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A stratigraphy of a buried travertine deposit was developed using stable isotope geochemistry, trace elements, and radiometric dating. The travertine was identified in a well at Prima Porta (north of Rome, Italy), located at the western boundary of the Tiber Valley, a morpho-tectonic depression of extensional origin. It deposited close to a spring that discharged groundwaters from the nearby volcanic aquifer and was associated with the rise of a deep-seated CO2-rich fluid. The deposition occurred between 53.5 ± 10 ka to 24.2 ± 4.7 ka; its activation was probably coeval with the wettest climatic conditions occurring during Marine Isotope Stage 3, and the end coincided with the cold and arid phase of the last glacial maximum. The chronostratigraphy showed a strong variation in the accumulation rate along the depositional sequence, greater in the lower half and much slower in the upper part, with a sharp decrease in the accumulation rate occurring between 47 and 43 ka. Isotope and chemical stratigraphy described a temporal evolution of events that are correlated to the global climatic variability; palaeoclimatic changes, in fact, influenced the hydrological regime and indirectly the tectonic activity by modulating the emission of deep CO2, the chemistry of the groundwater, and ultimately the precipitation of the travertine.

The application of U-Pb dating method performed on calcite has exponentially increased over the last years, since constraining the age of the crystallization for such syn-kinematic minerals, would provide a specific timing of faults movement. The potential gain of this approach is evident but the robustness of the U-Pb method performed on calcites has been not yet systematically tested. Here, we firstly demonstrated that a mineral/fluid interaction indeed affects the regression of the 238U/206Pb and 207Pb/206Pb data-points and therefore the age; and secondly, we propose an innovative application of U-Pb dating method and a new strategy to identify and reject analytically robust isochrons.We explore 36 samples, combining U-Pb dating performed with different methods along with carbon and oxygen stable isotopes compositions measured on the same fibres of calcite. The extremely high precision 207Pb/206Pb measured by Thermal Ionisation Mass Spectrometry revealed that every sample experienced a certain degree of fluid interaction. We find no correlation between 238U/206Pb and the spread in δ18O. The higher spread in δ18O is instead coupled with a remarkable scattered data-points that yield U-Pb ages calculated with the different methods on the same samples with a large variability. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that great care must be taken when considering radiometric ages made on calcite since LA-ICP-MS large uncertainties might obscure the isotopic reorganization.

The central Apennines are a Cenozoic fold-and-thrust belt that has been affected by post-orogenic extension in its axial region since the end of the early Pliocene (ca. 4 Ma). Post-orogenic extension generated several intermontane basins bounded by high-angle normal faults, striking NW-SE, subparallel to the backbone of the chain. The Monte Pettino and the Monte Marine seismogenic faults (MPF, MMF) are the boundary faults of the western portion of the late Pliocene-Quaternary L’Aquila intermontane basin. Their long-term activity is typified by exhumed fault cores that coexist with active fault strands localised at the fault hanging walls, providing evidence of a polyphase tectonic activity. The fault cores are decorated by diffuse dolomitization, which indicates structurally controlled fluid-flow and metasomatism. To constrain the long-term (space-time) evolution of the MPF-MMF faults, we integrated fieldwork, stable isotope systematics (δ18O, δ13C and Δ47), carbonate thermoluminescence and U-Th dating. Our results highlight two main tectonic phases, with different structural evolution and fluid-rock interaction. The first phase corresponds to the development of a major cataclastic zone, defined by meter-thick, SW-dipping (65-70°), fault cores exposed at the piedmont of the MPF-MMF ridges. The C-O systematics of the cataclasite and of the associated calcite slickenfibers, which are in the range of the carbonate bedrock, indicate a "closed" system behaviour during fault nucleation and development. Preliminary results from Δ47 thermometry of syn-kinematic carbonate structures indicate temperatures of 34 ± 2 °C. Thermoluminescence dating of dolomite clasts in the fault zone indicates age in the range of 3.0 – 3.4 Ma, whilst the cataclastic fault core is younger (< 800 ka). The second phase is mainly recorded in upper Pleistocene sedimentary Breccias (ca. 350 ka) which unconformably cover the bedrock and the exhumed fault cores at the SE termination of the MPF. It consists of anastomosed, high-angle WNW-ESE striking fault strands, spaced meters apart and with cm-m displacements, associated with carbonate veining and travertines. Stable isotopes measured from the fault slickenfibers, carbonate veins and travertines show negative δ13C and δ18O values, suggesting a depositional system dominated by meteoric fluid ("open" system) with an important contribution of organic carbon. Travertines and veins precipitated at colder temperatures (12 ± 4 °C), in the range of the average local air temperatures, thus excluding precipitation from a hydrothermal circuit. Moreover, their U-Th ages range between 182 and 331 ka, compatible with the temporal constraints from stratigraphic data. Structural and isotopic results do not support tectonic reactivation of the cataclastic core of the MPF during the middle-late Pleistocene, confirming the stratigraphic evidence. Our results provide the first absolute age constraint on the post-orogenic extensional faulting in the L’Aquila basin, demonstrating a two-stage fault activity, characterised by a change from localised (from ca. 3 to ca. 0.8 Ma) to delocalised faulting (200-300 ka to present). We infer that this change in the style of extensional faulting was consequence of the evolving rheological structure of the fault zones, primarily regulated by the feedback and interactions involving structurally-controlled fluid flow, rock metasomatism and cataclastic processes in space and time.

