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- Raman microspectroscopy (9)
- High-fired gypsum mortar (4)
- Raman spectroscopy (4)
- Thermal anhydrite (4)
- Raman microscopy (3)
- Analytical methods (2)
- Anhydrite (2)
- Cuprorivaite (2)
- Egyptian blue (2)
- Gypsum (2)
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The study, dedicated to Beautiful Pietàs conserved in South Tyrol (Northern Italy), aims to establish, for the first time, a connection between Austroalpine raw materials and the high-fired gypsum mortars constituting the Gothic figure groups in question. The origin and chronology of this stylistically and qualitatively differing ensemble have been subject of art historical debate for nearly a century. The discourse is dominated by three main hypotheses: itinerary of an Austrian artist versus itinerary of the work of art created in an artist’s workshop in Austria versus itinerary of the stylistic vocabulary via graphical or three-dimensional models. The comparison of the δ34S values and the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of the gypsum mortars and Austroalpine sulphate deposits (in a compilation of own reference samples and literature data) points to the exploitation of sediments in the Salzkammergut and possibly also in the evaporite district of the Eastern Calcareous Alps, thus evidencing the import of the sculptures and not the activities of local South Tyrolean or itinerant artists. Two geochronological units are distinguishable: The Pietà in the Church St. Martin in Göflan can be assigned to Upper Permian raw material, whereas the metrologically consistent sculptures in the Church of Our Lady of the Benedictine Abbey Marienberg and in the Chapel St. Ann in Mölten correlate with deposits of the Early Triassic (or the Lower-Middle Triassic transition). The medieval gypsum mortars also differ in their mineralogical characteristics, i.e. in their geologically related minor components, as in the first case, characterised by a significant proportion of primary anhydrite, natural carbonate impurities mainly consist of calcite (partly converted to lime-lump-like aggregates), whereas in the second group dolomite (or rather its hydration products after pyrometamorphic decomposition) predominates, accompanied by celestine, quartz and potassium feldspar. The Pietà in the Cathedral Maria Himmelfahrt in Bozen turned out to be made of Breitenbrunn calcareous sandstone (Leitha Mountains, Burgenland, Austria), which is why the sample is not considered in the geochemical analysis.
Naturwissenschaftliche Belege für die Verwendung von Ägyptisch Blau, dem klassischen Blaupigment der römischen Antike, an frühmittelalterlichen Wandmalereien in Mittel- und Südeuropa sind bisher nur vereinzelt greifbar. Das hier diskutierte monochrom blaue Fragment einer Freskomalerei auf Tünche gehört zum zweiten Kirchenbau von St. Peter ob Gratsch (Südtirol, Norditalien); zumindest der Putzmörtel ist gemäß Radiocarbondatierung im 5. oder 6. Jahrhundert n. Chr. zu verorten. Das flächendeckende Abrastern der Probenoberfläche mittels Ramanmikrospektroskopie vermochte neben dem farbgebenden Cuprorivait (und Pflanzenschwarz aus der Untermalung) 26 begleitende Mineralien bis in den Spurenbereich nachzuweisen. Diese erstaunliche Vielfalt ist nur durch mikrospektroskopische Bildgebung in hoher Ortsauflösung zugänglich, ein solch vertiefter Einblick in die Mineralogie der zugrundeliegenden Rohstoffe als auch Umwandlungsreaktionen während Herstellung, Applikation und Alterung des künstlichen Blaupigmentes also an die Weiterentwicklung der analytischen Verfahren gebunden. Insbesondere die natürlichen Verunreinigungen des Quarzsandes liefern Indizien auf die Produktionsstätte: die beiden Klinopyroxene Augit und Aegirin deuten beispielsweise auf magmatischen Aktivitäten ausgesetzte Ablagerungen (oder auf vulkanische Aktivität bereits im Liefergebiet). Zusammen mit Diopsid und Feldspaten, einschließlich des seltenen Celsian, sind sie der Literatur zufolge charakteristischer Bestandteil von vom Fluss Volturno in den Golf von Gaeta transportierten carbonathaltigen Sedimenten. Im Verein mit der archäologischen Evidenz für die Erzeugung von Ägyptisch Blau in Cumae und Liternum und den übereinstimmenden Ausführungen der beiden römischen Fachschriftsteller Vitruv und Plinius der Ältere spricht dies für ein Fabrikat aus dem Golf von Pozzuoli. Als Kupferquelle wurde angesichts des Nachweises von Chalkosin (und Chalkopyrit) vermutlich ein sulfidisches Kupfererz nach Rosten zu Kupferoxid eingesetzt, als schmelzpunktsenkendes Flussmittel wohl ein gemischt-alkalisches, das heißt eine Mischung von Natrium- und Kaliumsalzen in Form von Pflanzenasche. Zum Teil mit Cuprorivait verwachsene, nicht gänzlich umgesetzte Quarzkristalle bei nur geringsten Spuren von Silikatglas lassen auf eine überwiegende Festkörperreaktion (Festphasensintern) schließen; das Aufschmelzen der Rohstoffe zu Glas dürfte bei der Pigmentsynthese eher eine untergeordnete Rolle gespielt haben.
