Ugotavljanje provenience žrmelj iz Emone na podlagi petrografsko-mineraloških in geokemijskih značilnosti : magistrsko delo

Muhič, Doroteja (author), Rogan Šmuc, Nastja (mentor), Šmuc, Andrej (member of the commission for defense), Dolenec, Matej (member of the commission for defense)

V sklopu magistrske naloge smo na podlagi petrografsko-mineraloških in geokemijskih analiz poskusili določiti provenienco emonskih žrmelj, ki jih hrani Mestni muzej Ljubljana. Žrmlje so kamniti ročni mlini, ki so razcvet doživeli v rimskem obdobju. Rimljani so žrmlje večinoma izdelovali iz lokalnih kamnin ter izdelke izvažali v ožjem ali širšem geografskem območju od deset ali sto kilometrov daleč. Rimske žrmlje iz 1. – 4. st. n. št. (skupno 11 vzorcev) smo pregledali makroskopsko, za potrebe optične mikroskopije so bili narejeni zbruski. Mineralno sestavo smo določili z rentgensko praškovno difrakcijo (XRD), elementno sestavo pa z metodo masne spektroskopije z induktivno vezano plazmo (ICP-MS), na podlagi katere smo pridobili vsebnosti glavnih oksidov. Rezultate slednje smo statistično obdelali s PCA faktorsko analizo (ang. Principal component analysis – metoda končnih elementov). Na podlagi rezultatov analiz smo vzorce razdelili v tri glavne skupine; klastiti (kremenovi peščenjaki: DM1, DM3, DM8, DM9 in DM11, litični peščenjaki: vzorci DM4, DM5 in DM7, glinenčevo-kremenov litični peščenjak: vzorec DM2), karbonati (apnenec: vzorec DM10) ter vulkanoklasti (litoklastični tuf – vzorec DM6). Provenienco smo poskusili določiti glede na vrsto kamnine in petrografsko-mineraloške značilnosti in na zadnje še sprimerjalno analizo podatkov o kemični sestavi z različnimi podatkovnimi vrednostmi za že znana najdišča. Geokemijske rezultate emonskih vzorcev smo najprej primerjali z znanimi podatki lokalnih najdišč (oddaljena do 10 km), nato z regionalnimi (do 40 km) in z najdišči oddaljenimi za več kot 40 km. Vzorec kremenovega peščenjaka (DM1) bi lahko izviral iz rimskih kamnolomov na območju Ljubljanskega gradu ali pripadal koprivniškemu členu Grödenske formacije. Potencialno izvorno območje litičnih peščenjakov (DM4 in DM7) so psevdoziljski skladi na območju Cerkljanskega in Škofjeloškega hribovja oziroma amfiklinski skladi na območju Cerkljanskega (vzorec DM4). Vzorec apnenca (DM10) bi lahko izviral iz Podpeči. Preostalim vzorcem nismo uspeli določiti provenience.

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: rimske žrmlje, arheometrija, mineralogija, geokemija, provenienca, Emona
• Work type: Master's thesis/paper
• Typology: 2.09 - Master's Thesis
• Organization: NTF - Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering
• Place of publishing: Ljubljana
• Publisher: D. Muhič
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: XVII, 96 str.
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-183089
• UDC: 55
• COBISS.SI-ID: 281314819
• Publication date in RUL: 04.06.2026

Secondary language

• Language: English
• Title: Provenance determination of roman querns from Emona based on mineralogical-petrographic characteristics : master's thesis

Abstract

As part of master's thesis, the provenance of querns from Emona, which are kept in the City Museum of Ljubljana, was investigated based on petrographic-mineralogical and geochemical analyses. Querns are small stone hand mills that were widely used during the Roman period. The Romans mostly made querns from local rocks and exported them within a limited geographical area, no further than one hundred kilometres. Eleven samples of Roman querns from Emona were examined macroscopically, and thin sections were prepared for optical microscopy. The mineral composition was determined using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), while the elemental composition was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), which provided content of major oxides. The results were statistically treated using PCA factor analysis. Based on the analyses, samples were divided into three main groups: clastic rocks (quartz sandstones: samples DM1, DM3, DM8, DM9 and DM11; lithic sandstones: samples DM4, DM5 and DM7; feldspar sandstones: sample DM2), carbonates (limestone: sample DM10) and volcanoclastic rocks (litoclastic tuff: sample DM6). The provenance was determined based on the type of rock and its petrographic-mineralogical characteristics, and finally through a comparative analysis of chemical composition data with reference values from already known sites. The geochemical data of the Emona samples were first compared with known data from local quarries (up to 10 km away), then with regional sources (up to 40 km), and finally with sources more than 40 km away. The sample of quartz sandstone (DM1) could originate from the Roman quarries in the area of Ljubljana Castle, or it may belong to the Koprivnik Member of the Gröden Formation. The potential source area for the lithic sandstones (DM4 and DM7) includes the Pseudozilian beds in the Cerkno and Škofja Loka hills, or the Amphiclina beds in Cerkno (sample DM4). The limestone sample (DM10) could originate from Podpeč. For the remaining samples, the provenance could not be determined.

• Keywords: Roman querns, archaeometry, mineralogy, geochemistry, provenance, Emona