Attempts at thermoluminescence dating of fired materials from the Przeworsk Culture settlements

The thermoluminescence (TL) dating method has a significant measurement error margin reaching almost 10%. Due to this fact it could be considered as little effective in case of such sites from the Roman period as burial grounds with many artefacts useful for archaeological dating. However, for many settlements from this period, where pottery is the only kind of artefacts, the TL method can give notable results. The main purpose of the study was to make an attempt at TL dating of pottery and clay daub samples from the Nieszawa Kolonia and Kręcieszki sites and to compare the obtained dates with the results of archaeological dating of selected features from the Przeworsk Culture settlements. In the Kręcieszki site the fragments of burnt clay daub were dated by the TL method for the first time in the Lublin laboratory. It turned out that clay daub is an equally good dating material as pottery. It can be found that the TL dating of pottery from Nieszawa Kolonia confirms two stages of settlement. The first settlement stage is related to the phases B2-B2/C1-C1a of the Roman period, i.e. from the beginning of the 2^nd to the beginning of the 3^rd century. The second group of TL dates corresponds to the phases C2D that is to the second stage of settlement, from the second half of the 3^rd century to the half of the 5^th century AD. The results of TL dating of pottery and clay daub in the Kręcieszki site are rather similar and correspond to the phase B1/B2 of the period of Roman influence, determined from pottery style, but can also indicate the phase B2/C1.     

Archaeological and archaeomagnetic dating at a site from the ager Tarraconensis (Tarragona,Spain): El Vila-sec Roman pottery

A very accurate archaeological dating of a Roman site in NE Spain (El Vila-sec) was made based on the typology of pottery artifacts. Three different phases were identified with activity ranging from the mid-1st century BC to the early-3rd century AD. Analyses of bricks from kilns at El Vila-sec produced data on their stored archaeomagnetic vector. These data were compared with the secular variation curve for the Iberian Peninsula and the SCHA.DIF.3K regional archaeomagnetic model. Both, the reference curve and the model, produced probability distributions for the final period of use for two kilns from the second archaeological phase that were not used during the third phase. At a 95% confidence level, both time distributions cover a wide chronological range including the presumed archaeological age. Both the Iberian secular variation curve and the SCHA.DIF.3K regional model proved to be suitable models for dating the site, although on their own they do not produce a single unambiguous solution. This archaeomagnetic approach could also be applied to neighbouring archaeological sites that have an imprecise archaeological age.     

Petrographic analysis and INAA geochemistry of prehistoric ceramics from Robinson Pueblo, New Mexico

The examination of thin sections is a successful method for discovering provenance groupings of archaeological ceramics if non-clay inclusions in pottery paste can be identified with petrographically distinctive geologic sources. When this is not the case, geochemical analysis must be employed to search for more subtle evidence of such groupings. This situation is likely to arise in studies, such as the present one, where the objective is to discern local or subregional patterns of pottery manufacture and exchange. Ninety potsherds from site LA46326 in New Mexico were subjected to both INAA and petrographic analysis. The results of this conjoint approach are assessed in relation to geochemical theory and are analysed graphically and statistically.     

Chronology during the Bronze Age in the archaeological site Tell Qubr Abu al-‘Atiq, Syria

Archaeosediments are deposits with a direct or indirect anthropogenic component. They provide useful information about past human activities and interaction with the environment. When other materials, such as pottery, are present in archaeosediment layers, the combination of TL ages from pottery and OSL ages from sediments can provide complete data about the occupation and evolution of an archaeological setting. In Mesopotamia, tells are mounds formed by the debris of human occupation and the accumulation of muddy sediments mainly due to the decomposition of mud bricks in ancient towns. Many other materials such as pottery fragments, bones and charcoal can be found in the sediment layers. The combination of OSL, TL and radiocarbon ages can be very useful in the case of the Bronze Age Period in Syria, allowing the occupation sequence of such archaeological sites to be reconstructed. Tell Qubr Abu al-’Atiq, is located on the left bank of the Middle Euphrates River (Syria). The archaeological artefacts found in the sediment layers (pottery) collected during excavations in two areas of the site, indicated the occupation of the tell during the Early and Late Bronze Age by typological pottery classification. The radiocarbon ages of charcoal indicate that human occupation fits the archaeological hypothesis, providing an older and maximum occupation period between 2800 and 2300 BC and a younger period between 1400 and 900 BC. OSL dating of sediments shows ages younger than charcoal, while TL ages of pottery are generally older than sediment and charcoal ages. This can be explained as the different materials correspond to different events. The charcoal and pottery correspond to occupation periods, while sediments correspond to the further destruction of the site.     

