Tessera 6. El Altillo mosaic (Rus, Jaén, Spain)

Yellow tessera belonging to the mosaic of the villa of El Altillo (Rus, Jaén, Spain). Raman analysis has identified the presence of calcite (CaCO3), quartz (SiO2), goethite (α-FeOOH), and a type of mica known as green earth. The elemental composition shows a significant and variable concentration of the major elements associated with the identified minerals: CaO (between 58.37 wt%), SiO2 (38.99 wt%), and Fe2O3 (1.39 wt%). These data, along with the petrographic study, indicate that the tessera was made from a calcarenite rock containing planktonic foraminifera, in which both goethite and green earth (celadonite according to the petrographic analysis) would be responsible for the yellowish hue of the tessera.
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Dimensions

: 1 Centimeters

: 1.3 Centimeters

: 1.2 Centimeters

Materials

Stone

Temporal

: Roman

: 4th century 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 6
    Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)
    Arquiberlab
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
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  • Mosaic detail
    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 6. 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 6. Raman analysis (calcite and goethite) 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 6. Raman analysis (green earth) 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/
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  • Tesela 6. Thin section IUIAI-UJA
    Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (BY-NC-ND)
    Arquiberlab
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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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