In Situ Investigation of the Medieval Copper Alloy Door in Troia (Southern Italy)
Giovanni Buccolieri,
Antonio Serra,
Giorgio Giuseppe Carbone,
Vito Nicola Iacobellis,
Alfredo Castellano,
Lucio Calcagnile,
Alessandro Buccolieri
Affiliations
Giovanni Buccolieri
CEDAD (CEnter of Applied Physics, DAting and Diagnostics)—Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Antonio Serra
CEDAD (CEnter of Applied Physics, DAting and Diagnostics)—Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Giorgio Giuseppe Carbone
CEDAD (CEnter of Applied Physics, DAting and Diagnostics)—Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Vito Nicola Iacobellis
Polo Museale della Puglia, via Pier l’Eremita 25/b, 70122 Bari, Italy
Alfredo Castellano
CEDAD (CEnter of Applied Physics, DAting and Diagnostics)—Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Lucio Calcagnile
CEDAD (CEnter of Applied Physics, DAting and Diagnostics)—Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Alessandro Buccolieri
CEDAD (CEnter of Applied Physics, DAting and Diagnostics)—Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
This work describes experimental results concerning the chemical composition of the alloy patina and inlays from the medieval copper alloy door of the cathedral of Troia (southern Italy), dating back to 1127 CE. The analyses were conducted in situ with no sampling or sample preparation required, using a portable energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) instrument. The compositional results show that the two door leaves were made using a binary alloy of copper and lead, while the nails, lion protomes, and handles have a different chemical composition. Moreover, the analyses revealed uniform concentrations of chlorine, probably due to cleaning treatments during the restoration. It is important to emphasise that the obtained results are the only ones related to this valuable masterpiece analysed.
