Archaeometric Classification of Scattered Marble Fragments to Help the Reconstruction of Statues
Casas Duocastella, Lluís (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Geologia)
Di Febo, Roberta (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Geologia)
Ruiz Rodríguez, Julio César (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Ciències de l'Antiguitat i de l'Edat Mitjana)
Brilli, Mauro (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria)
Antonelli, Fabrizio (Università Iuav di Venezia. LAMA-Laboratorio di Analisi Materiali Antichi)
Martín-Martín, Juan Diego (Universitat de Barcelona. Departament de Mineralogia, Petrologia i Geologia Aplicada)

Date:	2022
Abstract:	A multi-technique approach combining petrographic, cathodoluminescence, and stable isotope analyses is commonly used in provenance studies of archaeological marbles. In the present paper, this characterization approach transcends provenance, and it is applied to the reconstruction of fragmented sculptures. The potential of this novel application of archaeometric measurements is illustrated with a case study consisting in 16 scattered marble fragments retrieved from a Roman villa (Els Munts) near Tarraco (presently Northeastern Spain). The samples were grouped taking into account their similarity in quantified parameters such as the cathodoluminescence color clusters and the stable carbon and oxygen isotopic ratios. The results permitted classification of the fragments into three groups corresponding to three different statues depicting Antinous (7 fragments), Minerva goddess (4 fragments), and an undetermined character (3 fragments). Two other fragments could not be ascribed to any particular statue. The archaeometric grouping provides arguments that can be used to confirm or refute archaeological hypotheses of statue reconstructions.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2019-104120GB-I00 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PID2021-122467NB-C22 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PID2021-122879OB-I00
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Cathodoluminescence ; Isotopes ; Image processing ; Marble ; Archaeometry
Published in:	Minerals, Vol. 12, Issue 12 (December 2022) , art. 1614, ISSN 2075-163X

DOI: 10.3390/min12121614

15 p, 2.9 MB

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