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IDENTIFICATION OF AN ADHESIVE USED TO REPAIR A ROMAN JAR
Author(s) -
CHARTERS S.,
EVERSHED R. P.,
GOAD L. J.,
HERON C.,
BLINKHORN P.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
archaeometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-4754
pISSN - 0003-813X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4754.1993.tb01025.x
Subject(s) - betulin , lupeol , adhesive , bark (sound) , chemistry , chromatography , gas chromatography , tar (computing) , gas chromatography–mass spectrometry , mass spectrometry , organic chemistry , biology , layer (electronics) , ecology , computer science , programming language
A combination of micro‐analytical techniques, including thin layer chromatography (TLC), gas chromatography (GC), and combined gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), was employed to study the lipid composition of an adhesive used to repair an Ecton ware jar, recovered from Roman sediments of the River Nene at West Cotton (Rounds, Northamptonshire, U.K.). GC of the total lipid extract of the adhesive showed a complex pattern which was difficult to interpret. TLC was used to fractionate the extract. The fractions were then trimethylsilylated and submitted to GC and GC/MS. Betulin, lupeol, lupenone, allobetul‐2‐ene, and several other pentacyclic triterpenoid compounds were shown to be present in the ancient material. The similarities between the lipid compositions of the adhesive and of contemporary birch bark tar and a birch bark total lipid extract led to the conclusion that the adhesive was derived largely from birch bark, thus providing the first firm evidence for the use of birch bark tar in ancient Britain.