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Transporting Olive Oil in Roman Times: Chromatographic Analysis of Dressel 20 Amphorae from Pax Julia Civitas, Lusitania

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Abstract

The organic extracts recovered from 14 potsherds of Dressel 20 oil amphorae collected from Pax Julia civitas (Lusitania) were analysed by GC–MS. Biomarkers of plant oils (saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, alcohols and alkanes arising from plant waxes) were identified in ten samples, and Pinaceae spp. pitch biomarkers were also identified in eight samples. The biomarkers identified in the studied Dressel 20 suggest that, even considering re-use, these amphorae should have been used for the same commodity, i.e., storage/transport of a plant oil. The presence of pitch in the amphorae could only be explained if it was used to reduce the porosity of the ceramic paste and minimise the oil diffusion through it.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the research project “HEROICA: Health and Edibles in ROman Iberia—a Case-study for Archaeometry” (PTDC/HIS-ARQ/120236/2010) co-funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Operational Programme Competitiveness Factors (COMPETE). Ana Manhita acknowledges FCT for financial support under grant nr. SFRH/BPD/108717/2015 and individual scientific employment contract nr. CEECIND/00791/2017. Authors also acknowledge FCT support through project with reference nr. UID/Multi/04449/2013 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007649).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório HERCULES, Universidade de Évora, Palácio Do Vimioso, Largo Marquês de Marialva 8, 7000-554, Évora, Portugal

    Ana Manhita, Sérgio Martins & Cristina Barrocas Dias

  2. LAQV, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516, Costa da Caparica, Portugal

    Marco Gomes da Silva

  3. CEAACP, Departamento de História, Estudos Europeus, Arqueologia e Artes, Faculdade de Letras, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Maria da Conceição Lopes

  4. Departamento de Química, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Évora, Colégio Luís António Verney, Rua Romão Ramalho 59, 7000-671, Évora, Portugal

    Cristina Barrocas Dias

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  1. Ana Manhita
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Correspondence to Cristina Barrocas Dias.

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10337_2020_3927_MOESM1_ESM.tif

Fig. S1 GC-MS chromatograms of Dressel 20 amphorae used for elaborating Table 1 (M1 – Method 1, M2 – Method 2), Set 1 (TIF 294 kb)

10337_2020_3927_MOESM2_ESM.tif

Fig. S2 GC-MS chromatograms of Dressel 20 amphorae used for elaborating Table 1 (M1 – Method 1, M2 – Method 2), Set 2 (TIF 237 kb)

10337_2020_3927_MOESM3_ESM.tif

Fig. S3 Experimental mass spectra obtained for compounds depicted in Fig. 3 (A – Stigmasta-3,5-dien-7-one, B – Retene, C – Dehydroabietic acid, TMS ester, D – 7-Oxodehydroabietic acid, methyl ester) (TIF 377 kb)

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Manhita, A., Martins, S., Gomes da Silva, M. et al. Transporting Olive Oil in Roman Times: Chromatographic Analysis of Dressel 20 Amphorae from Pax Julia Civitas, Lusitania. Chromatographia 83, 1055–1064 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10337-020-03927-7

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