Archaeometric Research Research Articles

A comprehensive archaeometric research on Roman ceramics of Sinop (Black Sea)

AbstractA multi analytical approach was applied to Roman ceramics excavated from the city center and the Church‐Necropolis area in Kılıçlı plateau (Boyabat) in Sinop/Black Sea, Turkey. The samples were exposed to various characterization methods including spectroscopic, microscopic and thermal techniques. The relatively high amounts of CaO suggested use of calcareous clay batches for most of the Gülümoğlu Roman (GR) and Boyabat Roman (BR) potsherds. The hierarchical cluster analysis revealed two main groups excluding GR‐7. Additionally, principal component analysis (PCA) pointed out two sub‐groups for the BR samples, and GR‐7 was out of the groups. The statistical approach suggested two different raw materials for GR and BR pottery which could be assigned to use of local raw materials for each settlement. The sub‐groups in BR samples and the clear distinction of GR‐7 also pointed out diverse clay sources would have been used in pottery production. The mineralogical components of the potsherds indicated a firing temperature range of 900°C in average. A comparison of the chemical and mineralogical compositions of the potsherds with the former works proposed that most of the samples show similarities with some of the formerly investigated ceramic groups of Hellenistic and Roman periods in Sinop. Considering the whole data, the Roman potsherds in the present study are thought to represent the local wares of Sinop and they might have been manufactured in one of the pottery ateliers located on the coastline in the south of Sinop peninsula.

Conservation and Technical Evaluation of an Early Medieval Papyrus Codex

ABSTRACT In 2005, a team of Polish archaeologists discovered three Coptic codices, two on papyrus and one on parchment, in the rubbish dump of a hermitage at Sheik Abd el-Gurna, Egypt. While the parchment codex and the remains of the bindings of the papyrus ones have been conserved, the text blocks of the papyrus codices were opened and disassembled and after being disinfected remained untouched for nearly 15 years, until the current project started. Currently, all three books are stored in the collection of the Coptic Museum in Cairo. Our team undertook the conservation of and archaeometric research on the papyrus codices. The first of the books contains the Canons of Pseudo-Basil, while the second is an Encomium of St. Pisenthios. Both codices have been palaeographically dated to the seventh-eighth centuries CE. In this paper, we describe our project and present the results of the work carried out on the Canons of Pseudo-Basil. Our work involved photography in transmitted light, measurements of the thickness of the papyrus leaves, and digital microscopy under three-light illumination. These measurements allowed us to determine the types of the inks and characterize the papyrus writing substrate. For conservation, we used a novel method developed in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin that comprises suspending papyrus folios on a translucent, extremely thin Japanese paper inside glass frames without the use of adhesives.

Archaeometric research on decorated bricks of Tol-e Ajori monumental gate (6th century BC), Fars, Iran: New insight into the glazes

Archaeometric research on decorated bricks of Tol-e Ajori monumental gate (6th century BC), Fars, Iran: New insight into the glazes

Archaeometric Characterization of Wall Paintings from Isera and Ventotene Roman Villas

The authors present the first results of an archaeometric research project set up by the Rovereto Civic Museum Foundation in collaboration with MUSE–Trento Science Museum, aiming at analysing and comparing Roman plasters from different sites in order to highlight similarities and differences related to the preparation and realization of Roman wall renderings. The data concern the characterization of plaster samples from the Roman Villa of Isera and Ventotene (northern and central Italy) by means of a thin-section mineropetrographic examination under an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

Preliminary Study of the Mural Paintings of Sotterra Church in Paola (Cosenza, Italy).

