Mineralogical and petrographic analysis of early-Hellenistic mortars from a Punic-Roman residential area discovered at Palermo (Sicily)

Lime based mortars dated back to 4th-3rd century BC were sampled in a Punic-Roman residential area recently brought to light in the historical centre of Palermo. The collected mortars have been analyzed by optical microscopy (PLM), X-ray powder diffraction analysis (XRPD) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS). The study was aimed to characterize these materials from the textural and compositional point of view in order to define the recipes. The mineralogical and petrographic investigations allowed to establish 4 different recipes used for the formulation of the studied floor and wall mortars in terms of both compositional and textural featur…