Raw Materials in Pompeian Paintings: Characterization of Some Colors from the Archaeological Site

A large number of bowls containing colors were found in Pompeii. These colors represent the original raw materials used for Pompeian wall paintings, and their recovery allowed us to chemically and mineralogically characterize their constituents. Our study focused on white, black, grey, blue, yellow, red, pink-violet, and green colors. The analysis, performed with optical microscopy and SEM-EDX, XRD, FTIR techniques demonstrated that each color was produced mixing more components and that the colored pigments were both of natural (e.g., ochre, jarosite, celadonite) and artificial (cuprorivaite, charcoal) origin. The analytical results were compared with historical sources and previous works.