Non-destructive microstructural characterization of a bronze boat model from Vetulonia
- PDF / 664,546 Bytes
- 6 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 77 Downloads / 150 Views
ORIGINAL PAPER
Non-destructive microstructural characterization of a bronze boat model from Vetulonia Antonio Brunetti 1 & Francesco Grazzi 2 & Antonella Scherillo 3 & Marco E. Minoja 4 & Gianfranca Salis 4 & Sergio Orrù 4 & Anna Depalmas 5 Received: 8 January 2018 / Accepted: 2 October 2018 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract In this paper, we present the results of the archaeometric analysis performed on a nuragic bronze statuette, representing a boat model decorated with zoomorphic figurines, made in Sardinia during the early Iron Age. The bronze boat model was found in the Etruscan tomb of the Duce located in Vetulonia (Italy) and dated no later than the second half of the seventh century BC. The Vetulonia boat model represents an extraordinary example of this type of objects, exhibiting a high level of complexity from the manufacturing point of view and an unusual choice of the subjects represented by the figurines. The study was performed by means of Time of Flight Neutron Diffraction, a non-destructive method able to give us quantitative information on phase composition and microstructure. Keywords Bronze Age sculpture . Non-destructuve analysis . Neutron diffraction . Bronze casting
Introduction The nuragic bronze boat models are a class of artifacts made by Sardinian craftsmen during the early Iron Age (X–VII century BC) and represent a repertoire of particular importance within the rich nuragic metallurgical production. They constitute a meaningful indicator of the appearance of the protohistorical boats of the time, recalling structural parts, and details of them. Although it is arduous, on the base of the models, to make a classification of the types of boats existing at the time, there
* Francesco Grazzi [email protected] 1
Dipartimento di Chimica e Farmacia, Università di Sassari, Sassari, Italy
2
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Fisica Applicata, Nello Carrara, Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
3
Science and Technology Facility Council, ISIS Neutron Source, Didcot, UK
4
Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici per le province di Cagliari e Oristano, Cagliari, Italy
5
Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche e Sociali, Università di Sassari, Sassari, Italy
are indications that suggest the manufacturing of at least two different types of boats, with peculiar attributes (Depalmas, 2005). The miniature models are usually constituted by two main parts, the bow, characterized by the presence of an animal protome, and the hull of biconvex shape. The Vetulonia boat bronze model, shown in Fig. 1, is an artifact of high artistic value, exhibiting a high level of complexity from the manufacturing point of view and an unusual choice of the subjects represented by the figurines. They are not a simple display of animals, but they compose complex scenes: farming (oxen yoked and domestic animals), hunting (wild animals attacked by dogs), and game (wild boar, mustelids) (Camporeale, 1967). The hunting is also emphasized in the protome, where it is represented a do
Data Loading...
