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

Abstract

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.

Uncommon K-foiditic magmas: The case study of Tufo del Palatino (Colli Albani Volcanic District, Italy)

“…Macroscopic lamination, due to change of grain size, confers a characteristic planar fracturing of this soft volcanic rock which, for these favourable physical properties, was extensively exploited as building stone ("cappellaccio") in the archaic Roman period (Diffendale et al, 2019 and references therein). Lithified facies of Tufo del Palatino, due to the intense zeolitization and calcite crystallization, occurs in the Tiber Valley north of Rome, which was previously identified with the name of "Peperino della Via Flaminia" (Diffendale et al, 2019). Samples analyzed in the present study were collected at several outcrops located along the Tiber Valley where fluvial incision provides good exposition of the pyroclastic-flow deposits, which elsewhere are buried under a thick, younger volcanic succession (Fig.…”

A rapid method of screening ceramic artefacts to reject unlikely hypotheses of provenance

“…To discriminate between the potential sources, optical petrography and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) have long been used. Over time, ultraviolet fluorescence, X‐ray fluorescence, neutron activation analysis, infrared spectroscopy (IR), infrared reflection spectrometry (IRS), use of carbon and oxygen stable isotopes, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) methods have also been added (Barberena et al, ; Belardi, Cassiodoro, Goñi, Glascock, & Súnico, ; Diffendale, Marra, Gaeta, & Terrenato, ; Font, Salvadó, Butí, & Enrich, ; Gonzales, Arakawa, & Koenig, ; Mello, Lusuardi, Meloni, & Oddone, ; Moreau et al, ; Ostrooumov, ; Phillips & Morgenstein, ; Pitblado, Dehler, Neff, & Nelson, ; Scardozzi, Brilli, & Giustini, ; Woodward, Hamlin, Macklin, Karkanas, & Kotjabopoulou, ). Normally, the techniques are combined; for example, in some cases clays are compared with pottery both chemically and mineralogically (Hein, Mommsen, & Zender, ).…”