Non-invasive neutron diffraction analysis of marbles from the 'Edificio con Tre Esedre' in Villa Adriana

Roman marble fragments from the Villa Adriana at Tivoli (Rome) have been characterised by neutron diffraction. This study aimed at distinguishing between different marble types on the basis of the mineral phase compositions and the crystallographic textures. It is demonstrated that on a multi-detector time-of-flight neutron diffractometer a quantitative bulk texture analysis can be performed on a stationary marble sample in a matter of minutes. This potentially allows investigating large sample series or bulky, intact marble objects in a completely non-destructive manner. The texture information, along with other structure details, can be used as characterising feature to address questions of attribution and restoration of archaeological marble objects.