Centre for Isotopic Research on Cultural and Environmental heritage (CIRCE) has, recently, begun an intensive testing campaign on the feasibility of Dead Carbon (DC) suppression by means of a purification procedure applied to a series of laboratory test mortars. Observed results confirmed the overall successful character of the proposed methodology encouraging its accuracy testing on real samples by comparing mortar radiocarbon dates with other materials of known or constraint age. In this study, some 14C measurements performed on archaeological mortars will be discussed and compared with independently estimated (i.e. radiocarbon dating performed on organic materials found in the same study site) absolute chronologies of 2 Spanish sites. Observed results confirm the overall agreement of the mortar isolated fractions dates with the chronological reconstruction for both examined sites. Moreover several authors reported the possibility to obtain accurate radiocarbon dating results of mortar matrices by analyzing lime lumps: binder related particles of different sizes composed exclusively by calcium carbonate. Hence, in this paper, preliminary data for the absolute chronology reconstruction of the Basilica of the cemetery complex of Ponte della Lama (Canosa di Puglia, Italy) based mostly on lime lumps will, also, be discussed. Accuracy of the procedure will be quantified by comparing 14C data on mortar lime lumps from a funerary inscription of known age found nearby the basilica, in the same site context. For this study site, a comparison between absolute chronologies performed by lime lumps, laboratory purified lime lumps and charcoal (when found) will, also, be shown. Observed results evidence how pure lime lumps dating may introduce sensitive aliquots of DC leading to systematic overestimations of the examined sample ages while laboratory pretreatment procedure allow unbiased dating.

The paper aims to discuss the archaeometric characterization of 69 potsherds, from a rock shelter located along wadi Takarkori, and 26 sediments sampled along the Wadi Tanezzuft and the Wadi Takarkori itself. The site contains a rich archaeological record spanning five millennia (from around 8900 to 4200 uncal. years BP) from Late Acacus hunter-gatherers to Late Pastoral herders. The purpose of the analytical project is to study the technological changes in the chaîne opératoire of pottery production, from raw material procurement to the finished product, which deals with the ecology of ceramic production in Tadrart Acacus and with the comparison with other archaeometric researches carried out in the area. Geologically, this region is composed of Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks (sandstone and shale) while the intrusive formation of the Tassili massif outcrops at ca. 50 Km south-westward the site. Petrological (MO, SEM/EDS), mineralogical (XRPD) and chemical (XRF) data distinguished three main fabrics (Q, QC and QF) with different prevailing clastic constituents. The Q and QC fabrics present a common petrofacies. Fabric Q is characterized by monocrystalline quartz and rare polycrystalline quartz. Elongated vegetal inclusions are common in fabric Q. In fabric QC both polycrystalline quartz and vegetal inclusions are less frequent than in fabric Q and calcareous aggregates, cementing iron oxides and quartz grains, are present. Both fabrics mirror the Paleozoic quartzarenitic substrate of the Tadrart Acacus Mountains. The raw materials may results from a common fluviatile sediment, with a greater or smaller aeolian component, and can be interpreted in terms of sedimentary facies in a wadi/swamp transition environment. The calcareous aggregates of fabric QC comes from calcareous mud, whose authigenic precipitation in former closed lakes and ponds, found in sub-tropical region is widely attested. The QF fabric is characterised by angular or sub-angular grains of quartz, potassium and plagioclase feldspars, along with biotite and hornblende. QF fabric suggests the circulation of pottery from areas closer to the intrusive formation of Tassili Massif. The archaeometric results will be discussed with reference to regional environmental changes, local cultural dynamics, settlement systems, and mobility strategies.

The approach combining image analysis techniques and artificial neural networks is proposed here for automatic classification of mineral inclusions and pores in archaeological potsherds using optical digital images. Particularly, the automatic identification of quartz, calcareous aggregates and secondary porosity is considered. A collection of both plane and cross polarised light images acquired via a digital camera connected to optical microscopy in transmitted light is used. Images concern Holocene potsherds (8900 e4200 years BP) from Takarkori rock shelter archaeological site (SW Libya, Central Sahara). The adopted methodology involves different phases. Firstly, image segmentation is carried out to isolate regions corresponding to the interested mineral inclusions and pores. A segmentation procedure based on mathematical operators is customized for each type of inclusions and for pores. Secondly, numerical features are extracted from each segmented region, thus collecting data to perform automatic classification. A modular classifier is considered for classification, which is based on a combination of three two-layer feed-forward neural networks that are trained separately to recognise each class. Experimental results show that the created modular classifier provides high classification accuracy for both inclusions and pores. The classifier was finally applied absent the image analysis phase on new samples to show the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

Late Apulian red figured pottery [1] from Egnatia (Fasano, Brindisi, ITALY) was studied in order to widen the view on this ceramic class in Southern Italy. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) provided the samples elemental composition that allowed to make provenance hypotheses. Optical Microscopy (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS), supplied information about the minero-petrographic features of the objectsto better understand their production technology. The set of results highlighted the contemporary presence in the Apulian land in the late 4th century b.C. of both local and imported finds and showed the existence of two different kinds of local production, the "classic" Attic and a peculiar one, characterized by the application of an engobe layer before the black gloss. Our previous studies resulted in the discovery that an engobe layer, with similar chemical and minero-petrographic characteristics, was found in finds from another site in central Apulia (Monte Sannace). So the discovery of red engobe on fragments from Egnatia, proves that its use was not an isolated occurrence, but was quite common in the production of red figured in Apulia during the Late period, appearing as a peculiar technological mark of Apulian potters.