Only a few scientific evidences for the use of Egyptian blue in Early Medieval wall paintings in Central and Southern Europe have been reported so far. The monochrome blue fragment discussed here belongs to the second church building of St. Peter above Gratsch (South Tyrol, Northern Italy, fifth/ sixth century A.D.). Beyond cuprorivaite and carbon black (underpainting), 26 accessory minerals down to trace levels were detected by means of Raman microspectroscopy, providing unprecedented insights into the raw materials blend and conversion reactions during preparation, application, and ageing of the pigment. In conjunction with archaeological evidences for the manufacture of Egyptian blue in Cumae and Liternum and the concordant statements of the antique Roman writers Vitruvius and Pliny the Elder, natural impurities of the quartz sand speak for a pigment produced at the northern Phlegrean Fields (Campania, Southern Italy). Chalcocite (and chalcopyrite) suggest the use of a sulphidic copper ore, and water-insoluble salts a mixed-alkaline flux in the form of plant ash. Not fully reacted quartz crystals partly intergrown with cuprorivaite and only minimal traces of silicate glass portend solid-state reactions predominating the chemical reactions during synthesis, while the melting of the raw materials into glass most likely played a negligible role.
We previously described the observation of a characteristic narrowband red luminescence emission of burnt lime (CaO), whose reason was unknown so far. This study presents Raman spectra of Mg5 CO3)4(OH)2∙4H2O, Mg5(CO3)4(OH)2, MgCO3, CaMgCO3 and CaCO3 (in limestone powder) as well as luminescence spectra of their calcination products. Comparison of the latter revealed MgO:Cr3+ as the source of the red lime luminescence in all studied samples, containing magnesium oxide as major component, minor component or trace. Spectral characteristics and theoretical background of the luminescence emission of d-block elements integrated in crystal lattices are discussed with the aim of sharpening the awareness for this effect in the Raman community and promoting its application in materials analysis. The latter is demonstrated by the Raman microspectroscopic imaging of the distributions of both Raman-active and Raman-inactive phases in clinker remnants in a 19th-century meso Portland cement mortar sample, which contain relatively high amounts of free lime detected in the form of both luminescing CaO and Raman-scattering Ca(OH)2, owing to exposure of the surface of the thin section to humid air. A combination of light and Raman spectroscopy revealed a calcium–magnesium–iron sulphide phase, indicating sulphurous raw materials and/or solid fuels employed in the calcination process, which in contrast to previously described morphologies of sulphides in cement clinker form extensive greenish black layers on free lime crystals.
Microscope slide collections represent extremely valuable depositories of research material in a natural history, forensic, veterinary, and medical context. Unfortunately, most mounting media of these slides deteriorate over time, with the reason for this not yet understood at all. In this study, Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, and different types of light microscopy were used to investigate the ageing behaviour of naturally aged slides from museum collections and the experimentally aged media of Canada balsam and Permount™, representing a natural and a synthetic resin, respectively, with both being based on mixtures of various terpenes. Whereas Canada balsam clearly revealed chemical ageing processes, visible as increasing colouration, Permount™ showed physical deterioration recognisable by the increasing number of cracks, which even often impacted a mounted specimen. Noticeable changes to the chemical and physical properties of these mounting media take decades in the case of Canada balsam but just a few years in the case of Permount™. Our results question whether or not Canada balsam should really be regarded as a mounting medium that lasts for centuries, if its increasing degree of polymerisation can lead to a mount which is no longer restorable.
