Daniel P Diffendale
Currently focusing on "Stoneworking traditions in the volcanic tuff masonry of Archaic Campania in their regional context," while continuing to direct the QUADRATA (Quarry provenience and Archaeological Dating of the Roman-Area Tuffs in Antiquity) project, combining geochemical, archaeological, and historical approaches to understand the Roman use of volcanic tuff between the 6th and 1st centuries BCE.
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distinguish visually among varieties of Tufo Lionato, or between Lapis Albanus and other “peperino” tuffs, nor does geochemistry alone always allow definitive identifications. A combination of geochemical and petrographical analyses is presented here, to provenance building stone from the Roman temples of Fortuna and Mater Matuta at Sant’Omobono in Rome. The combination of techniques allows for secure identification of Anio tuff and Lapis Albanus, and their use in structures of the fourth–third and fifth–third centuries B.C.E., respectively, one to two centuries
earlier than previously demonstrated. These findings show a diversification of tuffs used by the Roman construction industry earlier than henceforth acknowledged, and suggest the ability of archaeometric techniques to bring new perspectives even to such familiar archaeological contexts as the city of Rome.
(Only an extract has been uploaded; contact me if you don't have other access)
further chemical analysis of tuff types used in the construction of the sanctuary structures and advances in understanding the Republican architectural terracottas.
After a pilot season in 2017, a full-scale excavation was launched in 2018 thanks to generous funding provided by the AIA Cotsen Excavation Grant. Our research design called for the reopening of old trenches previously excavated in the temple court (Trenches IIS and IIN), which had already revealed a sample of the complete sequence of occupation of the open area east of the podium, including direct stratigraphic relationship between its various floors and the foundations of the east colonnade of the sanctuary, and for which part of the original archival data was also available. We resurveyed standing features and exposed stratigraphic sections employing both traditional total station and rich data capture in the form of photogrammetric (image based) modeling, while reanalyzing the existing descriptive record of each unit. Furthermore, we continued the investigations below the levels reached by the previous excavators. The relevant ceramic materials and coins were retrieved from the Soprintendenza storage in order to be restudied, thus complementing the old data with the new finds. In addition, new trenches (Trenches A and B), were opened under the east portico to better define the layout
and clarify the function of architectural features that had been exposed below the monumental phase. The construction sequence of the podium and ancillary structures was also documented, laying the groundwork for future conservation work.
The initial results contribute significantly to the broader debate about the urban development of the so-called Altstadt of Pompeii and the Samnite-to-Roman transition at the site. Most notably, we identified a N–S street running across the entire extent of the east court. The street, which most likely branched off from Via Marina, was certainly in use through the second century B.C.E., separating two distinct city blocks occupied by structures. This layout was completely obliterated in order to make room for the triporticus and temple, for which we confirm the post-80 B.C.E. date, thus demonstrating the impact of the Roman conquest on the religious landscape of Pompeii.
Photogrammetric documentation in a single context recording system such as that used at Sant’Omobono has the further advantage of allowing the reconstruction of detailed vertical sections, not only along the limits of the excavated area, but also along any axis within it. Photomodeling also has a potential analytical value in allowing more accurate calculation of sediment-volume estimates than is possible using traditional techniques. The use of photomodeling at Sant’Omobono provides a model for dealing with the specific topographic challenges of urban excavations and for richer data collection in all excavation contexts.
distinguish visually among varieties of Tufo Lionato, or between Lapis Albanus and other “peperino” tuffs, nor does geochemistry alone always allow definitive identifications. A combination of geochemical and petrographical analyses is presented here, to provenance building stone from the Roman temples of Fortuna and Mater Matuta at Sant’Omobono in Rome. The combination of techniques allows for secure identification of Anio tuff and Lapis Albanus, and their use in structures of the fourth–third and fifth–third centuries B.C.E., respectively, one to two centuries
earlier than previously demonstrated. These findings show a diversification of tuffs used by the Roman construction industry earlier than henceforth acknowledged, and suggest the ability of archaeometric techniques to bring new perspectives even to such familiar archaeological contexts as the city of Rome.
(Only an extract has been uploaded; contact me if you don't have other access)
further chemical analysis of tuff types used in the construction of the sanctuary structures and advances in understanding the Republican architectural terracottas.
After a pilot season in 2017, a full-scale excavation was launched in 2018 thanks to generous funding provided by the AIA Cotsen Excavation Grant. Our research design called for the reopening of old trenches previously excavated in the temple court (Trenches IIS and IIN), which had already revealed a sample of the complete sequence of occupation of the open area east of the podium, including direct stratigraphic relationship between its various floors and the foundations of the east colonnade of the sanctuary, and for which part of the original archival data was also available. We resurveyed standing features and exposed stratigraphic sections employing both traditional total station and rich data capture in the form of photogrammetric (image based) modeling, while reanalyzing the existing descriptive record of each unit. Furthermore, we continued the investigations below the levels reached by the previous excavators. The relevant ceramic materials and coins were retrieved from the Soprintendenza storage in order to be restudied, thus complementing the old data with the new finds. In addition, new trenches (Trenches A and B), were opened under the east portico to better define the layout
and clarify the function of architectural features that had been exposed below the monumental phase. The construction sequence of the podium and ancillary structures was also documented, laying the groundwork for future conservation work.
The initial results contribute significantly to the broader debate about the urban development of the so-called Altstadt of Pompeii and the Samnite-to-Roman transition at the site. Most notably, we identified a N–S street running across the entire extent of the east court. The street, which most likely branched off from Via Marina, was certainly in use through the second century B.C.E., separating two distinct city blocks occupied by structures. This layout was completely obliterated in order to make room for the triporticus and temple, for which we confirm the post-80 B.C.E. date, thus demonstrating the impact of the Roman conquest on the religious landscape of Pompeii.
Photogrammetric documentation in a single context recording system such as that used at Sant’Omobono has the further advantage of allowing the reconstruction of detailed vertical sections, not only along the limits of the excavated area, but also along any axis within it. Photomodeling also has a potential analytical value in allowing more accurate calculation of sediment-volume estimates than is possible using traditional techniques. The use of photomodeling at Sant’Omobono provides a model for dealing with the specific topographic challenges of urban excavations and for richer data collection in all excavation contexts.