Archaeometric Analyses Research Articles

The Recessed Apertures of the Holy Crown

One of the most important questions in the study of the Holy Crown concerns the technique of making the enamel cloisonné. The importance of this is that the manufacture of cloisonné enamel reached its peak in the 10th and 11th centuries in Byzantium and Western Europe. The figural enamels of the Holy Crown are all images of top-quality products of this process. Archaeometric analysis of the Holy Crown has not been carried out. My work attempts to fill this gap. The knowledge of the techniques used will help to determine the place and time of the various parts. For the time being, the aim is to recognise the techniques only from the colour side, but if possible from both sides. With this tutorial I would like to describe what I have learned so far.

Designing a ‘yellow brick road’ for the archaeometric analyses of fired and unfired bricks

Designing a ‘yellow brick road’ for the archaeometric analyses of fired and unfired bricks

Tázlár–Templomhegy késő szarmata település kerámiaanyagának petrográfiai elemzése

In this study we present the results of archaeometric analyses on a ceramic assemblage uncovered from the late Sarmatian settlement in Tázlár-Templomhegy, Hungary. A particular feature of the settlement is that it represents the complete range of Sarmatian pottery in terms of vessel types and building techniques such as wheel-thrown grey vessels, wheel-thrown pebbly (Üllő type) vessels, hand-built household wares, and wheelshaped micaceous-pebbly vessels. In this study the archaeological and petrographic analysis of 17 sherds were carried out. The aim of this study is to characterise the fabrics of the examined vessels and attempt to determine the provenance of the tempering material of the wheel-thrown (Üllő type) and the wheel-shaped micaceouspebbly vessels. The results show that the tempering inclusions of the wheel-thrown (Üllő type) vessels correspond with coarse to very coarse grain size and have well-rounded shape and metamorphic texture. These inclusions could have originated from the upper basin of the Danube River or from the Western Carpathians accumulating in the nearby area of the settlement in the form of fluvial sand. The tempering of wheel-shaped micaceous-pebbly ceramics originates from granitoid rocks, which are found on the surface area of the Apuseni Mountains, Romania. The defined rock fragments in the thin sections are most probably Carboniferous Codru granitoids.

From the city to the countryside: indicators of artisanal glass production in the central Iberian Peninsula (8th-9th centuries)

The current work presents the production and distribution of glass in the Emiral period in Spain. The study of the rural areas of the central Iberian Peninsula allows to identify some forms of production in large rural towns. Through the systematic study of the Dehesa de Navalvillar, including some archaeometric analyses, we have been able to establish that in the early Emiral period glass was produced in metallurgical workshops that left traces of occasional glass manufacture, probably carried out by itinerant craftsmen. With this article, we would like to contribute to the debate on glass production by introducing a new, multidisciplinary study of the rural world and the transformations that took place in the 8th century with the arrival of the Arabs in the Iberian Peninsula. The findings indicate artisanal production, circulation, and recycling of materials during the Emiral Period, where for the first time we find regional production in rural centres in addition to production in urban centres.

Black Carolingian inks under examination. Part 1: recipes and literature survey

Black writing materials of different types and compositions have varied in use over time and different geographical regions. With this paper, we would like to contribute to their study by listing and reviewing recipes for black writing inks that were in circulation in the Carolingian Empire as well as by referencing the archaeometric analyses of the black inks used in the manuscripts. The studies presented here that involved the humanities and natural sciences provide new insights into how the scholars of the early Medieval Ages organized manuscripts.

Beads and Stamps in the Middle Orinoco: Archaeological Evidence for Interaction and Exchange in the Atures Rapids from AD 1000 to 1480

AbstractThe area of the Atures Rapids in the Middle Orinoco River (Venezuela), where multiple Indigenous communities gathered to trade goods, has been identified as a prominent center of commerce since early colonial times. However, the exchange activities taking place there between local and nonlocal actors before European colonization are poorly understood, based only on the ethnohistoric record. This article presents an archaeometric analysis of stone beads and ceramic roller stamps, items previously associated with trade practices, from two recently excavated sites in the region, Picure (AD 1030–1480) and Rabo de Cochino (AD 1000–1440); it assesses their provenance, production, and value. We propose that Picure was a site of a bead-manufacturing workshop and a place where roller stamps were exchanged. The stamps were acquired and produced by different potting groups. Analysis of the chaîne opératoire and production techniques shows processes of adaptation and emulation associated with the multiple, multiethnic communities during the period from AD 1000 to 1480. Both beads and stamps are linked to identity regalia that were likely used as part of ceremonies taking place in the area of the Rapids, as indicated by the numerous and monumental petroglyphs found on the islands.