甘肃新石器时代与青铜代陶器研究的内容和科学意义

综述了现代分析测试方法和数学方法在古代陶器成分分析、年代测定、制作工艺、产地判断、形态分析方面的应用以及甘肃新石器与青铜时代陶器研究的意义。     

LUMINESCENCE DATING OF POTTERY FROM LATER PREHISTORIC BRITAIN*

Dating of later prehistoric settlements relies heavily on potter; typologies in England and yet there has been little scientific dating in order to verify these typologies. In this work, luminescence dating techniques were applied directly to the pottery which forms the typological framework. Excellent agreement was obtained between the luminescence ages, and archaeological age ranges for known‐age pottery sherds with diagnostic form and surface decoration. A lower correlation, however, was found in several regions between the luminescence ages for undecorated body sherds and the archaeological assessment which was necessarily based solely on fabric, suggesting the need for reassessment of these fabric chronologies.     

THE DISCOVERY OF ANOMALOUSLY HIGH SILVER ABUNDANCES IN POTTERY FROM EARLY ROMAN EXCAVATION CONTEXTS IN JERUSALEM*

This is the first study on the differential distribution and concentrations of silver in ceramics recovered from archaeological excavations. The chemical compositions of 1174 pottery vessels from 38 Roman‐period sites in Israel have been determined. Unusually high and variable abundances of silver were discovered in pottery samples of all vessel types and chemical compositions from four distinct archaeological contexts dating to late first century bce to 70 ce Jerusalem. The large majority of the Jerusalem vessels could be distinguished by their silver abundances from all analysed pottery pieces recovered at rural sites outside Jerusalem, even when the pottery types and chemical compositions, except for silver, of pottery found within and outside Jerusalem were indistinguishable. The evidence is suggestive of a human origin for the high and variable silver abundances, and dispersion of the silver by aqueous transport. The differential silver concentrations found in excavated pottery from Jerusalem and other urban and rural sites suggest that attention to the distribution of silver in pottery from excavated contexts may be helpful for evaluating the nature and function of archaeological remains and patterns of urban contamination.     

Thermoluminescent dating of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age pottery on sites in Kłyżów and Jarosław (SE Poland)

The absolute chronology of Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages in Polish territories is a result of long-term and complex research. Here, we have investigated the absolute dating of two sites, namely K?y?ów, a cemetery of the Tarnobrzeg Lusatian culture, and Jaros?aw, a settlement spanning from the late phase of the former to Pomeranian culture, possibly with Jastorf elements. Having been spurred by promising results of thermoluminescence (TL) dating of medieval and Przeworsk materials, we have employed it in those situations, where no other chronometric methods seem to be efficient. TL dating has been combined with typological analysis of the dated pottery and, partially, with radiocarbon method. Albeit the produced TL dates do not represent the level of sought-for fine chronological resolution, they indicate the temporal trends and corroborate the typological research. Our study has shown the potential of TL dating for periods with plateaus on ¹⁴C calibration curve. We also have dealt with unexpected TL ages and suggested some solutions of the problem. Finally, we have demonstrated that the condition sine qua non for archaeological interpretation of TL dates is a thorough stylistic-chronological analysis of dated pottery and clear understanding of relations between chronometric dates and the archaeological event to be dated.     

Implications of burial alterations on luminescence dating of archaeological ceramics

Recent mineralogical studies on archaeological pottery samples report significant variations in alkali metal concentrations due to environmental alterations during burial. Here we examine the effects of potassium (K) leaching on luminescence dating. The effect on the estimation of the dose rate is studied by considering four models of leaching (exponential, linear, early and late) and their impact on fine- and coarse-grain dating are calculated. The modeling approaches are applied to two cases of pottery in which evidence for alteration was found. Additionally, TL dating performed on pottery of one of the studied cases, indicates the importance of leaching effects on absolute dating measurements.     

