Search results for "Ceramic"
showing 10 items of 2129 documents
The indigenous settlement of Monte Iato (western Sicily): an ethnoarchaeometric approach for outlining local Archaic ceramic productions
2021
AbstractAn ethnoarchaeometric approach has been followed to identify the textural and compositional characteristics of the ceramic pastes produced in ancient Iaitas/Ietas, an indigenous site located in western Sicily on Monte Iato, a few tens of kilometres from Palermo. This approach was primarily motivated by the lack of discovered Archaic kilns or production sites/workshops and the inability to identify reference groups. Raw clays were sampled in the territory of San Cipirello and San Giuseppe Iato (today’s municipalities both sited on the northern slopes of Monte Iato), together with representative historic tiles and bricks locally produced until fairly recently. Grain-size analysis and …
Exploring automatic grouping procedures in ceramic petrology
2004
Although a small number of studies have attempted to introduce automatic grouping procedures into thin section petrography of archaeological ceramics, the majority of studies continue to be carried out by non-automatic means. Although such an approach with the single observer grouping samples has a number of advantages, it is problematic when dealing with large numbers of samples. This paper aims to explore different coding systems and statistical analyses for grouping ceramic thin sections. In the example discussed a number of variables are defined, codified and analysed by correspondence analysis, classical multidimensional scaling, non-metric isotonic multidimensional scaling and Sammon …
X-ray computed tomography investigations of Cucuteni ceramic statuettes:
2013
Deciphering the internal structure of prehistoric artefacts can provide spectacular insights that might help us understand the people who made them. In order to preserve the integrity of these relics of past civilisations, it is desirable to make such investigations using non-destructive techniques. Recent decades have witnessed a growth in the X-ray computed tomography (CT) applications in the study of cultural heritage objects. This paper presents and discusses tomographic investigations of two Cucuteni ceramic statuettes discovered in Romania. The study was made with a CT device specially designed for archaeometric applications.
Ceramic Ethnoarchaeometry in Western Sardinia: Production of Cooking Ware at Pabillonis
2014
Ceramic ethnoarchaeology has been used to explore fully the chaine operatoire and to understand all of the stages and factors involved in pottery production, such as raw material selection or paste recipes used by the potters. This work presents the results of the application of compositional analysis undertaken in the village of Pabillonis (western Sardinia, Italy), the main cooking ware production centre of the island. Pottery and local clays have been characterized using a combination of analytical techniques. By integrating the ethnographic information and the archaeometric approach, it was possible to reconstruct the operational sequence, exploring the relationship between the processi…
Compositional reference for the documented Archaic production of indigenous matt-painted pottery at Entella (Western Sicily)
2015
This contribution is focused on a specific class of indigenous Archaic pottery (sixth and fifth century BC) with matt-painted geometric decoration that was recovered in large quantities in the excavations at Entella, an indigenous site located in western Sicily. The site of Entella was strategically considerable in this part of Sicily, controlling the north-south routes running along the river Belice. Kiln structures were attested at Entella that, until today, it is the only Archaic site in the area with an unmistakable evidence of production of fine pottery. The present research is aimed at yielding a complete petrographic and chemical characterization of the table ware produced at Entella…
Ceramic production at Selinunte (Sicily) during the 4th and 3rd century BCE: New archaeometric data through the analysis of kiln wastes
2018
Abstract A set of 37 overfired ceramic samples was collected from the dump of two kilns sited in the productive area FF1 in the acropolis of Selinunte (south western Sicily), being specifically active in the period 409–250 BCE. The ceramic samples were analysed by thin-section petrography and chemical analysis, with the aim to establish a valuable ‘reference group’ representative of the ceramic produced at Selinunte during the Punic phase. The petrographic and chemical analyses allowed to state that the ceramic manufactures from the kilns operating in the FF1 insula are characterized by rather homogeneous textural/compositional features. The daily-use common ware here produced is characteri…
Electrochemical Fingerprint of Archeological Lead Silicate Glasses Using the Voltammetry of Microparticles Approach
2016
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Different methods for soluble salt removal tested on late-Roman cooking ware from a submarine excavation at the island of Pantelleria (Sicily, Italy)
2014
Abstract This paper deals with the comparative evaluation of different procedures of salt extraction designed for archaeological ceramics from submarine burial environments. The experimental work was carried out on a particular type of late-Roman cooking ware finds (Pantellerian ware) found in a shipwreck near the shoreline of the Island of Pantelleria (Sicily). The studied ceramic test-pieces were first recognised in terms of bulk characteristics (mineralogy, petrography and chemistry). SEM-EDS observation allowed verification of the presence of various secondary minerals at the surface and in the pore spaces formed after the prolonged permanence in seawater under oxidising or reducing con…
EDXRF analysis of blue pigments used in Valencian ceramics from the 14th century to modern times
2006
Abstract EDXRF analyses of cobalt-blue pigments were performed on 73 pieces of Valencian ceramics from the beginning of the 14th century up to the 20th century. In 67 of such samples, the pigment decoration was applied together with a tin opacified lead glaze cover on the clay body. In five samples the pigment was applied on the clay body without a glaze cover. The comparison between EDXRF spectra from coloured and non-coloured areas contains information about the pigment composition. Elements like Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and As are identified as characteristic of blue pigments; different associations of these elements were found and correlated with the chronology of the samples. The results…
A rapid method of screening ceramic artefacts to reject unlikely hypotheses of provenance
2019
This study was aimed at testing a cost‐effective method based on comparing the rare earth element patterns in artefacts of known origin with patterns of potential raw materials, thus allowing the restriction/exclusion of working hypotheses on provenance, and consequently a better focus of research funding. The method targets ceramics/materials of terrigenous origin. Lanthanoids and yttrium patterns were determined in 26 wine amphorae that had a well‐established geographical origin from the Nuovo Mercato Testaccio in Rome, and these patterns were compared to plausible terrigenous materials from various ancient Roman regions. The point was not to pinpoint the origins of the material, but rath…