A PRELIMINARY PETROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF CYPRIOT WHITE SLIP II WARE*

Samples of Late Bronze Age White Slip II ware from Cyprus were analysed using optical and scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with energy and wavelength dispersive analyse The slip has a novel granular nature and the coarser aggregates are impressed into the outer surface of the body, indicating that it was applied to a moist surface before the vessels were fired. It has a consistent mineral assemblage (Mg‐chlorite + illite‐smectite + sphene + anatase/rutile ± albite) which is very similar to that of hydrothermally altered zones associated with copper orebodies in the Troodos Massif which were mined in antiquity Our analysis suggests that the raw material for the slip was not found at the ground surface, because the alteration assemblage is unaffected by oxidation and copper carbonate or iron staining. It may, therefore, be a by‐product of sub‐surface ore extraction     

INTERREGIONAL CONTACTS BETWEEN TELL EN-NASBEH AND LITTORAL PHILISTINE CENTRES IN CANAAN DURING EARLY IRON AGE I*

Philistine bichrome ware from Tell en-Nasbeh, an Israelite village in the hill country, has been characterized by instrumental neutron activation analysis. A group of pottery stylistically indistinguishable from wares made in Philistia is shown to be of local origin, while other sherds match kiln wasters found in the littoral Philistine city of Ashdod. These findings attest to complex and reciprocal interregional contacts between the Philistines and the Israelites during the eleventh to twelfth centuries BC.     

A COMPARISON OF INDUCTIVELY-COUPLED PLASMA EMISSION SPECTROMETRY AND ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY ANALYSIS ON STANDARD REFERENCE SILICATE MATERIALS AND CERAMICS

Analyses by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and atomic absorption spectrometry of 22 ceramic standards and sherds are compared. Further data from analyses of one of the ceramic standards analysed by both methods are also discussed. The results show that for most major elements, the methods are comparable, but that use of common standards would be advisable if data from the two methods are to be compared.     

MICROCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF BUILDING STONE FROM SEVILLE CATHEDRAL,SPAIN

Enrichment diagrams for trace elements have been proposed as a useful and straightforward procedure to identify ores and stones. The identification of the diverse stone of the exterior of the Cathedral of Seville has been achieved by this means. Fourteen trace elements have been analysed, from both quarry and building material samples, using atomic absorption and flame emission spectrometry in order to apply enrichment diagrams for identification purposes.     

TECHNOLOGY AND PROVENANCE OF A COLLECTION OF ISLAMIC COPPER‐BASED OBJECTS AS FOUND BY CHEMICAL AND LEAD ISOTOPE ANALYSIS*

Chemical and lead isotope analyses were utilized to determine the composition, technology and origin of a collection of Islamic copper‐based objects found in Jordan. The atomic absorption spectrometry results show that the objects were made of different types of copper‐base alloys that contain various amounts of zinc, tin and lead. The use of brass, highly leaded brass and quaternary alloys of Cu‐Zn‐Sn‐Pb in the manufacture of everyday, household objects strongly points to Islamic traditions. The lead isotope compositions of the objects match very well that of the copper ore mined from the Dolomite‐Limestone‐Shale unit of the Arabah copper mines.     

FINE WARE FROM LOCRI EPIZEPHIRI: A PROVENANCE STUDY BY INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY

Fifty-six sherds of fine ware from Locri Epizephiri were analysed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICPOES) and flame emission spectroscopy (FES). The sherds had been excavated on the archaeological areas of Marasà Sud, Centocamere and San Cono, and represent local and imported products from the seventh to the second century BC. The samples were dissolved by fusion with lithium metaborate and analysed for nine elements (Al, Fe, Ca, Mg, Ti, Mn, Sr, Ba and Cr) by ICPOES, while Na and K were determined by FES. The analytical data were subjected to hierarchical agglomerative clustering and principal components analysis to classify the sherds into compositional groups. The results obtained indicated that Corinthian, Attic and Ionian products or imitations may be classified in a few separate groups, while most local products are found in a unique, large group.     

GEOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND SOCIOCULTURAL COMPLEXITY: A CASE STUDY FROM EARLY IRON AGE MEGIDDO (ISRAEL)*

Few archaeological sites can claim a more celebrated position than Megiddo, the Armageddon of biblical revelation. Guardian to a strategic pass on the ancient land bridge that traverses the region, it has long been known that Megiddo played a prominent role in the emergence of the Iron Age nation‐states of biblical fame. Given its pivotal location, Megiddo provides an ideal opportunity to examine the experience of a community that found itself at the centre of these developments. The archaeological and textual evidence indicates a community that enjoyed extensive contact with an array of culturally distinct sociopolitical groups emerging in its hinterland. To further explore the nature and extent of this interaction, an assemblage of 86 ceramic sherds was analysed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). This paper presents the results of this analysis, together with an evaluation of potential geochemical and archaeological interconnections. Based on this comparative analysis, implications are drawn regarding Megiddo's role in the changing cultural and political landscape of this formative period in the history of the region.     

