PETROGRAPHY FOR ASSESSMENT OF MOULDING COMPOUND OF ANCIENT POTTERY

Abstract

Ancient ceramics are the valuable artifacts which saves the information about ancient people and their traditions. The process of making pottery is begun with the choosing and preparation of raw clay and temper material and further applying of different techniques (moulding of vessel, decoration etc.) and finally firing. Petrographical analysis of ancient pottery allows to determine the mineralogical composition of ceramic matrix, the features of their technology and to identify the raw mineral sources (Feliu et al. 2004, Papadopoulou et al. 2006, Bastie et al. 2006). Such kind investigations expand the frames of our knowledge about ancient technological traditions in pottery making. The following characteristics could be determined in thin-sections of ceramic shards: nature and features of plastic and aplastic inclusions; textural and optical characteristics of clay matrix; shape, amount and orientation of pores; features of surface treatment, decoration. This information is animportant for understanding of principles of ancient technologies. The different temper materials inside clay matrix such as sand, crushed rocks, organic materials, shells, grog can be identified accurately using petrography. The ceramic structure and characteristics of mineral changes during the firing are indicators of firing temperatures and atmosphere. A distribution of clay particles and porous inside of ceramic matrix is useful for reconstruction of moulding methods. The study of ceramic collection of the same cultural tradition and from the same region using petrography gives the possibility for differentiation of the natural and cultural factors influenced on the choose of raw materials, variations in the ceramic composition and techniques. This method is one the most precise for identification of an import pottery.