A multi-analytical approach was employed to study wall paintings located in the Sotterra church at Paola, in the province of Cosenza, Italy. The site is an underground church (hence the name of Sotterra, which means “under the earth”) rediscovered in the second half of the 19th century, during the building works of the Madonna del Carmine church on the same area. This underground church preserves valuable mural paintings having different styles. The construction’s dating and overlapped modifications made until the site was abandoned is also debated. A wall painting, depicting “The Virgin” as part of the “Annunciation and the Archangel Gabriel” present on the opposite side of the apse, was selected and investigated using both in situ and laboratory-based analysis. Preliminarily, the non-destructive investigations involved several analytical techniques (IR imaging, UV-Induced Visible Fluorescence, and X-ray Fluorescence analyses) that provided mapping and characterization of pictorial layers and first data about deterioration phenomena. On the basis of this information, a more in-depth study was conducted on micro-fragments aimed at characterizing the stratigraphy and to identify the artist’s technique. Cross-sections were analysed using polarized optical microscopy and electron scanning microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to obtain morphological and chemical information on the selected pictorial micro-fragments of the wall painting. The results allowed to characterize the pigments and provide better readability of the whole figure, revealing details that are not visible to the naked eye, important for future historical-artistic and conservative studies. The results represent the first step of a systematic archaeometric research aimed at supporting the ongoing historical-stylistic studies to distinguish the different building phases hypothesized for this religious site which remained buried for three centuries.

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.

From OXALID to GlobaLID: Introducing a modern and FAIR lead isotope database with an interactive application

AbstractLead isotope provenance studies of archaeological artefacts rely crucially on the availability of reference data from raw material sources. The OXALID database, a collection of Excel sheets with Pb isotope data of ores and artefacts, is still the most cited data source in archaeometry. However, OXALID has not been updated for several years and contains almost exclusively data from Europe, particularly from the Mediterranean area. Digitalisation and open science philosophy currently revolutionise the use of machine‐generated data by developing digital data infrastructures. A modernised Pb isotope reference database, which is tailored for, but not limited to archaeometric research, is hence overdue. Here, we introduce GlobaLID, a FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) and extendable database and a web application with interactive and statistical tools for user‐friendly data handling up to publication quality. GlobaLID aims to be a collection point for worldwide Pb isotope data. It is designed as research infrastructure for Pb isotope studies in (for example) archaeometry, ore deposit and environmental geochemistry. As a community engagement project, GlobaLID invites scientists around the world to become active contributors to enable GlobaLID’s rapid growth. We released GlobaLID as a pilot study to showcase the infrastructure we build and provide a starting point for community discussion.

Exploring the raw materials and technological practice to obtain red and black surfaces of Apulian red figure pottery by Raman and SEM‐EDS investigations

AbstractIn this paper, 4th century BC Apulian red vases, from sites among the most relevant in Apulia (Italy), are studied by means of Raman spectroscopy. The effectiveness of this technique in the archaeometric research is emphasized, particularly regarding the manufacturing procedures and raw materials of black and red surfaces. Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X‐ray Spectroscopy (SEM‐EDS) analyses are carried out jointly with Raman spectroscopy in order to complete the morphological and chemical information. The results show that two different clays have been employed for black gloss and ceramic body. The black gloss proves composed of the finest fraction of terre rosse—very common all over Apulia—with no organic material added to its clayey suspension. Traces of carbon found on the surfaces can be ascribed to fly ash deposited during the firing process. This research highlights that two more methods besides red engobe were used by Apulian potters to color red the surface of whitish/grayish vases realized with local raw materials, namely, the addition of either “miltos” or a clayey layer enriched in Fe oxides. A multi‐step firing (ox‐red‐ox), reaching the maximum temperature of about 900°C, can be deduced from the different mineralogical phases identified through Raman. The possibility of gaining information on the hematite particles size from the position of its characteristic Raman bands is successfully investigated, allowing to get clues on the presence of a surface layer in a nondestructive manner by comparing the particle size there and in the ceramic body.

The early Roman pottery kilns in the ager Rusellanus (southern Tuscany, Italy) and their products

This archaeometric research examined the structural elements of the three kilns found in the plain below the archaeological site ofRusellae, the ceramics found within this artisans’ quarter and the clayey materials on which the workshops were built. Twenty-one samples were investigated by bulk chemical and mineralogical analyses (ICP-MS, ICP-AES and XRD) and mineralogical-petrographic analyses on thin sections (optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy). The results allowed the characterisation of the production group to be obtained. Both carbonatic and non-carbonatic clayey materials were used to make common-ware ceramics and, above all, building materials such as bricks and tiles. The production technology varied from accurately to poorly worked pastes, fired from low (about 800 °C) to very high temperatures (above 1100 °C). The compositional comparison with data previously obtained on stamped bricks and neighbouring clayey materials suggested a correlation with the producer/s known by the stampsSEX CLEMENT/PROBIandPROBI. Furthermore, the variety of raw materials used in the manufacture and product diversification also let speculate that the production site welcomed various artisans and products for the final firing.

