Tomographic Studies of the Terracotta Head from Kerch Bay
- PDF / 2,474,323 Bytes
- 7 Pages / 612 x 792 pts (letter) Page_size
- 37 Downloads / 159 Views
TALLOGRAPHIC METHODS IN HUMANITARIAN SCIENCES
Tomographic Studies of the Terracotta Head from Kerch Bay M. V. Kovalchuka,c, E. B. Yatsishinaa, N. A. Makarovb, E. A. Greshnikova,*, A. A. Antsiferovaa,c, O. L. Gunchinad, P. K. Kashkarova,c,e, E. S. Kovalenkoa, M. M. Murasheva, S. V. Olkhovskiib, K. M. Poduretsa, and V. B. Timerkaeva a National
Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute,” Moscow, 123182 Russia Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 117292 Russia c Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudnyi, Moscow oblast, 141700 Russia d Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve Phanagoria, Sennoy village, Krasnodar krai, Russia e Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991 Russia *e-mail: [email protected] b
Received December 17, 2019; revised March 12, 2020; accepted March 14, 2020
Abstract—An ancient terracotta sculpture (bearded male head), found in underwater excavations in the Kerch Bay (performed by experts of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences before the construction of Crimean bridge pillars), has been studied at the National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute” using neutron and X-ray tomography. Based on the analysis of revealed technological seams, it is established that the object was made primarily by sculpturing, with successive addition of profiled details (hairstyle, nose, eyelids, eye, ears, nasolabial fold, beard) to the clay base. The terracotta was likely attached by its lower part to the lost support or base by a lead tie. All studies were carried out by nondestructive methods allowing for monitoring hidden cavities, which may further pose a threat to the preservation of valuable cultural heritage object. DOI: 10.1134/S1063774520050120
INTRODUCTION In 2017, underwater archaeological excavations carried out in the Kerch Bay by experts of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (before the construction of Crimean bridge pillars) revealed a large terracotta fragment in the form of a bearded male head [1]. The terracotta was 24.68 × 13.70 × 26.48 cm3 in size. The preliminary visual study of the clay in correspondence with the existing archaeological classification [2] suggests that the terracotta could be manufactured near Sinope. It was not possible to establish its functional purpose (fragment of statue, column roofing, ship decoration, etc.) because of the absence of analogues in any museum collections. Under these circumstances, attempts with complex application of modern analytical techniques and instruments were made to obtain some data necessary for identification. First studies showed that the terracotta was tarred and colored with an iron‒manganese pigment in the region of hair, beard, and moustache and coated with ochre in the region of lips [3]. The purpose of this work was to investigate the terracotta fabrication technology using neutron and X-ray tomography. X-ray computed tomography (CT) is widely applied in medicine as a diagnostic tool. There are examples of using medical tomographs t
Data Loading...
