Our papers
Here you can find our research papers. You can freely consult them, they are under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.
Glass-gems Exploration by Multidisciplinary Methods, Analyses and Experiments: the GEMMAE project
D. Di Martino, E. Gagetti, G. Marcucci, M. P. Riccardi
ISBN 979-12-5544-031-4
14th International Conference on non-destructive investigations and microanalysis for the diagnostics and conservation of cultural and environmental heritage - 2023 - Brescia (Italy) (art 2023)
Published on December 2023
Abstract
In Roman times, jewelry and glyptic objects could be manufactured starting from a variety of materials. In addition to gemstones, glass was also used, especially as imitation material. To deepen the knowledge, conservation and valorization of museum collections of glass gems, we conceived the project GEMMAE: Glass-gems Exploration by Multidisciplinary Methods, Analyses and Experiments. Starting with an ongoing collaboration with the National Archaeological Museum in Aquileia, we designed a Particle Induced X-ray Emission/ Particle Induced Gamma-ray Emission (PIXE/PIGE) campaign, conducted for the first time on a significant set of samples (about one hundred), to determine their composition. Moreover, a campaign with the MOLAB (mobile laboratory, within the E-RIHS.it programme) has been carried out too, with the advantage of performing in situ spectroscopic investigations. Data analysis is still running, but first results testify the feasibility of a nondestructive approach for glass composition determination, and proves relevant to other glass-gems museum collections studies. We emphasize that such a protocol could be considered an example of best practice and easy applicability to similar collections, since the large number of samples allows for statistically significant results to support provenance and dating studies.
The GEMMAE project: A multidisciplinary study of Roman glass-gems
M. Musa, E. Gagetti, M. P. Riccardi, G. Marcucci, D. Di Martino
DOI: 10.1393/ncc/i2023-23158-x
SIF Congress 2022
Published online on 31st August 2023
Abstract
Aquileia, in northeastern Italy, is one of the most important ancient Roman archaeological sites worldwide. Its museum, among the other cultural heritage materials, holds one of the most important and rich collections of gemstones, counting more than 6000 gems, dated between the 2nd century BC and the 2nd century AD and mainly discovered both in the ancient city and in its cemeteries. In other words, the collection principally counts stones with a known archaeological origin. Unfortunately, this is not true for all the gems. Due to this peculiarity, the chance to study this amazing collection represents a scientific privilege. In the present paper, the characterization project focused on the Roman glass-gems study, and a case study of the expected results will be preliminarily reported.