A QUÍMICA ANALÍTICA APLICADA AOS ESTUDOS DE PIGMENTOS RUPESTRES: UMA REVISÃO

Instrumental advances have been employed in the study of archeological remains such as prehistoric rupestrians paintings with the objective of chemically characterizing them in order to reconstruct the cultural technologies of a prehistoric human group and/or to support conservation science studies. The analytical techniques most commonly used in archaeometric research are non-destructive or semi-destructive and preferably portable to preserve the integrity of the rupestrians paintings. They include X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF), Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), and the many techniques with emerging applications such as Mössbauer Spectroscopy, X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structures (XANES), Particle Induced X-ray Emission Spectrometry (PIXE) and Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA ICP-MS). Therefore, this paper presents a review of the literature on the development of chemical strategies employed in the study of rock art, focusing mainly on the critical evaluation of analytical techniques used, limitations, challenges and the perspectives within this area of study

Material Methods; Considering Ceramic Raw Materials and the Spread of the Potter‘s Wheel in Early Iron Age Southern Iberia

This paper discusses the role of clay selection and preparation in the production of wheel-made pottery in Early Iron Age southern Iberia. The first systematic use of potter’s wheels in the production of Early Iron Age ceramics in southern Iberia corresponds to the establishment of pottery workshops associated with Phoenician trade colonies, dating to the period between the end of the 10th and 7th century BCE. There are still many gaps in our understanding of how technological knowledge was transmitted between the Phoenician workshops and “indigenous’ communities that adopted the potter’s wheel. This paper draws upon a growing body of archaeometric and ceramic technological research to consider clay selection strategies in these new workshops. Secondly, this paper will consider the role of ceramic raw materials in the development of new “hybrid’ ceramic forms, particularly grey-ware. It will hereby provide theoretical considerations surrounding the significance of material cultural hybridity in answering questions raised by postcolonial archaeologists about identity, cultural transmission and hybridisation in the context of the Phoenician colonial system.

Sklo z doby stěhování národů ze Záluží u Čelákovic: archeologie a archeometrie / Migration period glass from Záluží (Central Bohemia): archaeology and archaeometry

With its at least 100 graves, the Migration period cemetery in Záluží by Čelákovice, Praha-východ district, investigated in the 1920s and 1930s ranks among the largest and most important sites from the end of the 5th to the middle of the 6th century AD in Bohemia. The same applies to the assemblage of glass composed of 168 beads and several additional artefacts. The chemical composition of the glass of 24 beads was identified using SEM-EDS and LA-ICP-MS. The results of these analyses indicated soda-lime glass of the natron type. An important result is the finding that translucent glasses belong to the ‘Intermediate group’, which was only recently identified in European archaeometric research. The composition of the glass in this group indicates that it was recycled glass, and in this sense the beads from Záluží contribute to the study of recycling in the first millennium AD in general.