Transdisciplinary approach to archaeological investigations in a Semantic Web perspective

In recent years, the transdisciplinarity of archaeological studies has greatly increased because of the mature interactions between archaeologists and scientists from different disciplines (called “archaeometers”). A number of diverse scientific disciplines collaborate to get an objective account of the archaeological records. A large amount of digital data support the whole process, and there is a great value in keeping the coherence of information and knowledge, as contributed by each intervening discipline. During the years, a number of representation models have been developed to account for the recording of the archaeological process in data bases. Lately, some semantic models, compliant with the CRMarchaeo reference model, have been developed to account for linking the institutional forms with the formal knowledge concerning the archaeological excavations and the related findings. On the contrary, the archaeometric processes have not been addressed yet in the Semantic Web community and only an upper reference model, called CRMsci, accounts for the representation of the scientific investigations in general. This paper presents a modular computational ontology for the interlinked representation of all the facts related to the archaeological and archaeometric analyses and interpretations, also connected to the recording catalogues. The computational ontology is compliant with CIDOC-CRM reference models CRMarchaeo and CRMsci and introduces a number of novel classes and properties to merge the two worlds in a joint representation. The ontology is in use in “Beyond Archaeology”, a methodological project for the establishing of a transdisciplinary approach to archaeology and archaeometry, interlinked through a semantic model of processes and objects.

Who Was Buried at the Petit-Chasseur Site? The Contribution of Archaeometric Analyses of Final Neolithic and Bell Beaker Domestic Pottery to the Understanding of the Megalith-Erecting Society of the Upper Rhône Valley (Switzerland, 3300–2200 BC)

Abstract The Petit-Chasseur megalithic necropolis is a key archaeological context for analyzing the social and ideological changes at the end of the Neolithic in the Alpine region of Central Europe. The link between the funerary monuments and settlement sites was established by means of ceramic archaeometric analysis. Domestic pottery from settlement sites were thoroughly characterized using multiple spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Twelve ceramic fabrics were identified along with three types of clay substrate: illitic, muscovitic, and kaolinitic. Reconstructed paste preparation recipes largely involved the tempering of the raw clays with crushed rocks or coarse sediments. Types of raw material were not picked up randomly but were selected or avoided due to their particular compositional properties and attest to the exploitation of glacial, gravitational, eolian, and fluvial deposits. Compositional correspondence between ceramic grave goods and domestic pottery allowed identification of a link between the megalithic tombs and settlement sites, thus providing new data contributing to the investigation of the social dimension of monumental burials. Ceramic grave goods were revealed to be intertwined with the social instability affecting the 3rd millennium BC communities of the Upper Rhône Valley.

Portable laser ablation sheds light on Early Bronze Age gold treasures in the old world: New insights from Troy, Poliochni, and related finds

The paper focuses on the archaeometric analyses of the gold objects from the famous so-called ‘treasures’ of Troy and Poliochni on the island of Lemnos. Altogether 61 Early Bronze Age (EBA) gold objects dating between 2500 and 2000 BCE were investigated in this study. They were primarily sampled with a portable laser ablation (pLA) unit in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and analyzed with ICP-MS at the Curt-Engelhorn-Centre Archaeometry (CEZA) in Mannheim. The main advantage of this approach is the possibility to obtain samples on site without the necessity of transport. It is a minimally invasive method that leaves no visible damage on the objects. As an additional advantage there are no restrictions on the size of the objects under study. The central goal of the study was to obtain high-quality compositional analyses of gold objects from the sites Troy and Poliochni to investigate, if the typological similarity is paralleled by the elemental composition of the gold, including the trace elements. This would suggest not only similar procurement of the metal across these sites but also potential exchange of objects and/or specialist workers. In a second step, the results were compared with data from contemporary gold objects from Ur in southern Mesopotamia, from where LA-ICP-MS data have recently become available. Finally, a survey of such data for gold objects from gold-rich regions is used to narrow down the possible origin of Early Bronze Age gold in the Old World.

