1,720,982 research outputs found
STUDIO ETNOARCHEOMETRICO DI MALTE AEREE A LEGANTE GESSOSO NELL’AREA DELLE MADONIE (SICILIA SETTENTRIONALE)
Full text linkThe Madonie Regional Park, which covers an area of about 400 square kilometres, is an ideal context where environment and man activities are still mixed harmoniously. In the last years a variety of ethno-archaeometric investigations have been carried out in order to study various aspects of the "material culture" of this territory. In particular, the research was focused on the production of majolica which have had a great importance since the early decades of the 16th century thanks to the geolithological features of the Madonie area, particularly rich in clayey raw material.
The traditional building techniques of the Madonie which involve several typologies of building materials (used for ordinary masonry, decorative elements, in the manufacture of artificial aggregates) were also influenced by the geological characteristics of the territory. In this direction, several studies have been recently organized in order to identify the ancient sources of raw materials and the reconstruction of the so-called "productive chain".
The present contribution is aimed to the characterization of gypsum-based mortars locally made and widely employed on building tradition of the Madonie area. These were made using gypsum as raw material extracted in the same area and fired in special furnaces that today are testified only by few ruins. The examined samples are representative of gypsum mortars used on local stone-built structure. The study, enriched by documentary/ethnographic research on traditional kilns, locally called "carcare", was conducted by means of mineralogical and petrographic methods (XRD, optical microscopy and SEM-EDS) with the aim to characterize historic mortars in terms of composition and texture and recover the ancient recipes and also localize the source area of raw materials.
The data obtained will be useful for planning the restoration (integration or replacement) of historic buildings in the area
LE ANFORE PUNICHE DI ENTELLA (SICILIA CENTRO-OCCIDENTALE): ANALISI ARCHEOMETRICHE FINALIZZATE ALLA DETERMINAZIONE DI PROVENIENZA
No full textArchaeometric evidence attesting production of indigenous archaic pottery at Monte Polizzo (Western Sicily)
Full text linkExcavations at the proto-urban indigenous settlement of Monte Polizzo (western Sicily) have not yielded so far any evidence of in-situ ceramic production (i.e. kiln structures). However several archaeological concerns put forward to consider it as a likely production centre of pottery during the Archaic age. In this paper a first attempt to check the compositional correspondence between ceramic fabrics and local clay sources has been made. A comprehensive archaeometric investigation of native pottery, mainly composed of matte-painted table ware dated from the 7th to the 4th century BC, recovered from the Acropolis of Monte Polizzo has allowed the identification of five distinct ‘Paste Compositional Reference Units’ (PCRUs). The five PCRUs were independently identified and confirmed through textural and mineralogical characteristics (petrographic observations) and chemical characterization (XRF analysis).
A parallel investigation of clayey raw material of Monte Polizzo’s natural resources revealed two geologic formations the Terravecchia and Marnoso-Arenacea del Belice (MAB). Experimental ceramic briquettes were created and mineralogically and petrographically characterized. A comparison between the native and experimental ceramics revealed that the native ceramists preferred clays from the Terravecchia Formation.
The mineralogical, textural and chemical composition of the raw clays of the Terravecchia Formation resulted to be well correlated with the 92% of the native ceramic artefacts recovered from Monte Polizzo. The remaining 8% are interpreted to be imported from the Sicani Mounts area
Gis Geoarcheologico: applicazioni su insediamenti di età arcaica ubicati nella Sicilia occidentale
No full textSelinunte (Sicily) and its productive context: the clayey raw materials applied in a long-lived ceramic production (seventh to third century BCE)
No full textThe westernmost of the Greek-Sicilian towns, Selinunte, founded in western Sicily during the second half of the seventh century BCE, gives amazing evidences of a historic activity of ceramic production (seventh to third century BCE). The present study aims to identify the raw materials available in the vicinity of the archaeological site of Selinunte, which were possibly used by the ancient potters, and to characterise them by means of petrographic and chemical techniques. A sampling campaign of clays and sands for tempering was undertaken in the archaeological site and the adjacent area. Moreover, locally produced archaeological bricks and tiles were considered helpful for comparison regarding the definition of local ceramic macro- and micro-fabrics and were analysed as well. The comparison between textural, mineralogical and chemical data allowed us to highlight a good similarity between the clayey materials available in the area and the local ancient bricks and tiles. Their compositional resemblance suggests the hypothesis of a systematic use of the studied clays for ceramic productions from the Archaic to the Hellenistic period. The preliminary archaeometric results obtained so far could enhance the distinction between local manufactures and imports and may well lead to the identification of ceramic artefacts produced by the Archaic-Hellenistic workshops of Selinunte at various consumption sites
Compositional reference for the documented Archaic production of indigenous matt-painted pottery at Entella (Western Sicily)
No full textThis contribution is focused on a specific class of indigenous Archaic pottery (sixth and fifth century BC) with
matt-painted geometric decoration that was recovered in large quantities in the excavations at Entella, an indigenous site located in western Sicily. The site of Entella was strategically considerable in this part of Sicily, controlling the north-south routes running along the river Belice. Kiln structures were attested at Entella that, until today, it is the only Archaic site in the area with an unmistakable evidence of production of fine pottery. The present research is aimed at yielding a complete petrographic and chemical characterization of the table ware produced at Entella during the sixth and fifth century BC. Analytical results were afterward compared with data
concerning local clays that were subjected to experimental firing tests as well. This study is expected to provide
additional interpretations concerning the trade between the native centers located in the interior of western
Sicily and the Greek or Punic colonies sited along the coasts of the same territory
Nuovi dati archeologici e archeometrici sulla produzione di ceramica indigena della Sicilia occidentale.
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