Dr Ioannis Iliopoulos, Associate Professor, Department of Geology, University of Patras, Greece, is the Director of the Museum of Science and Technology in the University of Patras. He conducted his PhD Thesis in the field of Metamorphic Petrology. He was appointed as a Researcher in the Dipartimento di Chimica e Fisica della Terra (CFTA), University of Palermo, Italy, under the auspices of the interdisciplinary European Geo-Archaeological Research Project “GEOPRO”. He systematically applies analytical techniques for the study of archaeomaterias and earth raw materials from the wider Mediterranean area (Italy, Spain, Greece) and Latin America (Ecuador, Peru). He has received the Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute research award (Colgate University, USA). His archaeometric research is published in peer review journals and international congresses. He is a member of the Equip de Recerca Arqueológica y Arqueométrica, University of Barcelona (ERAAUB), Spain and a scientific consultant of the Academy of Institutions and Cultures, Greece. Phone: +302610997710 Address: Department of Geology, University of Patras, 26500 Rio, Greece
Corinth, Achaea in the northern Peloponnese, and Nicopolis in Epirus (Greece) have a strong archa... more Corinth, Achaea in the northern Peloponnese, and Nicopolis in Epirus (Greece) have a strong archaeological record of ceramic production, from the Early Helladic to Late Roman periods. Important archaeological sites, such as Helike, Aigeira, the settlement of Derveni, and the cities of Patras and Nicopolis, offer data and findings of exceptional quality. One of the main pillars for the development of the ceramic production in these areas was the availability of local natural resources, among which are the clayey sedimentary deposits that outcrop in the area. This study investigates the physical-technological properties (plasticity and granulometry), the mineralogical composition of clayey raw materials, in order to test their suitability for ceramic production across the entire geographic area. Our aim was to differentiate the three main “ceramic” provinces, based upon the above-mentioned properties. New data from western Achaea and south Epirus are presented and compared with previo...
The study of microbial mats in extreme environments is of high scientific interest from geologica... more The study of microbial mats in extreme environments is of high scientific interest from geological, ecological, and geomicrobiological aspects. These mats represent multilayer bio-structures where each taxonomic group dominates a specific vertical layering distribution resulting from its growth and metabolic activity. In the present study, microbial mats in a hot spring environment from Aedipsos (Euboea Island, Greece) resulting in the creation of thermogenic travertine, were studied through an interdisciplinary approach. The mineralogical composition was determined by optical microscopy, XRD, and SEM-EDS microanalysis, and the identification of Cyanobacteria was made primarily on morphological characteristics. The main mineral phase in the studied samples is calcite and, to a less extent, aragonite, with several trace elements in the mineral-chemistry composition, i.e., up to 1.93 wt. % MgO, up to 0.52 wt. % SrO, up to 0.44 wt. % Na2O, up to 0.17 wt. % K2O, and up to 3.99 wt. % SO3...
This paper investigates the techniques of manufacture for ceramic vessels in the Early Helladic (... more This paper investigates the techniques of manufacture for ceramic vessels in the Early Helladic (EH) settlement of Helike, Achaia, and offers insights into the degree of standardization that determined pottery production in the Early Bronze Age (EBA) Peloponnese. Our research is based on an integrated program of analyses to ascertain the characterization of composition, provenance, and firing technology of ceramic samples representing a range of wares and vessel shapes from the site. Analytical methods employed comprise the following: thin-section petrography performed by optical microscopy, chemical analysis using WD-XRF, and ICP-MS methods and estimation of firing temperature and microstructure examination undertaken with XRPD and SEM respectively. The results led to the identification of four main and eight smaller fabric groups, and a certain number of loners based upon textural and compositional peculiarities. Two main groups in their CaO content correspond well with the petrographic assessments. The evaluation of X-ray diffractograms showed four different classes based upon mineralogical composition, and four main groups of firing temperatures clustering around 700 °C and 900-1100 °C. The results from observation of microstructure by SEM complement those of the XRPD groups. The microscope data, in confirmation of the macroscopic features, demonstrated that ceramic production at EH Helike employed standard models for crafting certain categories of vessel shapes but, simultaneously, permitted the use of individual technical choices at variance to the general rule.