Archaeometric analysis of textile fiber dyes from the Topater-1 Site, Calama, northern Chile, Middle Formative Period (ca. 400–200 BCE)

We present an archaeometric study of four textile headdress fibers taken from the Topater-1 Cemetery of Calama, northern Chile, dated to the Middle Formative Period (ca. 400–200 BCE). The colored fiber samples (three blue and one red) were investigated by micro-Raman spectroscopy. Results indicate the presence of indigo in the blue fibers and anthraquinone-type dyestuff in the red fibers. Based on geographical and botanic considerations we suggest that the sources of the raw dye materials were most likely non-local, suggesting a wide range of interaction during the Formative Period.

Study of ceramics from Brazilian slave quarters of the XVIII and XIX centuries by EDXRF and multivariate analysis

This study refers to the archaeometric analysis of ceramic fragments found in archaeological excavations around slave quarters of Colégio dos Jesuítas and São Bento plantations, both located in Campos dos Goytacazes – RJ. The question whether handmade ceramics were produced by the slaves themselves or acquired through local trade networks is an open and important question in the African diaspora. Samples of clay sources and the ceramic fragments, were analyzed using the EDXRF technique with the aid of multivariate statistical analysis.

An archaeometric assessment study of Seljuk period glazed tiles from Kılıçarslan Square (Konya, Turkey)

This study presents archaeometric analyses of glazed tiles produced with the cut-mosaic technique to reveal information about the Anatolian Seljuk period’s architecture and ceramic technology. The Persian Seljuk artists also used the same technique. For this purpose, physical, chemical, thermal, mineralogical, microstructural, and molecular analyses were carried out on the tiles from the Seljuk period unearthed in the Kılıçarslan Square excavation in Konya, the capital of the Anatolian Seljuk State from the twelfth-century to the beginning of the fourteenth-century. SEM, XRD, and Heat Microscopy analyses showed that the Seljuk period tiles were not fired at high temperatures like today’s tiles and were probably fired at temperatures below 1100 °C. WD-XRF analyses revealed that the glazes are classified into two categories, one being alkali varying the content of Na2O + K2O between 13 and 16 wt% (PbO between 0.5 and 2 wt%) and the other being lead-alkali type in which PbO content varies between 13 and 15 wt% and alkali content 10–14 wt%. The cobalt content in the blue color is around 0.2 wt%, and copper content in the turquoise-colored samples varies between 2.9 and 4.4 wt% depending on the lightness and darkness of the color (higher amount for tile 1 and tile 3, which are darker than the others). The brown color is obtained by the presence of MnO (3.3 wt%). Raman analysis showed that the difference in sintering temperature caused the color tone difference in Seljuk period tiles, and glazes were formed in the range of 800–1000 °C depending on the Ip values.

Archaeometric analysis of the ‘greco scritto’ marble slabs from the Edificio dei Triclinii at Murecine (Pompeii, Italy)

AbstractThis paper presents the results of the archaeometric analysis of the greco scritto marble slabs from the Edificio dei Triclinii, an inn or statio negotiatorum discovered at Murecine in Pompeii’s suburbs in 1999–2000. A total of 14 samples were collected and subjected to standard X‐ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy (OM) on thin sections and stable isotope ratio analysis (SIRA) to assess the stone’s identity and provenance. The results of this study substantiate the hypothesis (already put forward and based on a macroscopic identification by Perna and Scognamiglio) that the stone originates from the Hasançavuşlar quarries near Ephesus in Asia Minor, and represent the first step towards a systematic contextual and geochemical study of Ephesian greco scritto in Roman contexts and its respective contribution to the Roman stone trade.

