An archaeometric study of early Copper Age pottery from a cave in Romania

Clay Minerals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Enea-Giurgiu ◽  
Corina Ionescu ◽  
Volker Hoeck ◽  
Tudor Tămaş ◽  
Cristian Roman
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Ceramic Body ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Alkali Feldspar ◽  
Heavy Minerals ◽  
Copper Age ◽  
Pottery Production ◽  
Magmatic Rocks ◽  
Thermal Changes ◽  
Pottery Sherds

AbstractEarly Copper Age pottery sherds discovered in a cave within the crystalline dolomites of the Southern Carpathians (Romania) were investigated by polarized light optical microscopy (OM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) to obtain information on the pottery production in the Copper Age in the territory of present-day Romania. Microscopically, the clayey matrix of the ceramic body is highly birefringent or consists of low-birefringent and isotropic parts mixed together, containing fragments of quartz, muscovite, alkali feldspar, plagioclase, biotite, chlorite, heavy minerals and metamorphic and magmatic rocks, as well as an opaque material. The EMPA data revealed an Fe-rich illite-like matrix and helped to identify the mineral nature of the inclusions. Local pottery production in bonfires or surface clamps is envisaged. Miocene illitic clays may have been used as raw materials, mixed with a small amount of sandy temper. The thermal changes revealed by OM, the modification of the XRPD peaks and the EMPA data suggest firing temperatures of between 800 and 850°C.

Composition, technology and provenance of Roman pottery fromNapoca(Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

Clay Minerals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 621-641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ágnes Gál ◽  
Corina Ionescu ◽  
Mátyás Bajusz ◽  
Vlad A. Codrea ◽  
Volker Hoeck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Ceramic Body ◽  
Polarized Light ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Gradual Transition ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Technological Constraints

ABSTRACTSecond-century CE (common era) household pottery sherds found in the city ofNapoca(present day Cluj-Napoca, Romania) in Roman Dacia were investigated by polarized light optical microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and cold field emission scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to obtain information on technology, raw materials and site of production. Compositionally, all samples are similar with comparable fine and semi-fine microstructures and oriented microtextures. Optically, there is a gradual transition from microcrystalline to an amorphous illitic-muscovitic matrix. The small aplastic inclusions are mostly quartz and feldspar. Fine-grained carbonate aggregates are distributed inhomogeneously in the ceramic body. Well-preserved Middle Miocene foraminifera tests are characteristic of the ceramics. The gradual thermal changes of the matrix and the newly formed phases upon firing, such as ‘ceramic melilite’, Fe-gehlenite, clinopyroxene, glass, hematite and some maghemite support inferences regarding the technological constraints in producing the pottery. The firing took place in a mostly oxidizing atmosphere and the temperature extended from at least 850°C to >900°C. The Middle Miocene marly clay from the area surrounding the site shows similar mineralogical and micropalaeontological contents to those of the ceramic specimens and is the best candidate for the raw material used for local production of the Roman pottery.

scholarly journals Local provenance of raw materials for prehistoric pottery production at the Spasovine tin placer site (Western Serbia)

Starinar ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 41-50
Author(s):  
Wayne Powell ◽  
Lina Pacifico ◽  
Terrence Mitchell ◽  
Steffanie Cruse ◽  
Arthur Bankoff
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Pottery Production ◽  
Group Mineral ◽  
Prehistoric Pottery ◽  
Pottery Sherds ◽  
The Town ◽  
Local Materials ◽  
Ore Grade

