Search results for "Archaeological"
showing 10 items of 239 documents
Identification of plant cells in black pigments of prehistoric Spanish Levantine rock art by means of a multi-analytical approach. A new method for s…
2017
We present a new multi-analytical approach to the characterization of black pigments in Spanish Levantine rock art. This new protocol seeks to identify the raw materials that were used, as well as reconstruct the different technical gestures and decision-making processes involved in the obtaining of these black pigments. For the first of these goals, the pictorial mat- ter of the black figurative motifs documented at the Les Dogues rock art shelter (Ares del Maestre, Castello ́ n, Spain) was characterized through the combination of physicochemical and archeobotanical analyses. During the first stage of our research protocol, in situ and non- destructive analyses were carried out by means of…
Land Snails as a Diet Diversification Proxy during the Early Upper Palaeolithic in Europe
2014
Despite the ubiquity of terrestrial gastropods in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene archaeological record, it is still unknown when and how this type of invertebrate resource was incorporated into human diets. In this paper, we report the oldest evidence of land snail exploitation as a food resource in Europe dated to 31.3-26.9 ka yr cal BP from the recently discovered site of Cova de la Barriada (eastern Iberian Peninsula). Mono-specific accumulations of large Iberus alonensis land snails (Ferussac 1821) were found in three different archaeological levels in association with combustion structures, along with lithic and faunal assemblages. Using a new analytical protocol based on taphonomic…
La Casa di Sallustio a Pompei (Regio VI 2, 4)
2019
Il contributo riesamina la nota abitazione pompeiana nota come Casa di Sallustio. Il riscontro tra la documentazione archivistica e la pubblicistica ottocentesca e i reperti tuttora conservati nei depositi del Museo Archeologico Regionale di Palermo consente di riconoscere un lotto consistente di reperti, pervenuti nella città siciliana al seguito della famiglia regale borbonica in fuga dai Francesi nei primi dell'800 e della cui effettiva origine si è poi persa consapevolezza.
Laboratory tests addressed to realize customized restoration procedures of underwater archaeological ceramic finds
2013
The present contribution is part of a biennial research project funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR). This study, currently in progress, deals with innovative experimental approaches applied to the chemical, mineralogical and physical transformations occurring during the prolonged permanence of archaeological ceramic finds in seawater environments as well as to restoration and conservation issues of the same underwater artifacts. The experimental approach used in this research consisted in the manufacture of ceramic test-pieces (briquettes) and their successive placing in underwater environment. This work aims at assessing how textural and compositio…
Ceramics, Marbles and Stones in the Light of Neutrons: Characterization by Various Neutron Methods
2016
In this chapter we give a brief overview of neutron based analytical investigations applied to study archaeological ceramics, and different types of stones. Since the vast majority of archaeological objects are made of ceramics and various stones—all are of geological origin—, one of the key objectives of these studies to determine the origin of raw material. This research is called provenance research, and a wide range of neutron based methods are applicable in it. Following a very basic, user-oriented description of the methods, we introduce examples from our everyday practice. The examples are about provenance of prehistoric stone tools, about the sources of 4th–3rd c. B.C. millennium li…
The burial of Bad Dürrenberg, Central Germany: osteopathology and osteoarchaeology of a Late Mesolithic shaman's grave
2006
The isolated burial of Bad Durrenberg is one of the richest Mesolithic graves in Europe. Although it was excavated in the 1930s, new spectacular anthropological and archaeological evidence has emerged during a recent re-study. Firstly, we present here the results of an anthropological re-evaluation of certain features of the skull base and the foramen magnum. Our work has clearly established that the observable features are caused by an anatomical variation that also includes an atlar anomaly. This developmental variation possibly caused various neuropathological symptoms. The Bad Durrenberg burial consequently represents a unique case of the possible interpretation of abnormal behaviours i…
Reverse paintings on glass--a new approach for dating and localization.
2009
Samples from 20 reverse paintings on glass from different regions have been analyzed by NAA with the aim to deduce the place and date of their origin. A separation of earlier and later paintings was due to different concentrations of K and Na, because a sodium-containing flux came into use after 1870. Since in southern Germany quartz sand, and in the eastern area quartz rock had been used for glass manufacture, specific impurities could be used to distinguish southern from eastern glasses.
Physico-chemical characterization of the Acqualadrone rostrum
2011
The archaeological discovery of the Acqualadrone rostrum (an offensive naval weapon mounted on the prow at the waterline), off the Italian coast near Messina in 2008, has led to the need for scientific research in order to plan the conservation treatment of this artefact. The discovery is exceptional because of the presence of a wooden section from the original ship. This paper describes the physico-chemical characterization of a metallic and two wooden samples by inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, 13C {1H} crosspolarization magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy, energy-dispersi…
Multidisciplinary approach to characterize archaeological materials and status of conservation of the Roman thermae of reggio Calabria Site (Calabria…
2020
This multidisciplinary research focuses on diagnostic investigations to characterize the archaeological materials, as well as the alteration and degradation forms detected at the Roman Thermae of Reggio Calabria (Calabria, South Italy) site. The thermal complex, (dating I–II century B.C.), was built around three main rooms such as the caldarium (hot bath), the tepidarium (warm bath) and the frigidarium (cold bath), all connected to a central room through several entrances. The central hall still preserves a suggestive mosaic floor dating between the II and III century A.D., characterized by geometric motifs and black and white tesserae. Fragments of various archaeological stone materials, s…
Sabratha. A guide to the studies and investigations of the past 50 years
2017
This volume, not a simple archaeological guide, adds to the description of the monuments and museums of Sabratha also some reflections on general themes as sculpture, urban developement, religious architecture, civic and domestic buildings, paintings and mosaics of the punico-hellenistic, Roman and Christian Sabratha. It also gives account of the researches of the Archaeological Mission of the Palermo University, directed by the late Professor Nicola Bonacasa, and it includes the contribution of external scholars, which very recently published some monuments of great interest.