Archaeometric analysis of Roman bronze coins from the Magna Mater temple using solid-state voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

- A series of Roman coins and a Tessera found in Palatine's temple of Magna Mater is studied.
- Voltammetry of microparticles and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy are used.
- Grouping of coins as a function of age and site stratigraphy is derived from electrochemical data.
- The reuse of the coins due to the economic issues related to the fall of the Roman Empire is assessed.

Voltammetry of microparticles (VMP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques, complemented by SEM-EDX and Raman spectroscopy, were applied to a set of 15 Roman bronze coins and one Tessera from the temple of Magna Mater (Rome, Italy). The archaeological site, dated back between the second half and the end of the 4th century A.D., presented a complicated stratigraphic context. Characteristic voltammetric patterns for cuprite and tenorite for sub-microsamples of the corrosion layers of the coins deposited onto graphite electrodes in contact with 0.10 M HClO4 aqueous solution yielded a grouping of the coins into three main groups. This grouping was confirmed and refined using EIS experiments of the coins immersed in air-saturated mineral water using the reduction of dissolved oxygen as a redox probe. The electrochemical grouping of coins corroborated the complex stratigraphy of the archaeological site and, above all, the reuse of the coins during the later periods due to the economic issues related to the fall of the Roman Empire.

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