Hertzog J., Fujii H., Babbi A., Lattuati-Derieux A., Schmitt-Kopplin Phil.
Archaeology Archaeometry Funerary Archaeology Etruscan Archaeology Iron Age Etruscology Greek Colonization Etruscan studies Archaeology of death Archaeology of burial Italian Protohistory Pre-Roman Archaeology Etruscologia Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Transcultural Studies
A bronze vessel, containing solid black material, was found in a grave dated to the late eighth century BC and located in the Middle Tyrrhenian region. Two residue samples of this black material were subject to molecular characterization in order to assess first its composition and then the function of this precious object. Two different technique analyses, namely gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, in negative-ion mode (ESI(-)FTICR MS), were employed in that way. If GC-MS analysis is commonly used for the characterization of archaeological samples by identifying biomarkers related to organic material, FTICR MS was used to achieve a fast global molecular description with up to thousands of assignments. In addition, this technique enabled to hypothesize about the different materials involved in the black material composition. As a result, lipids, beeswax, conifer resin, and pitch from birch bark were supposed, which was thereafter confirmed by GC-MS. Consequently, FTICR MS can be regarded as an efficient tool for the fast profiling of the organic archaeological compounds.
Source: The European physical journal plus 136 (2021). doi:10.1140/epjp/s13360-021-01627-1
Publisher: Springer, Heidelberg ;, Germania
@article{oai:it.cnr:prodotti:454775, title = {Chemical composition overview on two organic residues from the inner part of an archaeological bronze vessel from Cumae (Italy) by GC-MS and FTICR MS analyses}, author = {Hertzog J. and Fujii H. and Babbi A. and Lattuati-Derieux A. and Schmitt-Kopplin Phil.}, publisher = {Springer, Heidelberg ;, Germania}, doi = {10.1140/epjp/s13360-021-01627-1}, journal = {The European physical journal plus}, volume = {136}, year = {2021} }