Multi-technique study of a ceramic archaeological artifact and its content

In this paper we report the results of a study performed with different physical and chemical methods on a ceramic vase originally attributed to the I century CE. The joint use of infrared spectroscopic analysis and laser techniques, as well as pyrolysis-gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and thermoluminescence, allowed us to characterize the vase material and its content. The chemical data were combined with morphological and stylistic examinations of the object and helped in defining its actual geographical and chronological pertinence.

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► We studied an ancient ceramic vase using several chemical and physical techniques.
► FTIR and LIBS allowed to determine the vase material composition.
► Thermoluminescence and typological and stylistic analysis, allowed dating the vase.
► FTIR and Py-GC/MS allowed to formulate hypotheses on the vase original content.