LE ANFORE PUNICHE DI ENTELLA (SICILIA CENTRO-OCCIDENTALE): ANALISI ARCHEOMETRICHE FINALIZZATE ALLA DETERMINAZIONE DI PROVENIENZA

Punic Amphorae at Entella (Sicily): Archaeometric Characterisation of this Possible Consumption Centre

This paper reports the archaeometric characterisation of a number of Phoenician-Punic amphorae from the ancient site of Entella in western Sicily. Entella lies in the Sicani Mountains, along the left bank of the Hypsas-Belice river, approximately 40km from its mouth (Fig.1a). It is considered to be one of the most important indigenous settlements of western Sicily, dominating the main terrestrial and fluvial commercial routes between the south-western and northern shores of the island (Nenci 1988/89; Vaggioli 2001; Moggi and Gulletta 2001). Ancient historians first cited Entella for the unfaithful behaviour of Campanian mercenaries. During the first Punic War, Entella was a flourishing urba…

The "Livio Scarsi" X-Ray Facility at University of Palermo for Device Testing

In this work, we report on the characteristics of the Livio Scarsi X-ray facility at University of Palermo. The facility is able to produce low energy X rays, within the energy range of 0.1-60 keV, with fluence rates ranging from 105-108 photons/mm2 s. The laboratory is equipped with an innovative digital detection system, based on semiconductor detectors (Si and CdTe detectors), able to provide accurate and precise estimation of the fluence rate, the energy and the exposure of X rays, even at high counting rate conditions. Instrumentation for electrical characterization (DC-AC) of semiconductor devices, for both off-line and on-line (i.e. during the irradiation) measurements, is also avail…

PVA-GTA Fricke gel dosimeters exposed to clinical photons beams: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Relaxometry and Imaging

Fricke Gel (FXGs) dosimetric system is based on the radiation induced oxidation of ferrous to ferric ions. The application of Fricke gels for ionizing radiation dosimetry is continuously increasing worldwide due to their many favorable properties. However, one of their shortcomings is that ferrous and ferric ions diffuse in the gel matrix. To maintain the spatial integrity of the dose distribution, Fricke gels must be undergoing measurement within a few hours of their irradiation, so that ferric ions remain close to their point of production. Thus, the spatial integrity of the dose distribution in the Fricke gel is maintained (Schreiner, 2015). The gel matrix also contributes to the oxidati…