Abstract
In order to define with precision, the physicochemical characteristics of the architectural ceramic exhumed from the Qal’a of Bani Hammad’s site (inscribed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1980), our study was conducted on a set of ceramics. The first analyses were focused on the color of the glazes, by optical absorption spectrophotometry (also called optical absorbance spectroscopy), on the texture by X-Ray diffraction, and on the elemental composition of the various constituent stages of these glazes and their terra cotta, by scanning electron microscopy and X-Ray fluorescence. Indeed, the study combining optical absorbance spectroscopy and X-Ray fluorescence enabled us to determine the origin of the monochromic green coloring of the glazes in some samples. This coloring can be attributed to the presence of the Cu2 chemical element; but these glazes darkened due to the high iron content they contain. This could be explained by an intentional addition of iron, in tin-opacified leaded glazes, baked in an oxidizing atmosphere and put on a limestone-rich marlacious paste.
 The chemical and mineralogical analyses of all shards show that their paste is calcareous. This dataset will be exploitable for re-creation experiments. It also represents a first exploitable referential system, for potential comparisons with other samples belonging to other Algerian sites and different periods of time.
Highlights
An Ifriqiyan architecture took shape in the 9th century and the first elements of a ceramic art appeared in Kairouan under the Aghlabids dynasty
The ceramic that we found in this site has an oriental style and continues the Egyptian Aghlabid and Fatimid tradition (Daoulatli, 1978)
The architectural ceramic is abundantly represented in the Qal'a; the remarkable variety of its production techniques can only stir up regrets, regarding the fact that no systematic study using modern analysis processes has been undertaken, despite promising typological rating tests carried out a long time ago by George Marçais (Golvin, 1978) and refined by other archaeologists
Summary
An Ifriqiyan architecture took shape in the 9th century and the first elements of a ceramic art appeared in Kairouan under the Aghlabids dynasty. Important urban centers such as Mahdia, the Qal'a of Bani Hammad, Bougie, Tunis, appeared and adopted this new industry. As for the Qal'a of Bani Hammad, numerous records confirm that it was one of the most dynamic cultural and scientific centers of central Maghreb in the 11th and 12th century. It played an important role of “relay place” after the decline of Kairouan and before the founding of Bougie (Aissani and Amara, 2014); and there is no doubt that local workshops definitely existed. The architectural ceramic is abundantly represented in the Qal'a; the remarkable variety of its production techniques can only stir up regrets, regarding the fact that no systematic study using modern analysis processes has been undertaken, despite promising typological rating tests carried out a long time ago by George Marçais (Golvin, 1978) and refined by other archaeologists
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