Archaeological finds at Spasovine, on the south flank of Mt Cer, near the town of Milina, indicate that it was settled in the Eneolithic and seasonally inhabited for tin placer mining in the Late Bronze Age. The site is highly disturbed and abraded domestic pottery is the most common material found. An analysis of the mineralogical assemblages that comprise the temper sand in a subset of the prehistoric pottery sherds from the site indicate that the sand was obtained from the adjacent Milinska River. Key minerals that link the pottery to on-site production from local materials include almandine-spessartine series garnets, the tin-bearing mineral cassiterite (SnO2) and a microlite group mineral ([Ca,Sn,U]2[Ta,Nb]2O6(OH,F]). The unusually common occurrence of cassiterite within the pottery sherds relative to the abundance in the Milinska today suggests that the tin ore grade in the Milinska River may have been significantly higher in prehistory.

scholarly journals Technological analysis of Early Bronze ceramics of Shauke 1 settlement

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-107
Author(s):  
Saule Zhangeldyevna Rakhimzhanova
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Pottery Production ◽  
Organic Solution ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
North East ◽  
First Results ◽  
East Kazakhstan ◽  
Preparatory Stage ◽  
Technological Analysis

The paper introduces the first results of special technical and technological investigation of ceramic artifacts discovered during the excavations of the Early Bronze Age settlement Shauke 1 located in the Pavlodar Region of North-East Kazakhstan. The research of ceramic objects is conducted within historical and cultural approach following A.A. Bobrinskys technique. 53 samples from different vessels were selected for the technological analysis of ceramic artifacts found at the settlement. The samples were investigated with the use of a binocular microscope MBS-10. The main objective of the research was to identify cultural traditions at a preparatory stage of ceramic vessels production. The author studied initial raw materials selection skills and forming substance preparation. The author recorded the use of several conditional spots as sources of raw materials. Six different recipes of forming substances were identified at the settlement of Shauke 1. The most common amongst them are clay + chamotte + organic solution (60,38%), clay + chamotte + bone + organic solution (28,30%). This indicates the presence of artisans who followed different traditions of pottery production at the site.

scholarly journals Investigation by pXRF of Caltagirone Pottery Samples Produced in Laboratory

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna M. Gueli ◽  
Antonio Delfino ◽  
Emanuele Nicastro ◽  
Stefania Pasquale ◽  
Giuseppe Politi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Compositional Data ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Firing Process ◽  
Pottery Production ◽  
Archaeological Ceramics ◽  
Technological Context ◽  
Historical Sites ◽  
Realization Process ◽  
Elemental Characterization

AbstractIn the study of archaeological ceramics, it is important to have compositional data to identify their origin and source. The fabric also provides useful information on the production technology, especially with regard to the firing steps. The work presented here is connected to this field and focuses on the main parameters related to the terracotta artefacts preparation. Thus, one can consider the effects in terracotta characteristics of different raw materials and firing parameters, in particular for pottery of Caltagirone, which is one of most important centres of pottery production in Italy, active since the Neolithic. To this end, terracotta samples have been reproduced in a laboratory setting according to the ancient procedure of Caltagirone manufacture, starting from clay and degreaser extraction in local historical sites. The analysis was conducted using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometer for elemental characterization of sand degreaser and of clays during each step of the realization process and in different firing conditions. SEM-ED techniques were also employed to verify the method and results for some of the samples after firing process. Framing the technological context of manufacture production, known in the specific case, it is also possible to identify potential outcomes and limits in the study of potsherds using pXRF technology, in applying the methodology to historic artefacts.

Wollastonite as a Flux for Ceramics Bodies

2012 ◽  
Vol 727-728 ◽  
pp. 1016-1021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.R. Bragança ◽  
H.C.M Lengler ◽  
Carlos Pérez Bergmann
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Strength ◽  
Mechanism Of Action ◽  
Calcium Silicate ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Alkali Feldspar ◽  
Temperature Phase ◽  
Technological Properties ◽  
Silicate Mineral ◽  
Technical Properties ◽  
Ceramic Flux

Wollastonite is a calcium silicate mineral natural or synthetic. Commercial wollastonite starts to melt at about 1450°C and can not be considered a "flux" as alkali feldspar. For this function, it depends on the reaction with other raw materials. Faced with this, came the goal of this work which was to investigate the mechanism of action of wollastonite as a ceramic flux. The use of wollastonite in ceramic bodies was investigated by analysis of its reactivity with other materials such as quartz, kaolin, talc and feldspar. It was analyzed the technological properties of the final parts, especially in relation to the firing temperature, phase formation and technological properties (mechanical strength, porosity, etc.). The results of this characterization showed that the technical properties of the parts are developed according to commercial porcelain products.

