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.     

Koan amphorae from Halasarna – investigations in a Hellenistic amphora production centre

Ceramic amphorae have been the most popular transport and storage containers for a large variety of liquid and solid products. The amphorae of the present study were used as transport containers for wine from the island of Kos (East Aegean). Therefore, they had to fulfil certain requirements in terms of mechanical strength and toughness but also in terms of standardization of vessel size and shape. An assemblage of amphora fragments from the excavation of ancient Halasarna, an amphora production centre, will be presented. The ceramics were studied by means of their chemical and mineralogical composition and fabric. Furthermore, their material properties were measured and their mechanical performance was simulated in computer models.     

Technology Transfer at the Periphery of the Mycenaean World: The Cases of Mycenaean Pottery Found in Central Macedonia (Greece) and the Plain of Sybaris (Italy)*

The study of technology transfer in pottery production to the periphery of the Mycenaean world has been addressed by considering two different areas, southern Italy and central Macedonia. Technological features such as ceramic paste, decoration and firing have been determined for different ceramic groups established according to provenance criteria. The studies of technology and provenance have been performed following an archaeometric approach, using neutron activation analysis, petrographic analysis, X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results have revealed the existence of two different models. On the one hand, southern Italy seems to exhibit a more organized pottery production, which follows a Mycenaean‐like technology, while in central Macedonia production is probably more varied, being based in part on the technology of the local tradition.     

Keeping an eye on your pots: the provenance of Neolithic ceramics from the Cave of the Cyclops,Youra, Greece

Combined petrographic and chemical analysis of MN and LN ceramics from the Cave of the Cyclops on the island of Youra, Greece, has revealed a compositionally diverse assemblage with a range of different local and off-island sources. Ceramics deposited in Neolithic times on this barren, rocky outpost of the Sporades chain may have originated from a surprising number of possible origins, including from the Plain of Thessaly, Euboea and the volcanic northeast Aegean islands. This picture challenges traditional assumptions about Neolithic pottery production and indicates that significant movement of ceramics was already taking place within the northern Aegean as early as the beginning of the sixth millennium BC. The discovery of a persistent local pottery tradition, that is also found on the neighbouring island of Kyra-Panagia, indicates significant continuity in ceramic technology over some 1500 years.     

Handheld Portable X‐Ray Fluorescence of Aegean Obsidians

We tested two portable XRF instruments (with different technologies) using two correction schemes (‘soils’ and ‘mining’) with both factory‐set calibrations and linear regression calibrations derived from published data. All four Aegean obsidian sources, including Sta Nychia and Dhemenegaki on Melos, were distinguished in each case. The newer instrument provided better ‘off‐the‐shelf’ accuracy than the older instrument, but calibrations negated these differences. The newer model also offered superior precision for most elements, despite measuring specimens for shorter times. Both correction schemes for the newer instrument resulted in almost equal precision, meaning that either may be used for successful Aegean obsidian sourcing.     

The geochemical diversity of neogene clay deposits in Crete and its implications for provenance studies of Minoan pottery*

The determination of provenance probably forms the primary role of geochemical analyses in archaeological ceramic studies. In what has comprised a successful field of study, the ultimate basis for such research has been the comparison of pottery compositions with the geochemical diversity displayed by clay deposits within a given study area. Although such studies are now common, the understanding of chemical and mineralogical variability in ceramic raw materials has been somewhat neglected, with the dominance of assumptions rather than the actual analysis of clays. In this paper, a study is presented of Neogene clays in Crete (Greece), a clay type commonly used in ancient and modern pottery production. Sixty‐one samples were taken from 28 locations in the central and eastern parts of the island, to reveal both intra‐ and inter‐deposit variability. In one deposit chosen for multiple sampling, the 14 samples display great variability in the alkali elements, Fe and Co, and to a lesser extent in the REEs. Many of the geographically separate deposits differ from each other in chemical composition, with Eastern Cretan deposits showing higher REE concentrations and higher Th/Sc ratios, whereas Central Cretan deposits of younger geological stages are characterized by a lower Th/U ratio. Mineralogical analysis by XRD is used to explain aspects of the geochemical variability of the clays.     