The Approaches of Archaeological Science in Korea

인문·사회과학의 다른 분과와는 달리 고고학은 자연과학의 여러 분야와 학제적 형태로 연구가 수행되는 고고과학, 혹은 고고계측학의 분야를 포함하고 있다. 과학적 방법론에 토대를 둔 이 연구 분야에서 내놓은 연대측정, 고환경, 유물의 생산기술과 산지, 동물과 식물유체의 분석을 통한 생업과 식단, 혹은 고대DNA에 관한 연구 결과는 고고학 지식의 성장에 더 없이 중요한 기여를 했다. 이와 같은 과학적 방법론이 한국 고고학에 도입되어 성장해 온 과정을 살피고앞으로의 전망에 대해 논의해 볼 필요성 때문에 이 논문이 작성되었다. 1970년대 후반 고환경의 연구와 제작기술의 복원과 산지 추정을 위한 토기분석에서 시작된 한국에서의 고고과학 연구는 고고금속학, 동물유체의 연구로 확산되어 갔고, 화학, 지질학, 지리학, 생물학 분야의 연구자들의 참여도 있었다. 하지만 2000년대 이후부터 연대측정, 고환경과 유적입지, 고고금속학, 고고화학, 동물유체, 식물유체, 인골, 지질고고학과 잔존유기물 분석 등의 자료를 분석할 수 있는전문연구자들이 생겨났으며 연구 성과도 체계적으로 축적되기 시작했고 지금은 고고과학의 여러 분야에서 커다란 발전이 있었다. 그러나 고고과학의 연구 성과는 여전히 한국고고학의 논의에 폭넓게 확산되어 있지 않으며, 고고학자와자연과학자 사이의 학제적 토론도 그리 활발하지 못한 편이다. 특히 고고과학 연구가 지속적으로 성장하고 한국 고고학의 발전에 기여하려면 전문 연구자의 연구프로젝트 수행이 보장될 수 있는 제도적, 그리고 재정적 지원체계가 필요하다.Unlike other branches of humanities and social sciences, archaeology includes various fields of the archaeological science, where natural scientists and archaeologists work together to conduct a research in the interdisciplinary way. The results of archaeometric research, related to chronometric dating, palaeoenvironment, ancient technology, subsistence and diet, has made a great contribution to the growth of archaeological knowledge. This paper was written because of the need to examine the process in which scientific methodologies have been introduced and grown in Korean archaeology and discuss future prospects. In the late 1970s, the archaeological science in Korea, which began with the study of paleoenvironment and ceramic analyses to understand the technology and provenance, expanded to the archaeometallurgy, geoarchaeology and the analysis of faunal remains. It was not until the 2000s that the specialized researchers from each field emerged, various projects of archaeological science were carried out, and systematic research became possible. However, the results of scientific analyses are still not widely accepted in the discussion of Korean archaeology, and the interdisciplinary communication between archaeologists and natural scientists is not so active. In order for the scientific approach to continue to grow and its achievements to contribute to the development of Korean archaeology, an institutional and financial support system is needed to ensure the various research projects of archaeological science.

The first finding of a Greek amphora in Poland

Abstract In 2017, an expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the University of Rzeszów (Poland) carried out excavations on a hillfort belonging to the Scythian cultural circle (its forest-steppe variant) in Chotyniec, in south-eastern Poland. The hillfort is the central and most important point of a large settlement cluster, which is the furthest north-western enclave of this cultural circle. In an excavated cult object – the so-called ‘zolnik’ – we made an interesting discovery. Here we show this unique finding for the first time: a Greek wine amphora, from the beginning of the sixth century BC. We were able to explore and reconstruct it almost entirely. Amphora is the only artefact of this type found in the present Polish borders. The amphora was subjected to archaeometric research with the use of PLM, SEM/EDS, TXRF and ToF SIMS. The massive fabric was made of high calcium clay enriched in quartz and volcanic lithoclasts. The lack of chromium and nickel among trace elements makes the vessel different from the amphoras from the Eastern Meditteranean analysed so far, suggesting a specific workshop. Red painting was executed with very fine grained iron compounds predominantly based on aluminosilicates, enriched in phosphorus. Obviously, since it is associated with the presence of Scythians in Eastern Europe, it simultaneously delimits (geography-wise) the borders of Greek influence.

Iron Age glass-working in Moravia, Central Europe: new archaeometric research on raw glass and waste — 3rd–first century BC

Iron Age glass-working in Moravia, Central Europe: new archaeometric research on raw glass and waste — 3rd–first century BC

Mutable objects, places and chronologies

Abstract

The Contribution of Microchemical Analyses and Diagnostic Imaging to the Conservation and Identification of the Degraded Surfaces of Hellenistic-Roman Wall Paintings from Solunto (Sicily)

