ORIGINAL PAPER A hypothesis on different technological solutions for outdoor and indoor Roman wall paintings Leila Birolo 1,2 & Antonella Tomeo 3 & Marco Trifuoggi 1,2 & Finizia Auriemma 1,2 & Luigi Paduano 1,2 & Angela Amoresano 1 & Roberto Vinciguerra 1,2 & Claudio De Rosa 1,2 & Luciano Ferrara 1 & Antonella Giarra 1 & Alessandra Luchini 1 & Carla De Maio 1 & Giovanna Greco 4 & Alessandro Vergara 1,2 Received: 28 May 2016 /Accepted: 3 October 2016 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016 Abstract The determination of the chemical composition of different parts of wall paintings (pigments, mortars and binders) provides information about technology of prepara- tion of an artefact. Herein, we present a multi- methodological characterisation of wall paintings from a Roman archaeological site in Cuma, focusing on differences between an indoor (domus) and outdoor fabrication (a temple, Tempio con Portico (TCP)). Both pigments, binders and mor- tars were studied via a combination of destructive/ μ- destructive (mass spectrometry, ionic chromatography, ICP- based techniques) and non-destructive (Raman microscopy, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and X-ray diffraction) methodologies. Particularly, the systematic presence of dolo- mite only in mortars from TCP may suggest an intentional use of such limestone for the outdoor fabrication of public interest. Differences between TCP and domus are also related to the composition of the pigment binder. In particular, the detected binders (studied by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS) were proteina- ceous in the case of domus (possibly egg and animal glue) and drying oils in the case of TCP. Ultimately, our multi- methodological study provides an overall picture of the mate- rial components of paintings from fabrications with different use, proposing a hypothesis on technological choices accord- ing to conservative and destination reasons. Keywords Mortar . Pigment binder . Raman spectroscopy . Proteomics Introduction Archaeometry sheds light on the history of the men through investigation of a wide range of archaeological remains performing the analysis of the materials used to build them and the interpretation of their usage in the framework of socio- economic relationships and human needs at the relevant time period. The archaeological and artistic materials are often di- verse and therefore require a physico-chemical multi-method- ological diagnostic approach to make possible a full investi- gation of all its components. Moreover, a multi-disciplinary approach is required to place the information gained in terms of material composition in their historical, cultural, geograph- ical, economic and social contexts. The integration between the humanistic and scientific studies of the subject allows a proper analysis so that data obtained are evaluated in the best way. From the collected data, a lot of information about the object of study can be extracted, about both its chemical and physical components and relating to the context of discovery. This information can then be used to improve the conservation strategy and planning for the restoration. Particularly, the chemical analysis, referring to the composition of the mate- rials analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively, gives in- formation on the origin of the objects; the preparation tech- niques used in ancient times; and the presence of any foreign material, composition of the findings related to restoration. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12520-016-0408-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Alessandro Vergara avergara@unina.it 1 Department Chemical Sciences, University of Napoli BFederico II^, Naples, Italy 2 DATABENC scarl, Naples, Italy 3 Sovrintendenza Archeologia belle arti e paesaggio per le province di Caserta e Benevento, Caserta, Italy 4 Department Humanistic Studies, University of Napoli BFederico II^, Naples, Italy Archaeol Anthropol Sci DOI 10.1007/s12520-016-0408-y