Recent articles & book chapters

"Ochres as earth pigments in Hellenistic and Roman polychromy: State of the art and future directions on material origins and trade"

Ariadne Marketou and Alexandra Rodler

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2025, 180, 106276.

Read more here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2025.106276

Published online - 30/05/2025.

"Assessment of process variability and color in synthesized and ancient Egyptian blue pigments" 

John S. McCloy, Edward P. Vicenzi, Thomas Lam, Julia Esakoff, Travis A. Olds, Lisa S. Haney, Mostafa Sherif, John Bussey, M. C. Dixon Wilkins & Sam Karcher

npj Herit. Sci. 2025, 13, 202.

Read more here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s40494-025-01699-7

Published online - 22/05/2025.


"Illuminating the Parthenon"

Juan de Lara

Annual of the British School at Athens, 2025, 1–46.

Read more here: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068245424000145

Published online - 06/05/2025.

"Pigments from Pasargadae and Persepolis in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY): recent scientific investigations on four paper squeezes"

Atefeh Shekofteh, Alexander Nagel and Omid Oudbashi

Conservar Património, 2025

Read more: https://doi.org/10.14568/cp35708

Published online - 27/04/2025.

"Reimagining Greco-Roman Art in Colour: A Screen-Based Exhibition Interactive at the National Museum of Australia." 

Lily Withycombe

in Candace Richards and Elizabeth Minchin (eds), Mediterranean Collections in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Routledge, 2025, pp.251-261.

More information here.

Published online - 04/04/2025.

"A study of the polychromy of Campana’s panels"

Ombretta Tarquini, Elena Gabriella Lorenzetti, Lucilla Pronti and Anna Candida Felici

Conservar Património, 2025

Read more: https://conservarpatrimonio.pt/article/view/36608

Published online - 21/03/2025.

"Mineralogical and Micro-Computer Tomographic (μCT) Texture Investigations of Egyptian Blue Spheres (Aguntum, East Tyrol; Retznei and Wagna, Flavia Solva, South Styria)" 

Gerald Degenhart, Julius Heinemann, Peter Tropper, Alexandra Rodler-Rørbo, Bianca Zerobin, Martin Auer, and Gert Goldenberg

Minerals, 2025, 15(3) 302.

Read more: https://doi.org/10.3390/min15030302

Published online - 15/03/2025.

"Pompeian pigments. A glimpse into ancient Roman colouring materials"

Celestino Grifa, Chiara Germinario, Sabrina Pagano, Andrea Lepore, Alberto De  Bonis, Mariano Mercurio, Vincenzo Morra, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, Sophie Hay, Domenico Esposito, Valeria Amoretti

 Journal of Archaeological Science, 2025, 177, 106201

Read more here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2025.106201

Published online - 15/03/2025.

"Vitruvius-like synthesis of Egyptian Blue using Roman coins as copper source"

Maria Cristina Caggiani, Philippe Colomban, Ludovic Bellot-Gurlet, Paolo Mazzoleni, Germana Barone

Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 2025, 336, 126029.

Read more: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2025.126029

Published online - 10/03/2025.

"The Scent of Ancient Greco-Roman Sculpture"

Cecilie Brøns

Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 2025, 

Read more here: https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12321

Published online - 03/03/2025.


"Polychromy on Roman Sarcophagi from Rome. Key Aspects and
Foundations for Future Collaborations in Provincial Context"

Eliana Siotto

in Montserrat Cleveria and Markus Trunk (eds), Conditoria Provinciarum. Roman Sarcophagi in the Provinces, Iberica Selecta 3, Franz Steiner Velarg, Stuttgart, 2025, pp. 331-356.


More information here.

Published - 06/02/2025.

"From tiny to immense: Geological spotlight on the Alexander Mosaic (National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy) using non-invasive in situ analyses"

Balassone G, Cappelletti P, De Bonis A, De Simone A, Di Martire D, et al.

PLOS ONE, 2025, 20(1): e0315188. 

Read more here: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315188

Published online - 15/01/2025.

"Unveiling the Original Polychromy of Archaic Architecture: The Gigantomachy on the West Pediment of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi (6th c. B.C.)"

Giasemi G. Frantzi, Georgios P. Mastrotheodoros, Panayiotis Theoulakis, Sotiria Kogou, Athanasia Psalti and Hariclia Brecoulaki

Heritage, 2025, 8(1), 17-26.

Read more here: https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8010017

Published online - 06/01/2025.

"Cinnabar for Roman Ephesus: Material quality, processing and provenance"

Alexandra Rodler-Rørbo et al.

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2025, 173, 106122.

Read more here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2024.106122 

Published online - 26/11/2024.

Recent books

"Colour & Space. Interfaces of Ancient Architecture and Sculpture.

Proceedings of the 10th International Round Table on Polychromy in Ancient

Sculpture and Architecture"

Frederik Grosser and Stephan Zink (Editors)

Published by Deutsche Archäologische Institut (DAI)

Tagungen und Kongresse Bd. 4 2025. 4°. Hc.,

The compilation of papers from the "10th International Round Table on Polychromy in Ancient Architecture and Sculpture" (Berlin 2020) focuses on the phenomenology of colour in both architectural and sculptural contexts. Featuring both case and comprehensive studies  from Greco-Roman Antiquity to the Medieval period, it primarily explores the impact of polychromy within spatial settings. Additionally, it examines how colour enhances form and alters meanings and investigates artistic and technological practices. Overall, the volume advocates for a cross-disciplinary perspective on colour and surface treatments.

Coming soon!

"Colour Schemes in Roman Architecture. Aesthetics, Semantics, and Regional Appropriation"

Johannes Lipps and Matthias Grawehr (Editors) 

Published by Reichert Verlag

Roman architecture was characterised by a rich palette of colours, achieved through the use of natural coloured stones and painting. This conference volume is the first book entirely dedicated to the polychromy of architectural orders in the Roman provinces. Its objectives are to present new data, to explore the visual effects for which colour was used on architectural elements, and to collate observations on the functional, chronological and regional variation. The volume brings together the contributions of twenty-five archaeologists, ancient historians, art historians and chemists, encompassing a wide chronological frame from the 2nd century BC to the 3rd century AD and covering a geographical range from modern Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, and Austria to Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, and Libya.

More details here.

Published - 2025.

"Blue by Fire: A Marker of the Technical History of Glass and Ceramics"

Howell G. M. Edwards and Philippe Colomban

Published by Springer Nature

This book addresses the application of  elemental and molecular spectroscopic analytical techniques to a range of diverse problems which arise for decorated ceramics, glass and enamels and related artefacts: a history of techniques, provenance and authentication. 

Includes a chapter on Blue Pigments in Antiquity.

More details here.

Published - 28/01/2025.

Publications - 2024

Publications - 2023

Publications - 2022

Publications - 2021

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