0000000000223412
AUTHOR
Marco Lezzerini
Indirect chronology method employing rare earth elements to identify Sagunto Castle mortar construction periods
A novel indirect chronology method has been developed to identify Sagunto Castle construction periods. The method is based on the use of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine rare earth elements (REE) and other trace elements in mortars. Additionally, a no destructive geochemical analysis based on X-ray fluorescence (XRF) was employed for major elements determination. Collected chemical data were processed through Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to highlight any differences among the mortars belonging to different buildings and construction periods. The results show that PCA analysis permits to discriminate construction periods according to mortar sample REE …
Developing REE parameters for soil and sediment profile analysis to identify Neolithic anthropogenic signatures at Serpis Valley (Spain)
In this study, patterns of rare earth elements (REE) have been developed and applied for the first time to sediments and soils to identify anthropogenic or natural layers in profiles sampled at several Neolithic settlements in the Serpis Valley area (Alicante, Spain). Most of these sites are characterized by dark brown paleosols that are easily distinguishable from the light brown paleosols of the valley. To demonstrate whether these strata are anthropogenic or natural requires a better geochemical understanding of sediment. Soil samples were taken across six different sites; four sites are associated with archaeological findings (sites BF, LP, PB and AC8); another one is from a natural sec…
Analysis of Sagunto Ibero-Roman votive bronze statuettes by portable X-ray fluorescence
Abstract The main objective of this work was the study of chemical composition of an important collection of Ibero-Roman votive bronze statuettes exposed in the Archaeological Museum of Sagunto (Spain). Precision and accuracy of the measurements were obtained developing a proper analytical method, also avoiding any possible damage to the studied objects using a portable energy dispersive X- ray fluorescence system. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to discriminate between groups based on ratios Fe/Cu, Pb/Cu, Sn/Cu, Ag/Cu, Ni/Cu and Impurities/Cu were employed to observe differences between the used smelting, manufacturing processes and raw materials. The characterisation of bronze statuet…
Chemical and mineralogical analyses on stones from Sagunto Castle (Spain)
Abstract For the first time, an archaeometric study was carried out on the carbonate rock ashlars of the Sagunto Castle. The studied site is one of the most important and best preserved Spanish archaeological and architectural monuments, characterized by different construction phases from the Roman period to Modern Ages. Forty samples collected from thirteen different structures of Sagunto Castle and two quarries, located in the Sagunto's hill were used for comparative purposes. The samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry to determine their mineralogical and elemental composition. The obtained data show similar chemical…
Social and technological changes in the ceramic production of the Northern Levant during the LBA/IA transition: New evidence about the Sea People issue through archaeometry
Abstract The transition from the Late Bronze Age (LBA) to the Iron Age (IA) in the Levant is marked by the collapse of the Egyptian and Hittite empires, which dominated the political scene of the 14th–13th century BCE. The role of the Sea People, groups of migrants who were defeated by the Egyptian king Ramses III around 1175 BCE, is the focal point concerning this period. After the collapse of the LBA empires, written sources disappeared, and the archaeologists’ primary tool to define cultural processes is to analyze the evolution of pottery. Because of this, studies about the distribution of Aegeanizing ceramic production, considered here to have derived from the Sea People culture, can p…
HNRNPR Variants that Impair Homeobox Gene Expression Drive Developmental Disorders in Humans
The heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (HNRNP) genes code for a set of RNA-binding proteins that function primarily in the spliceosome C complex. Pathogenic variants in these genes can drive neurodegeneration, through a mechanism involving excessive stress-granule formation, or developmental defects, through mechanisms that are not known. Here, we report four unrelated individuals who have truncating or missense variants in the same C-terminal region of hnRNPR and who have multisystem developmental defects including abnormalities of the brain and skeleton, dysmorphic facies, brachydactyly, seizures, and hypoplastic external genitalia. We further identified in the literature a fifth ind…