 40x, 100x, 200x magnification), to define the main petrographic groups and describe mineralogical and textural features of the pastes according to the terminology suggested by Maggetti (1991); and X-ray powder diffraction analyses, to identify the micro- and crypto-mineralogical phases and determine the firing temperature of the samples
Introducing dolomite seams: Hybrid compaction-solution bands in dolomitic limestones
No full textBedding-parallel dolomite seams occur in a clay-poor carbonate succession of the Apennines. The seams are composed of a high concentration of dolomite crystals compared to the hosting dolomitic limestone. SEM images document microcracking, and in many cases even crushing and fragmentation, of dolomite crystals and accumulation of non-carbonate insoluble material both along micro-stylolites within the seams and around dolomite crystals of the seams. We interpret the seams as hybrid structures between pressure-solution seams and compaction bands, which formed during burial. The euhedral dolomite crystals scattered in the micritic matrix represent the insoluble residue produced by the progressive dissolution of calcite. As calcite dissolution proceeds, the concentration of dolomite crystals increases, eventually resulting in a dolomite seam in which locally a dolomite crystal-supported texture is attained. At this stage, the dolomite crystals within the seam start to collide, crush and fragment, so that the dolomite seam behaves like a compaction ban
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