August 26, 2014
Cortona: analysis of the lituus from the excavation of Sodo (tumulus II)
The analysis of the lituus of Cortona was performed in the Museum of the Etruscan Academy and of the City of Cortona. Also in this case the analysis was made by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, in a totally non-invasive modality and without any treatment of the surfaces, in order to characterize the compositions of the metal alloy. The object was observed with the aid of a video microscope operating at magnification 50x and 200x.
The analysis was performed by Giorgia Agresti and Claudia Pelosi with the assistance of Adria Coscia (the restorer who worked on the instrument), Peter Holmes (who is studying the object), Marina Micozzi (Etruscologist of the Tuscia University), Paolo Giulierini (Director of the Museum) and Emiliano Li Castro (Artistic Director of the EMAP).
Cortona: analysis of the lituus from the excavation of Sodo (tumulus II)
The analysis of the lituus of Cortona was performed in the Museum of the Etruscan Academy and of the City of Cortona. Also in this case the analysis was made by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, in a totally non-invasive modality and without any treatment of the surfaces, in order to characterize the compositions of the metal alloy. The object was observed with the aid of a video microscope operating at magnification 50x and 200x.
The analysis was performed by Giorgia Agresti and Claudia Pelosi with the assistance of Adria Coscia (the restorer who worked on the instrument), Peter Holmes (who is studying the object), Marina Micozzi (Etruscologist of the Tuscia University), Paolo Giulierini (Director of the Museum) and Emiliano Li Castro (Artistic Director of the EMAP).
Main results: the alloy was made of copper and tin (bronze) in the examined points. The tin content is about 6% apart from the bell that exhibits a much lower content of tin (1%).
Figure 1 – A phase of the preliminary work for the XRF analysis.
Figure 2 – The preparation of the bell section of the lituus from Cortona for the XRF analysis.
Figure 3 – Detail of the analysis on the fragment A, point 1, of the lituus from Cortona.
Photographs of the Laboratorio "Michele Cordaro" team in Cortona (Italy) - (Photographer: Claudia Pelosi)
