International audience.
The ongoing ANR JCJC Itineris project (https://itineris.huma-num.fr/) focuses on the characterisation of North-western Italic bronze craftsmanship by combining archaeometric, technological and computer modelling methods with social and archaeological approaches.Based on a wide dataset of bronze ornaments from 6 sites belonging to three different cultural areas – Golasecca, Liguria and West Emilia – but interacting with each other (Cicolani et al. 2024), the project will set out to rethink European interactions as a complex system of interconnected workshops operating at different social levels.In this framework, the Technological approach (WP2) point to obtain a detailed overview of internal features of the bronze ornaments combining imaging techniques. The aim is to provide a better understanding of the casting techniques used to create, model and decorate these artefacts and clarify, by non-invasive examinations, specific patterns and features highlighted during the archaeological analysis.All artefacts were analyzed by naked eye, macroscopic observations and digital stereoscopic microscope, to identify and locate crafting marks related to the different stages of the chaîne opératoire. To enhance surface marks, 3D digital microscopy, RTI (Reflectance Transformation Imaging), photogrammetry as well as high-precision 3D scanning were also applied on a selected number of complex objects. Finally, structural & internal features were investigated on some objects by using X-radiography and CT-scan to highlight joining techniques.