Urbanization and Socioeconomic Status in the European Regions: The Role of Population Ageing and Capital City Regions

Using the European Community Household Panel data survey and confirmatory factor analysis, this paper explores the causal relationship between the multidimensional concepts of urbanization and socioeconomic status in the European Union. It shows that income, education and occupation are strongly related to status, and the density of population area and the town size, to urbanization. The relationship between urbanization and status is positive. This means that urban areas contain the residences of the elite, such as the rich, those with high levels of educational attainment and people with high-calibre jobs. This paper does not provide evidence to support the idea that individuals lose socioeconomic status as they age and that status is higher in capital city regions. The relationship between urbanization and status is relatively stronger for the old working-age cohort and for the non-capital city regions. These results have policy implications with regard to social welfare and urban and regional planning and development.     

Chemical Variability in Clays and Pottery from a Traditional Cooking Pot Production Village: Testing Assumptions in Pereruela*

This paper explores analytically the contemporary pottery‐making community of Pereruela (north‐west Spain) that produces cooking pots from a mixture of red clay and kaolin. Analyses by different techniques (XRF, NAA, XRD, SEM and petrography) showed an extremely high variability for cooking ware pottery produced in a single production centre, by the same technology and using local clays. The main source of chemical variation is related to the use of different red clays and the presence of non‐normally distributed inclusions of monazite. These two factors induce a high chemical variability, not only in the output of a single production centre, but even in the paste of a single pot, to an extent to which chemical compositions from one ‘workshop’, or even one ‘pot’, could be classified as having different provenances. The implications for the chemical characterization and for provenance studies of archaeological ceramics are addressed.     

INTEGRATION OF IMMIGRANTS,BRIDGING SOCIAL CAPITAL,ETHNICITY, AND LOCALITY

This paper analyses a uniquely detailed data set of social integration characteristics of immigrants belonging to four non‐native ethnic groups (i.e., Turks, Moroccans, Surinamese, and Antilleans) living in Dutch neighborhoods. It is well known that an individual's level of social integration is related to the ethnic composition and economic development of an immigrant's residential locality, as well as the generation of the immigrant. Yet, what is not known is whether the social and economic characteristics of adjacent or neighboring localities also influence an individual's level of social integration. Using a multilevel hierarchical analysis with spatial interaction effects, we examine the extent to which four social integration aspects of the bridging social capital of these immigrant groups are related to their ethnicity, their generation, their immediate locality, and the effects of the neighboring localities. Our findings regarding the effects of the ethnic concentration and economic development of the immediate locality along with the immigrant's generation broadly concur with existing studies. At the same time, however, we also find that the features of neighboring localities exert an additional influence on an individual's social integration over and above those related to the immigrant's generation and immediate locality. These additional spatial spillover effects are broadly in line with those associated with the immediate locality, but they are also sensitive to particular proxies for social integration which are employed. These spatial spillover effects on social capital and social integration have not been observed before.     

High-temperature performance of two-layered ceramics and the implications for Roman crucibles

Roman metalworking crucibles are frequently characterized by an extra outer layer of clay, applied to a pre-formed vessel. Three-point bending and standardized dead-weight loading tests were conducted to determine the advantages offered by the extra outer layer. Deformation and fracture behaviour, at temperatures up to 1100°C, of two-layer, monolithic and tempered-monolithic briquettes were compared. Measurements indicated that the two-layer briquettes were more resistant to fracture at high temperatures: > 850°C they showed more extensive plastically deformed regions than monolithic briquettes. The influence of temper was consistent with previous results: tempering caused quasi-stable fracture and reduced fracture strength. The results suggest extra outer layers assisted in preventing catastrophic failure.