International Conference on Raw Materials and Circular Economy, 2022
This paper describes a study case of the Science and Technology Museum “Pedagogical Competence Pr... more This paper describes a study case of the Science and Technology Museum “Pedagogical Competence Programme” for students of the Department of Geology. It highlights an experimental approach of the museum for designing museum educational programmes with students. The museum succeeded from one side to develop a new program to offer to schools using participatory design and from the other to offer university students pedagogical experience through innovative, non-formal educational programmes, new ways to approach school students at all levels, cultivate their special skills, and enhance their knowledge, in order to familiarise them with the popularisation of science.
A new handwritten twenty pages' manuscript of initiation to the Greek secret "friendly society" o... more A new handwritten twenty pages' manuscript of initiation to the Greek secret "friendly society" organization which was formed beginning of 19 th century and essentially established the Greek independence against the Turks has been investigated. Historical accounts, spectroscopy analysis using Raman, X Ray Fluorescence and Near Infrared, for paper and ink characterization, as well as radiocarbon dating, and fractal of Minkowski Dimension algorithm of 5-lines and full-page handwritten text to identify number of scribers, and a novel preprocessing RGB color analysis of ink and paper identification have been applied. The investigation and results verify the dating of this manuscript to 1819, identify five types of iron gall inks, characterize the pulpwood and identify five different paper lots and four scribes from the ink content and handwritten styles of the compact five lines text and whole text pages. The results are mutually corroborated.
6th Symposium of the Hellenic Society for Archaeometry, BAR 2780, 13-20, 2016
Dora Katsonopoulou, Ioannis Iliopoulos, Stella Katsarou, Vayia Xanthopoulou, Craftsmanship of big... more Dora Katsonopoulou, Ioannis Iliopoulos, Stella Katsarou, Vayia Xanthopoulou, Craftsmanship of big storage pithoi in the Early Helladic settlement of Helike, Achaea. In: E. Photos-Jones (ed.), in collaboration with Y. Bassiakos, E. Filippaki, A. Hein, I. Karatasios, V. Kilikoglou, E. Kouloumpi, Proceedings of the 6th Symposium of the Hellenic Society for Archaeometry (Athens, May 16-18, 2013), pp. 13-20. Oxford. Archaeopress. BAR International Series S2780.
Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece, 2017
The present paper summarizes the preliminary results of the mineralogical and micropaleontologica... more The present paper summarizes the preliminary results of the mineralogical and micropaleontological analysis conducted on sediment samples from core TYR05 retrieved from the anoxic and hypersaline Tyro basin in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The core comprises a complex lithostratigraphic sequence attributed to the strong geodynamic regime of the area. The planktonic foraminifera associations present fluctuations which coincide with changes in the lithology of the core. The mineralogical composition of the sediments shows influence from the evaporites developed on the bottom of the basin. The mineral constituents in association to the microfauna assemblages suggest that the sediments include sapropelic layers. Further analyses are needed in order to determine safely the sapropelic deposits.
In questa nota sono riportati i risultati delle indagini mineralogico-petrografiche effettuate su... more In questa nota sono riportati i risultati delle indagini mineralogico-petrografiche effettuate su materiale ceramico alto medievale rinvenuto in tre scavi stratigrafici condotti nell 'isola di Marettimo (Contrada Case Romane), nel Duomo di Cefalù e presso Palazzo Galletti a Palermo. Le ceramiche analizzate sono rappresentate da frammenti di contenitori da trasporto (anfore di medie dimensioni a corpo ovoidale: 11 campioni) e ceramica da fuoco (pentole con orlo a tesa: 2 campioni), datati tra il VII e il IX secolo. La descrizione del ...
Corinth, Achaea in the northern Peloponnese, and Nicopolis in Epirus (Greece) have a strong archa... more Corinth, Achaea in the northern Peloponnese, and Nicopolis in Epirus (Greece) have a strong archaeological record of ceramic production, from the Early Helladic to Late Roman periods. Important archaeological sites, such as Helike, Aigeira, the settlement of Derveni, and the cities of Patras and Nicopolis, offer data and findings of exceptional quality. One of the main pillars for the development of the ceramic production in these areas was the availability of local natural resources, among which are the clayey sedimentary deposits that outcrop in the area. This study investigates the physical-technological properties (plasticity and granulometry), the mineralogical composition of clayey raw materials, in order to test their suitability for ceramic production across the entire geographic area. Our aim was to differentiate the three main “ceramic” provinces, based upon the above-mentioned properties. New data from western Achaea and south Epirus are presented and compared with previo...
