0000000000930140
AUTHOR
Gabriella Chirco
Newly discovered orichalcum ingots from Mediterranean sea: Further investigation
Abstract In February 2016, 47 ingots were found in the seabed of Contrada Bulala (Gela, CL, Italy) near the site where 40 ingots had previously been recovered. The ingots composition was determined to be a Cu - Zn alloy, dated by the archaeologist to the VI century B.C. This specific alloy was then known as Orichalcum. From an archaeological point of view, the first question raised about the new discovery was whether the ingots of the first and the second excavations belonged to the same shipwreck. Following the previous study, an elemental analysis was performed on the ingots from the second finding by using ICP-OS and ICP-MS techniques. The chemometric treatment of the analytical results …
Interventi di conservazione e restauro: il recupero, il restauro e la conservazione
Durante uno scavo archeologico, molto spesso sorge la necessità della messa in sicurezza, tramite una serie di interventi puntuali mirati alla stabilizzazione dell’integrità strutturale, dei reperti rinvenuti; come nel caso della Casa III M del quartiere Ellenistico Romano di Agrigento, un contesto di crollo in cui sono stati rinvenuti reperti ad intonaco. Contestualmente a tali ritrovamenti sono stati condotti numerosi pronto-interventi ed in un caso, su un particolare frammento di intonaco proveniente da una mensola, è stato eseguito un intervento di restauro che ha permesso di ripristinare le condizioni di integrità del frammento. During an archaeological excavation, very often the need …
Archaeometric study of execution techniques of white Attic vases: the case of the Perseus crater in Agrigento
The white ground crater by the Phiale Painter (450–440 BC) exhibited in the “Pietro Griffo” Archaeological Museum in Agrigento (Italy) depicts two scenes from Perseus myth. The vase is of utmost importance to archaeologists because the figures are drawn on a white background with remarkable daintiness and attention to detail. Notwithstanding the white ground ceramics being well documented from an archaeological and historical point of view, doubts concerning the compositions of pigments and binders and the production technique are still unsolved. This kind of vase is a valuable rarity, the use of which is documented in elitist funeral rituals. The study aims to investigate the constituent m…
I ‘vasi di Centuripe’: per un approccio integrato
Il contributo intende evidenziare le prospettive di un approccio interdisciplinare integrato allo studio della ceramica policroma “di Centuripe”. Dagli inizi del XX secolo, tale classe ha riscosso ampio apprezzamento per le sue delicate pitture e la ricchezza di ornamenti a rilievo applicati (dipinti e dorati) che abbelliscono i vasi, rendendoli pressoché inutilizzabili nella pratica per scopi funzionali, ma altamente efficaci come doni funerari in antico, e oggi come pezzi di grande impatto per commercianti di antichità e collezionisti moderni. Data la piaga, diffusa fino a tempi recenti, degli scavi clandestini, dei “restauri” arbitrari e delle falsificazioni, i vasi di Centuripe necessit…
Investigation on four centuripe vases (late 3rd-2nd cent. B.C.) by portable X-ray fluorescence and total reflectance-FTIR
Abstract Four Centuripe vases dated back to the late 3rd-2nd centuries B.C. were analysed using imaging under visible and ultra-violet illumination as well as complementary non-invasive and non-destructive portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Total Reflectance – Fourier Transform InfraRed (TR-FTIR) spectroscopies. The vases are of great importance since they represent a rare expression of the Hellenistic vase painting. Four specimens, a “pyxis”, a “lebes gamikos” and two “lekanides” decorated with figures of different type, are exhibited in the Antonino Salinas Archaeological Museum in Palermo-Italy. The investigation was aimed to identify the used pigments and the painting technique, to r…
First discovery of orichalcum ingots from the remains of a 6th century BC shipwreck near Gela (Sicily) seabed
Ingots recently recovered from the seabed near Gela, a major harbour of Sicily, reveal an unexpected side of ancient metallurgy. The ingots were found near remains of a ship and earthenware dated around the end of the VI century BC and probably coming from the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean sea. The ingots were analysed by means of X-Ray Fluorescence spectroscopy via a portable spectrometer. Results indicate that they are mostly consist of copper and zinc although many of them have a significant amount of lead. This alloy is nowday called brass, but in ancient time it was know as orichalcum, one of the rarest and most precious alloy along with gold and silver. Only small items of oric…
Bone diagenesis of archaeological human remains from Apulia (Italy) investigated by ATR-FTIR and XRF spectroscopy
