Pottery making tradition in Logroño: an archaeometric approach to the Late Medieval workshops

Abstract

This paper deals with the findings of Hospital Viejo site of Logrono (La Rioja, Spain), which yielded the largest evidence of local pottery production, comprising three kilns and a potters’ dump (13th–15th centuries). The study of pottery production in inland Iberia provides valuable information on the material conditions in which the Iberian medieval and post-medieval society occurred. Yet, the territory of La Rioja has been largely eclipsed by studies at coastal and southern areas of Iberia, due to their role in maritime exchange. With the aim of understanding the specific incidence and evolution of medieval pottery at regional scale, 77 sherds (MNI 637) including glazed and unglazed ware and kiln utensils were archaeometrically examined by combining the use of ICP-MS, XRD and SEM-EDS. Likewise, NAA was applied for provenance analysis, including the collation with a large majolica NAA database. The results provided the first chemical fingerprint of the production from Logrono consisting on three compositional groups within the same workshop (LOG-A, LOG-B and LOG-C). Moreover, pottery trading from Teruel and Valencia was detected, sustaining the historical records of these trade-networks. The imports showed tin lead glazes obtained by known recipes, contrasting with simpler manufactures (mostly unglazed or only lead glazed) of contemporary Logrono.