Lusitanian Amphorae in Carthago Nova (Cartagena, Spain): Distribution and Research Questions

The presence of Lusitanian amphorae in the region of Carthago Nova (Cartagena, Spain) has been known for a few years, and yet it has never been the subject of a monographic study. Integrated in the commercial networks of the western Mediterranean, these products circulated within the harbour system of this city between the 1st and the 5th century AD. This paper aims to present a synthesised review of the main Lusitanian imports that were detected: Dressel 14 and Almagro 50, Almagro 51a-b and Almagro 51c. The difficulty in identifying the ceramic fabrics and the scarce documentation regarding some finds pose complex problems. This study extends to the hinterland of the colony and to other nearby settlements, such as Portmán and Puerto de Mazarrón.

Heterogeneous Catalysts: Design, Applications and Research Insights

The cyclization of pseudoionone yields a mixture of alpha-ionone, beta-ionone and gamma-ionone. By careful control of reagent and reaction conditions, either the alpha- and beta- isomer can be favoured. The alpha-ionone has violet odour and is widely used in perfumery and flavours. beta-Ionone is the main precursor of Vitamin A and beta-carotene. Traditionally, strong homogeneous catalysts, like sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid have been used. These problems can be overcome by the use of solid acid catalysts. This work reports the cyclization of pseudoionone over USY zeolites, at 80ºC. USY It is observed that the initial activity increases with the Si/Al ratio of zeolite until a maximum, which is obtained with USY3. With higher Si/Al ratio, a decrease in the catalytic activity is observed. Selectivity to ionone isomers is around 42 %, at 75% of pseudoionone conversion, after 24 h of reaction. USY3 zeolite was reused four times with the same catalyst sample in the same condicions. It was observed a stabilization of the catalytic activity, after the second use.