The present study focuses on the assessment of the effects of different activation methods on carbonate-rich clays, to understand the mineralogical differences originated and to exploit such information to industry for traditional and innovative applications, especially as a precursor for alkali activated binders. Illite carbonate-rich clay samples were subjected to thermal activation in ox/red atmosphere between 400 and 900 °C, mechanical activation (grinding for 5, 10 and 15 min) and to a combination of such treatments. Mineralogical and textural changes in the activated samples were evaluated through X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermal techniques. The activated samples with the highest content of amorphous phase underwent leaching tests in a 3 M NaOH solution by means of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The application of the three processing routines, yielded three types of activated clays with different leaching modes of Si, Al, K and Ca: (1) high energy grinding preferentially delaminates clay minerals and reduces the grain size of calcite. K leaching reaches the highest values; (2) thermal heating at 800 °C increases relatively the Si/Al solubility ratio, but the absolute concentrations of these elements are equal or lower than those obtained from ground clays. The relatively higher leaching of Ca is influenced by the formation of non-stoichiometric and poorly crystalline Ca-silicates and -aluminosilicates; (3) high energy grinding combined with heating treatment yields an extended amorphisation, mainly at the expense of clay minerals, with the highest leaching of Si and Al, and the lowest of Ca. New formed K-feldspars inhibit the concentration of K in alkaline solution.

The modes of the archaeological documentation of prehistoric lithic tools has been widely debated among scholars for long time. In the recent years the introduction of new documentation techniques (e.g. 3D model and 3D scanner), besides the classic drawing, has increased the academic debating. Among these new documentation techniques, 3D photography is now commonly used while X-rays microtomography (μCT) has never be applied on chert artefacts. In the present work, graphite drawing, 3D photography and μCT are used for the techno-functional analysis. For this reason, four chert arrowhead (CN13, CN21, CN39, CN51) from the settlement of Coppa Nevigata (Bronze Age Southern Italy) were analysed with all these three techniques to retrace their different techno-functional sequences. Results show that μCT allows to detect more detachment areas and blows than graphite drawing and 3D photography. Moreover, internal defects and inclusions can be detected only by the use of μCT. In particular, CN39 shows an extensive internal cracking which can be imputed to a heating treatment. Furthermore, one surface of CN39 do not show any crack, which testify the removal of this portion in order to reuse the arrowhead after the heating event. In this way, μCT allowed to identify both a heating event and also its timing, since it occurred between the production and the retouch before a new use. In the case of CN51, the supposed heating identified after optical analysis seems not confirmed by μCT analysis. After the different analytical approaches, also the sample CN13 and CN21 do not show clear evidences of retouching and/or heating as archeologically supposed after optical analysis. Neither the stereoscope nor the 3D photography model give back the same informations obtained by μCT and highlight the potentials and limits of each one to detect microstructural details that can help to understand the techno-functional dynamics. The pros and cons of the old and the new documentation techniques were also discussed, in order to propose specific terms for microstructure description and interpretation.

Torre Alemanna (FG, Italy) was one of the most important medieval example of Teutonic Knights Order life in Italy (13th-16th century AD). The archaeological excavations conducted by the Soprintendenza Archeologica della Puglia in 1999-2000 discovered and extracted a large number of glazed graffita potsherds dated to the 15th-16th century AD. This work presents the results of an archaeometric investigation of 46 potsherd of “Torre Alemanna type” pottery, aimed to define a compositional reference group and to understand the technological characteristics of its production. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis applied to bulk chemical data (XRF) of the ceramic body showed a strong compositional homogeneity. Local calcareous clay was used as raw material. The mineralogical assemblage detected by XRPD, inferred maximum firing temperatures between 800°C and 950°C. Optical microscopy and SEM/ EDS investigations on coating revealed the presence of quartz-rich white engobe covered with a leadbased transparent glaze. The polychromatic decoration applied on the engobe was analyzed by spectrophotometry (CIELAB) and EDS to compare the colour characteristics through all the potsherds. The microstructures observed at the boundary between the ceramic body and the surface coating point to a single firing to sinterise the body and to fix the coating. The results obtained show a technological continuity with the past about the use of local calcareous clay (Argille subappennine) to produce fine pottery, and define the reference compositional group of the “Torre Alemanna type” pottery, already attested in several archaeological contexts of Southern Italy.