Maintenance and Mutability amongst Specialist Potters on the Northeast Coast of New Guinea

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dylan Gaffney
Keyword(s):  
Technological Change ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Pottery Production ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Longue Duree ◽  
Longue Durée ◽  
Northeast Coast

This paper examines a central concern in archaeological research: the interplay between technological and social flux over the longue durée. This is done by describing ceramic technological continuity and change, and its correspondence with broader social processes, on the northeast coast of New Guinea in the recent past. It presents new ethnographic information from Madang, Papua New Guinea, involving Bilbil and Yabob potters, to outline the chaîne opératoire of pottery production at present. Comparisons with ethnohistorical texts then allow us to model technological change over a longer period of c. 150 years, following the direct historical approach. This shows distinct continuity, but also substantial modification throughout the nineteenth–twenty-first centuries, as the potters negotiated major social upheavals during the colonial and post-independence periods, such as forcible relocation from their offshore islands onto the mainland. This expands our understanding of how social and technological change can take place amongst small-scale, part-time pottery specialists over the longue durée and how this change is reflected in the finished products and raw materials.

Influence of the Granite Waste into a Clayey Ceramic Body for Rustic Wall Tiles

2012 ◽  
Vol 727-728 ◽  
pp. 1057-1062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Castoldi Borlini Gadioli ◽  
Mariane Costalonga de Aguiar ◽  
Abiliane de Andrade Pazeto ◽  
Sérgio Neves Monteiro ◽  
Carlos Maurício Fontes Vieira
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Strength ◽  
Water Absorption ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Rupture Strength ◽  
Ceramic Body ◽  
Linear Shrinkage ◽  
Ceramic Production ◽  
Ornamental Stones ◽  
Error Bar ◽  
Press Molding

This work has as its objective to evaluate the influence of a granite waste into a clayey ceramic body for obtaining of rustic wall tiles. As raw materials, a clayey ceramic body for red ceramic production and a granite waste, resulting from ornamental stones cutting with the multi-wire technology were used. Compositions using 0, 10, 20 and 30% of waste incorporated into ceramic body were prepared. Specimens were fabricated by uniaxial press-molding at 20 MPa and sintered at 1050°C. The following properties were determined: linear shrinkage, water absorption and flexural rupture strength. In general, within the error bar, there was no influence of the waste in the values of water absorption of the clayey ceramic body. The results showed that all investigated formulations used in this work for the production of rustic wall tiles attend the standards for water absorption and mechanical strength.

scholarly journals Provenance and production technology of late medieval ‘Besztercebánya/Banská Bystrica–type’ high-quality stove tiles

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorottya Györkös ◽  
Bernadett Bajnóczi ◽  
György Szakmány ◽  
Máté Szabó ◽  
Ralf Milke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Ceramic Body ◽  
Analytical Investigation ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Production Techniques ◽  
Phase And Chemical Composition ◽  
Primary Groups

