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Abstract: Artefacts made of wood coming from archaeological excavations provide insights into human cultural behaviour of the past. They show how man utilised natural resources and how the development of woodworking techniques and artistic endeavour were developed. Within archaeological contexts, waterlogged anaerobic conditions generally preserve the appearance of artefacts, although wood is subject to severe decay processes. The said conditions can transform the original material into a new one, thus demonstrating specific differences from those of the “fresh” wood of the same species. In order to assess these new properties correctly, an integrated diagnostic approach is needed, one which includes a multidisciplinary (micromorphological, physical and chemical) evaluation of the state of preservation. This paper reports several diagnostic results regarding wood artefacts coming from a series of archaeological excavations carried out in Italy. Different types of artefacts – ships, furniture, foundation piles, etc. – that date to different eras (Roman times, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance) have been included in this study. In addition, several species of wood at different levels of decay were analysed. Our study provides evidence of how a multidisciplinary approach, based on anatomical (micromorphological), physical and chemical analyses, avoids goes beyond the limits of each single type of analysis, thus contributing to a complete and reliable evaluation of the state of preservation of these archaeological artefacts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Wood identification is a basic information that should interest any wooden artefact. This typically involves invasive sampling, but sometimes sampling is unattainable either because of the object typology or because it is difficult to obtain authorizations. In the present study, reflected light microscopy potential as a non-invasive identification tool for wooden cultural artefacts is assessed on a number of marquetry furniture and small wood carvings. In more than one half of the 13 examined cases accurate wood identification was possible, while the remaining cases yielded information of diagnostic value, making it possible to exclude several potential candidate species. In a number of cases the use of optical filters improved the visibility of character states. Shape and orientation of surfaces influenced the visibility of microscopic characters. The study confirms that reflected light microscopy is a valuable tool for non-invasive wood identification. In many cases it is able to support accurate identification, in others it can anyway provide important information, useful to help decision about supposed species, or to limit the invasiveness of possible further analysis by addressing them on specific features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objects of this study are the wooden artifacts discovered in the archaeological excavation of Mephitis goddess sanctuary in the Ansanto Valley (Rocca San Felice – AV, Southern Italy). At the moment of discovery, in the mid of last century, woods were waterlogged and mineralized, and they were restored to allow their preservation. Purpose of this work was the wood identification, in order to gain information on some technological aspects, and the analysis of wood preservation state. Wood species were identified by means of magnifiers or optical and scanning electron microscopes, while the state of preservation was studied through microscopy and chemical analyses (FTIR-ATR, ash content and pH measurement). Four different taxa have been identified with certainty among all the findings: Quercus sp. , Fagus sylvatica L., Rosaceae, Populus/Salix . It was not possible to identify the wood of all the findings, because some sampled fragments were too small or because of the deformation of wood tissues. The state of preservation showed a great variability over the analyzed findings. A general damage degree was observed, sometimes also macroscopically visible. The polarized light microscope and FTIR-ATR spectroscopy demonstrated the absence of cellulose in the analyzed samples. The wood cell wall was not detectable by means of SEM because it is completely covered by restoration material. Because of the lack of visibility, it was impossible to identify the type of biological damage occurred to the wood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The most frequent dating methods of wooden artefacts are briefly introduced and discussed. Each of them shows merits and shortcomings. Therefore, an integrated approach of different techniques sometimes allows overcoming specific difficulties. The dating of a wooden support of a precious panel painting through a detailed xylological analysis and the joint use of dendrochronological and radiocarbon dating techniques is proposed. While any single dating technique demonstrated ineffective, the simultaneous use of several approaches in the study of the artefact led to excellent results in terms of both reliability and resolution, thus contributing to the inclusion of this painting in a specific historical period. On the basis of the performed dating, supported by the features of the panel and by a chemical-stratigraphic analysis of paint fragments, the artwork cannot be attributed to Cesare da Sesto. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]