Discovering peoples, cultures, and technologies: development of a non-invasive approach on S’Arcu ‘e is Forros amphora (Sardinia)

Archaeological ceramics are among the most investigated and studied samples in the field of archaeometry. The reason for this is that they hold a huge amount of information by means of which it is possible to reconstruct the cultural and technological context of the artifact's production. On the other hand, however, studying ceramic artifacts very often requires an invasive and destructive approach, compromising the study of all those artifacts that are musealized and of high archaeological and artistic value. In order to overcome these limitations, this study aims to provide a multi-analytical and non-invasive protocol applied on an eastern-sourced amphora to allow the full characterization of the ceramic body. S'Arcu ‘e is Forros amphora is an artifact found in the territory of Villagrande Strisaili (NU) (Archaeological context dated back to XII-VII sec. a.C), at the foot of Gennargentu mountain, during the 2011 archaeological excavation campaigns. Some amphora’s fragment, unused for its restoration, were employed for preliminary conventional invasive analysis, such as Optical Microscopy on petrographic thin-section under the polarised light, X-Ray powder diffraction with Rietveld full-profile fit to the diffraction pattern (in order to provide quantitative phase analysis), textural and chemical investigations with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-EDS, EPMA-WDS) and benchtop XRF. Here we present some preliminary and comparative data obtained by non-invasive analytical techniques, such as XRD and pXRF analysis without any sample preparation, with the purpose to evaluate reliability and validity of the experimental data when compared with the results obtained applying invasive techniques on the same sample, and then to set-up the procedure for establishing a final non-invasive analytical protocol. The present work is part of a larger project aimed to consolidate the use of a multi-methodological approach to provide valuable information on production, trade and technology of ceramics in ancient societies, offering a valuable tool for archaeologist and conservation scientists to approach the Past minimizing the manufacts damages.