different approaches to date bricks from historical buildings

Abstract The application of Thermally (TL) and Optically (OSL) Stimulated Luminescence on bricks used as building material has allowed solving an chronological issue in the field of historical building dating. The possibility to use one or more methodologies of dating is closely related to the luminescent and granulometric characteristics of the sample. Using some brick samples collected in the church of Sain Seurin in Bordeaux (France), this paper discusses the implications and the possibility to use different approaches and techniques for dating. With this aim luminescence measurements were performed on both polymineral fine grain and quartz inclusion phases extracted from each brick. For Equivalent Dose (ED) and consequently age determination, TL on mixed fine grain fraction (FG), OSL on quartz inclusions (QI) and on mixed fine grain (FG*) fraction, were used. The results obtained suggest the advantage of using OSL technique on fine grain fraction cleaned up by IR stimulation (FG*), but the use of quartz inclusion represents indeed a good alternative

Geology of the lower Belice River valley, epicentral area of the M > 5 1968 seismic sequence (south-western Sicily, Italy)

We present a new 1:25,000-scale geological map of the lower Belice River valley, the area struck by the M > 5.0 devastating 1968 seismic sequence, whose seismic source and seismotectonic framework are still controversial. The map, utilizing dating methods and traditional field survey approaches integrated by high-resolution topography, provides an unprecedented detail and precision on the spatial distribution and on the compressional growth geometries of the prominent sedimentary sequence. This map, supported by the first recognition of an on-shore Chibanian-Calabrian deposition and by identifying a flight of marine terraces, offers new insights on the long-lasting syn-depositional tectonic forces up to late-Pleistocene-Holocene times. Such tectonic forces may take part in the regional ongoing deformational phase, prompting detailed studies on the potential seismic sources affecting the area

Geological record of tsunami inundations in Pantano Morghella (south-eastern Sicily) both from near and far-field sources

Abstract. Analysis of tsunami deposits from the Pantano Morghella area provided geological evidence for two inundations occurred along the south-eastern Ionian coast of Sicily. Pantano Morghella is a large pond characterised by a fine-grained sedimentation indicating a low-energy depositional environment. Two anomalous yellow sandy layers found at different depths indicate the occurrence of high-energy marine inundations. We studied sedimentological and paleontological features of the anomalous deposits as well as their spatial distribution observing the following properties: different facies with respect to the local stratigraphic sequence; erosive bases, rip-up clasts and broken elements testifying violent deposition mechanisms; macro and micro fauna of marine environment; relatively constant thickness throughout most of the depositional zone with thinning at the distal end; large sand sheets that extend inland. These observations, jointly with their infrequency in the sedimentary record and the age indicating a fast deposition, provided strong evidence for tsunami inundations. Correlations between anomalous layers and historical tsunamis are supported by radiocarbon and OSL dating results. The younger deposit is likely due to the 1908 near-source tsunami, whereas the flooding of the oldest event is most likely associated with a far and large source, the Crete 365 AD earthquake

Geological record of tsunami inundations in Pantano Morghella (south-eastern Sicily) both from near and far-field sources

Analysis of tsunami deposits from the Pantano Morghella area provided geological evidence for two inundations occurred along the south-eastern Ionian coast of Sicily. Pantano Morghella is a large pond characterised by a finegrained sedimentation indicating a low-energy depositional environment. Two anomalous yellow sandy layers found at different depths indicate the occurrence of high-energy marine inundations. We studied sedimentological and paleontological features of the anomalous deposits as well as their spatial distribution observing the following properties: different facies with respect to the local stratigraphic sequence; erosive bases, rip-up clasts and broken elements testifying violent deposition mechanisms; macro and micro fauna of marine environment; relatively constant thickness throughout most of the depositional zone with thinning at the distal end; large sand sheets that extend inland. These observations, jointly with their infrequency in the sedimentary record and the age indicating a fast deposition, provided strong evidence for tsunami inundations. Correlations between anomalous layers and historical tsunamis are supported by radiocarbon and OSL dating results. The younger deposit is likely due to the 1908 near-source tsunami, whereas the flooding of the oldest event is most likely associated with a far and large source, the Crete 365AD earthquake

Quelles compétences et littératies pour les humanités numériques ?

Un atelier qui concerne également l'identification de compétences. Question qui se pose souvent dans le cadre de projet. L'idée serait d'identifier ces compétences afin de contribuer à la définition de formations pour pouvoir disposer des personnes qui aient cette somme de compétences nécessaire pour monter des projets ambitieux. Sans doute faire un début de cartographie avec du mindmapping pour identifier des compétences clefs à développer dans les formations. L'objectif est de débattre sur les compétences et littératies nécessaires pour s'investir dans les humanités numériques. Quelles sont les compétences numériques, informatiques et intellectuelles pour y parvenir.  Faut-il faire évoluer les formations actuelles ? L'objectif est de tenter de dessiner une matrice des compétences minimales et d'envisager celles qui seront nécessaires à l'avenir pour accueillir et former les futurs chercheurs notamment en SHS.

Historical mortars dating from OSL signal of fine grain fraction enriched in quartz

In the last years the mortar dating through Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) techniques has become a viable support for chronological estimations (date of construction or restoration episodes) of historical buildings. However, the dating of mortar has still open issues mainly regarding the assessment of the bleaching degree of quartz, the analysis of the OSL processes for this type of samples and the need to do appropriate tests for the most correct evaluation of the equivalent dose. This paper discusses the results obtained by OSL dating (blue diode stimulation) on the polymineral fine grain phase, enriched in quartz, extracted from lime mortar samples collected from different sites. Thermal transfer effects, through the behaviour of Equivalent Dose (ED) and recovery tests, degree and time of bleaching were studied. For each mortar sample the adjacent brick was collected; in some cases, sampling of the bricks bracketing a mortar layer was a possibility, thus obtaining a direct comparison with the standard thermoluminescence (TL) dating on the bricks. The results obtained show, for this set of samples, the possibility of dating the mortars through the use of the fine grain fraction provided of a suitable chemical-physical preparation procedure and the verification of the bleaching conditions

The Role of Scale Adjustment in Color Change Evaluation

The aim of this research work was to assess the influence of different scale adjustment conditions on both color measurement and color difference quantification and, in particular, to determine the best procedure to follow for a high-reliability protocol. This issue is very important in the Cultural Heritage field and, above all, in color measurement, which is carried out at different times during conservation and restoration campaigns or during archaeological excavations. Color change evaluation, performed by way of spectrophotometric measurements under different scale adjustment procedures on selected samples represented by colored reflectance standards and colored paintings, aimed to obtain results not only on ideal samples (certified standards) but also on real case studies (paintings). The study was conducted by focusing on the coordinates of the CIELAB color space and, in particular, on the calculation of the ΔE*ab quantity. The results show the introduction of nonsystematic variation with different scale adjustment procedures independent of materials and hue