scholarly journals Integrated analytical approach to unveil the secrets of the recently discovered “Sphinx Room”: a new piece of Domus Aurea puzzle.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Cristina Caggiani ◽  
Alessia Coccato ◽  
Paolo Mazzoleni ◽  
Alessandro D’Alessio ◽  
Alfonsina Russo ◽  
...  

Abstract The recent discovery of the Sphynx Room, belonging to the Domus Aurea Esquiline wing, thanks to the framework given by the project “Non-destructive analytical studies at Parco Archeologico del Colosseo (Rome, Italy)”, allowed to perform an analytical campaign, both in situ and on micro-fragments. The first aim was to contribute to the overall comprehension of the Domus Aurea complex and to contextualize the newly-discovered room inside this extraordinary imperial architecture by means of an archaeometrical characterisation of the painting materials. The palette, composed of Egyptian blue, green earths, iron- and lead-based red, orange and yellow, calcite, carbon-based black, allowed to compare the Sphynx Room to Corridor 92 and Room 114 of Domus Aurea and to other sites in Rome. Furthermore, the employ of an organic binder in some spots can be put forward based on spectroscopic results, which does not exclude a wider use of the a fresco.Furthermore, a complementary methodological strategy was designed, in order to achieve a complete characterization of the materials. In addition to the well-known combination of portable X-ray fluorescence and portable/laboratory Raman analyses, Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy was used, both in situ (Diffuse Reflectance) and in the lab (Attenuated Total Reflectance). The results confirm the suitability of this approach for the characterization of Roman wall paintings, where both inorganic and organic materials are simultaneously present.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Cristina Caggiani ◽  
Alessia Coccato ◽  
Paolo Mazzoleni ◽  
Alessandro D’Alessio ◽  
Alfonsina Russo ◽  
...  

AbstractThe recent discovery of the Sphinx Room, belonging to the Domus Aurea Esquiline wing, thanks to the framework given by the project “Non-destructive analytical studies at Parco Archeologico del Colosseo (Rome, Italy)”, allowed to perform an analytical campaign, both in situ and on micro-fragments. The first aim was to contribute to the overall comprehension of the Domus Aurea complex and to contextualize the newly-discovered room inside this extraordinary imperial architecture by means of an archaeometrical characterisation of the painting materials. The palette, composed of Egyptian blue, green earths, iron- and lead-based red, orange and yellow, calcite, carbon-based black, allowed to compare the Sphinx Room to Corridor 92 and Room 114 of Domus Aurea and to other sites in Rome. Furthermore, the employ of an organic binder in some spots can be put forward based on spectroscopic results, which does not exclude a wider use of the a fresco. Furthermore, a complementary methodological strategy was designed, in order to achieve a complete characterization of the materials. In addition to the well-known combination of portable X-ray fluorescence and portable/laboratory Raman analyses, Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy was used, both in situ (Diffuse Reflectance) and in the lab (Attenuated Total Reflectance). The results confirm the suitability of this approach for the characterization of Roman wall paintings, where both inorganic and organic materials are simultaneously present.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Cristina Caggiani ◽  
Alessia Coccato ◽  
Paolo Mazzoleni ◽  
Alessandro D’Alessio ◽  
Alfonsina Russo ◽  
...  

Abstract The recent discovery of the Sphinx Room, belonging to the Domus Aurea Esquiline wing, thanks to the framework given by the project “Non-destructive analytical studies at Parco Archeologico del Colosseo (Rome, Italy)”, allowed to perform an analytical campaign, both in situ and on micro-fragments. The first aim was the archaeometrical characterisation of the painting materials. In fact, the analytical information on the wall decorations contributes to the overall comprehension of this extraordinary imperial architecture, and allows to contextualize the newly-discovered room inside the Domus Aurea complex. Moreover, further knowledge on the painting technique is achieved, which is of relevance for the general understanding of Roman mural decorations. The palette, composed of Egyptian blue, green earths, iron- and lead-based red, orange and yellow, calcite, carbon black, allowed to compare the Sphinx Room to Corridor 92 and Room 114 of Domus Aurea and to other sites in Rome. Furthermore, the employ of an organic binder in some spots can be put forward based on spectroscopic results, which does not exclude a wider use of the a fresco. Furthermore, a complementary methodological strategy was designed, in order to achieve a complete characterization of the materials. In addition to the well-known combination of in situ Raman and X-ray fluorescence analyses, Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy was used, both in situ (Diffuse Reflectance) and in the lab (Attenuated Total Reflectance). The results confirm the suitability of this approach for the characterization of Roman wall paintings, where both inorganic and organic materials are simultaneously present.


Heritage ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 864-888
Author(s):  
Adria Sanchez-Calvillo ◽  
Elia M. Alonso-Guzman ◽  
Wilfrido Martinez-Molina ◽  
Marco A. Navarrete-Seras ◽  
Jose L. Ruvalcaba-Sil ◽  
...  

