An Archaeometric Investigation of Roman Mortar at the Sanctuary of Venus, Pompeii, Italy
Author(s): Caitlyn Pallas
Year: 2025
Summary
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
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This paper presents the preliminary results of an archaeometric investigation of Roman concrete architecture in the Sanctuary of Venus at Pompeii. Recent fieldwork carried out by the Venus Pompeiana Project (VPP) at the site has clarified the chronology of the main temple and ancillary structures, revealing a complex sequence of occupation spanning from the 2<sup>nd</sup> century B.C.E. (the so-called Samnite period) to the final destruction in 79 C.E. A total of 71 samples were collected from features associated with three different building phases to be analyzed for geochemical and physical characterization. The aim is to elucidate the development of concrete construction methods in Pompeian architecture. A range of analytical techniques has been employed to determine the composition, texture, and mineralogy of the mortars, including neutron activation analysis (NAA), Raman spectroscopy, FTIR Spectroscopy, and X-Ray Diffraction. The resulting data allow us to elucidate how technological choices evolved over time and the extent to which recipes and fabrication methods correlate with structural function.
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Cite this Record
An Archaeometric Investigation of Roman Mortar at the Sanctuary of Venus, Pompeii, Italy. Caitlyn Pallas. Presented at The 90th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. 2025 ( tDAR id: 511043)
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Record Identifiers
Abstract Id(s): 53362