Variability and sampling strategy of cave wall concretion: Case study of the moonmilk found in Leye Cave (Dordogne)

Mauran, Guilhem; Bassel, Léna; Ferrier, Catherine; Lacanette, Delphine; Bousquet, Bruno; Chapoulie, Rémy

doi:10.1111/arcm.12434

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(51 reference statements)

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“…Additionally, the problem is enlarged by the presence of anthropic deposits not linked with paint activity, such as soot stains, when dealing with black paintings. These issues could be partially solved by a detailed chemical study of the support rock and its deterioration processes in order to generate a chemical and morphological profile of the Bblank^wall (G. Mauran et al 2018). In this specific case, XRD, FT-IR, and XRF bulk analyses along with micro-stratigraphic studies (Raman and SEM-EDS) of blank wall samples from rock shelters were processed and analyzed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hidden paintings, forgotten histories: a micro-stratigraphic approach to study coated rock art

Gheco

Tascón

Gastaldi

et al. 2019

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Is it possible to detect rock paintings coated by natural or anthropic concretions? In this work, a methodology to discover and characterize underlying paintings is proposed. This approach combines chemical studies by micro-Raman and SEM-EDS of micro-stratigraphic samples taken from the paintings and support rock. As a case of study, it is described the research performed in the archeological site of Oyola in the northwest of Argentina. Strong evidences of red, black, and white hidden paintings have been found. In addition, the method herein presented is thoroughly evaluated pointing out their possibilities and limitations as a tool for the understanding of the historical processes involving production and transformation of the rock art panels. To this end, the methodology was proofed to be a successful exploratory approach for painting detection, expanding its capabilities when complemented with non-invasive characterization techniques.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hidden paintings, forgotten histories: a micro-stratigraphic approach to study coated rock art

Gheco

Tascón

Gastaldi

et al. 2019

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…The walls and ceilings of the tombs of Tarquinia were covered by a white patina, referred to as moonmilk [3,4]. This calcite precipitation is induced by the metabolic activities of a hypolytic microbial community, which live in environments with high calcium content [5,6,7,8,9,10]. In a previous study, we described that this massive, widespread calcite deposition on the walls preserved for centuries the Etruscan mural paintings, and once removed, revealed new information on the ancient Etruscan mode of life [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of moonmilk nanofibers in the etruscan tombs of Tarquinia

Mura

Cirigliano

Maras

et al. 2021

The 1st International Conference on Innovations for Computing, Engineering and Materials, 2021: Icem, 2021

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The moonmilk is a secondary calcite deposit (speleothem) formed by nanofibers of calcite and commonly found in karst caves. While its biogenic origin is widely accepted, the mechanism of calcite nanofibers production remains unclear. Crystallization and formation mechanism of calcium carbonate nanostructures are of high interest in different fields, such as geomicrobiology (rock-microbes interactions), astrobiology (biosignatures), medicine (antibiotics producing bacteria), nanotechnology (calcium carbonate nanofibers) and recently, archeology. The discovery of the moonmilk in the hypogeal tombs of the ancient necropolis of Tarquinia (Italy), provides a unique opportunity to compare moonmilk crystal shapes that originated from two type of rocks, Macco (a calcarenite) and Sabbione (a hybrid sandstone). We analyzed, through a SEM analysis, moonmilk samples from twelve tombs in the necropolis area and found that rocks provide an ideal environment for the formation of the nanofibers; the Sabbione promoted the growth of a finer and thinner carbonate nanostructures, probably due to a slower growth kinetics caused by a low calcium value present in this rock.

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“…As a matter of fact, a painting is the result of the application of different pigmentary mixtures with determined proportions of diverse materials onto the rock surface. These mixtures have been usually described in the literature as the combination of a pigment (grounded solid colored materials or organic colorants), a binder (commonly an organic material) and additives (regularly used as extenders, fillers or charges) [12,17,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. The pigments, also knew as chromophores, are the responsible to give color to the painting.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Looking for Painting Mixtures to Glimpse Pictorial Techniques: A Micro-Stratigraphic Physicochemical Approach to the Rock Art From the Oyola’s Caves (Argentina)

Gheco

Tascón

Eugenia

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Could not be possible that rock paintings with similar hues and morphologies were the results of different painting events inside a cave but distanced in time? Is there any archaeometric approach that allows us to evidence these subtle differences? Aiming to address these inquires, in this work are presented the potentials of new physicochemical lines of evidence for characterization and differentiation of painting mixtures. This will improve the understanding of the technical heterogeneity and temporal complexity of painting sets executed in a particular archaeological site. In order to explore these points, the results obtained in the micro-stratigraphic studies of samples taken from the painted walls of Oyola, an archaeological site situated in the northwest of Argentina, are presented. These samples have been analyzed by micro-Raman spectroscopy (mRS) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDS). The differences found by cross-section chemical studies could be explained as a consequence of two situations: 1- differences in the painting’s chemical components, either in the pigments involved or additives used; and, 2- differences in the physical properties of the mixtures such as stratum thickness and/or particle size. Also, in this article is explained each of the hypothesis, presenting the limits of these interpretations and pointing out future research challenges. As we discussed, it could be possible that the chemical and physical differences found between painting mixtures were the material expression of varied types of pictorial techniques.

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Variability and sampling strategy of cave wall concretion: Case study of the moonmilk found in Leye Cave (Dordogne)

Abstract: chemical composition and morphological structures, despite significant macroscopic diversity, thus providing insights into how to optimize the sampling strategy of moonmilk in ornate caves.

Cited by 7 publications

References 37 publications

Hidden paintings, forgotten histories: a micro-stratigraphic approach to study coated rock art

Hidden paintings, forgotten histories: a micro-stratigraphic approach to study coated rock art

Analysis of moonmilk nanofibers in the etruscan tombs of Tarquinia

Looking for Painting Mixtures to Glimpse Pictorial Techniques: A Micro-Stratigraphic Physicochemical Approach to the Rock Art From the Oyola’s Caves (Argentina)

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