Archaeological metallic objects coming from the Striano surroundings, a town located in the Sarno River plain (Campania region, southern Italy), are preserved in the Paleontological Museum (Centro Musei delle Scienze Naturali e Fisiche) of University of Naples Federico II. They belong to a vast collection of ceramics and metallic artifacts, found in 1930 and then given to the former Geological Museum of the Naples University (De Joanna, 1947). These objects are related to the proto-historic necropolis of Striano, that date back to the late Bronze Age up to the Iron Age ("Orientalizing" period; D’Ambrosio et al., 2009). These findings are very common in the whole Sarno River plain, situated in the south of the Somma-Vesuvius volcanic complex. Until today the archaeological research activity of the Sarno River plain was particularly focused on urban settlements like Pompeii, Nuceria and Stabiae, but all their hinterland represents a very important cultural landscape, characterized by continuous anthropogenic activity since the Middle Bronze Age (Seiler et al., 2010). The eruption of the Somma-Vesuvius AD 79 resulted in a nearly complete burial of the entire Sarno River plain, hence this unique situation of a sealed pre-AD 79 perfectly conserved archaeological findings and paleo-landscape enable detailed investigations of both the ancient remains of human activity in the plain and of the paleoenvironment/ topography (Seiler et al., 2010). The metallic objects consist of bronze spearheads and sheaths, and have never studied before. This work deals with a first mineralogical characterization of the bronze artifacts by means of Xray powder diffraction (XRPD), metallographic optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Preliminary mineralogical data show that they are mainly composed of Cu- Sn alloy, with Sn content ranging from 5 to 12 %. Inclusions of galena, native copper, lead and silver, as well as argentite are also detected in the alloy. Alteration minerals are mainly represented by cuprite, silicates, phosphates and sulfates. Microstructures are observed by optical microscopy and secondary/backscattered electrons imaging. D’Ambrosio A., Di Maio G. & Scala C. 2009. La necropoli protostorica di Striano. Gli scavi dal 1983 al 1994. Quaderni di studi Pompeiani. Volume III/2009, Pompei. De Joanna C. 1949. Su alcuni avanzi preistorici di Striano conservati nel Museo Geo-Paleontologico di Napoli. Unpublished degree thesis, Università di Napoli, 56 p. Seiler F., Maerker M., Kastenmeier P., Vogel S., Esposito D., Heussner U., Boni M., Balassone G., Di Maio G., Joachimski M., & Robinson M. 2010. Interdisciplinary approach on the reconstruction of the ancient cultural landscape of the Sarno River Plain before the eruption of Somma-Vesuvius AD 79. Mitteldeutscher Archologentag. Umweltarcholgie, Naturkatastrophen und Umweltwandel im archologischen Befund, Internationale Tagung 7, 145-154

Metallic artifacts (Bronze/Iron Age, Campania region, southern Italy) from the collection of the Paleontological Museum of the University of Naples Federico II: a first look / Balassone, Giuseppina; DE GENNARO, Roberto; DEL RE, MARIA CARMELA; Petti, Carmela. - In: RENDICONTI ONLINE DELLA SOCIETÀ GEOLOGICA ITALIANA. - ISSN 2035-8008. - 40:1(2016), pp. 839-839.

Metallic artifacts (Bronze/Iron Age, Campania region, southern Italy) from the collection of the Paleontological Museum of the University of Naples Federico II: a first look

BALASSONE, GIUSEPPINA;DE GENNARO, ROBERTO;DEL RE, MARIA CARMELA;PETTI, CARMELA
2016

Abstract

Archaeological metallic objects coming from the Striano surroundings, a town located in the Sarno River plain (Campania region, southern Italy), are preserved in the Paleontological Museum (Centro Musei delle Scienze Naturali e Fisiche) of University of Naples Federico II. They belong to a vast collection of ceramics and metallic artifacts, found in 1930 and then given to the former Geological Museum of the Naples University (De Joanna, 1947). These objects are related to the proto-historic necropolis of Striano, that date back to the late Bronze Age up to the Iron Age ("Orientalizing" period; D’Ambrosio et al., 2009). These findings are very common in the whole Sarno River plain, situated in the south of the Somma-Vesuvius volcanic complex. Until today the archaeological research activity of the Sarno River plain was particularly focused on urban settlements like Pompeii, Nuceria and Stabiae, but all their hinterland represents a very important cultural landscape, characterized by continuous anthropogenic activity since the Middle Bronze Age (Seiler et al., 2010). The eruption of the Somma-Vesuvius AD 79 resulted in a nearly complete burial of the entire Sarno River plain, hence this unique situation of a sealed pre-AD 79 perfectly conserved archaeological findings and paleo-landscape enable detailed investigations of both the ancient remains of human activity in the plain and of the paleoenvironment/ topography (Seiler et al., 2010). The metallic objects consist of bronze spearheads and sheaths, and have never studied before. This work deals with a first mineralogical characterization of the bronze artifacts by means of Xray powder diffraction (XRPD), metallographic optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Preliminary mineralogical data show that they are mainly composed of Cu- Sn alloy, with Sn content ranging from 5 to 12 %. Inclusions of galena, native copper, lead and silver, as well as argentite are also detected in the alloy. Alteration minerals are mainly represented by cuprite, silicates, phosphates and sulfates. Microstructures are observed by optical microscopy and secondary/backscattered electrons imaging. D’Ambrosio A., Di Maio G. & Scala C. 2009. La necropoli protostorica di Striano. Gli scavi dal 1983 al 1994. Quaderni di studi Pompeiani. Volume III/2009, Pompei. De Joanna C. 1949. Su alcuni avanzi preistorici di Striano conservati nel Museo Geo-Paleontologico di Napoli. Unpublished degree thesis, Università di Napoli, 56 p. Seiler F., Maerker M., Kastenmeier P., Vogel S., Esposito D., Heussner U., Boni M., Balassone G., Di Maio G., Joachimski M., & Robinson M. 2010. Interdisciplinary approach on the reconstruction of the ancient cultural landscape of the Sarno River Plain before the eruption of Somma-Vesuvius AD 79. Mitteldeutscher Archologentag. Umweltarcholgie, Naturkatastrophen und Umweltwandel im archologischen Befund, Internationale Tagung 7, 145-154
2016
Metallic artifacts (Bronze/Iron Age, Campania region, southern Italy) from the collection of the Paleontological Museum of the University of Naples Federico II: a first look / Balassone, Giuseppina; DE GENNARO, Roberto; DEL RE, MARIA CARMELA; Petti, Carmela. - In: RENDICONTI ONLINE DELLA SOCIETÀ GEOLOGICA ITALIANA. - ISSN 2035-8008. - 40:1(2016), pp. 839-839.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11588/665364
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