A buried travertine deposit, identified in a well at Prima Porta (to the north west of Rome, Italy), was investigated using a multidisciplinary approach that included stable isotope geochemistry, mineralogy, petrography and radiometric dating. The travertine body is located just along the western boundary of the Tiber valley, a morpho-tectonic depression of extensional origin; it is associated with the rise of a deep-seated, hypothermal, saline, CO2-rich fluid. The depositional environment was inferred by the macroscopic features of core and microfacies analysis, which suggested that travertine deposition was associated with a low to moderate energy environment, such as gently-dipping, shallow pools on low-angle, terraced slopes. A hydrothermal system, characterised by long circulation paths at depth, and deeply derived CO2-dominated fluids, are supported by geochemical analyses. According to radiometric dating, travertine deposition occurred from between 53.5 ± 10 ka to 24.2 ± 4.7 ka; the activation of the travertine-depositing spring was probably coeval with the wettest climatic conditions occurring during MIS3, whereas the end of deposition coincides with the cold and arid phase of the last glacial maximum.

Coexistence between closely related species can lead to intense competition for resources. Stable isotope ratio analysis (SIRA) is a reliable tool to estimate the extent of species competition. We performed SIRA to assess niche partitioning among two syntopic species of Galápagos land iguanas: Conolophus subcristatus and the critically endangered C. marthae. We collected samples from 60 C. marthae and 58 C. subcristatus within an area of about 2 km2 on Wolf Volcano, Isabela Island, where C. marthae is endemic. We determined δ13C and δ15N ratios and described the isotopic niche of each species using corrected standard ellipse area (SEAc). We tested for differentiation between the isotopic niches, while controlling for sex, using bivariate linear models. Despite the extensive overlap of the isotopic niches, our results indicate the existence of niche partitioning mechanisms acting between species and sexes. Evaluating the effect of ecological variables, we found that body size and productivity at the capture points, plus further, undetermined spatial effects explain ca. 75% of the differences observed between species and sexes, providing evidence for differential microhabitat and food-items usage. Our study provides essential baselines for evaluating conservation actions for C. marthae, such as the potential translocation to a sanctuary area.

Aléria was the main city of the island of Corsica in ancient times. Archaeological excavations in the area where ancient Aléria once stood began between the 1950s and 1960s and brought to light numerous inscriptions mainly carved on slabs of white marble; they constitute an important source of knowledge of the city’s institutions, urban topography, society, and economy. The provenance of the marbles, on which the inscriptions were carved, can add important information about the history of the city. A first visual examination of the slabs or slab fragments allows us to state that Carrara is probably the provenance of most of the marbles used. Practical reasons lead us to believe that the provenance of these marbles can be traced back to two main quarry areas: Carrara, or somewhere in Corsica. The determination of the stable isotope composition of these marbles could solve this problem. Carrara marble, in fact, has a narrow range of isotopic variability, with values typical of marine carbonates, that allows for a strong characterization. The petrographic method of investigation was used, as a second step, on a reduced number of marble inscriptions to evaluate the effectiveness of the isotopic characterization of Carrara. The results of the analysis confirmed that most of the gray and white marbles studied have Carrara as their quarrying area; they also revealed that in Corsica the presence of ancient local marble quarries is uncertain, even in Roman times.

This study integrates field, geochronological and geochemical data to constrain fluid circulation in the damage and core zone of the seismogenic Monte Morrone Fault System (MMFS), central Apennines (Italy). Faulting along the MMFS evolved from a diffuse deformation at the damage zone towards progressive localisation of a narrower fault core and, finally, to (re)activation of discrete slip surfaces at shallower crustal conditions. Multiple generations of carbonate mineralisations, including veins and slickfibers, occur along the main fault surfaces. Carbonate mineralisations are locally fractured and incorporated in the surrounding cataclasites, documenting repetitive structurally-controlled fluid infiltration during transient episodes of permeability creation and destruction. Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes of the carbonate mineralisations document a dominant meteoric water source probably mixed with deeper circulating waters having longer residence time. Clumped-isotope yield formation temperatures of vein and slickenfibers in the range between 23 and 40 °C. UTh dating of carbonate mineralisations yield Middle Pleistocene ages (from 268 to 189 ka BP), with a 10–15-ka cyclicity that we link to the coseismic rejuvenation of the structural permeability in the fault zone. We propose that fault-related mineralisations recorded the interactions among tectonic deformation and climate during the Quaternary. Our study is the first documentation of fault-controlled recurrence intervals in fluid infiltration in a seismically active fault of central Apennines. Keywords: Normal faulting; Mineralising fluid; Seismic cycle; U-Th carbonate dating; Monte Morrone Fault; Central Apennines

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.

The historical character of the Louvie-Soubiron marble quarry, in the French Pyrenean Ossau Valley, has been brought to light through a combined analytical study of quarry samples and Roman archaeological artefacts of known chronology. The identification parameters, or fingerprints, established following a multi-method analytical approach applied to Louvie-Soubiron marble have served to authenticate several architectural and decorative elements carved in this marble. Different varieties of white (Lithotype-1) and grey and white veined marble (Lithotype-2), similar to the 1st quality of Carrara marble, have been distinguished in both, quarry and archaeological samples. The ornamental artefacts belonging to different Roman sites from both sides of the Pyrenees provide information on the timing of Louvie-Soubiron quarry management in the western part of the Roman Empire, and evidence the trans-Pyrenean use from at least the second half of the first century AD. Additionally, this study offers complementary perspectives to gain a better understanding of the historical use of this quarry which will certainly contribute to promoting practical initiatives and regional community actions.

