Spectroscopic investigation of two Serbian icons painted on canvas

A multianalytical study of two Serbian icons, The Virgin and Child and St. Petka, painted on canvas by unknown authors was performed in order to identify the materials used as pigments, binders and the ground layer. The investigated icons belong to the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade. Samples, collected from different parts of the icons, were analysed by: optical microscopy (OM), energy dispersive X-Ray fluorescence (EDXRF), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and micro-Raman spectroscopy. The obtained results revealed the presence of the following pigments: Prussian Blue, ultramarine, Green Earth, iron oxides, Lead White and Zinc White. Linseed oil was used as the binder. The materials used for the ground layers were gypsum, calcite, baryte and Lead White. The gilded surface of the icon The Virgin and Child was made of gold. The gilded surface on the frame of this icon was made of imitation of gold, i.e., Schlagmetal, since EDXRF spectroscopy showed the presence of copper and zinc, while gold was not detected. Based on the style and the consideration of an art historian, as well as on the obtained results for the corresponding pigments and binder, both icons were most probably made at the end of 19th or the beginning of the 20th century

Physicochemical characterisation of pottery from the Vinca culture, Serbia, regarding the firing temperature and decoration techniques

A study of decorated Neolithic pottery samples from the excavation site Plocnik, Serbia, was performed using X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy. The investigated samples belong to the era of the Vinca culture that existed in the central Balkan region from the mid VI until the first half of the V millennium BCE. The mineralogical composition of the pottery samples and comparison of the investigated pottery with thermally treated local clay indicated firing temperatures in the range from 600 to 800 degrees C. Two different types of white pigments were identified in white incrusted decorations: calcium carbonate and bone white (composed of crushed bones). This is the first evidence of the use of bones for decorations in pottery of the Vinca culture from the excavation site Plocnik. In addition to this, it was revealed that the potters used the iron reduction technique for obtaining black decorations

Archaeometry in Serbia: Where We Are and Where We Should Go Next?

The paper presents a short history of archaeometry investigations in Serbia, from the first published work in 1932 until today. It then describes the most important laboratories and institutions that perform archaeometry investigations in Serbia today, their teams, equipment, projects, and cooperation: Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Serbia, Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Faculty of Physical Chemistry, National Museum of Serbia, Institute of Archaeology, the Heritage Lab, Gallery of Matica Srpska Novi Sad, and City Museum of Subotica. The paper describes plans for the future and proposes forming of Serbian Society for Archaeometry with several goals: to further interconnect research disciplines; to facilitate better use and purchase of equipment, to establish a dedicated laboratory for archaeometry; to introduce archaeometry study programs at different levels of teaching; to introduce archaeometry into scientific plans of Serbia; to start a domestic archaeometry journal, and to promote the awareness of the potentials and benefits of archaeometry to institutions dealing with cultural heritage and to the general public

Non-destructive characterisation and classification of ceramic artefacts using pEDXRF and statistical pattern recognition

Background: Portable energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (pEDXRF) spectrometry analysis was applied for the characterisation of archaeological ceramic findings from three Neolithic sites in Serbia. Two dimension reduction techniques, principal component analysis (PCA) and scattering matrices-based dimension reduction were used to examine the possible classification of those findings, and to extract the most discriminant features. Results: A decision-making procedure is proposed, whose goal is to classify unknown ceramic findings based on their elemental compositions derived by pEDXRF spectrometry. As a major part of decision-making procedure, the possibilities of two dimension reduction methods were tested. Scattering matrices-based dimension reduction was found to be the more efficient method for the purpose. Linear classifiers designed based on the desired output allowed for 7 of 8 unknown samples from the test set to be correctly classified. Conclusions: Based on the results, the conclusion is that despite the constraints typical of the applied analytical technique, the elemental composition can be considered as viable information in provenience studies. With a fully-developed procedure, ceramic artefacts can be classified based on their elemental composition and well-known provenance

Exploring the unknown Balkans: Early Byzantine glass from Jelica Mt. in Serbia and its contemporary neighbours

The concentrations of Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br, Sr, Zr, Sn, Sb and Pb in 40 archaeological glasses from the Early Byzantine Jelica site in Serbia, are determined by PIXE/PIGE. Geochemical and multivariate analysis shows it corresponds to Foy series 2.1 and 3.2. Regionally, it is similar to the contemporary 6th century composition from Lower Danube (Bulgaria), Caričin Grad (Serbia) and Butrint (Albania). The results indicate that trade routes between these inland regions and the rest of the Empire were mostly open even during turbulent times of the 6th century.Correction to: Exploring the unknown Balkans: Early Byzantine glass from Jelica Mt. in Serbia and its contemporary neighbours: [http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10967-018-6174-9

The origin, production and use of quartz crystals in the Neolithic of Serbia: Vinca-Belo Brdo

