Micrography and XRF Techniques to Investigate Protohistoric Gold Artifacts

The Case of Roca Vecchia (Lecce, Italy)

Bibliographic Data

ID7147437
AuthorsDaniele Dell'Aquila (0000-0001-5895-0664, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Fisiche, Matematiche e Naturali Università degli Studi di Sassari Sassari Italy, corresponding author), Claudio Giardino (0000-0002-9506-3287, Department of Cultural Heritage Salento University Lecce Italy), David Richard Loepp (0000-0002-4120-4937, Independent Researcher, Goldsmith), Giovanna Maggiulli (Department of Cultural Heritage Salento University Lecce Italy), Giovanni Paternoster (0000-0001-5163-7085, Dipartimento di Fisica “Ettore Pancini” Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II” Naples Italy), Tiziana Zappatore (Department of Cultural Heritage Salento University Lecce Italy)
Year2026
Volume68
Issue1
Pages51-63
Publication date2026-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchaeometry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-813X • E-ISSN: 1475-4754
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/arcm.70026
OpenAlexW4412928077
LanguageEN
References cited16

Protohistoric gold findings from the archaeological site of Roca Vecchia (Melendugno, Lecce, Italy) are analyzed involving micrography and stratified XRF analysis. This exploitation allows to get a deeper insight into ancient gold manufacturing and wear processes adopted in the Southern Italian FBA. The compositional data suggest that the objects were made of raw gold. From a detailed analysis of X‐ray line ratios, we are able to identify artifacts with a thin

Archaeology · Composite material · Geochemistry · Geography · Micrography · Mineralogy · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · Geology · Materials Science · Metallurgy and Cultural Artifacts

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