The Forma Urbis Romae (F.U.) was a 3rd-century-AD monumental map of ancient Rome consisting of 151 rectangular marble slabs. Several efforts have been made to reconstruct it from its current incomplete and fragmentary condition. In this paper, we explore the potential of an archaeometric approach to serve this purpose. Almost a hundred F.U. fragments have been characterized, particularly focusing on cathodoluminescence (CL) microscopy and stable isotopes (δ18O and δ13C). Different statistical methods have been used to quantify the similarity between samples. The central assumption is that samples from a given slab share similar CL colors and isotopic ratios. The assumption has been verified for samples from single fragments and then it has been used to check ten debated reconstruction hypotheses. The measured isotopic ratios confirm the Proconnesian nature of the F.U. marble, except for a fragment. Beyond provenance, the results cast doubts on four out of the ten checked reconstruction hypotheses and support the other six. The reconstruction of the F.U. remains a fascinating challenge, and both isotopic and CL analyses have demonstrated their potential to tackle it. Further research could extend the presented methodology to a higher number of samples. The innovative use of CL to reconstruct a fragmented artwork could be applied to other projects.

Active faults are characterized by creation/destruction of secondary (tectonic) permeability in response to a continuous interplay between deformation and fluid pressure fluctuations during the seismic cycle. The study of the paleofluid circulation in fault rocks can thus provide insights into the hydraulic and mechanical behavior of the seismogenic crust.This work integrates data from field geology with geochemical and geochronological constraints to understand the spatio-temporal evolution of the paleofluid circulation in the Mount Morrone Fault System (MMFS), a ~25 km-long tectonic structure activated during the extensional Quaternary phase of the central Apennines (Italy). The MMFS cuts through a Mesozoic-Cenozoic multilayer carbonate succession for a cumulative stratigraphic offset of about 2 km. Fluvio-lacustrine and slope deposits (Middle-Late Pleistocene) occur at its hanging wall and are variably involved by faulting. The MMFS is currently classified as a silent seismic fault, with an estimated Mw= 6.5-7.0 potential magnitude and recurrence time at 2.4 ka for an expected earthquake.The structural survey focused on the western strand of the MMFS cutting through a succession of Sinemurian dolomitized limestones. A composite network of NW-SE-striking, SW-dipping fault surfaces defines the structural architecture of the MMFS in the study outcrops, with high angle (dip > 55°) faults that systematically cut and displace medium-to-low angle (dip in the order of 30°-50°) faults. Both fault systems are characterized by dominant dip-slip movement and normal kinematics. Lenses of cm-thick cataclasites often occur along the slip surfaces. Cataclasites are made by sub-angular to sub-rounded carbonate clasts (up to 1 cm-wide) dispersed in a very fine-grained matrix. Layers of cm-thick carbonate concretions occur associated with the cataclasites, testifying for pulses of fluid discharge along the fault surface during the tectonic activity of the MMFS. Microstructural investigations document that: (i) carbonate concretions show an internal texture of fibrous vein having fiber growth direction roughly perpendicular to the vein wall, and (ii) the basal portions of the carbonate concretions are fractured and incorporated within the underlying cataclasites through the deposition of a new calcite cement. The geochemical (δ13C and δ18O stable isotope) analyses on selected samples attest for a progressive chemical shift of the mineralizing fluid from marine (in host rock and in cataclasites) to meteoric waters (in carbonate concretions). The U-Th dating of carbonate concretions and calcite slickenfibers constrains the fault-controlled fluid circulation to the Middle Pleistocene, with ages spanning from 270 to 180 ka. Significantly, the dating of carbonate concretions documents a 12-kyr cyclicity of the fluid infiltration in the fault zone.The development of the secondary permeability in the MMFS thus corresponds to a combination of faulting and tensile fracturing, in response to a cyclic increasing of the shear stress and the pore pressure during the seismic cycle. The polyphasic deformation system of the MMFS constitutes a record of fault activation and reactivation episodes that could contribute to define the recurrence model of seismic events on regional-scale faults.

The discovery near Goktepe (Mugla province, Western Turkey) of an ancient quarrying site of white marbles and black stones has recently been reported by some authors. Assigning the provenance of stone from ancient artifacts to Goktepe is currently possible mainly thanks to chemical, EPR and MGS data. Petrographic description, which many researchers use to characterize ancient marbles, is still incomplete. Several thin sections of both types of stone were thus examined in this study, and also used for cathodoluminescence analysis. As the rock is >99% calcite, trace minerals could only be detected in some samples by XRD analysis of insoluble residues after acetic acid attack. Data on strontium and manganese contents and carbon and oxygen isotopes were also recorded, for better understanding of some petrographic features. A new method of grain size characterization was tentatively introduced to improve the description of grain size variability in the white marble. Microstructure and grain size measurements on thin sections of this marble identify two petrographic varieties: the first is extremely fine with signs of dynamic recrystallization, and the second exhibits texture and MGS similar to those of Carrara marble. Statuary samples of white marble from Villa Adriana (Tivoli, Rome), preliminarily assigned in a previous study partly to Carrara and partly to Goktepe quarry, are reconsidered here. A certain degree of variability was found in the structures and textures in the thin sections of the Goktepe black stone. It may have undergone transformations at an advanced stage of diagenesis. One important source of this variability seems to be a fluid alteration event, revealed by both isotopic and chemical data and trace mineral assemblages.

