Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Apr 24;15(4):e0232375.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232375. eCollection 2020.

The Tomb of the Diver and the frescoed tombs in Paestum (southern Italy): New insights from a comparative archaeometric study

Maria Francesca Alberghina  1 , Chiara Germinario  2 , Giovanni Bartolozzi  3 , Susanna Bracci  4 , Celestino Grifa  2   5 , Francesco Izzo  6 , Mauro Francesco La Russa  7 , Donata Magrini  4 , Emanuela Massa  8 , Mariano Mercurio  2   5 , Viviana Mollica Nardo  9 , Maria Emanuela Oddo  10 , Stefano Maria Pagnotta  2 , Anna Pelagotti  8 , Rosina Celeste Ponterio  9 , Paola Ricci  11 , Natalia Rovella  7 , Silvestro Antonio Ruffolo  7 , Salvatore Schiavone  1 , Antonio Spagnuolo  11   12 , Carmela Vetromile  11   12 , Gabriel Zuchtriegel  13 , Carmine Lubritto  11   14
Affiliations

The Tomb of the Diver and the frescoed tombs in Paestum (southern Italy): New insights from a comparative archaeometric study

Maria Francesca Alberghina et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The Tomb of the Diver has been subject for many decades of fierce debate among archaeologists and classicists. Since its discovery in 1968, some scholars have considered it a unique example of the lost tradition of Greek painting, others have emphasized Etruscan or Italic parallels. More recently, a possible local production has been suggested. With the aim of trying to solve the archaeological question, an archaeometric comparison among this well-known artwork and several frescoed tombs coming from Hellenistic and Lucan necropolis was carried out. The multi-analytical study was focused on the identification of peculiar features of executive techniques and raw materials since the first period of the archaeological site. The analytical investigation has been preliminary based on a non-destructive approach, performed in-situ by portable equipment including imaging diagnostics and compositional spectroscopic techniques for identifying pigments and the conservation state of original painted surface; subsequently, a further deepening by using destructive techniques was performed in-lab for the mortar-based supports characterization. Archaeometric study suggested that technological choices slightly changed in a time span of about two centuries, highlighting important markers that allow clustering the contemporary artistic productions. Moreover, a comparison with mortars from temples decorations was provided to better understand the whole artistic context. The archaeometric data showed that the Tomb of the Diver could be traced back to a local artisanal tradition and therefore is neither Etruscan nor Greek, but the first and foremost an expression of the local elite culture of Paestum.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. The commercial affiliations do not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Analysed frescoed slabs of the Tomb of the Diver.
(a) Cover slab (215×112×20 cm; TFC). (b) southern slab (225×80×11 cm, TFS). (c) northern slab (244×80×11 cm, TFN).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Analysed frescoed slabs of the Tomb of the Palmettes (Tomb Arcioni 781).
(a) Cover slab (241×118×20 cm, TPS). (b) Eastern short slab (110×92×10 cm, TPC). (c) Northern slab (240×92×15 cm; TPL).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Representative ER-FTIR spectra.
T11: Tomb 11, TFN: Tomb of the Diver, northern slab, T23: Tomb 23. Infrared bands of organic compounds are reported in italics.
Fig 4
Fig 4. SERS spectra of nano-samples.
(a, c) Tomb of the Palmettes. (b) Tomb of the Diver.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Black patinas containing manganese and black pictorial layers.
a) XRF spectra of black degradation layers acquired on the pictorial surface of the painted tomb T110 enriched in manganese, compared with a representative spectrum of black pictorial layers (tomb T11); digital microscope images acquired on black layer of T110 (b) and T11 (c) respectively.
