Firing temperatures of ceramics from Bulgaria determined by rock-magnetic studies

Kostadinova‐Avramova, Maria; Jordanova, Neli; Jordanova, Diana; Grigorov, Valeri; Lesigyarski, Deyan; Dimitrov, Petar; Bozhinova, Elena

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.12.021

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Chlorite in a clay matrix is completely decomposed at a temperature of 750 • C under reduced or oxidized conditions [53,54]. Taking these factors into account, the firing temperature of the pottery is thought to have been 700-800 • C, which is close to the values of 750-850 • C reported for EBA pottery in northwestern Thrace, Bulgaria [55]. In addition, the existence of dark cores in the present samples indicates a firing of short duration or in an incomplete state of oxidation.…”

Section: Estimated Firing Temperaturesupporting

confidence: 58%

Mineralogical Characterization of Early Bronze Age Pottery from the Svilengrad-Brantiite Site, Southeastern Bulgaria

2022

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Several pottery sherds from the Svilengrad-Brantiite site, Bulgaria, were mineralogically and petrographically analyzed. The aim was to add information to the very scarce material data available for Early Bronze Age pottery in the southeastern Thrace plain, Bulgaria, in order to examine a possible raw-material source of the pottery. The characterization techniques applied were optical microscopy (OM), petrographic microscopy (PM), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The pottery samples consisted of two typological groups: a local-made type and a cord-impressed decoration type influenced by foreign cultures. All of the samples were produced from fine clay pastes that had a quite similar composition, with abundant mineral grains of similar mineral composition and fragments of metamorphic and granitic rocks. The chemical compositions of each mineral in the grains and fragments were almost identical, and consistent with those from metamorphic and granitic rocks from the Sakar-Strandja Mountains near the study site. The clay paste compositions corresponded to those of illite/smectite mixed-layer clay minerals or mixtures of illite and smectite, and the clay-mineral species were consistent with those in Miocene–Pleistocene or Holocene sediments surrounding the site.

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Section: Estimated Firing Temperaturesupporting

confidence: 58%

Mineralogical Characterization of Early Bronze Age Pottery from the Svilengrad-Brantiite Site, Southeastern Bulgaria

2022

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“…The authors assumed that the ancient baking temperature was achieved when the change in one of the alteration parameters exceeded 10%. The magnetic susceptibility method later suggested by Rasmussen et al (2012) relies only on the behavior of magnetic susceptibility, but nevertheless it has already been successfully applied in a number of studies related to pottery (Goodwin & Hollenback, 2016;Karacic et al, 2016;Kostadinova-Avramova et al, 2018).…”

Section: Ancient Firing Temperatures Of Ceramic Sherdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clay source and firing temperatures of Roman ceramics: A case study from Plovdiv, Bulgaria

et al. 2019

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During urgent archaeological excavations in the city of Plovdiv (South Bulgaria), a Roman pottery workshop was found, including several dome kilns, ceramic sherds, and a large clay deposit incorporating yellow and gray clay layers. A set of the ceramic specimens (kitchenwares and tablewares) and raw clay samples were investigated using a portable device for X‐ray fluorescence and laboratory equipment for magnetic measurements, aiming to provide specific information about the origin and firing technology of the pottery. Despite significant difference in calcium content between local raw clay and pottery samples, we conclude that local natural clay sources were used and the initial stages of production involved clay purification, although we cannot rule out the procurement of more distant clay sources. Magnetic susceptibility testing allowed for determination of the maximum firing temperatures, showing that the pottery were fired predominantly at 780°C, with some samples being fired at temperatures up to 860°C. Magnetic analyses show that kitchenwares were fired under more uniform conditions than the tablewares, which undoubtedly reflected in the quality of the vessels produced.

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“…Among them, archaeomagnetism is a very promising but still under-utilized technique. Even though during the last decades it has been increasingly used as a dating tool (Herries et al 2008;Tema et al 2013;Batt et al 2017;Casas and Tema 2019; or as ancient heating temperature indicator (Spassov and Hus 2006;Rasmussen et al 2012;Kostadinova-Avramova et al 2018;Jordanova et al 2018;, its great potential on pottery use studies is still very little exploited (Francés-Negro et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining the use of ancient ceramic artefacts through combined morphological and magnetic analyses: the case of Villa del Foro, Northern Italy

Tema

Ferrara

Zamboni

et al. 2021

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Even though multidisciplinary approaches are widely used for the investigation of archaeological findings, magnetic analyses are still little exploited and only rarely applied to the determination of ancient artefacts use. Here, we present the results of a combined archaeological, morphological and 2 magnetic study carried out on the ring-shape clay artefacts found in large quantities at the protohistoric site of Villa del Foro (Alessandria, Northern Italy). The shape and significant number of such artefacts make their archaeometric investigation very interesting to understand the technological conditions of their production and use. A morphological investigation carried out on 640 fragments showed inhomogeneity in their dimensions, colour, form, and clay refinement.Magnetic measurements show thermal stability after heat treatment up to around 500-600 o C, while further heating at higher temperature introduces some magnetic mineralogy changes. Thermal demagnetization of the samples generally shows a strong and stable thermal remanent magnetization.In few cases, a clear secondary component is present, suggesting partial re-heating or displacement at temperatures ranging from 200 o C to 450 o C. The results obtained indicate that the investigated ring-shaped artefacts were baked during their manufacture at temperatures of at least 600 °C. The archaeomagnetic investigation does not show any systematic evidence for magnetic components related to cooking activities and it is therefore suggested that the rings were used as weight looms and baked only during their production procedures. Such pilot study can be used as reference for the identification and study of similar objects found in other archaeological sites worldwide.

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Firing temperatures of ceramics from Bulgaria determined by rock-magnetic studies

Cited by 8 publications

References 35 publications

Mineralogical Characterization of Early Bronze Age Pottery from the Svilengrad-Brantiite Site, Southeastern Bulgaria

Mineralogical Characterization of Early Bronze Age Pottery from the Svilengrad-Brantiite Site, Southeastern Bulgaria

Clay source and firing temperatures of Roman ceramics: A case study from Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Determining the use of ancient ceramic artefacts through combined morphological and magnetic analyses: the case of Villa del Foro, Northern Italy

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