The present research, an integrative study combining archeology, skeletal biology, and molecular anthropology, deals with skeletal remains recovered in Mora Cavorso Cave (Jenne, Rome, Italy). Burial activity there dates to 6275 ± 45 BP (5322-5084 cal.) and 6405 ± 35 BP (5472-5314 cal.), according to C analyses of a charcoal fragment and a human bone, respectively. This range of dates ascribes the human remains and the archeological materials to a late phase of the Early Neolithic of Central Italy. The human skeletal remains were scattered throughout the cave. We performed morphological examinations and carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses--using bone collagen--to reconstruct the paleobiology and the paleodiet of the community. The complex comprised at least 28 individuals, including adult males and females and sub-adults. The skeletal remains exhibited a high degree of biomechanical stress and several cases of degenerative and infectious diseases; one of them showed a sclerosing mastoiditis. The stable isotope analyses suggested a diet rich in terrestrial food sources in particular sheep and goat livestock. These results seem to point out that no dietary shift occurred during the Neolithic period in this community, suggesting the maximum use of the environmental resources that these early Neolithic had available. It is worth noting that two individuals showed high nitrogen values, likely the result of nutritional stress brought on by limited protein intake or metabolic diseases.

[object Object]Several travertine deposits dating to the Pleistocene outcrop along the Tiber valley between Orte and Rome. Mineralogically, they are mainly composed of calcite; various lithofacies (stromatolitic, phytoclastic, and massive) were identified and relatively wide ranges of carbon (?13C -8.11 to +11.42? vs. VPDB) and oxygen (?18O +22.74 to +27.71? vs. VSMOW) isotope compositions were measured. The isotope and chemical compositions of water and free gases, in some cases associated with the travertines, were also measured. Carbon isotope data show that several samples fall in the typical range of thermogenic travertine, i.e., linked to the addition of deep inorganic CO2. The oxygen isotope composition of the springs associated with the travertine deposits points to travertine precipitation by slightly thermal water of meteoric origin. In general, these travertines are in association with, or close to, mineralised groundwaters (with slightly acidic pH, low thermalism, and enrichment in sulphates or sodium chloride) and rich CO2 gas emissions, the origin of which may be linked to decarbonation reactions. The travertine bodies are locally connected with crustal structural lineaments favouring the circulation of ascending deep CO2- rich fluids. Conversely, some samples show isotopic connotations of meteogenic deposits, representing travertines formed mainly from soil biogenic or atmospheric carbon dioxide generally present in shallow groundwater or surface water. According to their morphology and isotope data, these travertines may be attributed to the sedimentary environment of waterfalls. These new geochemical and morphological data are integrated with those already available in the literature regarding the study area and contribute to shedding light on palaeo-environmental conditions in western-central Italy during the Quaternary.

Mefite d'Ansanto, located in the southern Apennines (Italy), emits the largest quantity of low-temperature CO2-rich gases ever measured in non-volcanic environments worldwide (Italiano et al. 2000; Rogie et al. 2000; Chiodini et al. 2010). Italy is a region of widespread and intense natural earth degassing, being about 300 CO2 seeps, which exhibit a wide range of surface expressions, flux, and temperatures (Roberts et al. 2011); among the hundreds of documented seeps, Mefite d'Ansanto is unique in the quantity of CO2 that it emits compared to the other sites, releasing about 2000 tons per day of CO2, by venting and diffuse degassing, over an area of 4000 m2 (Chiodini et al. 2010). The degassing area, where vegetation is absent or intensely damaged, covers the flank of a steep-sloping hill (Figure 1); due to its density, the huge amount of gas flows along a narrow valley, toward west, forming a dangerous and invisible gas river. Other smaller CO2 vents are located not far from Mefite d'Ansanto, e.g., the Mefitiniella (which means 'little Mefite'), a vigorous vent emission inside a depression, ~4 km NW from Mefite d'Ansanto (MaGa database, available at: http://www.magadb.net). The gas emission consists of CO2 (98 vol%) with minor amounts of non-atmospheric N2 (1.3 vol%, N2/Ar ~ 1000), H2S (0.33 vol%) and CH4 (0.23 vol%); the isotopic signatures (?13C = 0.43? VPDB, (3He/4He) /(3He/4Heatm )= 2.27) suggest a deep origin of the fluids (Chiodini et al. 2010). The degassing area is located above the structural high point of the NW-SE-trending Frigento Antiform; the emission is likely to be fed by a reservoir located in the underlying anticline, made up of permeable limestones (Piattaforma Apula Interna; Mesozoic) and covered by clayey sediments (Unità Lagonegresi; Miocene) (Chiodini et al. 2010; Pischiutta et al. 2013; Roberts et al. 2017). The CO2 gas zone, found from a depth of 1128 to 1600 m, rests above an accumulation of brackish water in the central and upper part of the culmination of the deep carbonatic acquifer, and a saline water along the flank of the buried anticline (Amoresano et al. 2015). Results from wavefield polarisation indicate the presence of a NE-SW orientated transfer fault which intersects the regional NW-SE normal faults close to the site of degassing (Pischiutta et al. 2013). Although the low-temperature of water associated to gas emission (15-21°C; Duchi et al. 1995; Amoresano et al. 2015), medium enthalpy geothermal resources have been estimated, in the framework of the project ''VIGOR-GEOTERMIA'', with a reservoir fluid temperature up to 120-125°C at the depth of about 3000 m below the ground level (Inversi et al. 2013; Amoresano et al. 2015). The gas emission is known since the Roman age, when the area was identified as the den of the harmful goddess of fertility and death Mephitis (Sinno 1969); the danger associated to gas emission is also known since long time, as suggested by name 'Ansanto', which means 'that breathes with difficulty, panting'. At the present-day, the site is considered very dangerous, because CO2 is a colorless and odorless gas, undetectable by the human senses, and lethal concentration (> 30%; Rogie et al. 2000) can be present up to 2-3 m of height above the ground surface. Unlike CO2, the co-released H2S, also present in dangerous concentration, is easily identifiable due to its strong "rotten-egg" odor. Several fatal accidents involving humans and animals have occurred (Chiodini et al. 2010). Simulations of gas dispersion using a physical numerical model suggested that lethal air CO2 concentration (>15% at heights of 1.5 m) can affect the first 200 m of the valley, where carcasses of animals were systematically found; air CO2 concentration of 5%, which causes breathing increases to twice the normal rate, a weak narcotic effect and headache to humans, can affect all the topographic depressions around the vent (Chiodini et al. 2010). Nevertheless, the access to the area is not currently restricted.

