Mortar Characterization and Radiocarbon Dating as Support for the Restoration Work of the Abbey of <i>Santa Maria di Cerrate</i> (Lecce, South Italy)
Giovanna Vasco,
Antonio Serra,
Giovanni Buccolieri,
Daniela Manno,
Lucio Calcagnile,
Gianluca Quarta,
Alessandro Buccolieri
Affiliations
Giovanna Vasco
Center of Applied Physics, Dating and Diagnostics (CEDAD), Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Antonio Serra
Center of Applied Physics, Dating and Diagnostics (CEDAD), Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Giovanni Buccolieri
Center of Applied Physics, Dating and Diagnostics (CEDAD), Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Daniela Manno
Center of Applied Physics, Dating and Diagnostics (CEDAD), Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Lucio Calcagnile
Center of Applied Physics, Dating and Diagnostics (CEDAD), Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Gianluca Quarta
Center of Applied Physics, Dating and Diagnostics (CEDAD), Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Alessandro Buccolieri
Center of Applied Physics, Dating and Diagnostics (CEDAD), Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
During the restoration work promoted by the FAI foundation (Fondo Ambiente Italiano) of the abbey of Santa Maria di Cerrate (Lecce, Apulia, South Italy), multidisciplinary analyses have been realized to support conservators and art historians for the safeguard and valorization of the most important byzantine evidence (12th–13th century) in Apulia. In this paper, mortar samples have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to characterize the observed materials, directing conservators for the integration interventions with compatible realizations. Moreover, the samples were compared with specimens taken from local quarries and the nearest coastline area, and vegetal fibers, embedded into the mortars were analyzed by applying radiocarbon dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). It was thus possible to give a contribution to the historical-artistic research related to the building techniques, the ratio aggregates/binder and the employed materials of the mortars and the dating of the mural paintings between the end of the 12th century and the first half of the 13th century.