The discussed comparative analyses of Roman Imperial pigment balls and fragmentary murals unearthed in the ancient cities of Aventicum and Augusta Raurica (Switzerland) by means of Raman microspectroscopy pertain to a predecessor study on trace compounds in Early Medieval Egyptian blue (St. Peter, Gratsch, South Tyrol, Northern Italy). The plethora of newly detected associated minerals of the raw materials surviving the synthesis procedure validate the use of quartz sand matching the composition of sediments transported by the Volturno river into the Gulf of Gaeta (Campania, Southern Italy) with a roasted sulphidic copper ore and a mixed-alkaline plant ash as fluxing agent. Thus, the results corroborate a monopolised pigment production site located in the northern Phlegrean Fields persisting over the first centuries A.D., this in line with statements of the antique Roman writers Vitruvius and Pliny the Elder and recent archaeological evidences. Beyond that, Raman spectra reveal through gradual peak shifts and changes of band width locally divergent process conditions and compositional inhomogeneities provoking crystal lattice disorder in the chromophoric cuprorivaite as well as the formation of a copper-bearing green glass phase, the latter probably in dependency of the concentration of alkali flux, notwithstanding that otherwise solid-state reactions predominate the synthesis.
In the second half of the 19th century, Roman and Portland cements played an essential role as active hydraulic binder material in building construction and façade ornamentation. Size and heterogeneous phase assemblage of unhydrated cement clinker remnants in historical cement stone differ significantly from those of remnants occurring in modern Portland cement clinker burnt in rotary kilns due to limitations of the production technology available in the 19th century (e.g., comminution and homogeneity of the feedstock, burning temperature and regime in the intermittently operated shaft kilns, grinding machinery). In the common analytical approach, thin sections and fracture surfaces of historical Roman and Portland cement mortars are characterised regarding their mineralogical composition and microstructure using optical and electron microscopic imaging techniques. Raman microspectroscopy can be additionally employed for petrographic examination, overcoming some limitations of the methods used so far. The determination of the phase content of residual cement clinker grains in the hydrated matrix allows for the differentiation of Roman and Portland cement binders. As marker phases, we propose the calcium aluminates CA, C12A7, C2AS and C3A – besides the commonly used calcium silicates C2S and C3S – because of their different formation temperatures and stability fields. This study focuses on the identification of different calcium aluminate and aluminoferrite phases in clinker remnants in samples of cast ornaments of three buildings in Switzerland raised between 1875 and 1893; the obtained Raman spectra are compared with fingerprint spectra of the corresponding pure, synthesised clinker phases collected with the same instrument for an unambiguous data interpretation. In addition to these phases, mainly minerals showing no hydraulic activity, such as, wollastonite CS, rankinite C3S2, free lime, portlandite, iron oxides, garnets, augite, albite and feldspathoids have been identified in the sampled historical cement stones by Raman microspectroscopy. As there is a strong relationship between coexisting clinker phases and the chemical composition of the raw meal as well as the burning and cooling history during clinkering, the results can help in understanding the physical and mechanical characteristics of historical cement mortars. This knowledge is fundamental for the choice and the formulation of appropriate repair materials with tailored properties employed in the field of restoration and preservation of the architectural heritage of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Raman microspectroscopic imaging was just recently introduced into the analysis of cement stone. Here, we demonstrate this approach on 19th-century Roman and Portland cement mortars and extend it to gypsum-based samples originating from a medieval stucco sculpture (high-burnt gypsum) and a stucco ornament prefabricated at the beginning of the 20th century (plaster of Paris). Furthermore, the distributions of dolomite and Calcite were mapped in an accessory mineral grain with approx. 500 nm lateral Resolution demonstrating the ability for studying alteration processes such as dedolomitisation. As we would like to make this approach accessible to other researchers, we discuss its present status, advantages, limitations and pitfalls.
