Non-invasive characterization of a set of Roman equestrian statuary bronze fragments through Neutron Diffraction

This experiment aims to characterize the composition, the microstructure and all the characteristics related to the production and manufacturing methods of a set of bronze fragments (believed to be from the Roman age), recovered from the sand cave inside a lake in the Renai Park (Signa, FI, Italy).The fragments are made up of portions of a horse, human figures, draperies and plates of a basement, and could belong to an equestrian monument or several sculptural groups. These artifacts are currently undergoing restoration at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence and will be available for diagnostic investigations only until June 2021. It is therefore a unique opportunity to analyse, by means of Neutron Diffraction, large samples representative of monumental works of art otherwise impossible to move for diagnostic analysis.