Archaeometric investigations on cinnabar provenance and origin by X-ray powder diffraction: Preliminary data

This study aims to focus on cinnabar extraction and trade routes in the Roman Age, when the pigment had its maximum spread, also to clarify if the practice of mixing sources from different quarries is reliable. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) has been used as a preliminary test to underline structural variation connected to cinnabar provenance: data from 14 mineralogical samples, coming from 11 different localities, were compared showing that detectable differences exist in terms of unit cell parameters and volume. The results highlight the potentiality of X-ray diffraction for provenance analysis.