Archaeometric Analyses of Medieval Pottery From the Lower Danube Region, Romania.

Abstract

This paper discusses the pottery manufacturing in the Lower Danube region during the Early Medieval period. Optical Microscopy (OM), Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) were performed on thirty-two ceramic shards unearthed at Pantelimonu de Sus, Romania, dated to the 8th-10th c. AD. The petrographic observations showed an important variability in terms of mineral composition, homogeneity and porosity, documented by the presence of four types of ceramic paste,  indicating the use of alluvial and kaolinitic clays. The mineralogy of selected ceramic fragments was further refined by powder XRD. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the PIXE data separated the fragments made of kaolinitic clays from the rest. The archaeometric investigations showed that during the Early Middle Age, the potters from Pantelimonu de Sus used alluvial and kaolinitic clays, most likely of local or regional origin to manufacture various kind of vessels. Most potteries were fired in an oxidising atmosphere - complete or incomplete - at temperatures ranging from 600 °C to 900 °C. The analytical data were compared to those previously obtained on coeval ceramic finds from some nearby archaeological sites; a certain degree of similarly of the results was evidenced.