A PROVENANCE STUDY OF POTTERY FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES NEAR CANOSA,PUGLIA (ITALY)*

Studies have been carried out to assess the provenance of selected pottery excavated at archaeological sites near Canosa, Puglia (Italy). Sixty-six sherds, ranging in date from the mid-seventh century BC to the beginning of the third century BC, were analysed by atomic absorption spectroscopy and 16 elements were determined. The analysis data were subjected to multivariate classification procedures. Tests showed that the majority of the examined sherds came from ancient local kilns; a probable Ionian origin was established for some other sherds, while the rest were of unknown origin.     

CYPRIOT BYZANTINE GLAZED POTTERY: A STUDY OF THE PAPHOS WORKSHOPS

Twenty‐five samples of Byzantine glazed pottery from two archaeological sites between Limassol and Paphos region (Cyprus), dated between the 12th and 15th century ad were studied using micro X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction analysis. It was found that all the glazes contain lead, following the main manufacturing process of medieval pottery in the Mediterranean territory, while some of them contain tin, possibly for better opacity. Furthermore, it is shown that copper, iron and cobalt with nickel are responsible for the decoration colours. Finally, the application of principal component analysis revealed significant differentiation for some of the samples.     

A COMPARATIVE ELECTRON MICROPROBE STUDY OF LERNA III AND IV CERAMICS AND LOCAL CLAY-RICH SEDIMENTS*

This study uses electron microprobe analysis of ceramic artefacts and local day-rich sediments and lithics to help address questions concerning the nature of the cultural change implied by ceramics from Lerna III and IV. It redresses the previous lack of a comparative collection of clay-rich sediments that adequately represents the local variation in clay and temper for the area surrounding Lerna. The resulting comparisons indicate that although they produced stylistically different ceramics, potters from both Lenta phases acquired their clays from the local Lerna area.     

PREHISTORIC ANTIGORITE PROCUREMENT IN CYPRUS

The Canadian Palaipaphos Survey Project in the Paphos district of south-western Cyprus investigated extensive areas of the Esouzas, Xero, and Dhiarizos River valleys, locating hundreds of archaeological sites spanning the nine millennia from the aceramic Neolithic period to the recent era (Rupp et al. s1984 and 1986). Antigorite artefacts were recovered from Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age settlements. A number of geological sources have been proposed for the material from which these artefacts were manufactured. The results of neutron activation analyses of archaeological and geological specimens suggest that the Troodos ophiolite/Kouris River secondary deposits were the primary source of antigorite for the prehistoric populations of the study area. Extreme care must be taken when analysing antigorite samples to avoid material with grey-black magnetite-rich inclusions. since these have radically different trace element chemistries from the pure antigorite.     

THE PETROGRAPHY AND CHEMISTRY OF THIN‐WALLED WARE FROM AN HELLENISTIC– ROMAN SITE AT SEGESTA (SICILY)*

Samples of Roman thin‐walled ware from Segesta (northwestern Sicily), dating back to the early Imperial period, were studied by optical microscopy (OM) and Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA). Up to now, this class of Roman fine tableware has only occasionally been evaluated archaeometrically. Nevertheless, numerous production centres are believed to have been simultaneously active in the western Mediterranean area. Petrographic and chemical data seem to be in agreement with the archaeological hypothesis of local manufacture in Segesta for most of the analysed samples, through a comparison with kiln wasters and local raw materials. The effectiveness of thin‐section petrography for determining the provenance of such a tiny tempered class of pottery and the integrated use of two different grouping procedures (petrography and chemistry) were also tested.     

AMPHORAE FROM LYONS: PETROGRAPHIC AND CHEMICAL ARGUMENTS*

This paper briefly presents a method for the interpretation of quantitative petrographic data and chemical composition data from amphorae found in Lyons with the aim of determining whether or not the amphorae are of local production. We will try to define the exact place of each argument in our reasoning about the attribution of the origin of these ceramics, while insisting on the zones of uncertainty for each method. It is important to emphasize here that in assigning the origin of the Lyons amphorae all the arguments must be used conjointly. The presence of rhyolite in the temper is not enough to determine the Lyons origin of an amphora, and the geochemical arguments are often insufficient to make a decision. It is a reasoned application of petrographic, geochemical and archaeological arguments which enables us to pronounce an attribution.     

