Microtomographic studies as a tool in the identification of a new ceramic class: The metal-imitating pottery as grave goods among Brettians and Lucanians ☆ R.G. Agostino a , S. Donato a,b, ⁎, T. Caruso a , E. Colavita a , F. Zanini b , A. D'Alessio c , D. Pisarra d , A. Taliano Grasso e a Dipartimento di Fisica, Università della Calabria, P.te Bucci 31C, I-87036 Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy b Elettra — Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., Strada Statale 14-km 163,5 in AREA Science Park, I-34149 Basovizza, Trieste, TS, Italy c Soprintendenza Speciale per il Colosseo, il Museo Nazionale Romano e l'Area archeologica di Roma, Piazza dei Cinquecento, 67, I-00185 Roma, Italy d École Doctorale SHS, Université François Rabelais de Tours, 60 Rue du Plat d'Étain, F-37000 Tours, France e Laboratorio di Topografia antica e antichità calabresi (LabTaac), Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università della Calabria, P.te Bucci 17B, I-87036 Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy abstract article info Article history: Received 13 August 2015 Received in revised form 2 December 2015 Accepted 2 December 2015 Available online 12 December 2015 Metal-imitating pottery was recently revealed in the burial grave goods in several necropoleis of the Lucanian and Brettian populations living in the northern territory of the current Calabria during the fourth century B.C. This discovery was supported by the evidence of a widespread use of this kind of artefacts in the graves of the middle and upper classes while there is no proof of similar objects related to daily use in the same context. We focused on the recognition of the structural features of the metal covering in order to shine light on the pro- duction technique and let emerge eventual meaningful differences in between different cities of the Brettia and southern Lucania, and among them and the similar finds in other areas of the central Mediterranean area. The synchrotron-based microtomography allowed us to reveal the details of the metal layer as well as those of the interfacial region. The high-resolution results obtained by an accurate use of the data treatment algorithms clearly indicate that the silver-imitating pottery was obtained by covering the surface of the objects with a tin alloy layer whose thickness, internal structure and ceramic/metal interface varied slightly for all the sampled artefacts. On the basis of the outcomes, the main characteristics of the production technique are recovered and a clear assessment on the peculiar manufacture is outlined in comparison with the metal-imitating pottery pro- duced in different sites. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: SEM microscopy Computed microtomography Metal-imitating pottery Grave goods 1. Introduction 1.1. Archaeological context The study of the metal-imitating pottery found in the far south of the Italian peninsula is aimed both at recognizing this particular ceramic class – sometimes mistaken for achromatic ceramic or black painting with whitish glaze [1] – and possibly allocate the identified pottery to the different production centres. It is clear that only an extensive exper- imental study, pointed to the identification of the structural and chem- ical–physical features of the used materials, together with the graphical representation of the attested silhouettes, will give a substantial contri- bution to a deeper knowledge [2]. The widespread appreciation in the Hellenistic period for “toreumata” has certainly expedited the development of the production of metal- imitating pottery and the diffusion of cheap clay-copies of art works otherwise manufactured with noble material. Clearly, these products are the result of a process that, for purely commercial purposes, often betrays a faithful imitatio of numerous high quality pottery forms related to the Greek toreutic art [3]. The spread of silver-imitating ceramic achieves its acme between the fourth and the third century B.C. in the geographical areas of mainland Greece and in Italy, within, even though not exclusively, funerary contexts [4]. Passing to a territorial scan (Fig. 1), mainland Greece specimens of silver-imitating pottery forms were found in one of the Pydna's necropoleis. Surveys carried out in a funerary context, dating between the late-Classical and Hellenistic periods, allowed the classification of some ceramic forms covered with a patina whose colour varies between light and dark-grey. The analysis of ca. 56 suitably sampled finds has de- tected, on at least 53 specimens, the presence of a tin alloy film made to adhere to the clay surface by the application of leaves of the same metal. Microchemical Journal 126 (2016) 138–148 ☆ Selected papers presented at TECHNART 2015 Conference, Catania (Italy), April 27–30, 2015. ⁎ Corresponding author at: Dipartimento di Fisica, Università della Calabria, P.te Bucci 31C, I-87036 Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2015.12.007 0026-265X/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Microchemical Journal journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/microc