Adobe masonry is one of the oldest construction systems still in use today, Mexico has an enormous cultural heritage with traditional adobe houses being very representative of the rural communities and their culture. The 2017 Puebla Earthquake on September 19th struck the country causing the loss, destruction, and damage of historic buildings in several Mexican states, with the traditional earthen dwellings being the most vulnerable structures to these events. The fast abandonment of the local materials and techniques entails further research regarding the characterization of these construction systems, therefore, reconstruction efforts first require the recovery of the construction technique. After the seismic events, adobe samples of the remaining adobe structures of Jojutla de Juarez were collected. This population was one of the most affected in all the country, and, because of the major losses suffered, the study was conducted to determine the material properties of the dwellings’ adobe shards and natural quarry clays of the region. The characterization included destructive and non-destructive tests, mineralogical and granulometry analyses, and composition of the adobe samples of the buildings, as well as the aggregates. As a novelty, the compressive strength of the pieces was tested by two methods: the traditional compression strength test and the point-load test, in order to obtain the indicative values and the correlation equations between both tests. From the formal analysis and the laboratory, it was observed that the adobes from Jojutla presented different compositions which combined with the building malpractices and alterations to the traditional systems caused unpredictable behavior during the earthquake. The conduction of point-load tests in situ, as a part of a complete characterization methodology, could be an alternative to study the mechanical properties of patrimonial or damaged building samples before its disappearance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgar Casanova-González ◽  
Miguel Ángel Maynez-Rojas ◽  
Alejandro Mitrani ◽  
Isaac Rangel-Chávez ◽  
María Angélica García-Bucio ◽  
...  

Abstract Almost three hundred Spanish colonial missions—or their remains—are scattered over the vast state of Chihuahua in northern Mexico. A few of them still display painted decorations on the wood ceilings and walls. The decorated areas vary greatly, from the whole ceiling of the main aisle to just a few square meters in a lateral chapel, and so does the conservation state of the paintings. In this context, the information regarding the paintings’ composition plays a key role in the restoration and conservation processes. For the gathering of such information, we propose a combined methodology for a fast, non-destructive and non-invasive characterization of such paintings with a minimum of techniques. This methodology includes false color infrared imaging as a first approach to determine the composition of large areas of the paintings and the homogeneity of the materials used in the painted areas, followed by small area analysis by X-ray fluorescence and fiber-optics reflectance spectroscopy. This methodology was applied to characterize the elemental and molecular composition of the decorations for four missions in Chihuahua in a fast and specific manner, revealing the use of a mix of mineral and organic materials including indigo and cochineal, and detecting differences between the missions. The methodology presented here can be easily applied for the study of a wider number of missions in Chihuahua and other regions to provide outstanding information of materials, pictorial techniques and deterioration conditions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 125 ◽  
pp. 62-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kilian Laclavetine ◽  
Francisco J. Ager ◽  
Joaquin Arquillo ◽  
Miguel Ángel Respaldiza ◽  
Simona Scrivano

2020 ◽  
Vol 230 ◽  
pp. 00012
Author(s):  
Valentina Venuti ◽  
Vincenza Crupi ◽  
Barbara Fazio ◽  
Giuseppe Paladini ◽  
Mauro Francesco La Russa ◽  
...  

In this study a multi-technique analysis was performed on the decorated surfaces of four ancient pottery fragments dated back XIX century A.D. withdrawn from the archaeological site of the medieval Agsu town, in Azerbaijan. During the last decade, the site underwent to an extensively archaeometric investigation by means of different non-destructive, or micro-destructive, techniques. In this work we focused our attention on the characterization of the pigmenting agents and glazes at different spatial scales from elemental to microscopic domain by using portable and not-portable equipments. In particular, the elemental and molecular compositions were successfully determined by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. On one side, data deriving from portable instrument were compared with those previously obtained from not-portable approach, in view of future in situ investigations. On the other side, the overall obtained results appear crucial for the reconstruction of the production technology used by craftsman of the past.


Author(s):  
Danilo Dini ◽  
Flavio Cognigni ◽  
Daniele Passeri ◽  
Francesca Anna Scaramuzzo ◽  
Mauro Pasquali ◽  
...  

Abstract The present review analyses the recent literature on the combined use of X-ray microscopy (XRM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) for multiscale characterization of Li+ (or Li) batteries (LiBs) with the aim of developing guidelines for correlative analysis. The usefulness of XRM resides in the capability of affording non invasively in situ images of the inner parts of a LiB (an encapsulated device) with spatial resolution of dozens of nm during operation. XRM is non destructive and affords the early diagnosis of LiBs degradation causes when these manifest themselves as microdeformations. Multiscale characterization of LiBs also requires AFM for visualizing the morphological/physical alterations of LiB components (anodes, cathodes, electrolyte) at the sub-nanometer level. Different to XRM, AFM necessitates of a modification of LiB working configuration since AFM uses a contacting probe whereas XRM exploits radiation-matter interactions and does not require LiB dissection. A description of the working principles of the two techniques is provided to evidence which technical aspects have to be considered for achieving a meaningful correlative analysis of LiBs. In delineating new perspectives for the analysis of LiBs we will consider additional complementary techniques. Among various AFM-based techniques particular emphasis is given to electrochemical AFM (EC-AFM).


Author(s):  
R. E. Herfert

Studies of the nature of a surface, either metallic or nonmetallic, in the past, have been limited to the instrumentation available for these measurements. In the past, optical microscopy, replica transmission electron microscopy, electron or X-ray diffraction and optical or X-ray spectroscopy have provided the means of surface characterization. Actually, some of these techniques are not purely surface; the depth of penetration may be a few thousands of an inch. Within the last five years, instrumentation has been made available which now makes it practical for use to study the outer few 100A of layers and characterize it completely from a chemical, physical, and crystallographic standpoint. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) provides a means of viewing the surface of a material in situ to magnifications as high as 250,000X.


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