Archaeometric Analysis of the Kaaba Covers with Metal Thread in the Topkapı Palace Museum and the Contribution of these Investigations to the Science of Conservation

Bu çalışmada, Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi Padişah Elbiseleri Seksiyonu’ndaki Osmanlı Dönemi’ne ait ve 16. yüzyıla tarihlendirilen iki adet Kâbe örtüsü inceleme kapsamına alınmıştır. Her iki eserden klapdan numuneleri de dahil olmak üzere toplam 9 numune elde edilmiştir. Tekstil eserlerde kullanılan üç ana malzeme lif, boya ve metalik ipliklerin özellikleri çeşitli arkeometrik yöntem ve teknikler kullanılarak incelenmiştir. Ön inceleme, teknik özellikler (çözgü/atkı sıklığı, iplik büküm yönü) ve belgeleme için bir optik mikroskop ile boyarmadde analizleri için diyot dizi algılamalı yüksek performanslı sıvı kromatografisi (HPLC-DAD) kullanılmıştır. Ayrıca, klapdan ipliklerde çekirdek ipliğin türü, genel morfoloji, metalik şeridin kimyasal bileşimi ve korozyon ürünlerinin tespiti için enerji dağılımlı X-ışını spektroskopisine (EDX) sahip taramalı elektron mikroskobu (SEM) tekniğinden yararlanılmıştır. HPLC-DAD ile elde edilen sonuçlara göre, renkli numunelerde belirlenen muhtemel boya kaynakları lak böceği, kökboya bitkisi, boyacı sumağı, muhabbet çiçeği ile meşe palamudu, mazı gomalağı, nar kabuğu bitkilerinden herhangi biridir. SEM-EDX ile elde edilen analiz sonuçlarına göre, klapdanlarda kullanılan metalik şeridin önce çekme daha sonra haddeleme yöntemi ile ve ayrıca, kimyasal kompozisyon olarak gümüş üzerine altın kaplama yapılarak üretildiği tespit edilmiştir. Arkeometrik yöntem ve teknikler kullanılarak elde edilen bu sonuçlar, uygun koruma ve onarım yöntemlerinin belirlenmesinde ileride koruma uzmanlarına rehberlik edecektir.

RE-SEMIRTO project: an innovative network of wireless sensors for microclimate monitoring on the Royal Palace of Carditello

Abstract New innovative wireless sensors designed for specific needs of Cultural Heritage field have been developed and their effectiveness has been tested in the rooms of the Royal Palace of Carditello (San Tammaro, Caserta - Italy). The analyses are carried out in the context of the project “RE-SEMIRTO Network of wireless sensors for monitoring the microclimate on the Carditello Real site” funded by the Campania Region (FERS Operational Program Campania 2014-2020 – Axis III. Specific objective 3.3. Action 3.3.2.). The main goal of the ongoing project activities is to provide innovative and user-friendly methods for conservation and valorisation of Cultural Heritage, through simultaneously environmental and archaeometric analyses. Indeed, besides the evaluation e recording by remote system of the parameters related to temperature, moisture, air quality and mechanical vibrations and then the constant control and prevention of the degradation risk, also non-destructive investigations were carried out to identify original, restoration materials and/or degradation products for different kinds of works of art displayed in the monitored site. In particular, at this step, a XVII century oil painting, recently acquired by Italian Minister of Culture in favour of Royal Palace of Carditello, has been analysed and the results are here discussed. This simultaneous approach allows to assess the real conservation state under the current environmental conditions, highlighting which constituent materials (pigments, supports, etc.) of the analysed artwork are most sensitive to the recorded thermohygrometric variations or detected pollution. At last, the project also wants to underline how the scientific data appropriately presented and narrated can be collected into new multimedia tool aimed to visitors for an innovative valorisation of the whole historical site and its artworks.

Five Years of Advanced Archaeometric Analysis at the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc

In modern archaeological research, a close multidisciplinary collaboration with other scientific areas is necessary, especially with natural sciences (e.g., anthropology, archaeobotany, and chemistry). This kind of collaboration and mutual evaluation of obtained results provides synergistically a series of important information in the context of prehistoric research nowadays. This systematic cooperation among archaeology, heritage science, anthropology, archaeobotany and analytical chemistry has been intensively developed for last five years at the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc. The aim of this short communication is to introduce our workplace and its activities with a focus on the most important outputs from various areas of the archaeometric research.

