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X-ray tomography of a soil block: a useful tool for the restoration of archaeological finds

AbstractIntroductionX-ray imaging is a very powerful tool which can be exploited in several fields. In the last few years, its use in archaeology has grown consistently. One of the most recent and interesting applications of computed X-ray tomography (CT) is the analysis of soil blocks, coming from excavations, in order to seek for finds of different kinds and materials possibly contained therein. For this purpose, both medical and industrial CT scanners have been employed. In this paper, the application of a CT instrument specifically designed and developed for the analysis of Cultural Heritage materials is presented. We analysed a soil block extracted from a necropolis in the Italian region of Abruzzo and probably dating back to the VI-IV century B.C., which was found to contain a bronze belt.ResultsThanks to the versatility of the CT equipment we designed, a complete scan has been obtained in less than four hours and has delivered extremely useful information in a completely non-invasive way. The CT dataset and images allowed a virtual extraction of the find to be performed before the actual stratigraphic recovery that, in this case, was simplified thanks to the merging of the archaeological evidences and with information coming from scientific analyses. The information provided by the tomography consisted in: the distribution, shape and dimensions of fragments composing the artefact; indications about its general conditions; the recognition of repairs done in the past and the presence of different materials (although not precisely identified).ConclusionsThe use of CT has great potential for the work of both archaeologists and restorers. The indirect extraction of an artefact from an archaeological excavation, which entailed moving a soil block to the laboratory, allowed one to reconstruct almost all its parts and to collect information about materials. CT analysis has been particularly useful for determining both its conditions and its repairs before the actual recovery, thereby facilitating the restoration process.The recovery and conservation of an historical piece like the one presented here can help archaeological and conservation studies, enrich a museum collection and contribute to the dissemination of acquired cultural information. Graphical AbstractX-ray imaging of a soil block from an archaeological excavation and the extracted metal belt.

In-air broad beam ionoluminescence microscopy as a tool for rocks and stone artworks characterisation.

AbstractBroad beam ionoluminescence (IL) microscopy is a promising technique for the non-destructive characterisation of rocks and stone objects. Luminescence imaging by means of broad ion beams has been sporadically used by other authors but, to our knowledge, its potential has not yet been fully investigated, neither in geological science nor in other fields. The in-air broad beam IL microscope was developed and installed at the INFN-LABEC external microbeam in Florence. Similar to the cathodoluminescence (CL) microscope, the apparatus exploits a CCD colour camera collecting images (few square millimetres wide, with ∼10-μm spatial resolution) of the luminescence emitted by the sample hit by a defocused megaelectron volt (MeV) proton beam. The main differences with the well-established and widespread CL are the possibility of working in air (no sampling or conductive coatings required) and the possibility of combining the analysis with microbeam analysis, such as, for example, μ-IL and μ-PIXE (particle-induced X-ray emission). To show the potential of the technique, IL images of thin sections of lapis lazuli are compared with those obtained by means of an in-vacuum cold CL. An application to the study of stone artworks is also reported. This technique and apparatus will provide a valuable help for interdisciplinary applications, e.g. in geological sciences and in the cultural heritage field. FigureExperimental setup of the broad beam IL microscopy apparatus on the external microbeam line of the INFN-LABEC in Firenze during the analysis of a lapis lazuli rock

A 3-dimensional interdigitated electrode geometry for the enhancement of charge collection efficiency in diamond detectors

In this work, a single crystal CVD diamond film with a novel three-dimensional (3D) interdigitated electrode geometry has been fabricated with the reactive ion etching (RIE) technique in order to increase the charge collection efficiency (CCE) with respect to that obtained by standard superficial electrodes. The geometrical arrangement of the electric field lines due to the 3D patterning of the electrodes results in a shorter travel path for the excess charge carriers, thus contributing to a more efficient charge collection mechanism. The CCE of the device was mapped by means of the ion beam induced charge (IBIC) technique. A 1 MeV proton micro- beam was raster-scanned over the active area of the diamond detector under different bias voltage conditions, enabling to probe the charge transport properties of the detector up to a depth of 8µm below the sample surface. The experimental results, supported by the numerical simulations, show a significant improvement in the 3D detector performance (i.e. CCE, energy resolution, extension of the active area) if compared with the results obtained by standard surface metallic electrodes.

