Innovative method for provenance studies in cultural heritage: A new algorithm based on observables from high-resolution Raman spectra of red ochre.

Red ochre, typically derived from iron oxides and hematite, has been used since Pleistocene times for a range of different applications, practical as well as symbolic, including cave paintings and use in prehistoric burials. The importance to discover new methods for provenance determination, based on non-destructive portable techniques, represents a new challenge in the field of diagnostics of cultural heritage. This study presents the data obtained from the analysis of several non-flaked tools and ochre-stained bones, showing evidence of ochre processing at the Mesolithic site of S'omu e S'Orku in Sardinia (Italy).

Stratigraphy of Fresco Paintings: A New Approach with Photoacoustic and SORS Imaging.

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging is a novel, powerful diagnostic technique utilized in different research fields. In particular, during recent years it has found several applications in Cultural Heritage (CH) diagnostics. PA imaging can be realized in transmittance or epi-illumination (reflectance) modes, obtaining variable levels of contrast and spatial resolution.

Application of Raman Spectroscopy to Ancient Materials: Models and Results from Archaeometric Analyses.

Numerous experimental techniques of analysis find applications in many branches of the archaeometry. Among them, Raman spectroscopy carved out a niche in the field of diagnostic and conservation of cultural heritage. The exceptional ability to predict and discover the structural properties of materials set for Raman spectroscopy, an exclusive role among the analytic techniques, is further boosted when it is coupled with mathematical or statistical models able to deepen the studied phenomena.