Preliminary Qualitative Elemental Characterization of Painted Plaster Pigments from a Roman structure at Boğazköy-Hattuša using pXRF

Abstract

Preservation of archaeological material must always be sensitive to the composition of the material itself. In this study, Portable X-Ray Flourescence (Bruker Tracer IV SD) was used to provide non-destructive initial characterization of pigments on painted plaster fragments recovered from a 2nd century Roman building at Boğazköy-Hattuša. Including base plaster, ten different pigment profiles were identified, including lead-based and iron-based yellows, oranges, pinks, reds and browns, a copper-based blue green, and organically based greens and browns.