THE BEGINNINGS OF ISLAMIC STONEPASTE TECHNOLOGY*

A multidisciplinary programme of research on Islamic pottery has been focused on questions of the dating, provenance and technology of Islamic pottery. One particular question has been the development of stonepaste, a material made primarily of crushed quartz with added frit-glass and clay. The combination of the different approaches of this study has revealed early foundations for the technology in ninth-century AD Iraq, apparently originating in the clay ceramic rather than the ‘Egyptian faience’ tradition. Subsequent and final practice developed in tenth- and eleventh-century AD Egypt. This technology becomes the primary body for all fine Islamic ceramics.     

ANOMALOUS CARBON-13 VALUES FOR FIBRE TEMPER IN CERAMICS*

Ceramic vessels from Later Stone Age sites in the Seacow river valley, South Africa, were heavily tempered with C4 grasses. However, most δ¹³C values of the temper fall between the known δ¹³C ranges for C4 and C3 grasses. Among possible C3 additives that could skew the signal, ground bone, animal dung, alpine grass, Karoo scrub ash, and humic acid contamination are eliminated. The sherd surfaces yield fatty chars with C3-like values. Although these are not enough to account for all the skewing, they represent only the final cooking event. They were preceded by many such events in which fat was absorbed into the C4 grass then charred to soot by later periods in the fire. Thus organic carbon with the isotope composition of the fat built up while the vessel remained in use.     

CALCAREOUS MICROFOSSILS IN BRONZE AGE AEGEAN CERAMICS: ILLUMINATING TECHNOLOGY AND PROVENANCE*

The calcareous skeletal remains of various microscopic organisms such as foraminifera and ostracods are a striking feature of thin sections of many archaeological ceramics from the Aegean Bronze Age. While the presence of these calcareous microfossils in pottery has been noted for some time, attempts to utilize them to further the aims of ceramic compositional analysis have been few in number. In the following paper, we take a first detailed look at the occurrence and utility of calcareous microfossils in archaeological ceramics. By presenting selected case studies from the Bronze Age of Crete, we demonstrate the potential of calcareous microfossils, especially the extremely small ‘nannofossils’ and the highly contextual geological information that they contain, in terms of the characterization and grouping of ceramics, the determination of their provenance and the reconstruction of ancient technology.     

THE PROVENANCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF NEAR EASTERN GLASS: OXYGEN ISOTOPES BY LASER FLUORINATION AS A COMPLEMENT TO STRONTIUM*

The ability to make rapid measurements on small samples using laser fluorination enhances the potential of oxygen isotopes in the investigation of early inorganic materials and technologies. δ¹⁸O and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values are presented for glass from two primary production sites, four secondary production sites and a consumer site in the Near East, dating from Late Antiquity to the medieval period. δ¹⁸O is in general slightly less effective than ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in discriminating between sources, as the spread of measured values from a single source is somewhat broader relative to the available range. However, while ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr is derived predominantly from either the lime‐bearing fraction of the glass‐making sand or the plant ash used as a source of alkali, δ¹⁸O derives mainly from the silica. Thus the two measurements can provide complementary information. A comparison of δ¹⁸O for late Roman – Islamic glasses made on the coast of Syria–Palestine with those of previously analysed glasses from Roman Europe suggests that the European glasses are relatively enriched in ¹⁸O. This appears to contradict the view that most Roman glass was made using Levantine sand and possible interpretations are discussed.     

THE ANALYSIS OF SECOND MILLENNIUM GLASS FROM EGYPT AND MESOPOTAMIA,PART 1: NEW WDS ANALYSES*

A recent analytical study by SEM–WDS was carried out on 226 glasses from the Late Bronze Age, analysing each of the glasses for a total of at least 22 elements, the largest such analytical study conducted on these glasses. The aim of the analysis was first to identify which elements were brought in with each of the raw materials and, second, to accurately characterize those raw materials. Since different glassmaking sites in Egypt and the Near East would probably use at least some local raw materials and these raw materials will vary slightly from site to site, this has potential for provenancing the glass. Analysis showed new patterns in the compositions of glass from the various sites and led to new conclusions about the supply of raw materials and personnel for the glass workshops. This forms the basis for further work by LA–ICPMS to be presented in part 2 of this paper.     

