A mineralogical-geochemical approach to pottery characterisation

The objective of this work is to draw attention to the applications of mineralogical-geochemical archeometric studies aimed at resolving the problems relative to ancient ceramic artefacts. The study begins with the recognition of our current knowledge of the raw materials usually used in the manufacturing of ceramics and also considers the additions or purifications made to the raw materials. Then, the reactions that occur during the firing process are shown; we can consider the pottery as an “artificially” metamorphosed sedimentary rock because it was subjected to heating processes. Ample space is given to the presentation of archaeological problems and of analytical methods which can give answers to these problems. For example, three cases of studies conducted by the research group active at the Department of Earth and Geological-Environmental Sciences of the University of Bologna are presented. The examples address the problems inherent to the study of the provenance, to the production techniques, and to the study of coatings.