Spectroscopic identification of amber and fabric in a Roman burial (Carmona, Spain)

Abstract

The furnishings found in a Roman grave in Carmona, southern Spain, included three beads that were possibly from a necklace and vestiges of a bag where the goods were probably kept. Analyses by X-ray diffraction, infrared, and Raman spectroscopy revealed that the beads were made from Baltic Sea amber and also that the bag containing them was made from flax.