Fig 6
Fig 6. VIL and visible images of blue and green decorations.
(a) VIL image of a northern slab detail of the Tomb of the Diver. (b) Corresponding visible image of the northern slab detail of the Tomb of the Diver. (c) VIL image of the green decoration of the Tomb 21. (d) Corresponding visible image of the green decoration of the Tomb 21.
Fig 7
Fig 7. Chemical composition of green pigments.
(a) XRF spectra of green pigments identified as green earths. (b) XRF spectra of green pigments identified as a mixture of Egyptian blue and iron-rich earths. Digital microscope images of both typologies of green pigments are also reported.
Fig 8
Fig 8. Chemical composition of red pigments.
Fe-As-Pb XRF intensity plot for red pigments in which three compositional groups can be distinguished (Group I: red pigments composed of iron oxides -Tombs 6, 11, 12, 20, 21, 23 and 110-; Group II: iron-based pigments containing arsenic traces -Tombs 76 and 210-; Group III: iron-based pigments containing arsenic and lead traces -Tomb 314, Tomb of the Palmettes and Tomb of the Diver-). (b) Representative XRF spectra (Tomb 23 for Group I, Tomb 210 for Group II, Tomb of the Diver for Group III).
Fig 9
Fig 9. Yellow pigment identified as yellow ochre.
(a) XRF spectrum. (b) Raman spectrum. Tomb T12, short slab.
Fig 10
Fig 10. Representative microphotographs of mortar samples.
(a) Sample PAL2R, microscopic features of mortar that allowing recognizing two different layers, plane polarized light, 1x. (b) Sample T12, microcrystalline binder containing fragments of fossils shells, crossed polars, 1x. (c) Sample TN4, calcite-bearing aggregate, crossed polars, 5x. (d) Sample BS2, aggregate-bearing mortar, crossed polars, 1x. (e) Sample TN3, aggregate composed by marble dust, crossed polars, 5x. (f) Sample T109C, pictorial layer, crossed polarized light, 10x. (g) Sample T21, aggregate in the inner layer of the mortar, crossed polars, 5x.(h) Sample T23, aggregate in the inner layer of the mortar, crossed polars, 1x. (i) Sample T76, aggregate in the inner layer of the mortar, crossed polars, 1x.
Fig 11
Fig 11. SEM images of representative samples.
(a) Fractured binder of the outer layer of sample PAL2. (b) Microcrystalline binder of sample T109. (c) Binder of sample T76L. (d) Outer area of gypsum accumulation in the aggregate-bearing mortar TN1. (e) External surface of sample TN2. (f) Gypsum crystals in a pore of sample TN5. Yellow boxes indicate the areas of EDS analysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Brecoulaki H. L’esperienza del colore nella pittura funeraria dell’Italia preromana (V-III secolo a.C.). Napoli: Electa Napoli; 2001.
    1. Napoli M. La tomba del Tuffatore La scoperta della grande pittura greca. Bari: De Donato; 1970.
    1. Zuchtriegel G. L’immagine Invisibile La tomba del Tuffatore, nel cinquantesimo della scoperta. Napoli: Arte’m; 2018.
    1. Oddo ME, Ricci P, Angelici D, Fantino F, Sibilia E, Alberghina MF, et al. Results of diagnostic campaign promoted by AIAr in the deposits of the Archaeological Museum of Paestum. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. Florence: IOP pubishing; 2018.
    1. Cipriani M. Italici a Poseidonia nella seconda metà del V sec. a.C. Nuove ricerche nella necropoli del Gaudo In: Greco G, Longo F, editors. Paestum Scavi, studi, ricerche Bilancio di un decennio (1988–1998). Paestum: Pandemos; 2000. pp. 197–212.

Publication types

Grants and funding

The research carried out by AIAr member was supported by the Archaeological Park of Paestum (www.museopaestum.beniculturali.it) within the project "Paestum Inside/the lights of science" (CIG: ZAE1CE2514) concerning the preliminary archaeometric study on frescoed tombs. The co-creator and funder of the project was Gabriel Zuchtriegel, Director of the Archaeological Park of Paestum. The funder provided financial support in the form of research materials and had role in study design, decision to publish, and preparation of the manuscript.