Fifty oil lamps from the catacombs of ‘Ponte della Lama’ (Canosa di Puglia, second to sixth centuries AD) were analysed to understand the correlations existing between types and fabrics and to determine their provenance. Petrographic and chemical analyses confirmed the archaeological hypothesis of local production of the oil lamps, using fluvial deposits. However, the three samples of oil lamps imitating the African ‘Atlante VIII’ are considered chemical outliers compared to the rest and are supposedly of foreign origin. The extensive and original repertory of lamp types characterizes Canusium as the production centre in the late Roman period.

Fireboxes of two pottery structures, excavated in 2002 at Aventicum (at present Avenches), the capital of Roman Switzerland, were studied to understand their function in the artisan quarter. Twenty-one oriented samples underwent petrographical, mineralogical and chemical analyses to determine the nature of the raw materials and the temperature distribution. Both structures are typologically different and show differing degrees of thermal impacts. Inferred maximum temperatures for kiln Structure 6, as deduced from phase associations, were as high as 1050–1200 °C. Such high temperatures are typically recorded in fireboxes of ceramic kilns. Structure 180 is proposed to have been a drying oven, as evidenced by: (1) its phase associations, pointing to maximum firing temperatures of c. 950–1050 °C, and (2) its unusual shape. Six out of seven clays from the artisan quarter revealed Ca-rich composition, but the Ca-poor one was preferentially used by Roman potters for bricks and clay binders to build the two structures. Such “refractory” clays are obviously better suited to withstand higher firing temperatures and for a longer period than Ca-rich clays.

This paper proposes the application of digital image processing of plane- and cross-polarized light photomicrographs to textural and morphometric analysis as an extension of routine petrographic characterization. The aim is to answer questions on the provenance and technology of quartz- and calcite-bearing potsherds from the Takarkori rock shelter (Libyan Sahara, from around 8900 to 4200 uncal. years BP). Specific processing algorithms run on image analysis freeware (ImageJ) isolate quartz and calcite inclusions to obtain quantitative textural and morphometric data that are useful in identifying different local fluvial and swampy sedimentary environments as sources of sandy clays for pottery.

Traditional ceramics were commonly produced using a mixture of clay and temper materials, which were added in different percentage according to the craftsman purposes. The present study aims to examine up to which extent some technological parameters (nature, granulometry and percentage of the temper and firing temperature) affect the thermal conductivity of traditional ceramics. With this purpose a kaolinitic clay was tempered either with quartz or limestone belonging to two different granulometric distributions in percentage of 5%, 15% and 25%, and fired at 500, 750 and 1000 °C. Moreover the dependence on firing temperature was studied. Thermal conductivity was measured with a modified Lee's disks apparatus in a temperature range from 120 to 370 °C. It was found that quartz-tempered ceramics are more conductive than the fired non-tempered clay, while limestone-tempered sample are less conductive. Mineralogical and microstructural data are also provided and the influence of the α–β quartz-phase transition on the thermal conductivity of ceramics is discussed.

A wide range of teaching strategies have been employed to improve the effectiveness of STEM education. In some studies, music has been used as a tool to help memorizing scientific concepts. However, music (without lyrics) can also be considered in itself as an interesting way to explore and explain the complexity of both natural and artificial structures, and a way to guide learners of every age towards the deep understanding of the difficult concept of molecular order. For this purpose, we developed a scientifically based "decryption" method to assign a given sound to single atoms within crystals. All sound parameters (pitch, duration, timbre, and dynamics) are based on physical and chemical properties of the atoms involved in the structure. The "crystal soundtrack" is accompanied by animations highlighting the position of each atom considered in its context. Possible applications of this novel educational approach range from chemistry (atomic structures, the periodic table, the octet rule), to Earth sciences (the structure of natural crystals), material sciences (artificial structures), and biology (macromolecules such as sugars and nucleic acids). Musical examples will be presented and discussed.

In Nubia (currently northern Sudan), the art of making pottery has a very ancient and durable tradition, dating 20 back to the earlyHolocene and preceding the introduction of a food-producing economy. Ethnographic case stud- 21 ies have demonstrated that this tradition has been preserved in many areas of the country. This paper presents a 22 comparative study of ancient and modern traditional ceramics fromfour prehistoric sites at Sai Island, in the river 23 Nile, and a present-dayworkshop located in the nearby village of Abri. The aim of the study was to investigate any 24 diachronic changes in the selection of clayey raw material and the technological processes of themanufacturing 25 sequence. The study combined macroscopic and analytical approaches and examined a large set of ceramic and 26 local clay samples by means of petrographic (OM), mineralogical (X-ray powder diffraction; XRPD) and chemical 27 (X-ray fluorescence; XRF) analyses. The resulting data underline a remarkable continuity in raw material sourc- 28 ing and composition, as well as in many technological processes, from the ceramic assemblages dating from 29 Abkan cultural horizon (c. 5500 BCE) until to the present-day production in Abri. This continuity emerged after 30 a preceding discontinuity, indicated by a different selection of clay raw material and tempers in the oldest pro- 31 duction dating to the Khartoum Variant horizon (c. 7600–4800 BCE).