µ-XRF Analysis of Trace Elements in Lapis Lazuli-Forming Minerals for a Provenance Study.

This paper presents new developments on the provenance study of lapis lazuli started by our group in 2008: during the years a multi-technique approach has been exploited to obtain minero-petrographic characterization and creation of a database considering only rock samples of known provenance. Since the final aim of the study is to develop a method to analyze archeological findings and artworks made with lapis lazuli in a completely non-invasive way, ion beam analysis techniques were employed to trace the provenance of the raw material used for the production of artifacts. Continuing this goal and focusing the analysis on determination of more significant minero-chemical markers for the provenance study of trace elements in different minerals, the method was extended with the use of micro X-ray fluorescence (µ-XRF), to test the potential of the technique for this application. The analyzes were focused on diopside and pyrite in lapis lazuli samples of known provenance (Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Siberia). In addition, µ-XRF data were compared with micro proton-induced X-ray emission (µ-PIXE) results to verify the agreement between the two databases and to compare the analytical performance of both techniques for this application.

Results of the Italian neu_ART project

The neu_ART project aims at developing state of the art transmission imaging and computed tomography techniques, applied to art objects, by using neutrons as well as more conventional X-rays. In this paper a facility for digital X-ray radiography of large area paintings on canvas or wooden panels and for the X-ray tomography of large size wooden artifacts, recently installed in a protected area, is presented. The results of a K-edge radiography facility that will soon be installed in the same area are also shown.

Potentialities of X-ray fluorescence analysis in numismatics: the case study of pre-Roman coins from Cisalpine Gaul

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is a well-known technique for the analysis of ancient metals. Thanks to the availability of portable instruments (p-XRF), it is extensively used for the chemical characterization of coins directly in museums. In this work, the potentialities of the technique have been investigated, through its application to a case study concerning the Cisalpine Gaul coinage. More than 200 drachmas have been analysed to discriminate different productions on the base of minor elements. Major elements, on the other hand, have been used to trace alloy changes through the centuries. As concerns the quantification of the silver content (fineness), XRF and neutron diffraction results have been compared, in order to check the presence of surface-enriched layers.

Protocol for lapis lazuli provenance determination: evidence for an Afghan origin of the stones used for ancient carved artefacts kept at the Egyptian Museum of Florence (Italy)

Despite that the Badakhshan Province (Afghanistan) remains the most plausible hypothesis for the lapis lazuli used in antiquity, alternatives proposed in literature are worth to study to confirm or disprove their historical reliability. In this work, a protocol for determining the provenance of lapis lazuli rocks used for carved artefacts is described. Markers for the univocal attribution of the raw material to a source were identified analysing 45 rocks of known provenance (among which 15 georeferenced) from 4 quarry districts. To the best of our knowledge, this reference database is the widest in provenance studies on lapis lazuli. All the markers are recognisable by means of Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) techniques, in particular micro-proton-induced x-ray emission (PIXE) and micro-ionoluminescence (IL). These techniques are non-invasive and applicable in air, allowing to analyse artworks and rocks of practically any shape and dimension without sample preparation.The protocol was applied to determine the provenance of raw material used for carved lapis lazuli artefacts kept at the Egyptian Museum of Florence, the second most important Egyptian museum in Italy, second only to the museum of Turin. The collection in Florence has a great historical value and includes several lapis lazuli pendants, scarabs, small statuettes and amulets ascribable mainly to the first millennium BC. Following the protocol, 11 of these artefacts were analysed by means of IBA techniques. Results ascribe the raw material to the Afghan quarry district.

Average and core silver content of ancient-debased coins via neutron diffraction and specific gravity

The measurement of the fineness of debased ancient silver coins has proven to be a very difficult issue, which has been studied for a long time. In this paper, this subject is analysed, and the various consequences of the silver surface enrichment (SSE) are discussed exploiting the most recent investigations. A new model is proposed for the complex object that is an ancient-debased silver coin, based on the silver profiles measured on some sectioned specimens. The model is applied to a sample of 43 coins, mainly Roman victoriati, Cisalpine and Illyrian drachms (from late III to I century B.C.). The coins are investigated in two different ways: neutron diffraction (ND) and specific gravity (SG). The results of the two measurements are combined via the proposed model to provide a more complete numismatic information of the original fineness of the monetary alloy. As a result, a relation between SSE thickness and SG is derived, which, for these coinages, allows to estimate the original alloy silver content from a simple SG measurement; the same method can be used to study other debased coinages, provided that all the procedure (ND and SG) is applied.