This is a response to the Comments of Attanasio and co-workers regarding the origin of some samples and the results of strontium concentrations reported in the article of Brilli et al., JAS Reports 2018, 19, 625-642. Attanasio et al. have already published strontium contents analysed in presumably the same samples, obtaining largely different and generally higher values than those reported by Brilli et al. In this reply, clarifications regarding the origin of these samples have been given. We also provide a discussion to indicate that the reason for the discrepancies may be mainly related to the different sample processing procedures before the instrumental analysis.

In this paper, we present the results of the accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS14C) dating campaign performed on samples selected from different levels in Grotta Romanelli (Castro, Italy). Grotta Romanelli is one of the key sites for the chronology of Middle Pleistocene–Holocene in Mediterranean region. After the first excavation campaigns carried out in the first decades of the 1900s, the cave has been systematically re-excavated only since 2015. During the last excavation campaigns different faunal remains were selected and submitted for 14C dating in order to confirm the chronology of the cave with a higher resolution. Isotopic ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) measurements were also carried out on faunal remains.

The paper aims to point out the subsistence in Eneolithic Central Italian communities by Stable Isotope Analysis. This period marked a tipping point in the food strategies because it was characterized by economic changes and several technological improvements leading to enhance land exploitation and livestock breeding. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis has been used to analyze the food consumption of 54 people belonging to 5 Eneolithic communities scattered throughout Central Italy, where no data have yet been published. The estimation of the main protein intake has been achieved in order to quantify the differences among these communities. The results are consistent with a diet mainly based on terrestrial resources, with no exclusive marine sources consumption, although their occasional usage cannot be ruled out, especially for selected funerary contexts. The data suggest an overall subsistence based on greater local resource procurement, supported by regional productivity maximization. A roughly homogeneous landscape could be outlined in Tuscany and Marche communities witnessing a shared diet preference that could be modified by local preferences. The fully developed trade routes between the two sides of the Apennines could address the overall dietary homogeneity of the studied communities, especially between Fontenoce di Recanati and the southern Tuscan human groups such as Grotta del Fontino and Buca di Spaccasasso, with lesser influence for Le Lellere and Podere Cucule that seem to suggest a more locally based subsistence, even though the funerary affinities do not match this overall diet homogeneity.

The Geosite is a N10E strike-slip fault (Sabina Fault: Alfonsi et al. 1991), which crops out continuously within the western part of the Sabina area, in central Apennines, Italy. The shear zone of Sabina Fault is spectacularly exposed in an abandoned quarry, north of the village of Cottanello.Here, the Sabina fault system shows a peculiar petrofabric texture within the reddish marly limestones (Scaglia Rossa Formation) resulting in severe pressure solution and subsequent recrystallization of calcites, within extensional fractures and inside S-C structures whose frequency increases towards the main fault surface. These phenomena produced a peculiar lithological type, called Marmo di Cottanello (marbe of Cottanello), where the term 'marble' is used to describe a decorative stone used in antiquity.

Saint-Béat marble (Central French Pyrenees) is considered one of the most famous Roman Gaul marbles by archaeomaterials researchers. White, grey and banded greyish varieties were exploited during Roman times, to be used mainly in sculpture (including sarcophagi), decorative architecture and epigraphy, primarily in Southern Gaul, but they were also distributed beyond the Hispanic border. A multi-method approach combining petrography, spectrophotometry, cathodoluminescence with EDX spectroscopy and stable C and O isotope analysis was applied to a new collection of samples from quarries along both banks of the Garonne River, next to Saint-Béat village. This work aims to highlight the most useful parameters to discriminate one of the Saint-Béat marble varieties (the coarse-grained white), from other Classical and Hispanic marbles of similar features. This updated characterisation has been successfully checked with Roman artefacts from different archaeological sites of the Hispania Tarraconensis Province.

This contribution addresses the characterization study of grey and greyish banded marbles from the Estremoz Anticline (EA) marble district in Portugal. During Roman times, the whole of Lusitania, including its capital Augusta Emerita, was supplied with white and coloured marbles from this district. Grey varieties were used mainly in architectural and epigraphic elements, funerary stelae and arae. The interest in the EA marbles focuses here on the grey types as they could have been used for trading beyond their provincial administrative domains, as was the case with the white marbles, in competition with other Iberian and classical materials, creating an increasing need to know how to identify them. A multi-method approach combining visual examination, spectrophotometry to quantify the greyscale tones, optical microscopy (OM), cathodoluminescence (CL) and stable C and O isotope analysis was applied to 25 quarry samples, which were collected from the south-eastern part of the EA structure.

