The early Roman pottery kilns in the ager Rusellanus (southern Tuscany, Italy) and their products

Abstract

This archaeometric research examined the structural elements of the three kilns found in the plain below the archaeological site ofRusellae, the ceramics found within this artisans’ quarter and the clayey materials on which the workshops were built. Twenty-one samples were investigated by bulk chemical and mineralogical analyses (ICP-MS, ICP-AES and XRD) and mineralogical-petrographic analyses on thin sections (optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy). The results allowed the characterisation of the production group to be obtained. Both carbonatic and non-carbonatic clayey materials were used to make common-ware ceramics and, above all, building materials such as bricks and tiles. The production technology varied from accurately to poorly worked pastes, fired from low (about 800 °C) to very high temperatures (above 1100 °C). The compositional comparison with data previously obtained on stamped bricks and neighbouring clayey materials suggested a correlation with the producer/s known by the stampsSEX CLEMENT/PROBIandPROBI. Furthermore, the variety of raw materials used in the manufacture and product diversification also let speculate that the production site welcomed various artisans and products for the final firing.