The scope and importance of utilisation of quartz crystals in the prehistoric period of Serbia were smaller in comparison with cherts, and the reasons for their manufacture and purpose are not sufficiently known. Definition of the origin of quartz crystals from the Grivac site, outside the assumed mine at Mali Sturac, and artefacts from Vinca-Belo Brdo from the mine on Avala, as well as definition of working operations carried out using quartz crystal tools represent the initial framework of a systematic approach to the investigation of this group of raw materials. Precise determination of the main components and the character of lithic organization of quartz crystals is one of the important markers of the exchange of raw materials and artefacts in the network of Neolithic settlements in the territory of Serbia. This paper opens up new questions of interrelationships among Vinca settlements of large and small areas and different demographic capacities in the Final Neolithic and during the Chalcolithic. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.International Conference on Towards the Reconstruction of Paleoenvironment of Vinca- Belo Brdo, Jun, 2013, Belgrade, Serbi

Sixth-century Byzantine glass from Limes Fortifications on Serbian Danube

Thirty-two glasses from four Byzantine fortifications located on the Danube in Serbia, dated to the sixth-century CE, are analysed by PIXE/PIGE, and their compositional types are determined. Most of the glasses belong to Late Antique type Foy 2.1 (22), the rest being Foy 3.2 (3), HIMTa (1), Levantine (2), plant-ash (3), and coloured black (1). The diversity of compositional types and provenances characterizing the same area during the third to fourth century, changed in the sixth century into uniformity of glass types and provenance: more than two-thirds of all glass types represent only one type (Foy 2.1), and at least 87% of all imports came from a single region, Egypt. Apart from two glasses reported herein, no Levantine glasses are reported from Serbia, and almost none from the inner Balkans, which is in contrast with the rest of the Mediterranean excluding Egypt. The reasons for this might be the economic aftermath of earlier Hunnic raids or possible centralization of raw glass imports during the Justinian rebuilding program. Two plant ash glasses of mixed composition, showing characteristics of Egyptian plant-ash flux and Mesopotamian sand, likely represent recycled glass originating from these two regions

Micro-Raman and infrared analysis of medieval pottery findings from Branicevo, Serbia

A selection of Byzantine table pottery (17 samples) dating from the period between the beginning of the 12th century and the first half of the 13th century, discovered at Branicevo in Serbia, were analysed by Fourier transform infrared, micro-Raman and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy and petrography analysis. The aim of the investigation was to determine the chemical and mineralogical composition of the body and of the glaze and thus to determine the production technology. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy provided data for estimating the firing temperature and the basic mineralogical composition, and micro-Raman spectroscopy was applied to study and characterise both the glaze and the body of the analysed sherds. It was found that noncalcareous clays, characterised by a rich mineral assemblage, were fired at temperatures between 700 and 900?degrees C. Oxidizing atmosphere was applied in the production of the red colour pottery. The dark and grey coloured paste of one group of sherds was produced by firing organic matter-rich clays in a reducing environment. The main type of transparent glaze was identified as lead-rich, and two samples were alkalilime glazed

Physicochemical characterisation of pottery from the Vinča culture, Serbia, regarding the firing temperature and decoration techniques

A study of decorated Neolithic pottery samples from excavation site Pločnik, Serbia, was performed using X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy. Investigated samples belong to the era of the Vinča culture which existed at the central Balkan region from mid VI until the first half of V millennium BCE. The mineralogical composition of pottery samples and comparison of investigated pottery with thermally treated local clay indicated firing temperature in the range from 600 to 800°C. Two different types of white pigments have been identified in white incrusted decorations: calcium carbonate and Bone White (composed of crushed bones). This is the first evidence of use of bones for decorations in Vinča culture pottery from excavation site Pločnik. In addition to this, it was revealed that the potters used the iron reduction technique for obtaining the black decorations. [Projekat Ministartsva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177021 I br. 177012

Multi-analytical study of techniques and palettes of wall paintings of the monastery of Zica, Serbia

The present multi-analytical study concentrates on establishing the painting techniques and the identity of the wall painting materials used by the artists from the 13th and 14th centuries to decorate the Zica monastery, Serbia. For this purpose, we demonstrate that micro-Raman spectroscopy is an efficient, non-destructive method with high spatial resolution which gives molecular and crystal structural information of a wide variety of both inorganic and organic materials. It is shown that elementary composition revealed through scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy is necessary in some cases to confirm the identity of pigments and binders identified by micro-Raman spectroscopy. It was found that a fresco technique, in combination with mainly natural earth pigments such as red ochre, yellow ochre and green earth, was used. Expensive natural pigment lapis lazuli was exclusively used for obtaining blue colour while pure vermilion was used by the artists from the first period of decorations at the beginning of the 13th century. A mixture of pigments was used for attaining different colour shades. For the gilding of saint's haloes, thin golden foil was deposited over the tin sheet. In order to get a desirable optical and aesthetical impression, the metallic leaves were deposited over the yellow ochre preparatory layer. Deposits of gypsum on wall paintings as well as traces of weddellite are degradation products formed as a result of exposing wall paintings to environmental conditions