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When archaeometric studies on archaeological ceramics are performed, one of the most important questions asked by archaeologists is the provenance of pottery. This is usually performed by comparing mineropetrographic and chemical composition of ceramics with that of local raw materials (clays, temper), production indicators and appropriate reference groups. Nevertheless, the commonly-used analytical techniques (e.g. OM, SEM-EDS, XRF, ICP-MS) may not always be helpful for the determination of provenance. Indeed, processing of raw materials, such as tempering or levigation, can significantly modify their original chemical composition, sometimes leading to an ineffective identification of raw material resources. For this reason, a pioneering analytical approach has been recently applied by measuring the Sr and Nd isotopic signature. Isotope analysis has largely used in archaeological sciences to date objects and identify their provenance, making it also a useful tool for the determination of provenance of ceramic vessels (De Bonis et al., 2018 and references therein). For this study, 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd isotope ratios were measured on archaeological pottery from Campania and raw materials (clays and volcanic temper) exploited in antiquity for producing ceramics. The analyses were focused on samples from both the Bay of Naples and Southern Campania. The isotope signatures allowed us to better discriminate among different productions and find a strong relationship between the archaeological pottery and the geological sources of raw materials. In order to validate the method, Sr-Nd isotope ratios were also measured for the first time on experimental ceramic materials that replicate archaeological pottery (De Bonis et al., 2018). It was interesting to note that synthetic mixtures used for the ceramic replicas plot exactly on the theoretical mixing curve between the clay and volcanic temper end-members. This suggests that the artificial manipulation of raw materials (firing, levigation, tempering) induces no significant variations to the Sr-Nd isotope fingerprint, which strictly depends on the geochemical affinity of the raw materials. Thus, isotopic analysis can be considered as an effective and robust method that could complement the common multi-analytical approach in order to more precisely constrain potential geological sources for ceramic materials and pottery provenance. De Bonis, A., Arienzo I., D’Antonio, M., Franciosi, L., Germinario, C., Grifa, C., Guarino, V., Langella, A. & Morra, V. (2018): Sr-Nd isotopic fingerprint as a tool for ceramic provenance: application on raw materials, ceramic replicas and ancient pottery. J. Archaeol. Sci., 94, 51-59.

This study provides new data and a reappraisal of the literature concerning the uppermost Cretaceous-Paleogene stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, tectonics and magmatism in the southern Apennines, with the aim of demonstrating the occurrence of an Albian to Paleogene abortive rifting stage in the southern Adria domain. This interval marks an important discontinuity in the tectono-stratigraphic evolution primarily recorded by coeval uplift and drowning of different sectors of the Apennine and Apulian Platforms, which locally produced a change in the paleoenvironment, from shallow-water platform to slope and basin facies deposits or the development of thick bauxitic levels. Contemporaneously, in the surrounding basins a large amount of calciclastic sediments was deposited, testifying for an increased sediment supply from the emerging sectors of the carbonate platforms. This time interval was also characterized by the occurrence of anorogenic magmatism and syn-sedimentary extensional faulting that, together with the changed sedimentary facies distribution, point out for a crustal-scale extensional tectonics. Timing, distance from the actively growing eastern Alps and, above all, orientation of extensional structures and synchronous anorogenic magmatism poorly fit with a peripheral bulge stage related with the first pulses of the Alpine collision. We propose an alternative model where such an event is the result of a rifting episode, characterized by limited anorogenic magmatism, starting in the Albian and reaching its climax in the uppermost Cretaceous-Eocene times. In the proposed tectonic scenario the extensional tectonics recorded in several sectors of the Adria domain was synchronous with that affecting the Hyblean (Sicily), Pelagian (Tunisia) and Sirte Basin Province Rift (Libya) to the south and was part of a single abortive rift system, which extended from the Sirte Basin up to the southern margin of the Thetyan Ocean to the NW.

