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Minerals
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The Advances of Applying Microanalitycal Techniques on Cultural Heritage Studying
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The Advances of Applying Microanalitycal Techniques on Cultural Heritage Studying

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Crystallography and Physical Chemistry of Minerals & Nanominerals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2020) | Viewed by 10103

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Donatella Barca

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences (DiBEST), University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
Interests: microanalytical techniques; laser ablation ICP-MS; provenance; obsidian; degradation of stone; mortars
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

During the last twenty years, the application of analytical techniques to cultural heritage has acquired more and more scientific significance, helping to answer specific questions for them to be better known. Studying cultural heritage through a systematic analytical approach allows identifying the materials and technologies used for them in the past, detecting how they suffered alterations in specific environmental conditions, including museums, and establishing possible remedies against deterioration. Therefore, applying analytical techniques on cultural heritage is useful to identify the sources of raw material, to develop and test models regarding trade, interactions, and access to resources, and to give an essential background for preservation and conservation of cultural heritage objects for museologists and restorers.

Whereas it is often impossible to take samples from artefacts of historical and artistic value, the use of nondestructive or microdestructive techniques has acquired greater relevance today in archaeometric research.

In addition, due to their origin and aging, heritage materials are generally mixtures of inorganic phases and organic compounds, which require powerful analytical tools to be identified. Mapping the microchemical variability of constituents is essential in view of the heterogeneous nature of heritage materials. The microanalytical techniques also allow the detection of very small minerals (i.e., micrometric size) in stone materials. Some examples are the accessory mineral phases in the archaeological marbles, the microliths in obsidian, and the clinopyroxene crystals occurring within the amphorae and potteries. The microanalytical methods play an important role, also, in the geochemical characterization of glassy material research; a very important deepening is the role of some minerals used as coloring and or opacifying agents in their production. Typical examples are the use of lead antimonate as yellow opacifier and of the cuprite as red colorant and so on. Their identification provides important information about the glass production techniques and the raw materials used in their preparation. These are just some examples of the use of microanalytical techniques applied to the identification and characterization of minerals for archaeometric purposes.

This Special Issue is intended to be an occasion to discuss and present the latest results of the application of analytical techniques with particular focus on the microanalytical ones to the different cultural heritage studies involving analyses of pigments, stones, metals, glass, ceramics, and mortars.

Both methodological and applicative contributions are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Donatella Barca
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cultural heritage
  • microanalytical techniques
  • archaeometry
  • stone materials

