The archaeological settlement of Monte Bibele (Bologna)

Monte Bibele is an archaeological settlement of the 4th and 3rd century BC with a village, a necropolis and a votive deposit. Earlier, during the 14th and 13th century BC, in the same area there was a small village of sub-Apennine facies attributable to the late Bronze Age. The Second Iron Age settlement is just a part of a larger demographic reorganization of the Apennines, as is also proved by the recent discovery of the Monterenzio Vecchio necropolis and votive deposit, on the opposite side of Idice Valley. These are small settlements located close to the main routes of both sides of the Apennines and populated by Italic (Etruscans, Umbrians, Ligurians, etc.) and transalpine peoples (Celts) allied to control the surroundings. Of the architectural structures of Monte Bibele, the best known are those of the village, in the part of the massive called ‘Pianella di Monte Savino’. It has an Etruscan foundation, over an area of about 7,000 m2, in part still to be explored, and documented in its final phase in the late 3rd century BC, when the village was sealed by a sudden fire. Archaeologists of Te.M.P.L.A. (Research Center for Multimedia Technologies Applied to Archaeology of Bologna University’s Department of History and Cultures) over the last decade, have made many models of houses at Pianella. Reconstructions are based on direct feedbacks (archaeological data) and indirect comparisons (historical sources, traditional architecture). The first model was virtual, followed by a real one made near the Museum of Monterenzio, and by the two new houses made directly in situ, thanks to EU funds for the development of Emilia Romagna used for renovating the archaeological and naturalistic area of Monte Bibele (Por Fesr 2007/2013)

Strategia progetto e sviluppo tecnologico del portale NADIR - network archeologico di ricerca

The portal NADIR (Network of Archaeological Research) is developed from the work of the \u201cCommission Carandini\u201d of 2009 for the SITAN (Sistema Informativo Territoriale Archeologico Nazionale) and aims to build integration between scienti c information systems and infrastructure of computer networks, the physical locations and the various functional areas of research that are developed at the national level. It aspires to be a cooperative network of shared work between the different databases spread throughout the country

Self-assembled guanine ribbons as wide-bandgap semiconductors

We present a first principle study about the stability and the electronic properties of a new biomolecular solid-state material, obtained by the self-assembling of guanine (G) molecules. We consider hydrogen-bonded planar ribbons in isolated and stacked configurations. These aggregates present electronic properties similar to inorganic wide-bandgap semiconductors. The formation of Bloch-type orbitals is observed along the stacking direction, while it is negligible in the ribbon plane. Global band-like conduction may be affected by a dipole-field which spontaneously arises along the ribbon axis. Our results indicate that G-ribbon assemblies are promising materials for biomolecular nanodevices, consistently with recent experimental results.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Physica

Ab-initio study of model guanine assemblies: The role of pi-pi coupling and band transport

Several assemblies of guanine molecules are investigated by means of first-principle calculations. Such structures include stacked and hydrogen-bonded dimers, as well as vertical columns and planar ribbons, respectively, obtained by periodically replicating the dimers. Our results are in good agreement with experimental data for isolated molecules, isolated dimers, and periodic ribbons. For stacked dimers and columns, the stability is affected by the relative charge distribution of the pi orbitals in adjacent guanine molecules. pi-pi coupling in some stacked columns induces dispersive energy bands, while no dispersion is identified in the planar ribbons along the connections of hydrogen bonds. The implications for different materials comprised of guanine aggregates are discussed. The bandstructure of dispersive configurations may justify a contribution of band transport (Bloch type) in the conduction mechanism of deoxyguanosine fibres, while in DNA-like configurations band transport should be negligible.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Hybrid molecular electronic (HME) transistor based on deoxyguanosine derivatives

In this work, a field effect transistor based on deoxyguanosine derivatives (a DNA basis) is demonstrated by means of systematic transport experiments. Our nanodevices were fabricated starting from a deoxyguanosine derivative (dG(C-10)(2)) layer interconnecting planar nano-electrodes, with separation in the 20-40nm range. The three terminal devices exhibit a maximum voltage gain of 0.76. Though the quick aging and the reproducibility of the devices have to be improved, the realization of a transistor-like device represents a starting point towards the development of planar solid-state bio-molecular electronic devices

New insights on Celtic migration in Hungary and Italy through the analysis of non-metric dental traits