In 1981, a large mammal assemblage was recovered from a laminated travertine exposed in the region of the village of Collepardo (Frosinone, central Italy). The Collepardo mammal assemblage reported in the literature included ungulates and carnivorans. It was referred to the middle Villafranchian for its similarities with the Saint Vallier (France) faunal assemblage. Some authors suggested a slightly older age (?Montopoli FU). Up to now, only cervids were studied, whereas the other remains were never illustrated nor investigated. Since the fossiliferous site was never described in detail and its location roughly defined, a series of field surveys were carried out with the aim of better depict the continental deposit containing this large mammal assemblage. During these surveys, a block containing several mammal bones was discovered. Among them, an hemimandible of a large short-faced bear Agriotherium was found, a carnivoran never reported before from Italy and very rare in the European fossil record. Its occurrence, together with the cervid Pseudodama lyra and Sus arvernensis, suggests an Early Villafranchian age (Triversa F.U.) for the Collepardo assemblage that therefore has to be referred to the Pliocene. Finally, carbon and oxygen isotope ratios were determined to understand the palaeoenvironmental condition of the depositional system., This research received support from the SYNTHESYS Project ES-TAF-5621 http://www.synthesys.info/ which is financed by European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP7 «Capacities» Programme at Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC) and from “Ricerche di Ateneo 2015” (Sapienza University of Rome, resp. Raffaele Sardella).

The provenance of the marbles of eleven artefacts collected in the temple of Apollo and the house of Augustus at the Palatine Hill archaeological excavations in Rome has been determined using a multi-method approach that includes petrography and isotopes of carbon and oxygen. Two samples are from fragments of statues, one of which is likely the Apollo statuary representation; the other samples are from architectural elements (columns, capitals, plates and cornices). The marbles of the Augustan complex represent the first example of a change in the taste for building materials of monumental architecture at the Palatine Hill in the Augustan age; their introduction started the “marmorisation” process in the area. In this transition, it is especially important to determine if the marble artefacts that were subjects of a religious cult were originals from Greece or copies that were carved during the building of the Augustan complex. In order to discriminate between these two possibilities, it is necessary to identify the geographic location at which the marbles considered were quarried. In our selection of samples, isotopic and petrographic results indicate that most of the architectural elements are quite unambiguously made of marble of Italic provenance (i.e. Carrara marble), while the fragments of statues, which have a relation to a religious cult, seem to have Greek origin.

The present investigation focused on the origin of CO2 and CH4in the soil gas and two gas vents present in the Fucino plain, a tectonicallyactive intramontane depression of central Italy. The soilgases have concentrations of CO2 ranging from 1 to 10% and CH4 inthe order of a few parts per million. Using carbon isotopes, it waspossible to identify two different sources of CO2 in the soil gas: biogenicCO2 (d13CCO2~ –20‰) produced in the fluvio-lacustrine sedimentsof the plain and CO2 produced from CH4 oxidation in soil(d13CCO2 –34/–38‰). The two gas vents yield CO2 contents of 2.63and 15.33% and CH4 of 94.7 and 8.5%. In the CH4-dominated gasvent, the carbon isotopes of methane (d13CCH4 = –64‰) point to agas of microbial origin. The other gas vent, with a d13CCH4 of–52.8‰, may be affected by a microbial oxidation process.

This contribution reports the results of the archaeometric study of 51 marble sculptures and decorative elements from the capital of Roman Lusitania , Augusta Emerita (Merida, Spain). These artefacts found on display at the Spanish National Museum of Roman Art comprise a representative record of archaeological pieces from different decorative programmes dated from the end of the 1 st century BC to the end of the 2 nd century AD. A multi-method approach combining polarized-light microscopy, cathodoluminescence, X-ray powder diffraction, and stable C and O isotope analysis was applied to identify the marble provenance. The comparison of the results with the available databases confirms the use of different white marble varieties from the Estremoz Anticline (Portugal) as well as some Carrara and well-known marbles from Greece and Turkey. Another outcome of the study is the highlight of the most relevant parameters that serve to discriminate Estremoz Anticline marbles from other Iberian and classical marbles.

Stable isotope analysis in the reconstruction of human palaeodiets can yield clues to early human subsistence strategies, origins and history of farming and pastoralist societies, and intra- and intergroup social differentiation. In the last 10 years, the method has been extended to the pathological investigation. Stable isotope analysis to better understand a diet-related disease: celiac disease in ancient human bones was carried out. To do this, we analyzed the nitrogen and carbon isotopic composition of human (n = 37) and faunal (n = 8) bone remains from the archaeological site of Cosa at Ansedonia, on the Tyrrhenian coast near Orbetello (Tuscany), including the skeletal remains of a young woman (late 1st century–early 2nd century Common Era [CE]) with morphological and genetic features suggestive of celiac disease. We compared the young woman's isotopic data with those of other individuals recovered at the same site but from two later time periods (6th century CE; 11–12th century CE) and with literature data from other Italian archaeological sites dating to the same period. Her collagen δ13C and δ15N values differed from those of the samples at the same site, and from most but not all of the contemporary sites. Although the woman's diet appears distinct, chronic malnutrition resulting from severe malabsorption of essential nutrients due to celiac disease may have affected the isotopic composition of her bone collagen. Am J Phys Anthropol 154:349–356, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Morphologically-different deposits of thermal travertines are known worldwide, but what factors controlled their morphology, volume, and growth for tens of thousands of years is only partially understood. Two main morphotypes of Quaternary thermal travertines are reconsidered here to understand the reasons for their differential growth: the fissure ridge travertines of Denizli Basin, western Turkey, and the travertine plateau of Tivoli, central Italy. For comparable longevities and average vertical deposition rates, the main differences between the studied travertines are as follows: (1) volume of the travertine plateau is about one hundred times larger than each fissure ridge; (2) despite a larger volume, the travertine plateau does not produce relief, whereas the fissure ridges produce a characteristic prominent topography; (3) the travertine plateau grew primarily through lateral progradation, whereas the fissure ridges through vertical aggradation; (4) travertine deposition occurred in different environments: principally low-energy flat or shallow environments at Tivoli and high-energy inclined environments at Denizli; (5) the growth of the Tivoli plateau occurred in a subsiding basin, whereas the fissure ridges were not influenced by significant subsidence; (6) C- and O-isotope signatures from the two studied travertines are different; (7) despite similar annual precipitations, the present water discharge in the Tivoli area is about ten times greater than that of the Denizli Basin. U-series ages from the two deposits are correlated with paleoclimate oscillations at regional and global scales. Geological field evidence together with paleoclimate correlations suggest that, in both the study cases, the main body of travertine deposits (the bedded travertine) grew preferentially when the water table was high (warm and/or humid periods). Conversely, when the water table was depressed (cold and/or dry periods), the Tivoli travertine underwent partial erosion and the Denizli ridges were cut by axial veins and lateral sill-like structures filled by banded sparitic travertine. A comparative model is proposed where the main factor driving the difference in the morphostratigraphic architecture of fissure ridges and travertine plateaus is the volume of water discharge. A high discharge rate resulted in the precipitation of CaCO3 far away from the springs, hence driving the lateral progradation of the Tivoli plateau. A reduced discharge rate caused travertine precipitation close to the springs, thus causing the vertical aggradation of the Denizli fissure ridges. Paleoclimate oscillations must have controlled the amount of fluid discharge, which, in turn, must have influenced the opening of the feeding fractures by an increased pore pressure.