ABSTRACT The Archaeological Museum of Palermo (Sicily) has recently presented the results of the restoration of three wall paintings from the House of the Masks of Solunto archaeological site. These significant paintings, dating back to the first century BCE, are the most significant examples of Pompeian style discovered in Sicily to date. The cycle of frescoes unearthed is the best preserved and most complete example of wall painting dating to the Republican Roman period in Sicily. This house was a luxurious private residence built on two floors and centred around a peristyle. This fresco cycle embellished the walls of a banquet room (oecus) discovered during an archaeological excavation carried out by Giovanni Patricolo in 1869. The House of the Masks definition was suggested by Salemi Pace in 1872 when he published the discovery of frescoes with colourful garlands and theatrical masks. In 1874, five panels were detached from the walls and moved to the National Museum of Palermo for conservation purposes. The recent careful cleaning of the pictorial surfaces and the new archaeological and archaeometric research revealed unusual details about the pictorial technique and newly painted subjects. The scientific investigation was preliminarily based on a non-destructive approach, performed in situ using portable equipment and subsequently, the further examination of a micro fragment using micro-destructive investigation. X-ray fluorescence analysis was carried out to identify the original pictorial palette, and electron microprobe analyses coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to define the alteration products. Finally, infrared imaging provided new data about the pictorial technique and iconography. The new archaeometric evidence sheds light on these rare examples of Roman wall painting in the Sicilian Roman province, which until today have not been systematically studied from the point of view of materials and execution techniques, confirming the dating and connections with contemporary workshops active in other Roman provinces.

Possibilities and limitations of pXRF as a tool for analysing ancient pottery: a case study of Late Bronze and Early Iron Age pottery (1100–600 BC) from the northern Black Sea region

AbstractIn an archaeometric research project supported by the Volkswagen Foundation (Project 90216 [https://earlynomads.wordpress.com/]), working groups consisting of chemists, geologists and archaeologists in Berlin, Kiev and Saint Petersburg collaborated on analysing pottery recovered from Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age burials and settlements from sites of different archaeological cultures in the steppes and forest steppes north of the Black Sea. The article presents the results of the classification of 201 samples using energy-dispersive X-Ray fluorescence spectrometer (pXRF) compared to the results of MGR-analysis and WD-XRF of these samples. Fingerprints for the seven sites studied could be defined.

Glass melting experiments in the reconstruction of glass furnace from the 9th century

The authors research and publish the results from a glass melting experiments conducted in a reconstruction of a historic wood-fired furnace from the 9th c. during the 2017–2019 period. The experiments focused on soda-lime glass and were implemented as pilot for the planned, long-term and annual experimentations in the Archeopark in Hanusovce nad Topľou. Experimental glass batches were weighed according to the composition of glass from archaeological samples from the 9th c., as well as according to the model soda ash glass. The aim was to obtain experimental data to verify archaeometric research of historical glass. The study focused on the possible use of a wood-fired furnace in the melting glass from glass batches, the effects of ash on the composition of glass, remelting of glass cullet, penetration of elements from crucible and flue gases into molten glass, causes of different quality of glass remelting or colouring with added CuO and MnO. Another aim of the study was to compare the results of the glass analyses from the SEM/EDS and XRF method, which we later interpret in historical contexts.

Islamic glazed wares from ancient Termez (southern Uzbekistan). Raw materials and techniques

Ancient Termez, located on the southern border of Transoxiana/Mawarannahr, was an important pottery production centre during the Islamic period. Recent archaeological and archaeometric research carried out by the Spanish-Uzbek team evidenced the manufacture of glazed and unglazed vessels at the workshops found in the lower city (shahristan) and its suburbs (rabad). Glazed local products, mainly dated between the 9th and 16th/17th centuries, comprise slip-painted, underglaze and inglaze painted wares, splashed sgraffiato, and monochrome wares. The present study focuses on the chemical, mineralogical and petrographic examination of different types of glazed ceramics recovered at Termez excavations in order to identify the microstructure and composition of the glazes, the technological processes involved in their manufacture, and their evolution over the centuries. Thin polished sections were prepared and slips and glazes were analysed by optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results reveal that all the local/regional ceramics have a slip and a transparent glaze, with one exception. Colour decorations were applied over the slip, forming thinner or thicker layers depending on the desired final colour. Green (copper), red (iron) and brown/black (iron and in some cases iron plus manganese) pigments were used for the decorations. A high lead glaze was used in the ceramics found in the alluvial plain dating between the 9th and the 11th century, while an alkaline glaze is associated with the majority of ceramics collected in the shahristan dating between the 12th and the 17th century. An alumina rich clay mixed with lead oxide was used in the slip from the alluvial plain ceramics while the slip contained large quartz grains in the ceramics found in shahristan. Three imports from the Iraqi regions, a monochrome lustreware bowl and two white opaque glazed dishes dating from the 9th–10th centuries, were also analysed. They have the characteristic tin-opacified mixed lead-alkali glazes and fine calcareous pastes.