A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Archaeometric Study of Pozzolanic Aggregate in <scp>R</scp>oman Mortars: The Case of <i><scp>V</scp>illa dei <scp>Q</scp>uintili</i> (<scp>R</scp>ome, <scp>I</scp>taly)

Belfiore, Cristina Maria; Fichera, Giusj Valentina; Russa, Mauro Francesco La; Pezzino, Antonino; Ruffolo, Silvestro Antonio; Galli, Giuliana; Barca, Donatella

doi:10.1111/arcm.12085

Cited by 33 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(28 reference statements)

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“…Instead, according to the proposed classification from [23], the composition of the pyroxenes composing the aggregate in the studied mortars fell in the field of diopside. This result would seem to agree with the chemical compositions of the clinopyroxene present in the Roman Magmatic Province reported by various authors [24][25][26][27][28][29][30].…”

Section: Electron Probe Micro Analysis Equipped With Energy-dispersivsupporting

confidence: 93%

An Integrated Analytical Approach to Define the Compositional and Textural Features of Mortars Used in the Underwater Archaeological Site of Castrum Novum (Santa Marinella, Rome, Italy)

et al. 2019

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This paper aims to carry out an archaeometric characterization of mortar samples taken from an underwater environment. The fishpond of the archaeological site of Castrum Novum (Santa Marinella, Rome, Italy) was chosen as a pilot site for experimentation. The masonry structures reached the maximum thickness at the apex of the fishpond (4.70 m) and consisted of a concrete conglomerate composed of slightly rough stones of medium size bound with non-hydraulic mortar. After sampling, for a complete characterization of selected mortar fragments, different and complementary techniques (stereomicroscopy, polarizing optical microscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction analysis) were carried out in order to: a) define the minero-petrographic features; and b) investigate their state of conservation. The obtained data allowed the determination of the main constituents of mortars from a compositional point of view. The raw materials, in fact, were quite homogeneous, as well as the ratio in which they were mixed, confirming the typical "recipe" used in Roman times to manufacture hydraulic-type mortars by adding pozzolana. At the same time, it was possible to identify the various degradation processes we were interested in, namely, biological colonization (bio-fouling) that develops differently according to environmental conditions. Based on characterization phase results, the research will help to develop adequate techniques for intervention (innovative tools and methods for the protection of underwater cultural heritage) with particular regard to cleaning and consolidating procedures to be carried out directly in situ.

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Section: Electron Probe Micro Analysis Equipped With Energy-dispersivsupporting

confidence: 93%

An Integrated Analytical Approach to Define the Compositional and Textural Features of Mortars Used in the Underwater Archaeological Site of Castrum Novum (Santa Marinella, Rome, Italy)

et al. 2019

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“…Thin section observations of the mortars from Villa dei Quintili allowed four distinct groups (A, B, C, and D) to be recognized in the samples, as already asserted by Belfiore et al (). The groups differed mainly in the types of aggregate and the abundance of one type with respect to the others.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 67%

“…Specifically, the samples from group A (VQ1, VQ2, VQ10, VQ12, VQ16, VQ21, VQ22, VQ32, VQ40, VQ41, and VQ46; Figure 6a and b) are characterized exclusively by pozzolan fragments, and those from group B (VQ3, VQ6, VQ7, VQ8, VQ11, VQ13, VQ14, VQ15, VQ20, VQ23, VQ24, VQ30, VQ31, VQ33, VQ34, VQ35, VQ38, and VQ39; Figure 6c and d) predominantly contain pozzolan and subordinate ceramic fragments. The mortars from group C (VQ4, VQ36, and VQ37; Figure 6e and f) contain mainly ceramic and subordinately pozzolan fragments, and the group D (VQ5 and VQ9; Figure 6g and h) samples contain the two types of fragments in similar proportions (Belfiore et al, 2014). Almost all of the examined mortars contain different types of lime-related particles, some of which partially retained the structure of the original limestone (underburned fragments; Figure 7a), while others did not (overburned fragments and relict lime clasts; Figure 7b).…”

