Archaeometric characterization of chlorite-based manufacturing waste from workshop areas of the Konar Sandal South Complex, Jiroft (Kerman, Iran, 3rd millennium BCE)

Abstract

Sixteen small samples of fragmentary “chlorite” containers, coming from three different workshop sites of the Konar Sandal South network (Iran), were analyzed using a multianalytical approach, consisting in thin-section petrography and mineralogical characterization by X-ray powder diffraction. This preliminary study singled out at least two major different mineralogical groups, suggesting that different craft groups, possibly in different times, exploited different local sources of chloritic rocks. Results also indicates that the surroundings of Konar Sandal South, the main urban hub of the Halil valley, were involved – probably for several centuries – in the production of three major different classes of stone pots (cylindrical vessels with intricate geometric patterns, plain bell-shaped bowls and incised série récente vessels).