From the kilns to the fair: producing building materials at Faragola and Canusium (northern Apulia, Italy)

Faragola and Canusium potters used Ca-rich clays—widely available nearby—for the production of build- ing materials. The clayey materials were used as received, before being fired in the local kilns at temperatures between 600 and ~1000 ° C. No technological distinctions were made in relation to the type of object to be produced (tile, brick, etc). The investigated productions are compositionally distinguish- able from both coarse wares for cooking and fine table ware produced in the same archaeological sites. A fine clayey ma- terial, very similar to that used for table ware, was supplied for the production of these building materials, which are chemi- cally, mineralogically and petrographically very similar among themselves. Hence, the Faragola and Canusium bricks and tiles cannot be easily discriminated but the presence/ absence of volcanites and volcanic glass represents an effec- tive discriminating factor, able to indicate areas of different supplies within two main deposits: the Pleistocene marine and alluvial terraced deposits, typical of northern Apulia

Pigments and plasters discovered in the House of Diana (Cosa, Grosseto, Italy): An integrated study between art history, archaeology and scientific analyses

The pigments and the plasters of the Roman frescoes discovered at the House of Diana (Cosa, Grosseto, Italy) were analysed using non-destructive and destructive mineralogical and chemical techniques. The characterization of both pigments and plasters was performed through optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electron microprobe analysis. The pigments were identified by Raman spectroscopy and submitted to stable isotope analysis. The results were integrated with the archaeological data in order to determine and reconstruct the provenance, trade patterns and the employment of the raw materials used for the elaboration of the frescoes

Sidi Ali Ben Ahmed - Thamusida 2. L'archéometrie

4nonenoneE. PAPI; Akerraz A; Gliozzo E; Turbanti Memmi IPapi, Emanuele; Akerraz, A; Gliozzo, E; Turbanti, Isabell

Application of the Rietveld method for the investigation of mortars: a case study on the archaeological site of Thamusida (Morocco)

This study presents a multi-technique approach to the investigations of mortars, involving the application of the Rietveld method. The quantitative mineralogical analysis of samples was aimed at (1) verifying its significance in relation to results obtained through other techniques and (2) evaluating its potential in mortars characterisation. Six type of mortars used in the Roman settlement of Thamusida (50 km north of Rabat, Morocco) were investigated through X-ray powder-diffraction and Rietveld refinement, optical microscopy, image analysis, scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and combined differential thermal, and thermo-gravimetric analysis (DT-TGA). All the adopted techniques yielded unique results and complementary data; however, the Rietveld method can actually Substitute thermal analysis accurately. CaO oxide contents obtained by DT/TGA and Rietveld are in good agreement, but both were only partly comparable to XRF results. In our case, XRF and Rietveld results diverge when binders contain more than 67 wt.% CaO. The discrepancies can mainly be ascribed to the presence of amorphous material and to the obtainable accuracy by QPA-Rietveld method; conversely, the nonstoichiometry of phases does not affect our results, because phases with variable compositions are present in small amounts. Results further showed that the adopted methods were suitable for mortar characterisation. All studied mortars (1) have weak hydraulic properties; (2) employed binders characterised by highly variable CaO contents and by significant amounts of SiO(2); (3) used coarse to fine quartz-carbonate-rich sands as the aggregate; and (4) selectively mixed 2 or 3 parts of aggregate with I part of binder, depending on the destination of the mortar

I materiali vitrei di Herdonia (Foggia, Italia): studi di caratterizzazione e ipotesi di provenienza

