Mineralogical-petrographic and spectroscopic investigations on coarse pottery and transport amphorae from Agrigento
Part of : Mediterranean archaeology & archaeometry : international journal ; Vol.4, No.1, 2004, pages 47-59
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Pages:
47-59
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Articles
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Abstract:
In the present work, ten ceramic samples from the VI-V century B.C., found in the west area ofthe Temples Valley in Agrigento, were analysed by different experimental techniques, such asoptical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Inducted Coupled Plasmaa.- Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy (FTIR).The simultaneous use of the above mentioned methods has allowed to unambiguouslycharacterize the provenance of these ceramic findings. In order to verify their provenance, fiveceramic samples, found in a medieval kiln in Agrigento (Sicily) and of definite Agrigentinaproduction, were used for comparison as well along with some literature data.Mineralogical analysis has shown mainly quartz with traces of K-feldspar, muscovite, iron andtitanium oxides, microfossils even in moulds, often filled with re-crystallized microcrystallinecalcite, while presence of gehlenite and diopside, determined by the XRD analysis, indicated thefiring temperature of the ceramic.Oxides content, obtained by XRF measurements, was found quite homogeneous in the analysedceramic, as in the case of the Agrigentina kiln ceramic. Moreover, the values of Ni and Cr, observedby ICP/OES technique, confirmed that all the manufactures were of colonial production, indicatingthat they were not imported from Greece. Comparing our samples with the Agrigentina kilnsamples, it was possible to state that the analysed ceramics were made of clayey-sandy materialspresent in the Agrigento area and one coming from a non-Agrigentina quarry.
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Keywords:
Amphorae, Pottery, Agrigento, Archaeological, Petrographical and geo-chemical characterization
