A pottery workshop in Pompeii unveils new insights on the Roman ceramics crafting tradition and raw materials trade

Multianalytical investigation of wasters from the Tower 8/Porta di Nola refuse middens in Pompeii: Sr–Nd isotopic, chemical, petrographic, and mineralogical analyses

“…This suggests that the CW vessels were manufactured with clay from an Apennine wedge‐top deposit of the Altavilla Group (De Bonis et al, 2013; Vitale & Ciarcia, 2018), probably obtained either from this same outcrop or from the deposit of the Montecorvino Rovella outcrop. The same results supporting the exploitation of these deposits, also complemented with paleontological constraints, were obtained by Grifa et al (2021a) for the high‐CaO thin‐walled ware found in the Via dei Sepolcri workshop. The chemical data obtained for the CW specimens by XRF were subjected to multivariate statistical analysis, with the results providing general confirmation of these inferences (Figure 12a).…”

“…More recently, a multianalytic program of archaeometric analysis involving a pottery workshop in the Via dei Sepolcri , immediately outside Pompeii's Porta Ercolano (Herculaneum Gate) that specialized in the manufacture of TWW (distinct from the TWW being analyzed in the program of analysis being reported here) (Cavassa et al, 2013, 2015), provided new and remarkable insights into the ceramic production cycle in the town. The outcomes of this study indicate that this production involved the use of marine clay with a composition strikingly similar to that of the clay from the Rufoli di Ogliara and Montecorvino Rovella sources (Grifa et al, 2021a, 2021b).…”

“…As previously noted, the location of the outcrop of Apennine wedge‐top basin clay at Rufoli di Ogliara raises the possibility that in Roman times, material from this source was distributed by sea via the port at Salernum to distant coastal settlements, such as Pompeii (see also Grifa et al, 2021a). The shortest route sailing distance for a coasting voyage from Salernum to Pompeii would have been ca.…”

“…A variety of research projects carried out at the ancient Roman town of Pompeii in recent years has substantially enlarged the body of evidence at our disposal regarding the local manufacture of pottery (Cavassa, 2009; Cavassa et al, 2013, 2015; Ellis et al, 2015; Grifa et al, 2021a; Peña & McCallum, 2009a, 2009b; Toniolo & Osanna, 2020). This evidence includes the remains of pottery workshops that contain production fixtures (clay mixing basins, mounting pits for potter's wheels, kilns), potter's tools, and unused raw materials, as well as vessels and vessel fragments recovered either at these establishments or at other locales in or near the town that exhibit manufacturing defects, indicating that they are wasters discarded in the course of the manufacturing process.…”

Curricular Materials on the Chemistry of Pottery, Including Thermodynamic Calculations for Redox Reactions in the 3-Stage Firing Process of Athenian Black- and Red-Figure Vases Produced from the Sixth–Fourth Centuries BCE

“…1,2 For example, during the winter term of the course, which focuses on chemical archeology, the students read scientific papers on (1) the chemical and mineralogical composition of pottery sherds with implications for the provenance of clay body source materials, the trade network for raw material goods, and the production methods used to make pottery that was buried by the 79 CE eruption of Mt. Vesuvius at Pompeii; 54,55 (2) the chemical composition of Roman Imperial coins as reflecting attempts to standardize ancient smelting and minting operations across the Roman empire starting with the reign of Augustus (23−20 BCE); 56 and (3) the chemical composition of ancient Egyptian glass beads as indicating the use of smelting byproducts (metallurgical slags) as coloring agents in the production of early glasses. 57 Feedback from students on the pedagogical shift and case studies approach in the new course has been very positive.…”