Characterization of Roman Amphora Sherds Using Terahertz Time-of-Flight Tomography

Min Zhai, Alexandre Locquet, Cesar Carreras Monfort, D. S. Citrin, Haolian Shi
Abstract:
Amphorae were pottery containers used for bulk-commodity transport in the Roman Empire. They provide direct evidence for the inter-regional and long-distance movement of agricultural products in the Roman Empire. In general, a whitish skin produced by the deposition of calcite and NaCl in the clay, is often present on the outer surface of Roman amphorae produced in regions with salt-bearing clay or when made with salt water. We employ terahertz reflective imaging with sparse deconvolution for the stratigraphic characterization of Roman amphora sherds excavated from Southern Italy, Southern Spain, and Northern Africa. A skin with a thickness between ~30 and 40 µm was found on the exterior of the sherds.
Download:
IMEKO-MetroArchaeo-2023-103.pdf
DOI:
10.21014/tc4-ARC-2023.103
Event details
IMEKO TC:
TC4
Event name:
TC4 MetroArchaeo 2023
Title:

IMEKO TC4 International Conference on Metrology for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage

Place:
Rome, ITALY
Time:
19 October 2023 - 21 October 2023