The Catalao II carbonatitic complex is part of the Alto Paranaiba Igneous Province (APIP), central Brazil, close to the Catalao I complex. Drill-hole sampling and detailed mineralogical and geochemical study point out the existence of ultramafic lamprophyres (phlogopite-picrites), calciocarbonatites, ferrocarbonatites, magnetitites, apatitites, phlogopitites and fenites, most of them of cumulitic origin. U–Pb data have constrained the age of Catalao I carbonatitic complex between 78 ± 1 and 81 ± 4 Ma. The initial strontium, neodymium and hafnium isotopic data of Catalao II (87Sr/86Sri = 0.70503–0.70599; eNdi = −6.8 to −4.7; 176Hf/177Hf = 0.28248–0.28249; eHfi = −10.33 to −10.8) are similar to the isotopic composition of the Catalao I complex and fall within the field of APIP kimberlites, kamafugites and phlogopite-picrites, indicating the provenance from an old lithospheric mantle source. Carbon isotopic data for Catalao II carbonatites (δ13C = −6.35 to −5.68 ‰) confirm the mantle origin of the carbon for these rocks. The origin of Catalao II cumulitic rocks is thought to be caused by differential settling of the heavy phases (magnetite, apatite, pyrochlore and sulphides) in a magma chamber repeatedly filled by carbonatitic/ferrocarbonatitic liquids (s.l.). The Sr–Nd isotopic composition of the Catalao II rocks matches those of APIP rocks and is markedly different from the isotopic features of alkaline-carbonatitic complexes in the southernmost Brazil. The differences are also observed in the lithologies and the magmatic affinity of the igneous rocks found in the two areas, thus demonstrating the existence of regional-scale heterogeneity in the mantle sources underneath the Brazilian platform.

The troglobitic beetle, Cansiliella servadeii (Leptodirini), has specialized mouthparts modified for browsing and feeding under percolating water on moonmilk, a speleothem formation in Grotta della Foos, Italy. Results from analyses of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen suggest thatacquires and assimilates dissolved allochthonous organic carbon, inorganic nitrogen, and possibly phosphorus and other nutrients from the microbial fauna associated with moonmilk.

The Neogene extensional province of southern Tuscany in central Italy provides an outstanding example of fossil and active structurally controlled fluid flow and epithermal ore mineralization associated with post-orogenic silicic magmatism. Characterization of the hydrodynamic regime leading to the genesis of the polysulphide deposit (known as Filone di Boccheggiano) hosted within the damage zone of the Boccheggiano Fault is a key target to assess modes of fossil hydrothermal fluid circulation in the region and, more generally, to provide inferences on fault-controlled hydrothermal fluid flow in extensional settings. We provide a detailed description of the fault zone architecture and alteration/mineralization associated with the Boccheggiano ore deposit and report the results of fluid inclusion and stable oxygen isotope studies. This investigation shows that the Boccheggiano ore consists of an adularia/illite-type epithermal deposit and that sulphide ore deposition was controlled by channelling of hydrothermal fluids of dominantly meteoric origin within the highly anisotropic permeability structure of the Boccheggiano Fault. The low permeability structure of the fault core compartmentalized the fluid outflow preventing substantial cross-fault flow, with focused fluid flow occurring at the hangingwall of the fault controlled by fracture permeability. Fluid inclusion characteristics indicate that ore minerals were deposited between 280° and 350°C in the upper levels of the brittle extending crust (lithostatic pressure in the order of 0.1 GPa). Abundant vapour-rich inclusions in ore-stage quartz are consistent with fluid immiscibility and boiling, and quartz ore vein textures suggest that mineralization in the Boccheggiano ore deposit occurred during cyclic fluid flow in a deformation regime regulated by transient and fluctuating fluid pressure conditions. Results from this study (i) predict a strongly anisotropic permeability structure of the fault damage zone during crustal extension, and (ii) indicate the rate of secondary (structural) permeability creation and maintenance by active deformation in the hangingwall of extensional faults as the major factor leading to effective hydraulic transmissivity in extensional terranes. These features intimately link ore-grade mineralization in extensional settings to telescoping of hydrothermal flow along the hangingwall block(s) of major extensional fault zones.

