A bronze vessel, containing solid black material, was found in a grave dated to the late eighth century BC and located in the Middle Tyrrhenian region. Two residue samples of this black material were subject to molecular characterization in order to assess first its composition and then the function of this precious object. Two different technique analyses, namely gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, in negative-ion mode (ESI(-)FTICR MS), were employed in that way. If GC-MS analysis is commonly used for the characterization of archaeological samples by identifying biomarkers related to organic material, FTICR MS was used to achieve a fast global molecular description with up to thousands of assignments. In addition, this technique enabled to hypothesize about the different materials involved in the black material composition. As a result, lipids, beeswax, conifer resin, and pitch from birch bark were supposed, which was thereafter confirmed by GC-MS. Consequently, FTICR MS can be regarded as an efficient tool for the fast profiling of the organic archaeological compounds.
La natura di due campioni di sostanza organica originariamente presente sulla superficie interna di un vaso di bronzo, parte del ricco corredo del prestigioso corredo funerario con armi denominato Tomba Artiaco 104 dalla necropoli di Cumae (Naples), è stata determinata grazie a due accurate tecniche analitiche: la gascromatografia-spettrometria di massa, e la spettrometria di massa attraverso analizzatore a risonanza ionica ciclotronica a trasformata di Fourier con ionizzazione per mezzo di electrospray in modo negative-ion. L'articolo presenta e dissemina i risultati dell'indagine in discorso così come il loro contributo alla contestualizzazione storico-archeologica del manufatto e del contesto di provenienza.
Chemical composition overview on two organic residues from the inner part of an archaeological bronze vessel from Cumae (Italy) by GC-MS and FTICR MS analyses
Babbi A;
2021
Abstract
A bronze vessel, containing solid black material, was found in a grave dated to the late eighth century BC and located in the Middle Tyrrhenian region. Two residue samples of this black material were subject to molecular characterization in order to assess first its composition and then the function of this precious object. Two different technique analyses, namely gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, in negative-ion mode (ESI(-)FTICR MS), were employed in that way. If GC-MS analysis is commonly used for the characterization of archaeological samples by identifying biomarkers related to organic material, FTICR MS was used to achieve a fast global molecular description with up to thousands of assignments. In addition, this technique enabled to hypothesize about the different materials involved in the black material composition. As a result, lipids, beeswax, conifer resin, and pitch from birch bark were supposed, which was thereafter confirmed by GC-MS. Consequently, FTICR MS can be regarded as an efficient tool for the fast profiling of the organic archaeological compounds.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