Pontecagnano (SE of Salerno) archaeological site, the ancient town of Amina (renamed “Picentia” by the Romans) is the largest Etruscan outpost in the south (Camporeale, 2013; Cerchiai, 2013; Cuozzo, 2013). Archaeological investigations - started since the 1960s - certify the area has been inhabited as early as late Neolithic. At the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC the area was settled by peoples of Gaudo culture, probably immigrated from Anatolia. Gaudo population worked metals, as testified from copper daggers and other weapons excavated from more than 9.000 tombs in the area. The National Archaeological Museum of the Agro Picentino was instituted in 2007 and contains more than 8000 findings mainly related to tomb outfits (Tocco, 2007). The main Etruscan settlement was founded between the end of the X and beginning of IX century b.C. on the left side of the Picentino river. The period of its greatest development was the “Orientalizing” age (end of VIII-VII century b.C.), when great and wealthy aristocratic families (the so-called “Princes”) took the power, as also testified by precious artifacts found in the Pontecagnano burials. Then, the settlement took urban connotations, becoming a frontier community. This work deals with mineralogical and geochemical characterization of various metallic artifacts spanning in age from early Eneolithic/Bronze Age to IV century b.C. by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and micro Xray fluorescence m-XRF. The objects are of different types (fibulae, rings, earrings, spears, pins, ingots, slags, etc.), and are mainly composed of lead, copper, silver and bronze. The bronze artifacts are high-Sn (17.3 to 27.4 %, Sn), as expected by ancient alloys; lead and iron, as well as titanium and nickel to a lesser extent, can be also present as minor to trace components. The silver artifacts can contain small amounts of copper, iron and gold; in one case a copper object (91.4 % Cu) also shows other metallic components, as lead (4.8 %), bismuth (2.6 %) and iron (1.1 %). Interesting microstructures are also observed. Finally, the combined use of two spectroscopic techniques allowed us to verify the potential of m-XRF in archaeometallurgy sector in order to carry out non-destructive and non-invasive analyses. Camporeale G. 2013. Vetulonia e Pontecagnano. Due centri etruschi della prima età del Ferro. In: F. Cerchiai L. (2013) Tra Capua e Pontecagnano. La valle del Sarno e la Campania interna tra il Ferro e l’Orientalizzante. In: F. Rafanelli (Ed.) Vetulonia, Pontecagnano e Capua. Vite parallele di tre città etrusche. ARA Edizioni, 30-33. Cuozzo M. 2013. I “principi” di Pontecagnano. In: F. Rafanelli (Ed.) Vetulonia, Pontecagnano e Capua. Vite parallele di tre città etrusche. ARA Edizioni, 40-43. Tocco G. 2007. Guida al Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Pontecagnano. Soprintendenza Beni Archeologici SA-AV-BN, 50 p.

The ancient town of Allifae (modern Alife) represents one of the most interesting settlements of the Northern Campania area that, together with the ancient city of Cales, was a thriving production centre of pottery. Excavations carried out inside the city wall, near the south gate, the so-called Porta Fiume, unearthed a huge dump of thin walled ware where the most abundant forms were cups and beakers, decorated with grooves or rouletting. The dump has been dated Augustan/ early Tiberian age (20 b.C.- 20 AD) and the thin walled vessels found can be identified with similar wares from Allifae, Cubulteria, Caiatia and perhaps Neapolis. Horace in his Sermones (II, 8,39) cited the Allifana beakers (described as fictiles ac subtiles by a Horace scholiast) and they could possibly be identified with the thin walled wares produced in Allifae. If this the case, then the thin walled vessels produced in Allifae were known in Rome as early as the end of I century B.C. In order to investigate and characterise the Allifae thin-walled pottery, twenty-one samples were selected and mineralogical-petrographic analyses (OM, XRPD, XRF and SEM/EDS) were carried out. The clayey raw material used was a low-CaO alluvial clayey deposit from the Middle Valley of the Volturno River. The potters probably handled the sediment by a levigation process in order to remove the coarser grains, and making the clay suitable to produce such thin walls. Comparison with other regional production of thin-walled pottery allowed us to strictly distinguish the Allifana beakers.