The provenance of twenty-seven architectural marbles from the two 6th century AD Christian churches of Latrun (Cyrenaica, Libya) has been established by discriminant function analysis of twelve isotopic, EPR and petrographic/morphological variables. Sixteen samples (59%) originate from Proconnesos, while 8 samples (30%) are assigned to the calcitic quarries of Thasos and 1 to the Docimium quarries near Afyon. The last two samples are of uncertain provenance and might be Proconnesian as well. These results demonstrate that the suggestion made long ago by Ward-Perkins that the presence on non-Proconnesian, possibly Thasian, marbles at Latrun was well founded. Particularly interesting is the strong correlation found between provenance and type of the architectural element sampled. Thasian marbles at Latrun were used exclusively for the manufacture of chancel screens. Seven out of nine screens sampled have this provenance, suggesting that the use of different materials is related to issues of work organisation and specialisation in different marble production centres.

Recent investigations in the North-East Necropolis and in the st Philip church at Hierapolis brought to light numerous fragments of marble sarcophagi. The paper presents the results of the archaeological examinations carried out on these sarcophagi, which are discussed in integration with petrographic, isotopic and cathodoluminescence data. Imported sarcophagi from Dokimeion and others made of local marbles (especially from thiounta and Marmar tepe) are attested, suggesting a new scenario for the production activities and the presence of travelling craftsmen in the Lykos Valley. Also the reuse of the roman Imperial sarcophagi inside the byzantine building site of the st Philip church is discussed.

Fractures, karstic cavities, and calcite precipitates are analysed on Mesozoic, carbonate strata from the Cornicolani Mountains, central Italy, to quantify the relationships between fractures and related karstic cavities and to infer the fracture-controlled fluid pathways. The study area is characterized by active sinkholes and other karstic caves, which are among the deepest ones in the world. Results show a clear control of fractures on the process of dissolutional weathering and, therefore, on the fluid circulation. A model is proposed, in which two different modes of dissolutional weathering coexist: (i) a mode of diffuse weathering consisting in the dissolutional enlargement of closely spaced joints and bedding surfaces. This process affects the strata situated at depths of up to 5 m; (ii) a mode of more concentrated weathering active along highly permeable fault damage zones at depths of at least 70 m. These processes are mostly connected with the shallow circulation of calcite-dissolving meteoric waters, and are controlled by the disparity of permeability between the fault damage zones and the surrounding jointed strata. Some calcite precipitates along the studied fault damage zones may be connected with a dissolutional process operated by waters that interacted with the adjacent quiescent volcanic district. Such calcite-dissolving waters and the presence of high-permeable fault damage zones, along which the waters may ascent, are probably the cause for the development of some of the deep sinkholes along faults in the study area.

Transgenic corn Crops (including the Bt variety) are expanding rapidly worldwide, and the large amounts of cultural residues remaining after harvest pose questions about the fate of this novel source of plant detritus in soil. To verily whether transgenic and conventional corn litters were different in their isotopic signatures, the C-13 and N-15 stable isotopes of different portions of Bt and non-Bt Aristis corn plants after harvest were analysed. Laboratory feeding experiments were then conducted to assess the transfer of corn isotopic signals to detritivores using the isopod Trachelipus sp, reared on either Bt or non-Bt corn dead leaves as the only food source. delta N-15 differed significantly between Bt and non-Bt corn in kernels and sterns, whereas both delta N-15 and delta C-13 were different in leaves before and after exposure to isopods. During feeding, the N and C isotopic signatures of' isopods shifted towards the diet values. Significant differences existed both between sampling dates and corn treatments. The results suggest that detritus from transgenic and conventional corn crops may have different isotopic signatures and the isotopic differences can persist through the trophic levels, making corn detritus feeders suitable sentinel species for the Bt corn isotopic signal in agroecosystems.

Fluid-rock interaction was investigated in the inner aureole of the Late Miocene Monte Capanne pluton on Elba Island (Tuscany, central Italy) by integrating structural, petrological, fluid inclusion, and stable isotope analyses. In the north-western sector of the aureole (Procchio-Spartaia area), calc-silicates alternate with nearly pure carbonate layers at the metre scale. Close to the pluton, the prograde metamorphic sequence includes calc-silicates that transition within a few metres to overlying nearly pure calcite marbles. The calc-silicates are extensively metasomatised to form massive wollastonite-grossular-bearing exoskarn. The mineralogical assemblage found in the marbles and the unshifted carbon and oxygen isotopic ratios in calcite attest that the fluid phase was internally buffered. On the other hand, the calc-silicates constituted channels for infiltration of disequilibrium fluids of magmatic origin. Fluid infiltration was enhanced by hydrofracturing and structurally-controlled by existing planar anisotropies in calc-silicates (layering and lithological boundaries). At the metamorphic peak (600 degrees C and 1.5-2 kbar), the marble-calc-silicate interface acted as a barrier to fluids exsolved from the crystallising intrusions, separating two different flow patterns in the inner aureole: a high fluid-flux region on its higher grade side (Wol-zone) and a low fluid-flux region on the lower-grade side (Cpx zone). Results of this study: (1) documented that fluid pathways in the aureole rocks at the top of the pluton were largely horizontal, controlled by the lithological layering and the pluton-host rock contact; and (2) elucidated the primary control exerted by the structural and rheological properties of the host rocks on the geometry of fluid flow during pluton emplacement.