AbstractA unique collection of high-quality late medieval (fifteenth–sixteenth century) glazed and unglazed stove tiles from the northern part of the Carpathian Basin is of great interest to archaeologists and art historians. It is yet to be determined if these products, which are characterised by similar features, were produced in a single workshop, perhaps in Besztercebánya/Banská Bystrica (in present-day Slovakia), or in several workshops throughout the region. The first systematic multi-analytical investigation was carried out on the ceramic body and glaze of one hundred and seventeen tile fragments from six sites (Besztercebánya/Banská Bystrica, Fülek/Fiľakovo, and Csábrág/Čabraď in Slovakia; Salgó, Eger, and Szécsény in Hungary) using polarising microscopy, X-ray diffraction, electron microprobe, and Raman microspectroscopy analyses to determine the raw materials and production techniques used. Based on the petrographic characteristics, phase and chemical composition of the ceramic body, and the chemical composition and colourants of the glazes, the stove tiles can be classified into three primary groups. Tiles from different sites are different to each other, only the tiles from the Hungarian sites and from Fülek/Fiľakovo are similar. Thus, it is probable that the tiles were produced in several (at least three) workshops in the region from where they were then dispersed. The technological knowledge of the master(s) producing the polychrome Csábrág/Čabraď tiles with tin-opacified glazes was higher than that of the master(s) producing the other tiles. However, the exact location of the workshops as well as their existence through time is still in unknown.

scholarly journals Application of Supervised Machine-Learning Methods for Attesting Provenance in Catalan Traditional Pottery Industry

Minerals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Anglisano ◽  
Lluís Casas ◽  
Marc Anglisano ◽  
Ignasi Queralt
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Supervised Machine Learning ◽  
Pottery Production ◽  
Learning Methods ◽  
Pottery Industry ◽  
Machine Learning Methods ◽  
Supervised Methods ◽  
Site Discrimination

The traditional pottery industry was an important activity in Catalonia (NE Spain) up to the 20th century. However, nowadays only few workshops persist in small villages were the activity is promoted as a touristic attraction. The preservation and promotion of traditional pottery in Catalonia is part of an ongoing strategy of tourism diversification that is revitalizing the sector. The production of authenticable local pottery handicrafts aims at attracting cultivated and high-purchasing power tourists. The present paper inspects several approaches to set up a scientific protocol based on the chemical composition of both raw materials and pottery. These could be used to develop a seal of quality and provenance to regulate the sector. Six Catalan villages with a renowned tradition of local pottery production have been selected. The chemical composition of their clays and the corresponding fired products has been obtained by Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF). Using the obtained geochemical dataset, a number of unsupervised and supervised machine learning methods have been applied to test their applicability to define geochemical fingerprints that could allow inter-site discrimination. The unsupervised approach fails to distinguish samples from different provenances. These methods are only roughly able to divide the different provenances in two large groups defined by their different SiO2 and CaCO3 concentrations. In contrast, almost all the tested supervised methods allow inter-site discrimination with accuracy levels above 80%, and accuracies above 85% were obtained using a meta-model combining all the predictive supervised methods. The obtained results can be taken as encouraging and demonstrative of the potential of the supervised approach as a way to define geochemical fingerprints to track or attest the provenance of samples.

Study of the Influence of Granite Residue in Different Compositions to Prepare Ceramic Membranes

2014 ◽  
Vol 798-799 ◽  
pp. 542-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Carmo Oliveira Lima ◽  
H.L. Lira ◽  
G.A. Neves ◽  
M.C. Silva ◽  
K.B. França
Keyword(s):  
Ceramic Membrane ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Ceramic Body ◽  
Mercury Porosimetry ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Ceramic Membranes ◽  
Flux Measurements ◽  
Dark Color ◽  
Scanning Electron

The exploitation and processing of granite is responsible for generating large quantities of residue, mainly in the sawing step where is producing a dark color mud that is generally discharged directly in the environment without any treatment. The use of granite residue in the production of red ceramic has been widely studied and has shown promising results. The aim of this work is to verify the incorporation of granite residue in the preparation of tubular ceramic membrane in substitution of quartz. In this research it was done the characterization of the raw materials, the membrane preparation with different amount of granite residue and characterization of the membranes by scanning electron microscopy, mercury porosimetry and tangential flux measurements. The results showed that the changing in 10% of granite residue amount in the ceramic body was enough to change the morphological characteristics of the membranes.

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