The stones of the statuary of the Egyptian Museum of Torino (Italy): geologic and petrographic characterization

A geologic and petrographic study was performed on a rich collection of statues made of stone exposed at the statuary of the Egyptian Museum of Turin (NW Italy) to enhance the value of this artistic heritage and set the basis for its best conservation. Magmatic and sedimentary rocks were recognized. Magmatic rocks with an intrusive origin are the most represented and include two main varieties: Red Granite, consisting of a sieno-granite with porphyritic texture and pink to red K-feldspars, and Black Granite, which includes granodiorite, quartz diorite and tonalite lithotypes, whose colour ranges from grey to almost black. These magmatic rocks belong to the Arabian–Nubian shield, and the historical quarries are located near Aswan. The sedimentary rocks are represented by Cenozoic white limestones and red sandstones and Cretaceous dark-yellow Nubian sandstones. Finally, we note the occurrence of the so-called Bekhen Stone, originally attributed to a green-black metagreywacke belonging to the Hammamat series of late Precambrian age, outcropping in the central sector of the Eastern Desert, and re-interpreted here as a massive dark-green sandstone. This paper provides a scientific classification of the artefacts exposed in the statuary rooms based on the employed materials and contributes to the enhancement of the valuable collection of stone artefacts preserved in one of the leading ancient Egyptian Museums in the world.

The stones of the Egyptian Museum of Turin: geological, mineralogical and petrographical characterization

Lucchi, Renata G. ... et. al.-- 87° Congresso della Societa Geologica Italiana e 90° Congresso della Societa Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrologia, The Future of the Italian Geosciences - The Italian Geosciences of the Future, 10-12 September 2014, Milan, Italy.-- 1 pageThe Montellina Spring (370 m a.s.l.) represents an example of groundwater resource in mountain region. It is a significant source of drinking water located in the right side of the Dora Baltea Valley (Northwestern Italy), SW of Quincinetto town. This spring shows a morphological location along a ridge, 400 m from the Renanchio Torrent in the lower sector of the slope. The spring was investigated using various methodologies as geological survey, supported by photo interpretation, structural reconstruction, NaCl and fluorescent tracer tests, discharge measurements. This multidisciplinary approach, necessary due to the complex geological setting, is required for the importance of the Montellina Spring. It is interesting in the hydrogeological context of Western Alps for its high discharge, relatively constant over time (average 150 l/s), and for its location outside a fluvial incision and suspended about 40 m above the Dora Baltea valley floor (Lasagna et al. 2013). According to the geological setting, the hydrogeological reconstruction of the area suggests that the large amount of groundwater in the basin is essentially favoured by a highly fractured bedrock, covered by wide and thick bodies of glacial and gravitational sediments. The emergence of the water along the slope, in the Montellina Spring, is essentially due to a change of permeability between the deep bedrock and the shallow bedrock and/or surficial sediments. The deep bedrock, showing closed fractures and/or fractures filled by glacial deposits, is slightly permeable. The shallow bedrock, strongly loosened as result of gravitational phenomena, and the local gravitational sediments are, on the contrary, highly permeable. The concentration of water at the spring is due to several reasons. a) The spring is immediately downward a detachment niche, dipping towards the spring, that essentially drains the water connected to the change of permeability in the bedrock. b) It is along an important fracture, that carries a part of the losses of the Renanchio Torrent. c) Finally, it is favored by the visible and buried morphology. Although it is located along a ridge, the spring occurs in a small depression between a moraine and a landslide body. It also can be favored by the likely concave trend of buried base of the landslide. At last, tracer tests of the Renanchio Torrent water with fluorescent tracer are performed, with a continuous monitoring in the Montellina Spring. The surveys permit to verify and quantify the spring and torrent hydrogeological relationship, suggesting that only a small fraction of stream losses feeds the spring.