Composition, technology and provenance of Roman pottery from <i>Napoca</i> (Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

Gál, Ágnes; Ionescu, Corina; Bajusz, Mátyás; Codrea, Vlad; Hoeck, Volker; Barbu–Tudoran, Lucian; Mureşan-Pop, Marieta; Csók, Zsolt

doi:10.1180/clm.2018.47

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…A similar chemical composition with a tendency to incorporate calcium into the illite-like structure was described in the Copper Age ceramic matrix by Ionescu & Hoeck (2011). The CaO is probably due to a small amount of montmorillonite in the raw clay (see also Gál et al ., 2018). However, with <3 mass% CaO, the matrix points to a poorly carbonatic clay.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An archaeometric study of early Copper Age pottery from a cave in Romania

et al. 2019

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Early Copper Age pottery sherds discovered in a cave within the crystalline dolomites of the Southern Carpathians (Romania) were investigated by polarized light optical microscopy (OM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) to obtain information on the pottery production in the Copper Age in the territory of present-day Romania. Microscopically, the clayey matrix of the ceramic body is highly birefringent or consists of low-birefringent and isotropic parts mixed together, containing fragments of quartz, muscovite, alkali feldspar, plagioclase, biotite, chlorite, heavy minerals and metamorphic and magmatic rocks, as well as an opaque material. The EMPA data revealed an Fe-rich illite-like matrix and helped to identify the mineral nature of the inclusions. Local pottery production in bonfires or surface clamps is envisaged. Miocene illitic clays may have been used as raw materials, mixed with a small amount of sandy temper. The thermal changes revealed by OM, the modification of the XRPD peaks and the EMPA data suggest firing temperatures of between 800 and 850°C.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An archaeometric study of early Copper Age pottery from a cave in Romania

et al. 2019

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“…XRD was performed on 20 samples (NO1, NO3, NO4, NO6, NO8–NO10, NO12–NO17, NO19, NO21–NO24, NO28, NO31), to establish mineralogical compositions and to identify changes in the ceramic body, which might have occurred during the firing process (Ionescu et al 2011b ; Gál et al 2018 ; Borgers et al 2022 ). A few grams of each sample were hand-milled in an agate mortar and analysed with a Bruker D8 Advance diffractometer with Bragg-Brentano geometry, working with Cu-radiation at 40 kV and 40 mA, at the Department of Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…CFE-SEM-EDX was used to examine the microstructure of the matrix and firing products, with the aim to estimate the firing process of ancient pottery (Maniatis and Tite 1981 ; Tite et al 1982 ; Cultrone et al 2004 ; Maritan et al 2005 ; Gál et al 2018 ; Borgers et al 2020 , 2022 ). For this purpose, 19 samples (NO1, NO3, NO4, NO6, NO8, NO10, NO12–NO17, NO19, NO21–NO24, NO28, NO31) were examined with a Hitachi 8230 microscope working at 30 kV acceleration voltage, 50 s live time and with a < 10 nm electron beam, allowing a very high resolution of the backscattered and secondary electron images.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roman Republican coarse ware from Norba, Southern Lazio (Italy): a multi-analytical study of production technology and trade

Borgers,

Ionescu,

Gál

et al. 2023

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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The first objective of this paper is to reconstruct the production technology of fourth–first centuries BCE coarse ware from surveys near the ancient town of Norba in the Lepini Mountains of Southern Lazio, Italy, adopting a multi-analytical method, combining macroscopic observation with polarised light optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The second objective of this study is to gain insight into Norba’s integration in broader production and distribution networks in Southern Lazio between the fourth–first centuries BCE, by comparing the results with previous data for coarse ware prevalent in the region at that time. The results indicate that the coarse ware from Norba was produced with Fe-rich, Ca-poor, and illite-muscovite clays and fired in an oxidising atmosphere between 750 and 900 °C. Differences among the coarse ware exist in the paste recipes, e.g. intentionally added temper. Most coarse ware from Norba bears compositional similarities to that from the Alban Hills and the Tiber Valley, north of Rome, suggesting that Norba was integrated into the marketing of pottery that was common in Southern Lazio during the fourth–first centuries BCE. In comparison, only a few coarse wares seem to have been produced in the surrounding area (e.g. Satricum and Forum Appii), or even locally in Norba. The results further indicate changes in these regional/local distribution networks; some coarse ware seems to have been imported from Satricum, where a workshop was active during the fourth century BCE. When ceramic production at Satricum ceased, potters settled in the towns of Forum Appii and Norba, where they produced ceramic building material and fine ware in the second–first centuries BCE, respectively. The results of this study tentatively suggest that potters in these locations may have also manufactured coarse ware during this period.

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“…CFE‐SEM‐EDX can be used to analyse the composition and microstructure (Borgers et al, 2020; Gál et al, 2018), and surface finish of ceramic fragments (Ionescu et al, 2015; Ionescu & Hoeck, 2020). Small chips of 28 samples (AG1, AG2, AG3, AG5, AG6, AG9, AG10, AG11, AG13, LA15, AG22, AG23, LA25, AG27, AG28, AG29, AG30, AG31, AG32, AG33, LA36, LA38, LA39, LA40, LA41, AG45, LA47, LA48) were investigated with a Hitachi 8,230 microscope at the National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, Cluj‐Napoca, working at 30 kV acceleration voltage, 50 s live time and a <10 nm electron beam.…”

Section: Samples and Analytical Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Production technology and knowledge transfer of calcite‐tempered grey ware bowls from 2nd‐ to 5th‐century ceNoricum (Austria)

et al. 2022

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Aspects of 2nd-to 5th-century CE Roman production technology and knowledge transfer in southern Austria (known as Noricum) were examined. With no evidence for workshops identified in the study area, 44 grey ware bowls from two sites at Aguntum and Lavant were studied macroscopically, and combined with optical microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, prompt gamma activation, neutron activation and scanning electron microscopy, in order to understand whether one (large) workshop supplied these bowls, or whether the bowls were produced by several (small) workshops nearby. Combined with information from the geological background, the results were used to tentatively indicate the production location. The results indicate that the grey ware bowls from Aguntum and Lavant were produced by local workshops nearby. The bowls were manufactured with similar clay sources, tempered with crushed calcite-marble rocks from the Tauern Window, their surface smoothed and burnished, and fired between 800 and 850 C in a reducing atmosphere of an open fire. This is taken to suggest that Roman potters, who were located at Aguntum and Lavant, shared strategies of raw materials selection, paste preparation, finishing and firing, and transferred technological knowledge through time.

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Composition, technology and provenance of Roman pottery from Napoca (Cluj-Napoca, Romania)

Cited by 10 publications

References 48 publications

An archaeometric study of early Copper Age pottery from a cave in Romania

An archaeometric study of early Copper Age pottery from a cave in Romania

Roman Republican coarse ware from Norba, Southern Lazio (Italy): a multi-analytical study of production technology and trade

Production technology and knowledge transfer of calcite‐tempered grey ware bowls from 2nd‐ to 5th‐century ceNoricum (Austria)

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