New petrographic and geochemical tracers for recognizing the provenance quarry of trachyte of the Euganean Hills, northeastern Italy

Germinario, Luigi; Hanchar, John M.; Sassi, Raffaele; Maritan, Lara; Cossio, Roberto; Borghi, Alessandro; Mazzoli, Claudio

doi:10.1002/gea.21666

Cited by 15 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Taking into account these limitations, the petrographic observations can be combined with the provenance tracers defined by Germinario et al. (), also comparing the relevant thin sections of quarry trachytes. This results in the identification of four possible provenance groups.…”

Section: Petrographic Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As suggested in Germinario et al. (), the composition of each sample was checked in all the discriminant plots, verifying which group of reference quarry trachytes it seemed most similar to most and how often.…”

Section: Geochemical Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…V/Nb, Rb/Zr, and TiO 2 /K 2 O scatter plots for provenance recognition of Euganean trachyte using bulk‐rock chemical composition (Germinario et al., ), determined on the archaeological samples by XRF. The reference fields of quarry clusters of Germinario et al.…”

Section: Geochemical Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Area of Euganean trachyte circulation in Roman times (shaded) and the main Roman roads, also known as viae publicae (modified from Germinario et al., ) [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Geological map of the Euganean Hills (modified from Germinario et al., ), showing the distribution of sedimentary, volcanic, and subvolcanic rocks. “M.” = “Monte” (mount) [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tracking trachyte on the Roman routes: Provenance study of Roman infrastructure and insights into ancient trades in northern Italy

et al. 2017

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Roman colonization of northern Italy during the late Republican Age brought about significant building activity in the newly acquired territories, involving the construction of new infrastructure that demanded large amounts of stone. Trachyte of the Euganean Hills was among the most commonly used materials for building roads, bridges, forum squares, and aqueducts. This paper addresses the recognition of the provenance quarry of Euganean trachyte used in Roman public infrastructure in northeastern Italy. Petrographic features and major- and trace-element composition of bulk rock and phenocrysts, analyzed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasmamass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS),were used as provenance tracers. The provenance determinations allow for exploring the commercial, political, and economic dynamics involving the supply of trachyte for public works, and the management of Roman quarries, which likelywere in competition with each other and separately controlled by the most important nearby cities. Finally, broad insights into ancient trades in northern Italy and the main routes of stone distribution are discussed: most transport was done by ship, being more rapid and less costly, taking advantage of the Adriatic Sea, the Po River, and the many waterways close to the Euganean quarries

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Section: Petrographic Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geochemical Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geochemical Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tracking trachyte on the Roman routes: Provenance study of Roman infrastructure and insights into ancient trades in northern Italy

et al. 2017

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Combining geochemistry and petrography to provenance Lionato and Lapis Albanus tuffs used in Roman temples at Sant’Omobono, Rome, Italy

et al. 2018

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Tufo Lionato is a volcanic tuff that was used extensively for construction in Rome, Italy, during antiquity and after; at least three varieties can be identified: Anio, Monteverde, and Portuense. The widespread introduction of Tufo Lionato in Roman construction is generally dated to the mid‐second century before the common era (B.C.E.). Another tuff, Lapis Albanus, is held to have been introduced during the third century B.C.E. Due to their similar macroscopic appearance, it is impossible to reliably distinguish visually among varieties of Tufo Lionato, or between Lapis Albanus and other “peperino” tuffs, nor does geochemistry alone always allow definitive identifications. A combination of geochemical and petrographical analyses is presented here, to provenance building stone from the Roman temples of Fortuna and Mater Matuta at Sant’Omobono in Rome. The combination of techniques allows for secure identification of Anio tuff and Lapis Albanus, and their use in structures of the fourth–third and fifth–third centuries B.C.E., respectively, one to two centuries earlier than previously demonstrated. These findings show a diversification of tuffs used by the Roman construction industry earlier than henceforth acknowledged, and suggest the ability of archaeometric techniques to bring new perspectives even to such familiar archaeological contexts as the city of Rome.

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Chemical‐petrographic and isotopic characterization of the volcanic pavement along the ancient Appia route at the Aurunci Mountain Pass, Italy: Insights on possible provenance

et al. 2019

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The ancient Appia route was built across central‐southern Italy between the fourth and second century before the common era (B.C.E.). At the Aurunci Mountain Pass, the route crosses carbonate ridges that provided the raw material used to pave the road in the first century C.E. This material was replaced with lava blocks of unknown origin in the third century C.E. The study area is at least 50 km from the main volcanic centers along the peri‐Tyrrhenian side of Italy, such as the Colli Albani, Roccamonfina, and Middle Latin Valley volcanoes. The main objective of this research was the chemical–petrographic and isotopic characterization of rock samples from the Appia flagstones to unravel their possible provenance. The analytical procedure included scanning electron microscope and electron microprobe analyses and 87Sr/86Sr–143Nd/144Nd isotopic measurements. Samples taken from unknown quarries found in the Middle Latin Valley volcanic field underwent the same analyses. After comparing the analysis results with data from the literature, the most likely source area was identified with the Roccamonfina precaldera ultrapotassic sequence. The availability and use of volcanic resources for the construction and maintenance of the ancient Appia route in the investigated territories are only outlined in this work and deserve further study.

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New petrographic and geochemical tracers for recognizing the provenance quarry of trachyte of the Euganean Hills, northeastern Italy

Cited by 15 publications

References 34 publications

Tracking trachyte on the Roman routes: Provenance study of Roman infrastructure and insights into ancient trades in northern Italy

Tracking trachyte on the Roman routes: Provenance study of Roman infrastructure and insights into ancient trades in northern Italy

Combining geochemistry and petrography to provenance Lionato and Lapis Albanus tuffs used in Roman temples at Sant’Omobono, Rome, Italy

Chemical‐petrographic and isotopic characterization of the volcanic pavement along the ancient Appia route at the Aurunci Mountain Pass, Italy: Insights on possible provenance

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