The Provenance of Sand in Mortars from Roman Villas in Ne Italy: a Chemical-Mineralogical Approach

The chemicalmineralogical composition of the sand fractions of mortars found in Roman villas dating from the 1 st century A.C. located in Northern Italy has been investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy plus energy dispersive spectroscopy microanalysis and x-ray diffractometry. The petrographic results on the mortar samples have been compared with mineralogical data available on recent fluvial sediments in rivers located near the archaeological sites investigated. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of this simple analytical approach as a useful tool in assisting in the determination of the provenance of the raw material used in Roman Age in the making of mortar for building construction purposes. Preliminary results indicate that a good correlation can be established between the mineralogical composition of the sand grains imbedded in the ancient mortars and the fluvial sand clasts present in rivers in areas nearby. This is particularly true when the river sands are characterized by distinct mineralogical markers.