Study of pottery production patterns through archaeometric methods: the case of El Bierzo (Spain)

Palomar, Teresa; García-Heras, Manuel; Agua, Fernando; Villegas, Maria Angeles

doi:0066-5924

Planned object

Title: Study of pottery production patterns through archaeometric methods: the case of El Bierzo (Spain)

Abstract:

Production patterns of pottery in El Bierzo region of NW Spain have been studied through an archaeometric perspective, with the aim to approach pottery changes in local communities as a consequence of their contact with Romans. Such contact deeply transformed settlement patterns and social relationships in this region. A representative set of domestic pottery, building materials and modern raw clay samples from three chronological and functionally distinct settlement sites were selected to be characterised by the following analytical techniques: X-ray fluorescence (XRF), thin-section petrography, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermo-gravimetric and differential thermal analyses (TG-DTA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Multivariatestatistical techniques were also employed to evaluate chemical compositional data obtained by XRF. Compositional results classified the samples into four different groups, characterised by a homogeneous mineralogy compatible with the regional geology, which indicate a local provenance for the majority of the pottery analysed. Resulting data also suggest that pre-Roman potters exploited a wide range of clay resources which were, in some cases, later used in Roman times. They have overall enabled a first diachronic approach to pottery production patterns in a region with very limited access to the principal trade routes of the Roman Empire

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