A contribution to the study of post-depositional alterations of pottery using TL dating analysis

In luminescence dating, the potassium concentration significantly contributes to the dose rate value in the age estimation. Within this study, fine-grain thermoluminescence dating has been applied on sherds of calcareous pottery of known age, excavated at a Roman site in Mallorca, Spain. For those of the samples that showed signs of severe potassium leaching, according to chemical and mineralogical examination, the thermoluminescence analysis provided overestimated dates. By using the known archaeological age of the samples, a corrected dose rate value can be estimated which provides the potassium concentration averaged for the burial period. Finally, a step-like model can then be used to estimate the fraction of the burial period after which most of the alteration effects took place.     

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.     

Ceramic findings from the archaeological site at Aiano-Torraccia di Chiusi (Siena,Italy): a multi-analytical approach

In 2005, the remains of a Roman villa, dating from the early fourth to the sixth centuries ad, were discovered at the archaeological site of Aiano-Torraccia di Chiusi (Siena, Italy). After being abandoned in the sixth century ad, the complex was occupied by a group of Ostrogothic or Lombardic artisans in the period between the sixth and the seventh centuries ad. Many ceramic remains (coarse pottery and red slip ceramics) from the first to the seventh centuries ad have been discovered on this archaeological site. These findings have been analysed using different analytical techniques (optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), and micro-Raman in order to characterize the ceramic body, the coating, the temper, and to investigate the compositional relationship between the different kinds of ceramics. The use of different techniques on the same samples yielded information at different scales. OM and SEM-EDS yielded interesting information on the coarse pottery: the analyses performed on some minerals and rock fragments suggest that stone tesserae from the Roman villa (in the form of numerous marble fragments) were used in the production of this pottery. Bulk analyses (XRD and XRF) and subsequent micro-analyses (SEM-EDS, ATR-FTIR, and micro-Raman) of the red slip pottery revealed clear chemical, mineralogical and textural differences: some ceramics (the TCC sample group) typically have a Fe-enriched coating while others (the INGR sample group) present a clear difference in grain size but no chemical or mineralogical differences between the ceramic body and the coating.     

Thermoluminescence (TL) dating of ancient Syrian pottery from six different archaeological sites

Syrian archaeological pottery sherds were collected for TL dating from six different archaeological sites named Al-Shermanieh, Tell Serah, Der Al-Hajar (south of Damascus), Tell Al-Shekdakah, Tell Al-Souwirieh (east of Damascus) and Khurbet Al-Kulieh (south west of Damascus). The samples were prepared by fine grain technique and the annual dose for each sample (pottery sherds and soil sample) was measured using an alpha spectrometer system for uranium and thorium contribution as well as with atomic absorption spectrometry for the potassium contents. The mean ages were found to be 5500 ± 150 years, 2950 ± 50 years, 1200 ± 50 years, 1300 ± 150 years, 3300 ± 100 years and 3400 ± 200 years for the examined pottery from the sites Al-Shermanieh, Tell Serah, Der Al-Hajar, Tell Al-Shekdakah, Tell Al-Souwirieh and Khurbet Al-Kulieh, respectively. The results were in good agreement with the ages estimated by archaeologists except for one sample which belongs to Der Al-Hjar site.     

THE HISTORY OF THE LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY INSTRUMENTAL NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS PROGRAMME FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND GEOLOGICAL MATERIALS

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory pottery provenance group developed standards and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) methods that are used at many archaeometry laboratories around the world. The background and development of ‘Standard Pottery’ and of methods for INAA are described. Early pottery provenance studies are described, and other research programmes, involving obsidian and magmatic mixing, the origin of the stone used for the Colossi of Memnon, and the ‘Plate of Brass’, are mentioned. Research work by the Laboratory included the discovery of the world‐wide iridium anomaly and extensive subsequent research on what has come to be known as the ‘Asteroid Impact Theory’. Characteristics of the analytical programme for pottery provenance work, including overall aims, precision and accuracy, intercalibration, and irradiation and measurement protocols, are discussed. New research areas developed in the past 15 years, to broaden the usefulness of chemical compositional data for archaeological investigation, and examples of recent work, are described. This research, which makes use of high‐precision X‐ray fluorescence analysis in addition to INAA measurements on sample splits, includes distinguishing the products of different workshops located at the same production site, studies on the significance of the distribution of silver in archaeological pottery and the use of high‐precision chemical compositional data as an aid for making chronological distinctions.     

