Two different analytical approaches, direct exposure electron ionisation mass spectrometry (DE-MS) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), were compared in a study on archaeological resinous materials. DE-MS was found to be an efficient fingerprinting tool for the fast screening of organic archaeological samples and for providing information on the major components. GC/MS appeared to be more efficient in unravelling the sample composition at a molecular level, despite the length of analysis time and the need for a wet chemical pre-treatment. Both analytical procedures were applied to characterise the organic material present as coatings in Roman and Egyptian amphorae. DE-MS successfully identified abietanic compounds, thus a diterpenic resinous material could be identified and its degree of oxidation assessed. GC/MS enabled us to identify dehydroabietic acid, 7-oxo-dehydroabietic acid, 15-hydroxy-7-oxo-dehydroabietic acid, 15-hydroxy-dehydroabietic acid, retene, tetrahydroretene, norabietatriene, norabietatetraene, and methyl-dehydroabietate. These oxidised and aromatised abietanes provided evidence that the amphorae examined were waterproofed with a pitch produced from resinous wood of plants from the Pinaceae family. The chemometric evaluation of the GC/MS data highlighted significant chemical differences between the pitches found in the two archaeological sites, basically related to differences in the production techniques of the materials and in their degradation pathways.

Direct exposure electron ionization mass spectrometry and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry techniques to study organic coatings in archaeological amphorae

COLOMBINI, MARIA PERLA;MODUGNO, FRANCESCA;RIBECHINI, ERIKA
2005-01-01

Abstract

Two different analytical approaches, direct exposure electron ionisation mass spectrometry (DE-MS) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), were compared in a study on archaeological resinous materials. DE-MS was found to be an efficient fingerprinting tool for the fast screening of organic archaeological samples and for providing information on the major components. GC/MS appeared to be more efficient in unravelling the sample composition at a molecular level, despite the length of analysis time and the need for a wet chemical pre-treatment. Both analytical procedures were applied to characterise the organic material present as coatings in Roman and Egyptian amphorae. DE-MS successfully identified abietanic compounds, thus a diterpenic resinous material could be identified and its degree of oxidation assessed. GC/MS enabled us to identify dehydroabietic acid, 7-oxo-dehydroabietic acid, 15-hydroxy-7-oxo-dehydroabietic acid, 15-hydroxy-dehydroabietic acid, retene, tetrahydroretene, norabietatriene, norabietatetraene, and methyl-dehydroabietate. These oxidised and aromatised abietanes provided evidence that the amphorae examined were waterproofed with a pitch produced from resinous wood of plants from the Pinaceae family. The chemometric evaluation of the GC/MS data highlighted significant chemical differences between the pitches found in the two archaeological sites, basically related to differences in the production techniques of the materials and in their degradation pathways.
2005
Colombini, MARIA PERLA; Modugno, Francesca; Ribechini, Erika
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11568/181349
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