1,721,091 research outputs found
Exploring the coroplasts “techne” in Greek architectural terracottas: an archaeometric approach
No full textArchitectural terracottas represent a key element in the history of ancient Greek architecture; morphological variations, technical features and decorative motifs occur over the time, especially during the archaic period (Winter, 1993). In the western Greek colonies, different styles of roof revetment and decoration are known; among them, the so called “Siceliote system” and “Selinus system”. The numerous fine architectural terracottas fragments found in the South-Eastern area of Sicily during the archeological excavations strongly suggest the existence of important local workshops. However, even if the archaeologists have extensively described this class of artifacts, the scientific debate about fabrics, raw materials supply, manufacturing technology and decoration systems is currently open. One of the most interesting problem concerns the frequent presence of coarse-grained volcanic inclusions in the ceramic paste; this feature seems to be peculiar of many Sicilian architectural terracottas, as testified by several fragments found at Gela, Siracusa and Lentini. Worth of note is that this feature is observable also in area where volcanic rocks don’t outcrop suggesting that it is probably due to technological reasons. Another significant aspect regards the painted decoration technique of the revetments (i.e. firing phases, pigments, etc.) (Rescigno & Sampaolo, 2005). Even if preliminary studies on some Geloan architectural terracottas specimens have provided really promising results (Barone et al., 2015), the drawing of a complete scenario on the manufacturing features of the regional Sicilian roof revetments needs further investigations.
In order to achieve this goal, we have studied numerous decorated sima and geison fragments and acroteria specimens coming from some of the most important temples of Siracusa and Lentini. Materials have been analysed from petrographic, mineralogical (XRD) and chemical (XRF) point of view. Additionally, in-deep analyses have been carried out on volcanic inclusions, taking advantages from a methodological routine based on clinopyroxenes chemical composition obtained through Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy-Dispersive Spectrometry (SEM- EDS) measurements (Barone et al., 2010). Finally, an analytical characterization of the polychrome decoration of surfaces has been obtained by performing SEM-EDS and micro-Raman spectroscopy measurements.
All the analytical data have been therefore discussed and compared with the results obtained on Geolan materials in the light of the archaeological interpretations, providing a detailed overview on the local tradition of architectural terracottas production.
References
Barone, G., Belfiore, C.M., Mazzoleni, P., Pezzino, A. &Viccaro, M. (2010): A volcanic temper based approach for provenance studies of archaeological ceramics from Southern Italy. Journal of Archaeological Science, 37, 713-726
Barone, G., Mazzoleni, P., Raneri, S., Spagnolo, G. &Santostefano, A. (2015): Coroplastic art in Sicily: an investigation on provenance and manufacturing technology of the Greek architectural terracottasfrom Gela (Italy), 13th European Meeting on Ancient Ceramics, EMAC2015, Athen, September 24-26, 2015.
Rescigno, C. & Sampaolo, V. (2005): Appunti sull’impiego del colore sulle terrecottearchitettoniche capuane. Mediterranea : quaderni annuali dell'Istituto di studi sulle civiltà italiche e del Mediterraneo antico del Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche, già Quaderni di archeologia etrusco-italica, II, 133-164.
Winter, N.A. (1993): Greek Architectural Terracottas: From the Prehistoric to the End of the Archaic Period, Clarendon Press, 360 p
Coroplastic art in Sicily: an investigation on provenance and manufacturing technology of the Greek architectural terracottas from Gela (Italy)
Full text linkIn the 6th and 5thcenturies BCGela (Italy, Sicily) was one of the most important production centres of architectural terracottas in the Mediterranean basin. Nevertheless, few archaeometric data are actually available in scientific literature on this interesting artefacts class. Here we report the archaeometriccharacterization of Geloancoroplastic materials. In particular,an investigation on samples of the finest architectural terracottasfound inthe archaeological excavations in Gela has been carried out with the aim of identifyingthedistinctive features of the production site and the manufacturing techniques. The group of samplesincludes various remarkable architectural elements: decorated simaand geison fragments, acroteria specimens.
Information data about provenance,fabric features, technological knowledge and manufacturing techniques have been obtained by performing petrographic(OM), mineralogical (XRD) and chemical analyses (XRF).
Most of the identified petrographicfabrics have revealed the presence of volcanic temper; therefore, considering the chemical composition of clinopiroxenes as a powerful tool in provenance attributions and magmatic province identification, EDS analysis have been alsoperformed.
In addition, an analytical characterization of the polychrome decoration of surfaces has been carried out by using Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy-Dispersive Spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and micro Raman spectroscopy.
The obtained results allow us to highlight interesting aspectsofthe production and the decoration of the architectural terracottas, opening newperspectives in the study of the coroplastic art in Sicily
Natural and anthropogenic sources of total suspended particulate and their contribution to the formation of black crusts on building stone materials of Catania (Sicily)
Full text linkBlackening and disaggregation of exposed surfaces of stone monuments are well-known effects of stone decay taking place in polluted urban environments all over the world. This paper aims to assess the contribution of natural and anthropogenic sources of total suspended particulate (TSP) causing permanent damage (black crusts) to the stone monuments of Catania (Sicily), one of the most popular ‘‘cities of art’’ of southern Italy. Atmospheric pollution of Catania, a typical Mediterranean coastal town, is mainly contributed by vehicle exhaust emissions rather than industrial ones. Episodically, the city also suffers gaseous and ash emissions (plumes) from the nearby Mount Etna volcano. Thus, to discriminate between natural and anthropogenic contributions to stone decay on Catania monuments, black crusts and TSP were sampled within the urban area and subjected to specific analytical procedures (optical microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectrometry, ionic chromatography and dual inlet mass spectrometry). Mineralogical, chemical and isotopic characterization of black crusts and TSP provided new insights concerning the partition of sulfate sources in this particular urban context. The influence of Mount Etna emissions on both TSP and black crusts compositions was shown. Nevertheless, the key role of anthropogenic sources in the total sulfate budget was confirmed, while sea spray and volcanic emissions were found to make subordinate contributions. Quantitative data useful for the identification of the threshold pollution levels for preventive conservation of Catania monuments were obtained
Contribution of fly ash and TSP to the formation of decay layers on building materials in urban environments of Sicily (Italy)
No full text
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
- …
