0000000000431493
AUTHOR
Simona Raneri
From βαλανεῖα to thermae: unveiling the transition from Greek to Roman architectural models of baths by technological and provenance archaeometric studies on bricks and tiles
So far unexplored, the introduction and the spread of the Roman thermal buildings in the prima provincia (Sicily) are widely debated in the current archeological studies. Mainly due to the lack of systematic excavations and intensively technological studies, the assessment of thermae in the Hellenistic-Roman Sicily has been thus far interpreted as a new social and architectural experience. However, a more careful archeological investigation would suggest a gradual transformation of the architectural landscape from the purely Greek bath tradition to the canonical thermae types. The aim of this paper is therefore to study the classical hot bath culture and, in particular, the transition from …
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…