Excavations carried out in Cuma by the Centre Jean Bérard archaeologists have uncovered a large quantity of pottery. This study is focused on cooking ware and on internal red-slip cookware, also known as Pompeian Red Ware (Rosso Pompeiano), dated from the first century bc to the first century ad. A comparison with the minero-petrographic composition of beach sands collected along the Bay of Naples coastline highlights the provenance of the temper from the Somma-Vesuvius area, marked by leucite-bearing scoriae and garnet. Petrochemical analyses allow us to distinguish two main groups of pottery characterized by different technological options based on the amount of temper and on the type of clay. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope data demonstrate improved accuracy in the production of Rosso Pompeiano, especially with regard to firing control, which was in a prevailing oxidizing atmosphere and in a narrow thermal range, between about 800 and 900°C.

We performed petrophysical analyses on 34 clayey samples of different geological origin within the Campania region of Italy in order to determine possible sources of raw materials used to produce ancient pottery. Possible raw material sources can be grouped into high-CaO clays (HCC) and low-CaO clays (LCC). HCC are mainly represented by more recent (Miocene-Pleistocene) basinal sediments whereas LCC tend to be associated with basinal, alluvial, and pyroclastic deposits. A chemical comparison between clayey raw materials, modern ceramic replicas, and Campanian archaeological ceramics of several typologies (common ware, cooking ware, fine tableware, amphorae, and bricks) from 8th century B.C. to the Middle Ages (a total of 350 ceramic samples) indicates that HCC were extensively used for common wares and that these were either mixed with temper or levigated. In contrast, most of the LCC were used for the production of cookware. We also analyzed the technological potential of the sampled raw materials, taking into consideration their actual and possible uses. We observed that most HCC deposits were well suited for tableware and amphorae, whereas LCC were better for cookware and some fine tableware.

This contribution provides a general picture of pottery circulating between the coast, the Campanian hinterland, and the Apennines in the second half of the fifth century. The published data from the excavations in Neapolis are matched with new unpublished evidence from the inland, in particular from many sites around Nola and a bath complex from the northern slopes of the Vesuvius, which has been excavated since 2007. The archaeological sites in the environs of the Vesuvius are especially relevant for this study, because they have been covered by the volcanoclastic deposits of the AD 472 eruption, hence providing a clear terminus ante quem for the chronology and a snapshot of the circulation of goods within a very narrow time frame. Moreover, this paper will focus on some micro-regional productions and their distribution within the Apennine region. Supported by archaeometric analyses, the study of these artefacts suggests new patterns of trade that move beyond traditional economic models.

The Massif d'Ambre is the largest stratovolcano (similar to 2500 km(2)) in the Cenozoic igneous province of northern Madagascar. It is broadly elongated in a N-S direction and is formed by hundreds of lava flows, plugs, spatter cones, tuff rings, pyroclastic flows, and pyroclastic fall deposits. New Ar-40-Ar-39 age determinations for lavas of Massif d'Ambre and Bobaomby Peninsula (the northernmost tip of Madagascar) yield ages of 12.1 +/- 0.2 Ma and 10.56 +/- 0.09 Ma. These ages indicate that at least part of the volcanic activity of the Bobaomby Peninsula occurred later than the beginning of the activity of the Massif d'Ambre. The volcanic products of Massif d'Ambre are mildly to strongly alkaline (with sodic affinity) to tholeiitic with very limited amounts of evolved magmas. The mafic rocks have compositions similar to those of primitive mantle-derived magmas (MgO >10 wt%, Cr and Ni >400 and >200 ppm, respectively). The strongly alkaline suite shows a liquid line of descent from basanite to phonolite, dominated by fractional crystallization of clinopyroxene and olivine. The mafic rocks (basanites, alkali basalts, transitional and tholeiitic basalts) have Zr/Nb (2.4-5.8), Ba/Nb (7-24) and La/Nb (0.7-1.1) ratios typical of incompatible element-rich within-plate basalts. The primitive mantle-normalized incompatible element patterns of the Massif d'Ambre mafic rocks are characterized by peaks at Nb and troughs at K, and are identical in shape and absolute abundances to those of the Nosy Be and Bobaomby (Cap d'Ambre) basanites. The range of (La/Yb)(n) ratios (9-24) indicates that the Massif d'Ambre primitive compositions are the product of variable degrees of partial melting (4%-12%) of a broadly similar and slightly incompatible element-enriched mantle source. Initial Sr-87/Sr-86 and Nd-143/Nd-144 ratios of alkali basalts and basanites vary from 0.70326 to 0.70359 and 0.51279 to 0.51286, respectively. Alkali basalts and basanites have little variation in Pb-206/Pb-204 (19.073-19.369), Pb-207/Pb-204 (15.613-15.616), and Pb-208/Pb-204 (39.046-39.257). This range is well within that of Sr-Nd-Pb isotope values of the basanites of the Nosy Be Archipelago, thus again confirming substantially similar source compositions throughout northern Madagascar.

