Ceramics of Ategua (Córdoba, Spain): Mineralogical and petrographic study

Abstract

This paper is part of research project on the ceramics of Ategua, a village located in the Guadalquivir depression near Córdoba (S. Spain). Ategua is a major archaeological deposit with pre-Roman (pre-colonial, Tartessian and Iberian) ruins that are highly rich in ceramic pieces. This work was conducted on 20 selected pieces found in various archaeological layers spanning the following phases in the period from 900 to 350 B.C. ( i.e. the beginning of the Roman republic): (a) Phase I: pre-colonial Bronze age, from 900 to 859 B.C. in a pre-colonial necropolis. (b) Phases II–IV: western-style and Final Bronze age, from 750 to 550 B.C. In order to identify the origin of ceramics and the different types of materials used to produce the ceramic pieces studied, we used various techniques including: X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with EDS microanalysis and petrographic microscopy (thin section). The materials identified in most of the ceramic pieces from the archaeological phases studied were similar and also present in the geological environment, which supports an autochthonous origin. The presence of metamorphic rock clase, amphiboles and small content of TiO 2 in some of the ceramic simples could suggest its allocthonous origenorigin. This paper reports the first mineral and petrographic data on pre-Roman ceramics from Ategua.