Archaeometry and Underwater Archaeology Summer School 2017

Preface by E. Caponetti

The collaboration among scientists and archaeologists is nowadays an urgent request to fulfil the requirements posed by National as well as European development plans foreseeing the development of key enabling technologies able to produce new qualified jobs. Among other, the theme “Tourism, Cultural Heritage and Creative Industry” is a challenge for countries whose Cultural Patrimony is a resource to be promoted with a deeper awareness of its value.

In this context, the Summer School 2017 “Archaeometry and Underwater archaeology” could contribute to favour the dialogue among scientists and archaeologists coming from various countries, to deepen the skills of students, to offer a vision, even partial and limited, of the variety and richness of Sicilian Cultural Patrimony and enlarge the participation of society in research and innovation.

The School arises from the will of the group of “Synthesis and Characterization of Nanostructured Materials”, headed by me, of the Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Science and Technology Department at Palermo’s University.

In the past ten years, the group has established a strong and proficient collaboration with the Soprintendenza del Mare della Regione Siciliana, has hosted several students of the Erasmus mundus master in ARCHaeological MATerials Science in which the university of Palermo is one of the associated partners, and has contributed to the organization of several Intensive Schools on Cultural Heritage Preservation, most of them organized in the frame of the European Chemistry Thematic Network (ECTN).

The collaboration with the Soprintendenza del Mare della Regione Siciliana began about ten years ago, when one of the Roman Rostra was recovered from the seabed of Acqualadroni near Messina. Since then, the collaboration has strengthened the cooperation on the understanding of composition, state of conservation of various findings. The latter, recent collaboration is about the orichalcum ingots recovery from seabed near to Gela that aroused the media interest worldwide. This cooperation has contributed across the Mediterranean basin to answering questions about technological advancement of ancient population, trade exchange and routes.

All contributions to this School are intended to demonstrate how is possible to overcome the difficulties connected to different languages, humanistic and scientific.  With this aim in mind, the lessons are delivered directly in various museums and most of archaeological sites. This School, we believe, can constitute a virtuous example of a true multidisciplinary approach to the understanding of our Roots. We are grateful to all of our contributors and supporters for their involvement in the organization, to the scholars for having accepted to participate to this School and to the students for being here.