Microstratigraphic and mineralogical study of a Late Bronze Age updraft pottery kiln, Kolonna site, Aegina Island, Greece

Karkanas, Panagiotis; Berna, Francesco; Fallu, Daniel J.; Gauß, Walter

doi:10.1007/s12520-019-00903-7

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The extent to which the two possible kilns may have had importance for the household as a supplement to other sources of subsistence can therefore not be established (Sjöberg 1997). Indeed, the LH IIIC kilns set in a house context should not be compared with the earlier larger units in use, such as that at Kolonna, Aegina, that probably was intended for production of greater quantities of pottery (Karkanas 2019). Further, as concern Asine, the accumulation of LH IIIC material in the Acropolis area demonstrates the extension of the settlement (Santillo Frizell 1986;Penttinen 1996).…”

Section: The Lh Iiic Periodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction and the end of the Late Bronze Age as displayed through neutron activation analysis of Late Helladic sherds: a case study on Asine in the Argolid, Greece

Sjöberg

Mommsen

2021

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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This article discusses the results of neutron activation analysis made on a limited number of LH IIIB and LH IIIC period sherds from the Argive settlement Asine, Greece. The analysis indicates that the transformation from the palatial to the post-palatial period, on a local level of a village as Asine, was not signified by loss of contacts with the surrounding world. Rather continuity and interaction prevailed, although with other geographical areas as production and use of pottery in the LH IIIB period apparently had a more regional preponderance. The geographical dominance of pottery assigned to producers in north-eastern Peloponnese and distributed over the Mediterranean was terminated, but other operators may have responded to the demand for pottery.

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Section: The Lh Iiic Periodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction and the end of the Late Bronze Age as displayed through neutron activation analysis of Late Helladic sherds: a case study on Asine in the Argolid, Greece

Sjöberg

Mommsen

2021

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…), and thus it should be distinguished from biogenic and pyrogenic forms. Other aragonite occurrences in rocks are ooids in limestone (e.g., Karkanas, Berna, Fallu, & Gauß, 2019), and cement and rhizoliths in aeolianites (e.g., Erginal et al, 2013).…”

Section: Basic Properties Of Aragonitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aldeias, Gur‐Arieh, Maria, Monteiro, and Cura (2019) characterized the recrystallization of aragonite into calcite upon heating in different species to investigate shellfish roasting from an experimental standpoint and with the aid of FTIR, µFTIR, XRD, and micromorphology. Karkanas et al (2019) characterized with µFTIR the mineralogy of fossil aragonitic oolites embedded in the construction material of a Late Bronze Age pottery kiln in Greece to distinguish unaltered areas (aragonite) from areas affected by elevated temperatures (calcite). Finally, it should be borne in mind that low‐temperature cooking of shells may alter their isotopic signature but not their mineralogy.…”

Section: Archaeological Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

The significance of aragonite in the interpretation of the microscopic archaeological record

Toffolo

2020

Geoarchaeology

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Aragonite is one of the metastable polymorphs of calcium carbonate and is commonly found at archaeological sites in the form of mollusk shells and speleothems. Other occurrences include corals, fish otoliths, seed endocarps, wood ash, and lime plaster. These materials contain microscopic embedded information of fundamental importance for the assessment of the state of preservation of the archaeological record, the reconstruction of paleoenvironments, the identification of pyrotechnological processes, and the establishment of absolute chronologies. However, this information can be used only if the aragonite found at archaeological sites preserves its pristine structure and chemistry. Aragonite is metastable at ambient conditions and tends to dissolve and recrystallize into secondary aragonite or calcite, a process that entails the loss of its original elemental and isotopic signature. Therefore, well‐grounded archaeological interpretations depend on the correct identification of aragonite and the careful characterization of its basic properties. This article reviews the dissolution processes of different types of aragonite, the methods used for their identification, and the archaeological information that can be extracted. Particular emphasis is given to the discussion of key issues regarding absolute dating and postdepositional processes of archaeological sediments, and to a detailed overview of the recently observed pyrogenic aragonite.

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“…The short interval between the two events makes it unlikely that the builders of the kiln were unaware of the earlier function of that area. On the contrary, this might have been a conscious statement by a new elite establishing itself at Kolonna (Karkanas et al 2019). Construction of that kiln coincides with the appearance of large quantities of locally produced pottery in fully Mycenaean style and technology (Gauss in press) that most probably were not made by local potters associated with traditional Aeginetan pottery and could represent the introduction of a new technology, a situation mirroring the production of Minoan-type pottery on Aegina in the Middle Bronze Age (Gauss 2006).…”

Section: Socio-political Background Of Pottery Production On Aegina (mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In terms of pottery production, the only direct evidence for such activities is a kiln of LH IIIA1 date, found recently at the site of Kolonna (Gauss 2007b; Karkanas et al 2019). However, it does seem to be associated with the production of Mycenaean pottery, and not the traditional cooking pottery that concerns us here.…”

Section: Socio-political Background Of Pottery Production On Aegina (Fourteenth To Early Twelfth Century Bc)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Dealing With the Crisis: Mobility of Aeginetan-Tradition Potters Around 1200 Bc

Lis

Kiriatzi

Batziou³

et al. 2020

Annu. Br. Sch. Athens

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This article investigates the final episodes of a long-lasting potting tradition that developed on Aegina during the Bronze Age. From c. 1400 bc, cooking pottery constituted the only class of that tradition that was still manufactured and exported in quantity. Detailed study of several settlement contexts from sites scattered along the Euboean and up to the Pagasetic Gulf dating to c. 1200 bc shows that pottery imported from Aegina became increasingly less available, whereas similar cooking pots produced in various non-Aeginetan fabrics appear at the same time. Macroscopic analysis of traces related to manufacture of such pots reveals that it followed the typical chaîne opératoire of the Aeginetan tradition, strongly suggesting that their appearance reflects technological transfer and, thus, could not be explained without taking mobility of potters into account. Following a comprehensive presentation of available evidence, we argue that potters trained in the context of the Aeginetan potting tradition produced cooking pottery in several locations along the Euboean Gulf and up to the modern city of Volos. By considering the socio-economic and political context of their activity, as well as the development of Aegina and its pottery production during the later stages of the Late Bronze Age, we are able to shed more light on potters’ motivations to move, as well as on the population and the time scale of this mobility phenomenon. It appears that it had two stages, characterised by itinerant activity followed by permanent relocation, and that it was relatively short-lived, as by c. 1150 bc Aeginetan-tradition potters become invisible in the archaeological record.

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Microstratigraphic and mineralogical study of a Late Bronze Age updraft pottery kiln, Kolonna site, Aegina Island, Greece

Cited by 8 publications

References 24 publications

Interaction and the end of the Late Bronze Age as displayed through neutron activation analysis of Late Helladic sherds: a case study on Asine in the Argolid, Greece

Interaction and the end of the Late Bronze Age as displayed through neutron activation analysis of Late Helladic sherds: a case study on Asine in the Argolid, Greece

The significance of aragonite in the interpretation of the microscopic archaeological record

Dealing With the Crisis: Mobility of Aeginetan-Tradition Potters Around 1200 Bc

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