DARK AND SHINY: THE DISCOVERY OF CHROMITE IN BRONZE AGE FAIENCE*

The Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 bc ) in the Near East was a period of cultural development, international trade and technological innovation, notably in metallurgy and silicate technology. As a spin‐off of the new glass technology, new colorants were also applied to faience glazes presumably to increase their aesthetic value. Here, we report on the presence of chromite minerals in the glaze of a faience vessel from Deir ‘Alla, Jordan, 1200 years earlier than reported so far. Importantly, chromite was not only used as a greyish pigment, but also as a nucleating agent for spherulitic crystallization of augite in the amorphous glaze. These synthetic augite formations give a unique, sparkly appearance to the faience vessel, apparently imitating a metallic look. The making of such an intricate glaze and its contemporary significance reflect not only the high level but also the appreciation of innovation in that region at that time.     

PIGMENT IDENTIFICATION IN GREEK POTTERY BY RAMAN MICROSPECTROSCOPY*

Raman microspectroscopy (RMS) is now established as a key technique for the identification of pigments of archaeological pottery that permits the in situ study of art objects by a non‐destructive procedure. The information obtained represents a great aid to restoration and conservation techniques. In this work, the chemical nature of the red, black and white pigments of five samples of Greek pottery from the end of the fifth century and the first half of the fourth century bc , exhumed from the Iberian necropolis of Cabezo Lucero (Guardamar del Segura, Alicante, Spain), has been identified. The black and the red pigments are found to be magnetite (Fe₃O₄) and hematite (α‐Fe₂O₃), respectively. The white pigment is found, for the first time, to be composed of alumina (α‐Al₂O₃ and γ‐Al₂O₃) probably yielded by the thermal decomposition of Greek bauxite.     

ON STATISTICAL APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF CERAMIC ARTEFACTS USING GEOCHEMICAL AND PETROGRAPHIC DATA*

The scientific analysis of ceramics often has the aim of identifying groups of similar artefacts. Much published work focuses on analysis of data derived from geochemical or mineralogical techniques. The former is more likely to be subjected to quantitative statistical analysis. This paper examines some approaches to the statistical analysis of data arising from both kinds of techniques, including ‘mixed‐mode’ methods where both types of data are incorporated into analysis. The approaches are illustrated using data derived from 88 Late Bronze Age transport jars from Kommos, Crete. Results suggest that the mixed‐mode approach can provide additional insight into the data.     

Behavioural and Taphonomic Patterning at Katanda 9: a Middle Stone Age Site, Kivu Province, Zaire

Katanda 9, an open air Middle Stone Age site, contains a dense vertically compressed accumulation of lithic and faunal remains. The physical state of these materials indicates prolonged surface exposure before burial and the site shares essential characteristics therefore with many Lower and Middle Stone Age and Lower and Middle Palaeolithic occurrences in Africa and Eurasia. An important goal of archaeological research is to determine what, if any, anthropogenic signature can be extracted from distributional data and this article utilizes Katanda 9 to suggest an approach to such spatial analysis. It employs a bottom-up, top-down strategy which works in sequential fashion first to determine and control for taphonomic bias and secondly to fit the resultant pattern to models of hominid behaviour. It proposes that questions be posed in nested hierarchical fashion and that probabilities of correctness be assessed. It concludes that the distribution of materials observed at Katanda is most consistent with a nuclear family pattern.     

X-RAY FLUORESCENCE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CORONA FERREA*

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses of metals, glasses and enamels from the Corona Ferrea, or Iron Crown, of Monza are reported. The method followed to obtain quantitative analysis of metal alloys was based on comparison with standards and it is framed on the more general problem of XRF quantitative analysis of irregularly shaped objects with a portable instrument. Preliminary radiocarbon dating results are also reported.