Textural Changes in Speleothem Inclusions during Firing: A Useful Tool to Estimate Temperature in Speleothem‐Bearing Pottery

Abstract

Speleothem inclusions have been identified in a ceramic class, ‘flared rim and flat lip’ pottery, that is widespread in the Friuli – Venetia Giulia and Veneto regions (north-eastern Italy) between the Final Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. Textural analysis of speleothem inclusions revealed small rounded pores occurring along annual growth laminae, interpreted as the result of partial calcite decomposition during firing. Their size, number and diffusion at increasing temperatures were monitored during a set of firing experiments following heating and cooling rates, soaking times and redox conditions typical of open-firing kilns. The textural features of the speleothem inclusions turned out to represent a powerful thermometric tool to precisely determine firing temperature which, in the case of the ‘flared rim and flat lip’ pottery studied here, reduced the thermal interval to a greater extent than that obtained from mineralogical associations

Post-Depositional Alteration of Calcium Carbonate Phases in Archaeological Ceramics: Depletion and Redistribution Effects

“…However, as discussed above, some samples are tempered primarily with coarse and medium sand sized grains and others are tempered with medium to fine sand sized grains, leading to a slight visual texture difference. Some calcite grains included within this fabric show a banded structure consistent with speleothem formation processes (Figure 9), most notably in MOX-34, MOX-31, and M46 [119,121]. This is consistent with the fact that there are karstic cave formations in the hillsides and ridges surrounding the Jovel Valley [97], including one that was used as a funerary cave at the site of Moxviquil [99].…”

Production Technologies and Provenance of Ceramic Materials from the Earliest Foundry of Pre-Roman Padua, NE Italy

“…In that pottery of this class has been found from the Final Bronze Age in Friuli Venezia Giulia and from later times in Veneto, it would seem to have been traded east-westwards [40,41]. Considering the strategic setting of Padua on the waterways connected with the mining districts of the Alps and the eastern Adriatic ports, such a ceramic class might have been used in a systematic trade of specific contents in the markets of the early city [41][42][43]. This interpretation is very important for provenance studies of pottery production, as karst environments are exceptional in Veneto (only in the Berici and Montello Hills, Figure 1a), while the Friuli region is a typically karstic area with clay-rich soil caves [44].…”

Chaîne Opératoires and Communities of Practice in Local Ceramic Production at Iron Age Monte Iato (Sicily, 6th-5th Century Bce)

“…;Maritan et al, 2006;Nodari et al, 2007;Quinn, 2013; Reedy, 2008;Gliozzo, 2020b). The microstructural observation of some inclusions, especially microfossils(Maritan et al, 2007;Privitera et al, 2015;Tenconi et al, 2016…”