The Iron Age is characterized by an extended interweaving of movements by Celts in Europe. Several waves of Celts from Western and Central Europe migrated southeast and west from the core area of the La Téne culture (between Bourgogne and Bohemia). Through the analysis of non-metric dental traits, this work aims to understand the biological relationship among Celtic groups arrived in Italy and the Carpathian Basin, as well as between local populations and Celtic newcomers. A total of 10 non-metric dental traits were analyzed to evaluate biological affinities among Celts (Sopron-Krautacker and Pilismarót-Basaharc) and Scythians-related populations from Hungary (Tápiószele), Celts from continental Europe (Switzerland and Austria), two Iron Age Etruscan-Celtic sites from northern Italy (Monterenzio Vecchio and Monte Bibele), 13 Iron Age central-southern Italic necropolises, and the northern Italian Bronze Age necropolis of Scalvinetto. Strontium isotopes were measured on individuals from the necropolis of Monte Bibele to infer their local or non-local origin. Results highlight the existence of statistically significant differences between Celts and autochthonous Italian groups. Celtic groups from Hungary and Italy (i.e., non-local individuals of Monterenzio Vecchio and Monte Bibele) share a similar biological background, supporting the historical records mentioning a common origin for Celts migrated to the eastern and southern borders of today’s Europe. The presence of a supposed Steppean ancestry both in Celts from Hungary and Celts from northern Italy corroborates the hypothesis of the existence of a westward migration of individuals and genes from the Steppe towards northern Italy during the Bronze and Iron Age, which contributed to the biological variability of pre-Celtic and later Celtic populations, respectively. Conversely, individuals from central-southern Italy show an autochthonous pre-Iron Age background. Lastly, this work supports the existence of Celtic migratory routes in northern Italy, as shown by biological and cultural admixture between Celts and Italics living together

Electronic properties of guanine-based nanowires

We present a first-principle study of the electronic and conduction properties of a few classes of nanowires constituted of guanine (G) molecules, self-assembled in different geometries. We first analyze the effect of the vertical $\pi$-$\pi$ interaction in model G-stack columns. Then, we exploit the results obtained from those models to interpret the features of realistic stacked and hydrogen-bonded structures, namely the guanine quadruple helices and the planar ribbons. With respect to natural DNA, the different structures as well as the inclusion of metal cations, drastically affect the bonding pattern among the bases, introducing novel features in the electronic properties of the systems. These supramolecular G-aggregates, alternative to DNA, are expected to show intersting properties for molecular elec tronics applications.Comment: 30 pages (preprint format), 8 figures. To appear in Solid State Communications - Special Issue on "New advances on collective phenomena in one-dimensional systems

Templum solare e culti di fondazione. Marzabotto, Roma, Este: appunti per una aritmo-geometria del rito (IV)

Alla domanda con cui si concludeva il precedente studio, se cioè la regola per la fondazione di Marzabotto costituisse un unicum, non generalizzabile all’interno delle prime fondazioni ortogonali della penisola tra VII e IV sec. a. C., oppure se da essa si potessero cogliere i fondamenti concettuali del rito augurale e della limitatio urbana della tradizione etrusco-italica, rispondono oggi ulteriori elementi di riscontro legati al caso della fondazione di Roma, oggetto negli ultimi anni di un serrata rilettura, tra esegesi delle fonti e indagine archeologica. Se tale confronto rimanderà al caso su cui più si soffermano i commentatori, quello cioè dei riti augurali che anticipavano la fondazione dell’Urbe, ulteriori e decisivi elementi emergono da nuove scoperte archeologiche avvenute nell’ultimo decennio in tutt’altro contesto. Gli scavi condotti nel 1999 presso Meggiaro di Este, hanno permesso di riconoscere un’area auguratoriale delimitata secondo uno schema che ricorda molto da vicino il modello di Bantia. L’area si colloca all’interno di un contesto cultuale concettualmente non dissimile dalle strutture presenti sull’arce di Misanello e non si esclude che si ponesse in connessione topografica con l’impianto di Este secondo lo stesso principio di diagonalità già ipotizzato per Marzabotto. Se le analogie rituali che osservammo a suo tempo tra i due luoghi si basavano sull’azzardo di un possibile confronto tra contesti culturali, geografici e cronologici assai lontani, Roma e Meggiaro fissano ora un decisivo tassello, tra Marzabotto e Bantia, con cui si colma ogni possibile ambiguità interpretativa nell’analisi che operammo di quei contesti

1984-2009. Da Te.m.p.l.a. al Centro di Ricerca per le Tecnologie Multimediali Applicate all’Archeologia. Un caso di studio nella storia delle applicazioni multimediali in archeologia

By means of the NADIR network, designed by the Research Centre for Multimedia Technologies Applied to Archaeology (Te.m.p.l.a.), the Department of Archaeology of the University of Bologna organises, controls and develops the use of multimedia technologies in archaeological activities. The reach of NADIR covers a broad spectrum of activities that ranges from the management of the net and the working seats, to the organisation of the equipment logistics, to the realisation of special operational workspace and services (e.g., Unibook.it) and the experimental projects for the remote-control of workspaces and multimedia exhibition halls (e.g., the Multimedia and Multifunctional Museum of Onferno)