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

42 pages, 7233 KiB  
Article
A Multiproxy Approach to the Reconstruction of an Ancient Manufacturing Technology: A Case Study of a Faience Ptolemaic Bowl from Tell Atrib (Nile Delta)
by Małgorzata Zaremba, Jerzy Trzciński, Magdalena Rogulska, Grzegorz Kaproń, Fabian Welc and Anna Południkiewicz
Minerals 2020, 10(9), 785; https://doi.org/10.3390/min10090785 - 5 Sep 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3861
Abstract
Faience objects produced from the fourth millennium BC in ancient Egypt are considered as the first high-tech ceramics in human history. Despite extensive studies on manufacturing technology, many aspects of this complex technology remain a mystery and there is no methodology in place [...] Read more.
Faience objects produced from the fourth millennium BC in ancient Egypt are considered as the first high-tech ceramics in human history. Despite extensive studies on manufacturing technology, many aspects of this complex technology remain a mystery and there is no methodology in place to unravel the techniques of Egyptian faience object production. Detailed studies presented herein fill the gaps, verifying standing opinions and allowing certain aspects of faience manufacturing technology to be reconstructed. The object of this innovative investigation is a hemispherical faience bowl discovered by archaeologists excavating a Ptolemaic workshop district at the site of Tell Atrib in the southern Nile Delta. The multiproxy analysis included the application of specialised software and preparation techniques coupled with complementary methods of light and digital microscopy, SEM with EDS, XRD, STA with EGA, as well as image analysis. Sources of raw and accessory materials (mineral and organic binders, fluxes, colourants) used for preparing the silica paste and glaze slurry were determined. The results helped to reconstruct how the raw material was prepared and how faience vessels were made. The bowl was moulded by compression using a two-part mould. The moulded and dried bowl was then covered by glaze slurry using the application method. A synthetic colourant, Egyptian Blue, was probably used to colour the glaze. The item was fired once at a temperature of 1050–1150 °C. Oxidised conditions were maintained in the kiln during the firing process and firing at the maximal temperature was relatively short. Application of the multiproxy approach has shed light on the technological aspects of faience bowl manufacturing. The obtained results have confirmed the usefulness of the comprehensive methodology that was applied for the reconstruction of particular manufacturing stages of faience objects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Advances of Applying Microanalitycal Techniques on Cultural Heritage Studying)
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11 pages, 5353 KiB  
Article
Provenance of White Marbles from the Roman City of Tauriana (Palmi, Reggio Calabria, Italy)
by Raffaella De Luca, Donatella Barca, Andrea Bloise, Rocco Dominici, Marco Lezzerini, Maria Maddalena Sica and Domenico Miriello
Minerals 2020, 10(4), 297; https://doi.org/10.3390/min10040297 - 26 Mar 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2678
Abstract
The work shows the results of an archaeometric study performed on fourteen white marble samples from the Roman city of Tauriana (Palmi, Reggio Calabria, Italy), belonging to different architectural elements of the Municipal Museum Complex and artifacts reused in the modern town. Samples [...] Read more.
The work shows the results of an archaeometric study performed on fourteen white marble samples from the Roman city of Tauriana (Palmi, Reggio Calabria, Italy), belonging to different architectural elements of the Municipal Museum Complex and artifacts reused in the modern town. Samples were studied by optical microscopy (OM), x-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) of 13C and 18O with the aim to identify their provenance. The comparison between the collected data and the historical ones, concerning the ancient quarries of white marble of the Mediterranean area, allowed us to prove that most of the marbles used in the city of Tauriana were from the Apuan Alps Basin (Carrara) and, in few cases, from Minor Asia (Proconnesos, Aphrodisias, Docimium) and Greek (Thasos and Pentelic) quarries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Advances of Applying Microanalitycal Techniques on Cultural Heritage Studying)
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19 pages, 7227 KiB  
Article
Chemical and Petrographic Characterization of Stone and Glass Tesserae in the Nereid and Geometric Mosaics from the S. Aloe Quarter in Vibo Valentia–Calabria, Italy
by Donatella Barca, Elia Fiorenza, Maria D’Andrea, Emilia Le Pera, Marianna Musella, Fabrizio Sudano and Armando Taliano Grasso
Minerals 2019, 9(12), 729; https://doi.org/10.3390/min9120729 - 26 Nov 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3017
Abstract
Vibo Valentia’s S. Aloe quarter is an archaeological area which has three beautiful mosaic floors, dated between the centuries I BC and V AD. This work reports the results obtained on 22 glass and stone tesserae collected from the Nereid and Geometric mosaics [...] Read more.
Vibo Valentia’s S. Aloe quarter is an archaeological area which has three beautiful mosaic floors, dated between the centuries I BC and V AD. This work reports the results obtained on 22 glass and stone tesserae collected from the Nereid and Geometric mosaics during a recent restoration of the site. The analyses were carried out through a multi-analytical approach. The petrographic study of the stone tesserae was carried out using polarizing optical microscopy while the geochemical one was conducted using two micro-analytical techniques: the electron probe micro-analyzer with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry and a combination of laser ablation with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for determining the major, minor, and trace element concentrations. The research highlights the use of different kinds of stones such as marble, volcanic, and sedimentary rocks. The glasses show the typical soda–lime–silica composition indicating the use of natron as a flux. The trace element concentrations prove the use of Pb-antimonates to create yellow glass. The bronze scrap was used to obtain the green color, while cobalt and copper were used to obtain different gradations of blue. These results confirm the high technological level reached by glassmakers in the Imperial Age, thus highlighting the importance of the S. Aloe archeological site. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Advances of Applying Microanalitycal Techniques on Cultural Heritage Studying)
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