Technological insights on the Early-Middle Bronze Age pottery of Monte Meana cave (Sardinia, Italy)

An important Bronze Age settlement was discovered during an archaeological excavation in the Monte Meana karst cave in south-western Sardinia (Italy) between 2007 and 2012. In this region, the caves were used since the Neolithic for different purposes, such as burials or other rituals. The dig highlighted a rare example of domestic use of a cave and showed a case study of household space of the Early -Middle Bronze Age, at the beginning of the Nuragic civilization. This provided the opportunity to investigate through a multidisciplinary approach, the empirical knowledge of ancient potters and technological characters of local pottery production especially in relation to domestic use, in a context at that time devoid of external cultural interferences. For this purpose, a selection of 24 pottery sherds related to vessel forms for cooking, storage, and eating were studied through macroscopic surveys and archaeometric analysis by petrography, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results revealed some discriminant variables (shape, wall thickness, features of the paste, surface smoothing, presence of diagnostic mineralogical phases, and tempers), within the ceramic products of this Sardinian Bronze Age site, showing skillful management of firing temperatures.

Archaeological Mortar Characterization Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) Imaging Microscopy.

Lime mortar is a complex mixture resulting from hardening of lime, water, and aggregates. Lime mortar was used from the time of the Roman Empire until the Industrial Revolution. The recipes used differ according to the period, geographical area of preparation, craftsman, or function. This is why the study of archaeological mortars is of such great importance in building archaeology. In this study, we used laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to characterize the elemental composition of three lime mortar samples with a µ-LIBS instrument, allowing elemental image compilation. These samples originate from three different geographical locations: Angers (France), Dardilly (France), and Pompeii (Italy), and were taken from buildings that had different functions: cathedral, aqueduct, and house, respectively. Thanks to image processing and the creation of masks, it was possible to extract not only the lime signature and nature of the aggregate but also its granulometry and circularity. All this information is essential for cultural heritage research. This study shows the potential of the LIBS technique in archaeometric analysis of archaeological mortars.

Defining multiple inhabitations of a cave environment using interdisciplinary archaeometry: the \u2018Christmas Cave\u2019 of the Wadi en-Nar/Nahal Qidron, West of the Dead Sea

The present study reports a series of interdisciplinary archaeometrical analyses of objects found in the Christmas Cave, which was discovered by John Allegro and his team in 1960 on the West Bank of the Dead Sea and assumed to be inhabited only in the Chalcolithic era and by Jewish refugees of the second century CE, at the end of the Bar Kokhba Revolt. Like many other Judaean desert caves, there was an abundance of organic material, especially textiles, surviving in the dry environment. In the absence of clear stratigraphy and even a proper publication of the finds, the present study shows how archaeometry can provide important insights. We analysed food crusts on ceramics by gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC–MS), made petrographic descriptions to estimated provenance of the ceramics, produced new radiocarbon dates from organic material and thermoluminescence (TL) dates from the pottery. It appears from the data that the Christmas Cave has been briefly inhabited or visited intermittently over a very long time, starting ca. 4000 BCE (the Chalcolithic period), and extending all the way to the Medieval period, even though there is also a concentration of dates near the period of the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–136 CE). We argue, through a detailed analysis of the radiometric and TL-datings and by the artefactual evidence, that there was likely another refuge episode connected with the First Jewish Revolt during which people fled to this cave. However, we see no material connection to Qumran and nearby caves. Overall, our study demonstrates the importance of archaeometric studies in cave environments where stratigraphy is veritably absent.

Technological Characterization of Almohad Pottery Glazes from SW Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain)

In this paper, we addressed the chemical composition and main features of a glazed Almohad ceramic assemblage recovered from Puig de Sa Morisca, a rural Islamic site located in southwest Mallorca. The glazes were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscope equipped with energy-dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS). The archaeometrical analysis conducted allowed us to characterize the technological choices applied by potters from the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the 13th century. The exclusive use of lead-silica glazes was confirmed, which in some cases was opacified with tin. We also established that some tableware vessels, which were imported to the island, have shown glazes with a particular composition within the analyzed record.