The study of microbial mats in extreme environments is of high scientific interest from geologica... more The study of microbial mats in extreme environments is of high scientific interest from geological, ecological, and geomicrobiological aspects. These mats represent multilayer bio-structures where each taxonomic group dominates a specific vertical layering distribution resulting from its growth and metabolic activity. In the present study, microbial mats in a hot spring environment from Aedipsos (Euboea Island, Greece) resulting in the creation of thermogenic travertine, were studied through an interdisciplinary approach. The mineralogical composition was determined by optical microscopy, XRD, and SEM-EDS microanalysis, and the identification of Cyanobacteria was made primarily on morphological characteristics. The main mineral phase in the studied samples is calcite and, to a less extent, aragonite, with several trace elements in the mineral-chemistry composition, i.e., up to 1.93 wt. % MgO, up to 0.52 wt. % SrO, up to 0.44 wt. % Na2O, up to 0.17 wt. % K2O, and up to 3.99 wt. % SO3...
This paper investigates the techniques of manufacture for ceramic vessels in the Early Helladic (... more This paper investigates the techniques of manufacture for ceramic vessels in the Early Helladic (EH) settlement of Helike, Achaia, and offers insights into the degree of standardization that determined pottery production in the Early Bronze Age (EBA) Peloponnese. Our research is based on an integrated program of analyses to ascertain the characterization of composition, provenance, and firing technology of ceramic samples representing a range of wares and vessel shapes from the site. Analytical methods employed comprise the following: thin-section petrography performed by optical microscopy, chemical analysis using WD-XRF, and ICP-MS methods and estimation of firing temperature and microstructure examination undertaken with XRPD and SEM respectively. The results led to the identification of four main and eight smaller fabric groups, and a certain number of loners based upon textural and compositional peculiarities. Two main groups in their CaO content correspond well with the petrographic assessments. The evaluation of X-ray diffractograms showed four different classes based upon mineralogical composition, and four main groups of firing temperatures clustering around 700 °C and 900-1100 °C. The results from observation of microstructure by SEM complement those of the XRPD groups. The microscope data, in confirmation of the macroscopic features, demonstrated that ceramic production at EH Helike employed standard models for crafting certain categories of vessel shapes but, simultaneously, permitted the use of individual technical choices at variance to the general rule.
International Conference on Raw Materials and Circular Economy, 2022
This paper describes a study case of the Science and Technology Museum “Pedagogical Competence Pr... more This paper describes a study case of the Science and Technology Museum “Pedagogical Competence Programme” for students of the Department of Geology. It highlights an experimental approach of the museum for designing museum educational programmes with students. The museum succeeded from one side to develop a new program to offer to schools using participatory design and from the other to offer university students pedagogical experience through innovative, non-formal educational programmes, new ways to approach school students at all levels, cultivate their special skills, and enhance their knowledge, in order to familiarise them with the popularisation of science.
A new handwritten twenty pages' manuscript of initiation to the Greek secret "friendly society" o... more A new handwritten twenty pages' manuscript of initiation to the Greek secret "friendly society" organization which was formed beginning of 19 th century and essentially established the Greek independence against the Turks has been investigated. Historical accounts, spectroscopy analysis using Raman, X Ray Fluorescence and Near Infrared, for paper and ink characterization, as well as radiocarbon dating, and fractal of Minkowski Dimension algorithm of 5-lines and full-page handwritten text to identify number of scribers, and a novel preprocessing RGB color analysis of ink and paper identification have been applied. The investigation and results verify the dating of this manuscript to 1819, identify five types of iron gall inks, characterize the pulpwood and identify five different paper lots and four scribes from the ink content and handwritten styles of the compact five lines text and whole text pages. The results are mutually corroborated.
6th Symposium of the Hellenic Society for Archaeometry, BAR 2780, 13-20, 2016
Dora Katsonopoulou, Ioannis Iliopoulos, Stella Katsarou, Vayia Xanthopoulou, Craftsmanship of big... more Dora Katsonopoulou, Ioannis Iliopoulos, Stella Katsarou, Vayia Xanthopoulou, Craftsmanship of big storage pithoi in the Early Helladic settlement of Helike, Achaea. In: E. Photos-Jones (ed.), in collaboration with Y. Bassiakos, E. Filippaki, A. Hein, I. Karatasios, V. Kilikoglou, E. Kouloumpi, Proceedings of the 6th Symposium of the Hellenic Society for Archaeometry (Athens, May 16-18, 2013), pp. 13-20. Oxford. Archaeopress. BAR International Series S2780.
Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece, 2017
The present paper summarizes the preliminary results of the mineralogical and micropaleontologica... more The present paper summarizes the preliminary results of the mineralogical and micropaleontological analysis conducted on sediment samples from core TYR05 retrieved from the anoxic and hypersaline Tyro basin in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The core comprises a complex lithostratigraphic sequence attributed to the strong geodynamic regime of the area. The planktonic foraminifera associations present fluctuations which coincide with changes in the lithology of the core. The mineralogical composition of the sediments shows influence from the evaporites developed on the bottom of the basin. The mineral constituents in association to the microfauna assemblages suggest that the sediments include sapropelic layers. Further analyses are needed in order to determine safely the sapropelic deposits.
In questa nota sono riportati i risultati delle indagini mineralogico-petrografiche effettuate su... more In questa nota sono riportati i risultati delle indagini mineralogico-petrografiche effettuate su materiale ceramico alto medievale rinvenuto in tre scavi stratigrafici condotti nell 'isola di Marettimo (Contrada Case Romane), nel Duomo di Cefalù e presso Palazzo Galletti a Palermo. Le ceramiche analizzate sono rappresentate da frammenti di contenitori da trasporto (anfore di medie dimensioni a corpo ovoidale: 11 campioni) e ceramica da fuoco (pentole con orlo a tesa: 2 campioni), datati tra il VII e il IX secolo. La descrizione del ...
"Archaeology- Archaeometry: 30 years later", 7th Symposium of Archaeometry of the Hellenic Society of Archaeometry, October 9th-12th, 2019, Athens, 2019
Excavations at the LBA settlement at Stavros, Chalandritsa in Western Achaea, Greece have provide... more Excavations at the LBA settlement at Stavros, Chalandritsa in Western Achaea, Greece have provided evidence of in situ metalworking, such as several fragments of casting slag and a clay tuyère, the most important find being the one half of a double mould used for the casting of whole-cast socket spearheads. Its significance lies not only on its meticulous manufacture but mainly on the scarceness of such items in the Mycenaean world. In fact, the absence of stone moulds for the casting of weapons even from the most extensively excavated Mycenaean palatial sites makes it hard to assume that such a high-quality craft was manufactured in a peripheral village of mostly agrarian character and argues in favor of the mould having been imported into the settlement of Stavros, Chalandritsa. Thus tracing the mould's origin would bear witness of the casting procedures that took place for the manufacture of weapons during the Mycenaean period, also shedding more light on the already attested active role of the Achaean metal workshops within the trans-Adriatic technological exchange of the 12th century B.C., usually referred to as a "metallurgical koinè". For this reason, considering also the uniqueness of the archaeological artefact, an analytical approach based upon mainly non-destructive or minimally destructive techniques was devised. Those involved macroscopic examination using a portable optical microscope, scanning electron microscopy employing an environmental SEM/EDS system, X-ray fluorescence analysis by means of a bench top XRF/ED instrument, near infrared spectroscopy using a portable NIR apparatus, and X-ray powder diffraction with an X-ray diffractometer. The results obtained so far have enabled us to characterize the mould by means of minero-petrographic and chemical composition and draw some preliminary conclusions about its possible provenance, the case of a local origin having at first been excluded.
A ceramic assemblage selected from a recently excavated Late Helladic settlement at Kastrouli (Ce... more A ceramic assemblage selected from a recently excavated Late Helladic settlement at Kastrouli (Central Greece) has been chemically analyzed and statistically elaborated, to add new information and contribution to the Mycenaean culture in the wider studied area. The chemical composition of 142 ceramic sherds represented by wide range of household typologies was measured by using a calibrated non-destructive portable X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) setup. Fired briquettes prepared from 8 local clay sources and several mixtures of them were similarly analyzed. A robust statistical analysis is applied based on 15 major and minor/trace elements employing hierarchical cluster analysis with several linkages, descriptive statistics, biplots and boxplots, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), as well as, Euclidean and Mahalanobis distances on standardized ratio transformed data. Τhe chemical characterization and the statistical evaluation were coupled by petrographic analysis. The results obtained revealed that some local clay sources and their mixtures are placed within the archaeologically identified broad ceramics group, providing, thus, evidence for a local production of the studied pottery, and artisan's skills employed a variety of manufacture technologies.
Uploads