The sample set from the cistern of the domus B consists of 21 glass sherds (cups, lamps, glasses/lamps, goblets, jugs/bottles, unidentified typologies) and 4 production wastes dated to the first half of the 5th century A.D. They are characterised by various shades of colour (yellow, olive-green, green-yellow, yellow-red, blue-green, blue, green, light and dark green), but colourless glass is also represented. Samples were analysed by optical microscopy (MO), scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS), electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS) and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) in order to characterise both the texture and composition of glasses, and to identify vitrifying, stabilizing, flushing and colouring agents. Our data were compared with those available in the literature in order to investigate the provenance of materials. All finished products were produced from a mixture of siliceous sand and natron; however, they can be divided into GROUP A, comprising yellow, olive-green and green-yellow glasses, and GROUP B, represented by yellow-red, colourless, blue-green, light green and blue glasses. GROUP A is characterised by lower SiO2, K2O and CaO contents and higher Na2O and MgO contents than GROUP B, suggesting a different source of sand and a different recipe. Furthermore, Sr and Zr contents seem to indicate for GROUP A the use of shell and a different sand from that of the Levantine coast, while for GROUP B the employment of a Levantine sand rich in shell. The colour of the artefacts is probably due to both the Fe3+/Fe2+ ratio and Fe2O3 and MnO contents, but further studies on the oxidation state of Fe will be necessary to clarify the question. Unfinished products were produced from natron and a siliceous sand and have an intermediate composition with respect to GROUPS A and B, even if more similar to GROUP B. Flushing contents indicate a Na2O-richer recipe or shorter production cycle with respect to finished products. As for colorants, the considerations relative to the finished products are also valid for unfinished products. As for the provenance of materials, GROUP A shows analogies with glasses included in the HIMT group (Carthage, Cyprus) of unknown origin. The composition of GROUP B samples is similar to that of Levantine glasses, suggesting an import of raw glass or artefacts from the Syro-Palestinian coast. They were apparently produced from Belus sand mixed with natron. Lastly, although the provenance of unfinished products is unclear, they are compositionally similar to the glasses produced from natron and Belus sand

I materiali vitrei di Herdonia (Foggia, Italia): studi di caratterizzazione e ipotesi di provenienza

The sample set from the cistern of the domus B consists of 21 glass sherds (cups, lamps, glasses/lamps, goblets, jugs/bottles, unidentified typologies) and 4 production wastes dated to the first half of the 5th century A.D. They are characterised by various shades of colour (yellow, olive-green, green-yellow, yellow-red, blue-green, blue, green, light and dark green), but colourless glass is also represented. Samples were analysed by optical microscopy (MO), scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS), electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS) and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) in order to characterise both the texture and composition of glasses, and to identify vitrifying, stabilizing, flushing and colouring agents. Our data were compared with those available in the literature in order to investigate the provenance of materials. All finished products were produced from a mixture of siliceous sand and natron; however, they can be divided into GROUP A, comprising yellow, olive-green and green-yellow glasses, and GROUP B, represented by yellow-red, colourless, blue-green, light green and blue glasses. GROUP A is characterised by lower SiO2, K2O and CaO contents and higher Na2O and MgO contents than GROUP B, suggesting a different source of sand and a different recipe. Furthermore, Sr and Zr contents seem to indicate for GROUP A the use of shell and a different sand from that of the Levantine coast, while for GROUP B the employment of a Levantine sand rich in shell. The colour of the artefacts is probably due to both the Fe3+/Fe2+ ratio and Fe2O3 and MnO contents, but further studies on the oxidation state of Fe will be necessary to clarify the question. Unfinished products were produced from natron and a siliceous sand and have an intermediate composition with respect to GROUPS A and B, even if more similar to GROUP B. Flushing contents indicate a Na2O-richer recipe or shorter production cycle with respect to finished products. As for colorants, the considerations relative to the finished products are also valid for unfinished products. As for the provenance of materials, GROUP A shows analogies with glasses included in the HIMT group (Carthage, Cyprus) of unknown origin. The composition of GROUP B samples is similar to that of Levantine glasses, suggesting an import of raw glass or artefacts from the Syro-Palestinian coast. They were apparently produced from Belus sand mixed with natron. Lastly, although the provenance of unfinished products is unclear, they are compositionally similar to the glasses produced from natron and Belus sand