In the 6th and 5thcenturies BCGela (Italy, Sicily) was one of the most important production centres of architectural terracottas in the Mediterranean basin. Nevertheless, few archaeometric data are actually available in scientific literature on this interesting artefacts class. Here we report the archaeometriccharacterization of Geloancoroplastic materials. In particular,an investigation on samples of the finest architectural terracottasfound inthe archaeological excavations in Gela has been carried out with the aim of identifyingthedistinctive features of the production site and the manufacturing techniques. The group of samplesincludes various remarkable architectural elements: decorated simaand geison fragments, acroteria specimens. Information data about provenance,fabric features, technological knowledge and manufacturing techniques have been obtained by performing petrographic(OM), mineralogical (XRD) and chemical analyses (XRF). Most of the identified petrographicfabrics have revealed the presence of volcanic temper; therefore, considering the chemical composition of clinopiroxenes as a powerful tool in provenance attributions and magmatic province identification, EDS analysis have been alsoperformed. In addition, an analytical characterization of the polychrome decoration of surfaces has been carried out by using Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy-Dispersive Spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and micro Raman spectroscopy. The obtained results allow us to highlight interesting aspectsofthe production and the decoration of the architectural terracottas, opening newperspectives in the study of the coroplastic art in Sicily.
Coroplastic art in Sicily: an investigation on provenance and manufacturing technology of the Greek architectural terracottas from Gela (Italy)
RANERI, SIMONA;
2015-01-01
Abstract
In the 6th and 5thcenturies BCGela (Italy, Sicily) was one of the most important production centres of architectural terracottas in the Mediterranean basin. Nevertheless, few archaeometric data are actually available in scientific literature on this interesting artefacts class. Here we report the archaeometriccharacterization of Geloancoroplastic materials. In particular,an investigation on samples of the finest architectural terracottasfound inthe archaeological excavations in Gela has been carried out with the aim of identifyingthedistinctive features of the production site and the manufacturing techniques. The group of samplesincludes various remarkable architectural elements: decorated simaand geison fragments, acroteria specimens. Information data about provenance,fabric features, technological knowledge and manufacturing techniques have been obtained by performing petrographic(OM), mineralogical (XRD) and chemical analyses (XRF). Most of the identified petrographicfabrics have revealed the presence of volcanic temper; therefore, considering the chemical composition of clinopiroxenes as a powerful tool in provenance attributions and magmatic province identification, EDS analysis have been alsoperformed. In addition, an analytical characterization of the polychrome decoration of surfaces has been carried out by using Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy-Dispersive Spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and micro Raman spectroscopy. The obtained results allow us to highlight interesting aspectsofthe production and the decoration of the architectural terracottas, opening newperspectives in the study of the coroplastic art in Sicily.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