Mineralogical and petrographical studies on 23 ancient pottery fragments of terra sigillata from ancient Cates (today Calvi Risorta, Caserta) are here discussed. Stamps on pottery surfaces assigned the fragments to Cales and other Italian workshops acting in Arezzo and Northern Italy area between 1st century B.C.-1st century A.D., other stamped fragments have an uncertain provenance. The mineralogical and petrographical features of pastes have been detected using optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and DTA-DTG analyses. The geochemical comparisons among ceramics, production indicators of Calenian pottery (Black Glazed pottery spacers) and local clayey raw materials allowed to distinguish locally produced potsherds from imported ones. Moreover, the whole archaeological and archaeometric data set allowed to draw main technological aspects of a fine ware production much used on rich roman tables.

The purpose of this research is to provide a new mixture of Campanian zeolitized tuffs for solving two specific problems in the production of white wines: the protein and tartaric stability. In fact, a very frequent cause of turbidity and formation of organic deposits in white wines is the occurrence of thermolabile and thermostable proteins colloidal suspensions which precipitate in time, especially in summertime and during the storage and transport. Normally, to mitigate this risk wine producers use organic and inorganic stabilizers and clarifiers. The best known treatment, recognized also by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) foresees the use of bentonite with a montmorillonite content not lower than 80%. The present paper aims at evaluating the use of two high zeolite grade Italian volcanoclastites such as the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (NYT) and the Yellow Facies of the Campanian Ignimbrite (YFCI), in the treatment of three peculiar white wines of the Campanian region (Southern Italy): Falanghina, Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo. Granulates were produced starting from tuff blocks as provided by quarries. Some grain size fractions have been prepared to investigate the zeolite content (phillipsite + chabazite + analcime) by X-ray diffraction (XRD). A 2-5 mm grain size fraction was chosen for NYT and a 5-10 mm for YFCI. Three Campanian monocultivar white wines were used for the test: the Falanghina 2006 vintage, the Fiano di Avellino DOCG 2007 vintage, and the Greco di Tufo DOCG 2008 vintage. 48 samples with mixture of the zeolitized tuffs, 1 sample with mixture of a synthetic zeolite A and 1 sample with mixture of a commercial sodium activated bentonite were prepared. ICP-OES analysis for the determination of ECEC, Ion Chromatography (IC) analyses for the determination of some major cations and Turbidimetric tests for the definition of the protein stabilization process before and after treatments were also carried out. It was evidenced that high zeolitized tuff/wine ratios enable the protein stabilization whereas a significant decrease of potassium ion after the treatment with a zeolite-rich powder improves the tartaric stability, a serious problem in all the wine productions. The results of these tests refer to a laboratory scale research. A transfer of the experiment to a pilot plant scale is in progress.

Appendice archeometrica in E. De Carolis, G. Soricelli.