Margherita Cantelli, Alberta Facchi, Francesca C. Izzo, Elisabetta Zendri
Characterization of Etruscan non-vascular ceramic fragments

This work focuses on the importance of Archaeometry aiming at defining some archaeological uncertainties concerning the use of distinctive materials. More precisely, the goal of this study is the interpretation of spectroscopic and thermogravimetric data, as well as water absorption measurements, for the characterization of non-vascular ceramic fragments found in two different Etruscan settlements dated back to 6^th-4^th century BC and situated in the Po Delta region (San Basilio di Ariano nel Polesine and Adria – Rovigo, Italy). A multi-analytical approach was applied in order to clarify the role of these ceramic findings, which were supposed to be building materials used to cover house walls, as internal or external plasters.

Nicoletta Martinelli
Multicentennial regional oak chronologies for northern Italy: an updating

The Author describes the construction of 3 regional chronologies based on crossdated tree-ring series from woods coming from archaeological sites in north-eastern Italy. The series have been dendrochronologically crossdated and the chronologies dated by 14C wigglematching. Two of them belong to prehistory: the time span of GARDA 1 is 2204-1829 ± 10y. cal BC and the time span of GARDA 3 is 1897-1678 ± 14y. cal BC. The early medieval chronology VENETO 1 spans the period 447-773 ± 21y. cal AD. They allow to date exactly building activities on the Bronze Age pile-dwelling villages in the region of the lake Garda and the Early Medieval land-reclamation structures in the Lagoon of Venice and the Venetian plain.

Rodica-Mariana Ion, Radu Setnescu, Tanta Setnescu, Anca Irina Gheboianu, Gabriel Vasilievici, Sorin Tincu
Thermoluminescence dating and microstructural characterization of archaeological ceramic samples from Corvins Castle area

Some ceramics samples from Corvins Castle area - Coart Area, in different weathering stages, have been analyzed in this paper by different analytical techniques: XRD, thermal analysis (TG, DTG), porosity and thermoluminescence (TL) dating. For identification of the technology employed in the pottery production, the firing temperature could be determined through the presence of some minerals (evidenced by XRD), quartz and calcite being the most important ones. Crushed calcite is a good indicator, because it is present in the ceramics which have been tired up to 750° C (under oxidized atmosphere). By TL the nature of the crystalline network could be detected, ceramics consist of a number of crystalline inclusions (mainly quartz and feldspar) embedded in the ceramic matrix. The peak related to 343° C is always found in quartz. The date obtained by TL technique was in good agreement with the date assigned by archaeologists.

Stefano Pagnotta, Giulia Buono, Marco Lezzerini, Alexia Pavan, Carlotta Rizzo
The pottery production at Sumhuram (Khor Rori, Sultanate of Oman): an archaeometric study

The aim of this paper is to present the preliminary results of the archaeometric characterization of a particular pottery production in the settlement of Sumhuram, in the area of Khor Rori (Sultanate of Oman), the easternmost port of ancient the caravan kingdoms, along the southern coast of Arabia (2^nd cent BC – 5^th cent AD). The inhabitants of Sumhuram provided to their needs through several local productive activities, as indicated by the presence of kilns and furnaces used for different purposes. In the past, few studies speculated, and partially demonstrated, the possible occurrence, at Sumhuram, of a local pottery manufacturing; however, no kilns were ever found until recent years. In 2015, archaeological investigations unveiled the first clear evidence of a local prottery production at the site through the discovery of a pottery kiln and some production wastes inside the city wall. The furnace discovered in Sumhuram is the only one suitable for firing pottery in the whole southern Arabia in pre-Islamic period. Twenty-two potsherds from the productive area have been analysed with micro- and macro-photo, and thin sections, in order to illustrate the development of the whole pottery cycle, from the treatment of the raw materials to the final products.

Michela Ricca, Marco Ricci, Stefano Laureti, Mauro Francesco La Russa
The role of geosciences and non destructive methods in the TECTONIC project

TECTONIC project promotes a collaboration among several professionals (i.e. archaeologists, conservator, geologists, engineers, etc.) working on different topics related to the Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH), to find solutions to the issues still existing in the field. One of the main aims of the project is the exchange of skills for the study and assessment of innovative materials for the conservation of the UCHs, sustainably. To achieve this goal, several activities, analytical investigations and laboratory tests have been planned to be carried out on archaeological and historical materials coming from three underwater pilot areas, selected in the Mediterranean and Atlantic sea. Specifically, in this work the main stages that will be conducted are: a) study and characterization of archaeological/historical materials; b) laboratory and in situ experimentation for developing a conservation strategy against the biofouling; c) development of marketable products. This paper show the detail of each of the abovementioned stages, with a close look also at non destructive testing methodologies.