Characterization of pottery from the Republic of Macedonia I: Raman analyses of Byzantine glazed pottery excavated from Prilep and Skopje (12th–14th century)

Abstract

In order to gain some understanding of and to characterize the materials used in Byzantine glazed ceramic finds in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as to obtain information on their manufacturing technology, micro-Raman spectra of 15 representative glazed shards, all dated from 12th to 14th century, were recorded. The elemental composition of the body and glaze of selected shards was obtained by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDXS). At least 17 different minerals in the ceramic body were identified from the Raman spectra, among which were a variety of feldspars (microcline, albite and sanidine) as well as andradite, apatite and forsterite. According to the identified minerals, locations of the used raw materials in the vicinity of the archaeological sites are proposed. There is a good correlation between the polymerization index derived from the Raman spectra and the lead content obtained from the SEM-EDXS analyses, therefore the firing temperature of the analyzed glazes could be assessed. The SEM-EDXS analyses showed the presence of different coloring agents (Cu, Co, Cr, Sb) as well as opacifying (Sb) and fluxing (Pb) agents in the glaze matrix. The content of P 2 O 5 in the glaze of one of the shards is also discussed.

Archaeometric Investigation of Medieval Pottery from Excavations at Novo Brdo, Serbia

“…Similar values of the polymerization index (PI < 0.40) have been identified for medieval glazed pottery excavated from other archaeological sites in the Balkans (Tanevska et al 2009;Damjanović et al 2011;Holclajtner-Antunović et al 2012). The calculated polymerization indexes for the samples from Novo Brdo are compared with those previously determined for glazed pottery from Ras (imported, and dated to the 12th century: Damjanović et al 2011), Reljina Gradina (local production, dated from the 14th to the 15th century: Damjanović et al 2011) and Braničevo (imported and local production, dated from the 12th to the 13th century: Holclajtner-Antunović et al 2012), as presented in Figure 8.…”

Colouring Agents in the Pottery Glazes of Western Anatolia: New Evidence for the Use of Naples Yellow Pigment Variations During The Late Byzantine Period

“…The results of this study correlate with those of a previous study carried out on the 12th–14th century Byzantine glazes from Skopje and Prilep in the Republic of Macedonia, with Ip values below 0.5 and ∼50 wt% PbO contents (Tanevska et al . ). Similar results were also reported for another set of 13th–14th century Byzantine glazes from Skopje (Raskovska et al .…”

“…Other evidence found in Byzantine ceramics from the Republic of Macedonia (by SEM–EDX analysis) also supports the use of this pigment species during the 12th–14th centuries (Tanevska et al . ).…”

Characterization of pottery from Republic of Macedonia. III. A study of comparative mineralogical detection efficiency using micro‐Raman mapping and X‐ray diffraction

“…In some cases, when the firing temperature was not too high, these minerals contained their original chemical characteristics and were used as distinctive minerals giving an indication as 'origin markers' of the source/provenance of the clay. [2,3] In general, the mineralogical composition of the pottery body can be studied using different analytical techniques. Among these techniques, X-ray diffraction (XRD) was most frequently used for the detection of the mineralogical content of the potsherds.…”