THERMOLUMINESCENT DATING OF COLOMBIAN POTTERY IN THE YOTOCO STYLE

Two contexts from the Colombian sites, Yotoco Ferry and Moralba, had been linked by archaeological similarities in pottery style, and dated by association with ware from other sites at circaa.d. 1000. However, radiocarbon dating of those contexts set Moralba at circa 800 b.c. , some 2000 yr older than Yotoco Ferry. Thermoluminescent dating of pottery from Yotoco Ferry dated it at circaa.d. 900, and pottery from Moralba was dated at circaa.d. 870. In addition a metal-smelting pottery crucible, thought to be prehispanic, was studied by thermoluminescence and dated, on the contrary, at less than 120 yr old.     

A Shipwreck near Kinlochbervie, Sutherland, Scotland, UK

Investigations off Kinlochbervie, conducted between 1997 and 2003, have recorded a shipwreck site and recovered the largest collection of Italian Renaissance pottery ever discovered from an archaeological context in Scotland. This paper details work carried out and discusses the possible dating and nationality of the ship in the context of maritime contacts within western Europe at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries.
© 2004 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

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.     

CHARACTERIZATION AND THERMOLUMINESCENCE DATING OF PREHISTORIC POTTERY SHERDS FROM MILENA

This paper reports the results obtained applying absolute dating methodologies and mineralogical, petrographical and micropalaeontological characterization techniques to prehistoric pottery sherds varying in age from the Sicilian Middle Neolithic to Bronze Age. All samples came from the archaeological area of Milena (Caltanissetta, Sicily); those of the Bronze Age were found on a site with a precise stratigraphic succession. The investigation has contributed to the determination of an absolute chronology for the Milena prehistoric period. The data provide, for the first time in Sicily, absolute dates covering a wide spectrum of cultures following one another in the same area and, for the Bronze Age site, correlated to the precise stratigraphic succession. The petrographical and mineralogical analyses allowed not only the identification of the principal constituents of the pottery, but also the formulation of some hypotheses regarding the specific manufacturing techniques of different epochs. The microfacies, obtained from the presence of fossils in the groundmass of the pottery, were also analysed and compared with the microfauna present in the Miocene clays outcropping in the area. The data identified local Messinian clay as the raw material probably used in the manufacture of the pottery and also support the presence, already assumed by archaeologists, of imported Mycenaean pottery, thus supporting the dates obtained on pottery taken from the same stratum.     

Report on the pottery from Tell Sufan in Nablus,Palestine

ABSTRACT

This research report aims to give detailed information on the pottery from the 1999 and 2013-16 excavation campaigns taking place at the Tell Sufan site in Nablus, Palestine. These were conducted by the Department of Antiquities at An-Najah National University (ANU) in Nablus. It is of note that this ancient pottery has never previously been the subject of research nor has any literature been published on it. Our methodology consists in: analysing the pottery by identifying it, typifying it, and giving it a function; providing chronological information on the site; comparison of the pottery with that from other sites in Palestine, using archaeological information from the site; and contextualising our findings with other historical and archaeological studies. Examination of the functional use of the pottery allows us to demonstrate human activity at the Tell Sufan site, giving information on the most prosperous phases of occupation in regard to economic aspects, through the late Bronze Age, Iron Age and Byzantine-Early Islamic periods.     

GAUSSIAN CURVES FOR VISUALIZING CHRONOLOGICAL PATTERNS OF CERAMIC FINDS AND RESIDUALITY*

This paper describes a particular statistical approach to chronological data from assemblages of archaeological finds (namely pottery) using Gaussian curves: the method enables us to obtain a graphic representation of chronological patterns that avoids an excessive flattening of data, adding an extra dimension to the usual linear temporal concepts. This enables us to arrive at more likely absolute dating and also visualize residuality. The method has been built during the study of a stratigraphic context from the Site of Ancient Ships of Pisa – San Rossore, Italy, and applied to its pottery. Archaeologists may find in the model a useful tool that is easy to apply.