Wall Paintings from The Roman City of Volubilis in Morocco: XRF, Raman and FTIR-ATR Analyses

Abstract

The work is an in-depth investigation of painting remains from the roman city of Volubilis in Morocco, classified World Heritage. Raman and ATR-FTIR structural and XRF elemental spectroscopies were crossed to decrypt the pigments adopted by roman craftsmen in the south Mediterranean region. Red-ochre alone or in admixture with cinnabar was used in brown-red paintings, while yellow ochre, green earth and Egyptian blue pigments were used to achieve yellow, green and blue ones. All pigments highlighted had been commonly used in the roman world, among which some ones continue until the medieval period in Morocco. In addition to documenting built heritage in Morocco, the results provide a helpful background for archaeologists interested in Roman sites around the Mediterranean space.