Absolute dating techniques can offer important information about the chronological framework of archaeological findings mainly in the case of rescue excavations where the time and the resources for extended archaeological investigations are not available. In this study we present the dating results of three ancient kilns excavated near Canosa di Puglia, discovered during the construction of a new road. Archaeomagnetic investigation was carried out on 24 oriented in situ samples that allowed the determination of the direction of the Earth s magnetic field at the time of the kilns last firing. The obtained results show stable remanent magnetization and well-defined mean archaeomagnetic directions. Comparison of the results with the geomagnetic reference Secular Variation curves available for Italy show that the two kilns were abandoned contemporaneously and no later than the first half of the VI century AD while the third kiln could have still been in use till the VII century AD. Such results are in good agreement with the available archaeological evidence and show that most probably there was an important workshop in the area used for at least a couple of centuries.

Rigid Gellan gel, composed of Gellan gum and calcium acetate, is known to be biocompatible and capable of absorbing water-soluble compounds present on fragile artwork. Moreover, when implemented on screen printed electrodes, it can result in a device providing both absorption and in situ, very fast electroanalytical detection of electroactive species of interest for cultural heritage researchers. In this application its properties and performances could be also modulated by doping with ionic liquids (ILs), an attractive family of all-ionic media, consisting of molecular salts with low melting points. In this preliminary investigation, a series of absorbing conductive materials based on Gellan hydrogel, as such and doped with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium methanesulfonate in various amounts, are paired with screen printed sensors and tested as tools for the voltammetric (cyclic voltammetry CV and/or differential pulse voltammetry DPV) detection of a red-orange dye, Lawsone, which is found in the leaves of the henna plant (Lawsonia Inermis) and has been used since the time of Ancient Egypt to dye wool and silk.

The study focuses on an angel marble sculpture, placed on the central portal of the Gesu Nuovo church in Naples. The non-destructive and non-invasive optical techniques used were Active Thermography (AT) and 3D scanning. The measurements were carried out before and after the restoration of the marble sculpture, consisting in the consolidation of some disintegrated areas and in the removal of both black crusts and biodeteriogens, present in various areas of the sculpture.
AT images provide a map of the structural homogeneity of the investigated areas, measuring the thermal response, which result altered where the degradation products are located (crusts and/or biological patinas). 3D scanning, on the other hand, allows obtaining a 3D model of the entire sculpture and measuring any structural variations due to the restoration on a millimeter scale.

This ongoing project (until September 2023) focuses on the study of two anthropoid coffin-lids donated to the Israel Museum in the early 1980s.
The first one, the coffin-lid of Djedmut, Chantress of Amun-Re (Inv. IMJ 82.2.341), dating from the late 21st Dynasty to the early part of the 22nd Dynasty.
The second one, the coffin-lid of Ptahhotep (Inv. IMJ 82.2.342), can be dated no earlier than the Late Period or even as late as the early Hellenistic Period.
In the present research, RTI is combined with multispectral imaging, valuable for the study of the pigments, to improve a detailed analysis and visualization of the artifacts surface and highlight otherwise difficult-to-perceive features.
This analysis enhances faded decorations, reveals under-drawings, and aids in the identification of pigments, binders, reuses and other minute details of the production process, thus contributing to the identification of specific workshop profiles.

Over the last 10 years, an international multidisciplinary research group formed by the Department of Architecture of the University of Bologna, the Instituto Universitario de Restauración del Patrimonio (IRP) of the UPV and the direction of Villa Adriana and Villa d Este Institute, has carried out a series of surveys and analyses on well-known buildings at the Hadrian s Villa. The paper summarises the results of these studies, that besides documentation, are focused on the interpretation of ancient texts related to the world of design. These researches have led to the development of a method for the study and dissemination of ancient design combining a technological component (acquisition with laser scanning and photogrammetric devices), a philological one (integration of theoretical and technical ancient literature), and finally the elaboration of 2D/3D synthesis models capable of expressing and summarising the design steps in a scientifically-oriented paper (from point clouds to 3D digital polygonal models).