Tessera 3. El Altillo Mosaic (Rus, Jaén, Spain)

Red tessera from the El Altillo mosaic (Rus, Spain). It is part of a mosaic discovered during the excavation of a Roman villa (dated between Ist-4th AD). A thorough inspection, including the acquisition of multiple Raman spectra, allowed for the identification of four primary minerals: calcite (CaCO3), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2), hematite (Fe2O3), and quartz (SiO2). Furthermore, there is a correlation between the Raman results and the petrographic study, which defines the rock used to manufacture these tesserae as a sandstone rich in quartz, calcite, and feldspar, with a matrix tinted red due to the presence of iron oxides. The elemental composition indicates high proportions of CaO (75.47 wt %), MgO (16.47 wt %) and SiO2 (4.59 wt %)
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Dimensions

: 1 Centimeters

: 1 Centimeters

: 1 Centimeters

Materials

Stone

Temporal

: Roman

: 4th AD

Otros metadatos

Spatial

  • : El Altillo
  • : Rus, Jaén, Spain
  • : WGS84
 

Copyrights

Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)

References

Serrano, J. L.; Civantos, J. L.;Valcárcel, M.; Palomares, F.; Sánchez, E. (2023): La villa romana El Altillo (Rus, Jaén). Rómula 22, 67-97.

Sánchez, A., Montejo, M., Tuñón, J. et al.(2025): “Raman Analysis of Roman Mosaics From the Upper Guadalquivir Valley (Spain),” Journal of Raman Spectroscopy 56: 1279–1289

Digital Resources

  • Tessera 3
    Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)
    Arquiberlab
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
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  • Details of the mosaic
    Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)
    Arquiberlab
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
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  • Proposed distribution of areas and spaces
    Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)
    Arquiberlab
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
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  • Tessera 3. Raman analysis (calcite and quartz) IUIAI-UJA
    Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)
    Arquiberlab
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
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  • Tessera 3. Raman analysis (dolomite) IUIAI-UJA
    Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)
    Arquiberlab
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
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  • Tessera 3. Raman analysis (hematite and calcite) IUIAI-UJA
    Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)
    Arquiberlab
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
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  • IUIAI-UJA
    Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)
    Arquiberlab
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
    [ver más...] [ver menos]
  • Tessera 3. Thin section IUIAI-UJA
    Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)
    Arquiberlab
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
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Activities

  • Archaeometric analysis

University Research Center for Iberian Archaeology

Raman Microscopy

Mineralogical analysis

The tessera was sectioned to expose fresh, unaltered cross-section

Renishaw ‘in via’ Qontor Spectrometer coupled with a confocal Leica DM LM microscope (CICT, University of Jaén), equipped with a diode laser (785 nm, 300 mW), DPSS laser (532 nm, 50 mW) and a Peltier-cooled CCD detector, calibrated to the 520.5 cm-1 line of silicon.

X-Ray Fluorescence

Elemental analysis

The tessera was sectioned to expose fresh, unaltered cross-section

An energy dispersive X-ray microfluorescence spectrometer (M4 Tornado, Bruker) (CICT, University of Jaen). This spectrometer is equipped with a microfocus X-ray tube with an Rh anode, a polycapillary lens for X-ray focussing, and a 30-mm2 energy dispersive detector (SDD). The sample chamber incorporates an XYZ motorized stage for sample positioning. A high resolution microscope is used to position the sample on the desired distance from the polycapillary. To increase the sensitivity of the low Z elements, the sample chamber can be brought under vacuum. For the analysis of the samples, a spot size of 25 μm was chosen at an operating X-ray tube voltage of 50 kV and intensity of 600 μA. The tube current was adapted for each sample in order to optimise the detection of X-rays.

Petrographic analysis

Visual characterization (5X handheld magnifying glass) and reaction with HCl to determine its carbonate nature. Preparation of a thin section.

Leica DM4P polarization microscope equipped with a Leica DFC450C camera.
 

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