Als schweizweit einziger Hersteller produzierte die Gesellschaft der Ludwig von Roll'schen Eisenwerke seit den 1870er Jahren granulierte Hochofenschlacke. Im Blashochofen von Choindez im Schweizer Jura wird bis Mitte der 1920er Jahre Bohnerz aus dem Delsberger Becken, das kontemporär publizierten Analysen zufolge als Spuren- bzw. Schwermetalle Titan, Chrom, Blei und Vanadium enthält, zu grauem Roheisen verhüttet. In zementgebundenen Mörtelmischungen des 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhunderts aus verschiedenen Regionen der Schweiz finden sich neben reliktischen Hüttensandsplittern vereinzelt bis zu fünfhundert Mikrometer große scharze Kugeln mit grünlichem Schimmer, wohl nicht gemahlener Schlackensand. Deren mittels Ramanmikroskopie (Phasenbestand) und energiedispersiver Röntgenspektroskopie am Rasterelektronenmikroskop (Elementanalytik) ermittelte Mineralogie ergibt in Form von Plattnerit PbO2, Rutil TiO2 und vermitlich Chromit Fe(II)Cr2O4 bzw. Nichromit (Ni,Co,Fe(II))(Cr,Fe(III),Al)2)4 Übereinstimmungen mit den nur die Elementzusammensetzung berücksichtigenden historischen Resultaten. Ebenfalls im Zusammenhang mit dem das Bohnerz begleitenden Boluston samt Huppererde zu sehen sind die Minerale Coelestin SrSO4 und Zirkon ZrSiO4, des Weiteren der Siliciumcarbidpolymorph Moissanit SiC als Reaktionsprodukt von Quarzsand und Brennstoff. Die Kohärenz zwischen um die Jahrhundertwende durchgeführten Analysen von Rohmaterial als auch Ofenbruch aus dem in Choindez betriebenen Hochofen und den in diesem Beitrag diskutierten Resultaten moderner analytischer Methoden spricht für den Gebrauch von granulierter Schlacke aus dem Hause Ludwig von Roll als Mörtelzuschlag. Die Hüttensandkörner, eigentlich latent hydraulisch, sind aufgrund der fehlenden Aufbereitung zu grob für eine effektive Hydratation und deshalb trotz reaktiver Glasphase und Klinkermineralien (Belit Ca2SiO4 und Monocalciumaluminat CaAl2O4) intakt in der Bindemittelmatrix erhalten.
The use of high-fired gypsum as binder for masonry and joint mortars or stuccowork in Central Europe in the Early and High Middle Ages was a regional specific as it depended on local gypsum deposits. The calcination technology possible at the time resulted in an assemblage of calcium sulphate phases dehydrated to different degrees and partly thermally damaged accessory minerals of the raw gypsum. Not hydrated clusters of firing products preserved in the binder matrix are a typical feature of such mortars. A novel Raman microspectroscopic approach, providing access to the burning history of individual anhydrite grains, was applied to samples from medieval South Tyrolean stucco decorations and sculptures. Beyond that, Raman microspectroscopy was employed for tracing and visualising pyrometamorphic reactions in natural impurities of the kiln run. In the discussed examples mineral thermometry indicates process temperatures above 800°C: the breakdown of magnesium-rich chlorite led to the formation of forsterite Mg2SiO4, while the thermal decomposition of dolomite CaMg(CO3)2 to periclase MgO and lime CaO yielded – after hydration and carbonation – magnesite MgCO3, CaCO3 polymorphs and magnesian calcite. Hydration of periclase in the mixed gypsum paste containing sulphate ions also resulted in magnesium sulphate hydrates, here identified in the form of hexahydrite MgSO4·6H2O. Lower burning temperatures left the accessory minerals in their pristine form, but can be traced by measuring the spectra of individual anhydrite crystals in grains of firing products and evaluating Raman band widths. Throughout the present study, calcination temperatures ranging from approx. 600°C to 900°C were determined.