The analysis of the organic and mineral content of biological samples allows to define post-mortem alterations and the preservation status of ancient human remains. Here, we report a physical-chemical characterization of bone specimens from some skeletal remains found in Apulia (Italy) dating back to the prehistoric, classic-hellenistic, and medieval periods. Specific infrared band ratios from Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform InfraRed and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopies were considered to evaluate the extent of the diagenetic process and the elemental composition of bone.Physical-chemical post-mortem transformations were related to the soil composition and specificity of tis…
Sicilian Byzantine Icons through the Use of Non-Invasive Imaging Techniques and Optical Spectroscopy: The Case of the Madonna dell’Elemosina
The iconographic heritage is one of the treasures of Byzantine art that have enriched the south of Italy, and Sicily in particular, since the early 16th century. In this work, the investigations of a Sicilian Icon of Greek-Byzantine origin, the Madonna dell’Elemosina, is reported for the first time. The study was carried out using mainly non-invasive imaging techniques (photography in reflectance and grazing visible light, UV fluorescence, infrared reflectography, radiography, and computed tomography) and spectroscopic techniques (X-ray fluorescence and infrared spectroscopy). The identification of the constituent materials provides a decisive contribution to the correct historical and arti…
Indagine composizionale sulle pitture di due vasi di Centuripe
Due vasi Centuripe a Palermo sono stati analizzati utilizzando XRF portatile complementare e FTIR a riflessione totale spettroscopie. Le analisi consentono di chiarire la tavolozza e la tecnica della decorazione (pittura a tempera con un legante organico), e mostrano la presenza di pigmenti sia antichi che moderni (a causa di qualche recente riverniciatura). Uno dei risultati più interessanti è stata l'identificazione di due fasi del solfato di calcio nello strato sottostante i dipinti: a causa delle condizioni che trasformano il gesso in bassanite, la presenza di il gesso o, in alternativa, la bassanite in ciascuna parte analizzata possono rappresentare un criterio per distinguere l'origin…
Misalignment of Spectral Data: Constrained Optimization in a Functional Data Analysis Framework
Across several branches of sciences, a large number of applications involves data represented as functions and curves, for which functional data analysis can play a central role in solving a variety of problem formulations. With some thecnologies, the obtained data are spectra containing a vast amount of information concerning the composition of a sample: in order to infer the chemical composition of the materials from spectra, functional data analysis offers a valuable mean for characterizing the spectral response through identification of peaks position and intensity. The collection of data from different measurement may exhibit similar peak pattern but display misalignment in their peaks…
A multi-disciplinary investigation of the "Tavolette fuori posto" of the "Hall of Barons" wooden ceiling of the "Steri" (Palermo, Italy)
Abstract Four painted slabs, called “Tavolette fuori posto” (Slabs out of place), of Galleria Interdisciplinare Regionale della Sicilia — Palazzo Abatellis (Palermo, Italy) were investigated with multi-techniques approach by using noninvasive and micro-destructive techniques. The slabs presumably belong to the decoration of the wooden ceiling of the “Hall of Barons” of the Palazzo Chiaramonte, said Steri, in Palermo (Italy). The aim of this study was to investigate the kind of materials used by the artist, the executive technique and the state of conservation. Pigments, binders and trace of previous restorations were identified. The results were used to properly plan the restoration interve…
A multivariate approach to the study of orichalcum ingots from the underwater Gela's archaeological site
Abstract In this work a careful ICP-OES and ICP-MS investigation of 38 ancient ingots has been performed to determine both major components and trace elements content to find a correlation between the observed different features and the composition. The ingots, recovered in an underwater archaeological site of various finds near Gela (CL, Italy), were previously investigated by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy to know the composition of the alloy and it was found that the major elements were copper and zinc, in a ratio compatible with the famous orichalcum similar to the contemporary brass that was considered a precious metal in ancient times. The discovery of huge amount this alloy is…
La diagnostica chimico-fisica a supporto della conservazione e del restauro delle opere cartacee
Questo contributo è stato prodotto a seguito dell’intervento del Prof. Caponetti e della sessione laboratoriale guidata dalla Dott.ssa Saladino in collaborazione con il Dott. Renda e la Dott.ssa Chirco in cui è stata realizzata una dimostrazione pratica di come si possano eseguire le indagini di materiale cartaceo con strumentazione portatile. Nel presente contributo sono presentate e illustrate alcune delle tecniche di indagine idonee per l’analisi di opere cartacee, ed in particolare alcune di quelle che possono essere applicate mediante strumentazione portatile. Queste tecniche forniscono informazioni complementari e consentono la conoscenza dell’opera stessa (tipologia di carta, tecnica…