Section: Petrographic Analysis Of the Mortarsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For this reason, historical Roman mortars have been the subject of numerous archaeometric studies (e.g., Jackson et al., , , , , ; Sánchez‐Moral et al., ; Silva, Wenk, & Monteiro, ; Jackson & Marra, ; Gotti et al., ; Peruccio & Brune, ). Most of these studies focused on characterizing the two main components of mortars, namely cementitious binding matrix and aggregate, to investigate their mineralogical and petrographic features and identify the production technologies used by ancient builders (Jackson et al., , , ; Pavía, ; Pavia & Caro, ; Miriello et al., , ; Lancaster et al., ; Fichera et al., ; Belfiore et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Limestone Provenance in Roman Lime‐Volcanic Ash Mortars from the Villa dei Quintili, Rome

et al. 2015

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Roman mortars were collected from the Villa dei Quintili in Rome, an archaeological site consisting of numerous edifices from nine construction phases dating from the 2nd century A.D. to modern times. A multianalytical approach was used on 34 mortar samples to infer the evolution of production techniques over time and to identify the source area of calcareous raw materials used in the preparation of the lime. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with an energy-dispersive system, and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry were used to study the samples. The major and trace element data were compared with the compositions of two types of limestone samples (Calcare Massiccio and Calcare Maiolica) collected from the Cornicolani Mountains. The results suggest that the technological practices and the calcareous raw materials used for lime production remained unchanged over the time period considered (2nd century A.D. to 3rd century A.D.). The compositions of lime-related particles in the mortars match those of Calcare Maiolica, which suggests its use as raw material for lime production. On the whole, the results are in agreement with data from existing literature regarding both the use by Roman builders of specific raw materials for the mortars' production and the relative supply area. C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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“…Both the substrates were produced with the same coarse aggregate (0.3 mm<d<0.5 mm, see Table 1) demonstrating an intrinsic variability in their surface features; thus, the standard deviation of the contact angles is quite large, but this is statistically representing the variability of the sample. Hydraulic mortar (HLM) was more homogeneous and mechanically resistant (Jackson and Marra 2006;Belfiore et al 2015); the SCA assessments on this kind of substrate were absolutely less problematic.…”

Section: Surface Properties Of Bare and Coated Mortarsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the role of hydrophobic Si-based protective coatings in limiting mortar deterioration

Cappelletti

Fermo

Pino

et al. 2015

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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In order to avoid both natural and artificial stone decay, mainly due to the interaction with atmospheric pollutants (both gases such as NOx and SO2 and particulate matter), polymeric materials have been widely studied as protective coatings enable to limit the penetration of fluids into the bulk material. In the current work, an air hardening calcic lime mortar (ALM) and a natural hydraulic lime mortar (HLM) were used as substrates, and commercially available Si-based resins (Alpha®SI30 and Silres®BS16) were adopted as protective agents to give hydrophobicity features to the artificial stones. Surface properties of coatings and their performance as hydrophobic agents were studied using different techniques such as contact angle measurements, capillary absorption test, mercury intrusion porosimetry, surface free energy, colorimetric measurements and water vapour permeability tests. Finally, some exposure tests to UV radiation and to real polluted atmospheric environments (a city centre and an urban background site) were carried out during a wintertime period (when the concentrations of the main atmospheric pollutants are higher) in order to study the durability of the coating systems applied. The effectiveness of the two commercial resins in reducing salt formation (sulphate and nitrate), induced by the interaction of the mortars with the atmospheric pollutants, was demonstrated in the case of the HLM mortar. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

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A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Archaeometric Study of Pozzolanic Aggregate in Roman Mortars: The Case of Villa dei Quintili (Rome, Italy)

Cited by 33 publications

References 27 publications

An Integrated Analytical Approach to Define the Compositional and Textural Features of Mortars Used in the Underwater Archaeological Site of Castrum Novum (Santa Marinella, Rome, Italy)

An Integrated Analytical Approach to Define the Compositional and Textural Features of Mortars Used in the Underwater Archaeological Site of Castrum Novum (Santa Marinella, Rome, Italy)

Limestone Provenance in Roman Lime‐Volcanic Ash Mortars from the Villa dei Quintili, Rome

On the role of hydrophobic Si-based protective coatings in limiting mortar deterioration

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