DETERMINING POTTERY PROVENANCE: APPLICATION OF A NEW HIGH-PRECISION X-RAY FLUORESCENCE METHOD AND COMPARISON WITH INSTRUMENTAL NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS*

A recently developed high-precision X-ray fluorescence (XRF) method, applied for the first time to the study of archaeological pottery, determines the abundances of 13 trace and four major elements from one X-ray spectrum acquired over a 1000 second counting interval. For replicate archaeological samples, the short-term and long-term measurement precisions were close to 1% for the ten elements measured with highest precision. These are comparable to the best results achieved on replicates of clay and pottery standards, and obsidian, using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). High-precision XRF analysis, however, does not require a nuclear facility, and is markedly preferable to INAA in terms of the ease of both sample preparation and analytical procedure. Consequently, element abundance data can usually be provided by a single analyst within a few hours after the start of sample preparation. The accuracy of the method, determined by comparison with data of other workers on eight standard reference materials, averaged 2.4% for the ten best-agreeing elements. The effectiveness of the method for determining pottery provenance is demonstrated for a difficult problem, in which high-precision XRF analysis successfully distinguished the products of two nearby pottery manufacturers in Roman Galilee (Shikhin and Nahif) that had not been clearly differentiated by INAA. The greater effectiveness of high-precision XRF than INAA in this provenance study is a result of the different array of elements measured, and the higher precision obtained for certain elements, by XRF. These results suggest that high precision XRF has potential broad applicability for pottery provenance studies.     

INSIGHTS INTO NORTH MESOPOTAMIAN ‘METALLIC WARE’*

With the aim of shedding new light on the still poorly understood North Mesopotamian metallic ware, ceramic and soil samples from Tell Beydar (northeastern Syria, third millennium bc ) were investigated using a range of analytical techniques, including optical microscopy, SR–XRD and SEM–EDX. The objective of this work was to differentiate calcareous metallic ware from non‐calcareous ware without the aid of chemical analyses and to find further validation of the existing hypothesis that the former group is an imitation of the latter. A third group of metallic wares from Tell Beydar is believed to be of non‐local, still regional origin.     

PANTELLERIAN WARE: A COMPREHENSIVE ARCHAEOMETRIC REVIEW*

Pantellerian ware is a Late Roman cooking ware whose production centre was established on the island of Pantelleria by the pioneering research of Fulford and Peacock almost 20 years ago ( Peacock 1982 ; Fulford and Peacock 1984 ). Archaeological and archaeometric studies carried out by the authors of the present contribution during the past four years have aimed to fully characterize this ceramic class. Recurrent ceramic forms, their distribution over time and space, their petrographic characteristics and their chemical identity, as well as possible raw materials and their technological properties, were considered. The present paper is a comprehensive review of this archaeometric work and aims to establish a ‘reference group’. Using a representative number of samples of Pantellerian ware that were recently discovered in the island through archaeological field surveys or surface and submarine excavations, it was possible to characterize in detail the compositional variability of this ware in terms of chemistry and petrography. Furthermore, the physical properties of this ceramic type have been defined in order to better understand its performance characteristics, mainly in response to induced thermal stress. In the meantime, the experimental mixing and tempering of locally sampled raw materials have shed light on the ancient manufacturing process and have led to an approximation of the original paste.     

LUSTRE-DECORATED CERAMICS FROM A 15TH TO 16TH CENTURY PRODUCTION IN SEVILLE*

A set of 17 fragments of ceramics have been uncovered on the occasion of excavations of a workshop in Triana near Seville. These ceramics are typical of objects that are not commonly encountered in present collections in spite of intensive production during the 15th–16th centuries. Chemical and mineralogical analyses have been performed using various techniques (X-ray fluorescence and diffraction, SEM, ion beam analyses). The majority of the ceramic sherds represent the diversity of the Seville production; three fragments recovered in the same archaeological context were not locally produced and belong to the production of eastern Spain (Valence area). The ceramic bodies of the Seville sherds are compatible with the use of clays from the Guadalquivir valley. The glaze and the lustre decoration are comparable to those produced in eastern Spain. These conclusions are based on data that represent the production of a single workshop in Seville; the scatter of the data is due to variations in the processing and/or to alterations during the five centuries of burial of the ceramic fragments.     

ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL RESEARCH ON SEDIMENTS AND CERAMICS AT POLIDEPORTIVO (SPAIN): AN INTEGRATED APPROACH*

This paper proposes a preliminary approach to the integration of archaeological evidence and various chemical analyses (phosphorus and lipid) on sediments and ceramics. Phosphorus and organic matter analyses are, thus, used for the study of sediments, and lipid analyses for pottery from structure 19 of the Late Neolithic—Early Copper site known as ‘Polideportivo’, Martos, southern Spain. The results of both types of analysis point to a predominantly domestic function for this structure.     

COMPOSITIONAL CHARACTERIZATION OF FRENCH LIMESTONE: A NEW TOOL FOR ART HISTORIANS*

Limestone from quarries known to medieval craftsmen and from the monuments they built and embellished, as well as from carvings now in museum collections, has been characterized by neutron activation analysis. Specimens from 38 quarries in the Lutetian and Jurassic limestone formations of France and from sculptures in American and French museums have been tested, and the results have been compiled in a data base to which art historians may refer when attempting to determine provenance for sculptures. Multivariate statistical analysis of concentration data shows stone from a particular quarry in the Paris basin to be compositionally homogeneous and distinguishable from other quarries in the same formation. The same approach to data related to quarries near the Burgundian abbey of Cluny finds general agreement between classifications based on compositional and on petrographic data, but the number of samples available for analysis at the time of writing was insufficient to achieve the finer distinctions reported for the Paris basin.