Entella. Manufatti in pietra tenera di epoca medievale. Primi risultati da un approccio multidisciplinare

Da oltre trent’anni anni la Scuola Normale Superiore conduce indagini archeologiche nel sito di Rocca d’Entella (Contessa Entellina, PA) e ricognizioni nel territorio comunale di Contessa Entellina. Le ricerche hanno permesso di delineare la storia del popolamento umano dall’antichità all’epoca moderna in un’ampia area della Sicilia occidentale interna, comprendente un centro d’altura naturalmente forti$cato (Entella) che per secoli ha mantenuto una $sionomia urbana e un’ampia porzione di territorio da esso dipendente, almeno in alcune epoche storiche. Per il Medioevo, in particolare, le ricerche hanno mostrato una ripresa dell’insediamento aperto già in epoca tardobizantina e ancor più nel…

Caratterizzazione di mattoni in terra cruda di età ellenistico-romana dall’area archeologica di Solunto (Palermo) e di provini ottenuti con materie prime locali

Nel presente lavoro sono riportati i dati relativi alla caratterizzazione di suoli prelevati nell’area perimetrale del sito archeologico di Solunto ed utilizzati per la riproduzione di mattoni in “terra cruda” confrontabili con quelli di età ellenistico - romana in opera in diverse unità abitative dell’insediamento. L’obiettivo di questo studio è, pertanto, quello di verificare l’area di provenienza delle materie prime originariamente utilizzate per la manifattura dei mattoni soluntini e di predisporre la base per una successiva sperimentazione atta alla valutazione dell’efficacia di procedure e prodotti per il futuro consolidamento delle strutture murarie del sito archeologico. La ricerca …

Le pavimentazioni musive di Piazza Sett’Angeli - Palermo. Caratterizzazione mineralogico-petrografica dei materiali litoidi (tessere e malte di alletamento).

Nel presente contributo sono illustrati i risultati di un indagine mineralogico-petrografica finalizzata alla caratterizzazione dei materiali litoidi (tessere e malte di alletamento), impiegati nella pavimentazione musiva romana di epoca imperiale sita a Palermo in Piazza Sett’Angeli. Campioni rappresentativi di ciascuna tipologia di materiale sono stati analizzati scegliendo le tecniche analitiche più idonee in base alla loro natura: microscopia ottica su sezione sottile (PLM) e diffrattometria ai raggi X (XRD) nel caso delle tessere lapidee e delle malte; microscopia elettronica a scansione con spettrometro a dispersione di energia (SEMEDS) nel caso delle tessere vitree. L’indagine minera…

Study of the effects of salt crystallisation on degradation of limestone rocks

Salt crystallization is widely recognized as a cause of deterioration of porous building materials. In particular, the crystallization pressure of salt crystals growing in confined pores is found to be the main cause for damage. The aim of this study is to better understand the degradation of porous rocks induced by salt crystallisation and correlate such processes with the intrinsic characteristics of materials. With this intend, an experimental salt weathering simulation has been carried out on two limestones widely used in the Baroque architecture of eastern Sicily. A systematic approach including petrographic, porosimetric and colorimetric analyses, was used to evaluate the correlation …

The production of western Greek amphorae in Agrigento (Southern Sicily): An archaeometric and archaeological characterisation of the late 6th-4th centuries BCE series

This paper aims at an interdisciplinary, archaeological and archaeometric characterisation of the western Greek amphorae series produced in late Archaic and Classical-period Agrigento (southern Sicily). The research is based on a macroscopic examination, according to the standardised methods of Fabrics of the Central Mediterranean (FACEM), combined with petrographic analyses of 21 amphorae samples of presumed local fabric found in Agrigento itself. These were found in the artisanal area outside Porta V, in the excavations South of the temple of Zeus, and in several Sicilian consumption sites. Furthermore, a selection of 12 coarse ware samples and three tiles, all of supposed local manufactu…

THE MOSAIC OF THE FRIGIDARIUM OF “VILLA BONANNO” IN PALERMO: MINERALOGICAL AND PETROGRAPHIC ANALYSES FOR IN SITU CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION INTERVENTIONS

The topic of this study was the mineralogical and petrographic characterization of bedding mortars (made of different layers) and tesserae of Roman age (3rd century A.D.), taken from the mosaic of the Frigidarium of “Villa Bonanno”, brought to light by archaeological excavations conducted in the historical centre of Palermo. The collected samples have been analysed by thin-section optical microscopy (PLM), and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS). The study was aimed to define the “recipe” (composition of aggregate and binder, aggregate size distribution, aggregate/binder ratio), in order to assess the provenance of raw m…

Ferulic Acid-Loaded Lipid Nanostructures as Drug Delivery Systems for Alzheimers Disease: Preparation, Characterization and Cytotoxicity Studies

Archaeometric evidence attesting production of indigenous archaic pottery at Monte Polizzo (Western Sicily)

Excavations at the proto-urban indigenous settlement of Monte Polizzo (western Sicily) have not yielded so far any evidence of in-situ ceramic production (i.e. kiln structures). However several archaeological concerns put forward to consider it as a likely production centre of pottery during the Archaic age. In this paper a first attempt to check the compositional correspondence between ceramic fabrics and local clay sources has been made. A comprehensive archaeometric investigation of native pottery, mainly composed of matte-painted table ware dated from the 7th to the 4th century BC, recovered from the Acropolis of Monte Polizzo has allowed the identification of five distinct ‘Paste Compo…

A new historical perspective regarding the baptismal font of the cathedral of Monreale (Sicily): the identification of a reused Roman labrum by an analytical approach

The Cathedral of Monreale (not far from the city of Palermo) is one of the most famous monuments of the Arab-Norman period in Sicily recently added to the World Heritage list by UNESCO. It is well known above all for its structure and the magnificence mosaic decorations inside. In the church it is also conserved a Baptismal Font made of coloured limestone and dated back to the first decade of the 17th century. The present study deals with this valuable object with the aim of obtaining information about the nature and provenance of the coloured limestone constituting the basin. Laboratory analyses were thus carried out on representative stone samples by means of polarized light microscopy as…

Innovative experimental approaches applied to the study of ceramics from underwater archaeological excavations

Archaeometric characterization of late Archaic ceramic from Erice (Sicily) aimed to provenance determination

A set of 20 ceramic samples was autoptically selected from the numerous findings recovered from the stratigraphic excavations of the late Archaic city walls of Erice (western Sicily), in order to be analyzed with archaeometric techniques for provenance determination. The excavations were recently carried out as part of a research project funded by the Freie Universiat Berlin and the Fritz Thyssen Foundation. Specifically, the ceramic material consists of tableware with a painted geometric decoration of presumed local/regional production, as well as apparently imported black-glazed pottery. Both the categories can be traced back to a chronological period between the second half/last quarter …

Ab42 toxicity on Paracentrotus lividus development

Production technology of early-hellenistic lime-based mortars originating from a punic-Roman residential area in palermo (sicily)

The topic of this study is the mineralogical and petrographic characterization of lime-based mortars of Hellenistic-Roman age (3rd century BCE), collected from a residential area located in the present historical centre of Palermo, near the remains of the Punic-Roman walls. The collected mortars have been analyzed by optical microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy, coupled with energy-dispersive spectrometry. The aim of the study was the characterization of the mortars as pertaining to their aggregate and binder composition, aggregate size distribution and aggregate/binder ratio, so as to establish the provenance of raw materials and acquire informatio…