Publications by authors named "Piero Mirti"

Mural paintings which decorate the external façade and the internal apsidal wall of a chapel dedicated to St. Maxime and located at Challand St. Victor in the Aosta Valley (Italy) have been analysed with a combined approach involving high-resolution fibre-optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy.

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Twelve finds from archaeological excavations carried out in the Aosta region (Italy) were studied by scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray detection (SEM-EDS). The archaeological samples were shards of glazed pottery dating from the fourth to the seventh century AD. Analysis of ceramic bodies revealed a general homogeneity in composition among the studied samples and the use of a noncalcareous clay for their manufacture; however, two shards stand out due to their high iron contents.

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Samples from Greek figure vases were investigated by scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction, thermomechanical analysis and reflectance spectroscopy to achieve a technological characterisation. The vases, dating from the end of the sixth to the fourth century BC, had been excavated at Locri Epizephiri (Calabria, Italy) and attributed to Attic or local workshops, respectively. Information on the morphology of black slip areas and firing temperatures was compared with that previously obtained for Attic and local black gloss pottery from the same site; results show that the peculiar technique required for the production of black slips was mastered by both Attic and local potters and employed for monochrome and figured products.

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Glass fragments dating from the seventh and eighth century AD were excavated in the Crypta Balbi in Rome. They were studied to detect agents involved in colour development and opacification. Reflectance spectra recorded on powdered samples revealed the contribution of Fe(II), Fe(III), Mn(III), Cu(II), and Co(II) ions in determining colour hues.

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