Medieval Pottery Research Articles

Excavations at the Medieval Fortress in Feldioara/Marienburg, 2007

Raportul prezintă rezultatele sondajelor efectuate în 2007 la cetatea Feldioara/ Marienburg cu scopul obţinerii de date privind mediul înconjurător (oase de animale, resturi de plante) şi impactul ecologic al construirii fortificaţiei, în special a primei faze, considerate a aparţine cavalerilor teutoni. Au fost efectuate cinci scurte secţiuni din care s-au recoltat fragmente ceramice preistorice (Neolitic, Epoca Bronzului, Hallstatt, La Tène) şi medievale, mici obiecte metalice, oase de animale şi o monedă emisă de Carol Robert. Într-una dintre secţiuni a fost reidentificat zidul fazei I atribuit teutonilor.

Famagouste : Indices d’une production de vaisselle à l’époque vénitienne

Archaeology, travelers testimonies and ethnographic investigations reveal a pottery production tradition in the Famagusta area during the Lusignan period, and again in the 19th -20th centuries. The fragments of ceramics, tripods and wasters as well as copper nodules and furnace elements that we found on the ground of the north-west of the old city of Famagusta – around the churches of St. Mary of Carmel and Armenians, in front of the bastion San-Luca, and on the ramp Martinengo Bastion – testify to the existence, in that place, of a medieval pottery workshop that we have dated to the 16th century.

Excavation of medieval graves at St Thomas' Kirk, Hall of Rendall, Orkney

In early 2005 a particularly severe storm exposed human bones on the foreshore immediately east of the ruins of St Thomas' Kirk. The subsequent excavation recovered fourteen individual inhumations. The skeletons exhibited a relatively high number of pathological conditions and evidence of a diet that included fish, meat and dairy products. Isotopic analysis confirms that one of the individuals was from either the outer Hebrides or Northern Shetland while the rest originated from Orkney. The graves were arranged in distinct grave plots on a north/south aligned row, clustered particularly close to the east side of St Thomas' Kirk. Imported medieval pottery, of a type unknown in Orkney or indeed Scotland, was recovered from the graves.

Slavenski paljevinski grob iz Lobora

Pri arheološkim istraživanjima na lokalitetu Lobor, Majka Božja Gorska, provedenim 2009. godine, na prostoru na kojem se nalaze ostatci drvene crkve iz 9. stoljeća, otkrivena je posuda s ostatcima spaljenog pokojnika. Posuda je nađena u jami od stupa drvene crkve, kamo je najvjerojatnije upala pri njezinu podizanju. Grobovi s ostatcima spaljenih pokojnika nisu nađeni na lokalitetu, jer je taj prostor korišten kao mjesto ukapanja kroz više stoljeća. U članku će biti prikazani rezultati najnovijih arheoloških istraživanja, a posebno će se analizirati urna kao jedan od dokaza dugog i neprekinutog kontinuiteta pokapanja na tome mjestu.

Nalazi slavenske keramike s lokaliteta Podvršje - Glavčine

U radu se analiziraju nalazi ranosrednjovjekovne keramike slavenskih tipološko-tehnoloških karakteristika koji potječu s istraživanja lokaliteta Glavčine u selu Podvršje kod Zadra na kojem je otkriven starokršćanski kompleks dvojnih crkava s popratnim prostorijama i grobljem. Uz brojne nalaze koji pripadaju kasnoantičkom vremenu, ističu se ulomci šest ranosrednjovjekovnih posuda koje prema svojim karakteristikama pripadaju vremenu 7. i 8. stoljeća.

Origin of the self-organisation of Cu°/Ag° nanoparticles in ancient lustre pottery. A TEM study

A metallic lustre, the first man-made photonic crystal, is a thin film formed just below the surface of medieval glazed potteries that gives iridescence. The multilayer spatial distribution of Ag°/Cu° metal nanoparticles in 12th/14th century (Fatimid and Iran/Kashan style) lustre glazes is illustrated with TEM measurements. This very particular distribution differs from those observed in previously studied Mesopotamian, Moorish, Renaissance and modern samples. The synthesis method is discussed in the light of old recipes and experimental evidence. Particle size and distribution resulted from repeated controlled heat flashes provoked by surface organic residue combustion and/or rapid introduction of the pottery into the hot kiln. Melting of Ag/Cu metal demonstrates that glaze surface temperatures close to 1000–1100°C were achieved at the peak temperature cycle.

Clare McCutcheon. Medieval Pottery from Wood Quay, Dublin: the 1974-6 Waterfront Excavations (National Museum of Ireland Medieval Dublin Excavations 1962-81, Ser. B, vol. 7). 2006. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy; 1-904890-12-1 hardback €35.

Clare McCutcheon. Medieval Pottery from Wood Quay, Dublin: the 1974-6 Waterfront Excavations (National Museum of Ireland Medieval Dublin Excavations 1962-81, Ser. B, vol. 7). 2006. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy; 1-904890-12-1 hardback €35.

Clare McCutcheon, Medieval Pottery from Wood Quay, Dublin

Clare McCutcheon, Medieval Pottery from Wood Quay, Dublin

La secuencia altomedieval de la iglesia peleocristiana de Marialba de la Ribera (León)

El artículo se centra en el análisis de la secuencia altomedieval de uno de los principales asentamientos rurales del alfoz de la ciudad de León: la iglesia paleocristiana de Marialba de la Ribera, presentando los resultados del estudio del material cerámico hallado en las campañas de excavación practicadas en el yacimiento

The mineralogy and petrography of Low Lands Ware 1 (Roman lower Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt basin; the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany)

Over the last 80 years Belgian, Dutch and German archaeologists working in the lower Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt basin have encountered a Roman pottery group that occurs in large quantities at most Roman sites in the region. Several researchers have separately tried to define this pottery, resulting in different names. Petrographic and geochemical analyses of 100 samples have now shown that the production of this ware predominantly made use of one source of raw material, divisible into three sub-groups on the basis of technological choices. The probable source lies in the early-Pleistocene Tegelen-formation, a clay rich in muscovite mica and garnet, which outcrops in the tertiary Scheldt escarpment (Nl) and the campine microcuesta (B). On the basis of geographical characteristics, Roman finds and the presence of a large Medieval pottery industry, production in the Bergen-op-Zoom area is suggested. In view of these new findings the name ‘Low Lands Ware 1’ is introduced to refer to this pottery group.

Early medieval, medieval and historic periods - Rosemary Cramp with contributions by C. Roger Bristow, John Higgitt, R.C. Scrivener & Bernard C. Worssam. Corpus of Anglo-Saxon stone sculpture Volume VII, South-West England. xviii+446 pages. 29 figures, 565 plates, 3 tables. 2006. Oxford: Oxford University Press/British Academy; 0-19726334-8 hardback £65. - Richard Jones & Mark Page. Medieval Villages in an English

Early medieval, medieval and historic periods - Rosemary Cramp with contributions by C. Roger Bristow, John Higgitt, R.C. Scrivener & Bernard C. Worssam. Corpus of Anglo-Saxon stone sculpture Volume VII, South-West England. xviii+446 pages. 29 figures, 565 plates, 3 tables. 2006. Oxford: Oxford University Press/British Academy; 0-19726334-8 hardback £65. - Richard Jones & Mark Page. Medieval Villages in an English Landscape: Beginnings and Ends. xviii+270 pages, 78 illustrations. 2006. Bollington: Windgather; 978-1-905119-08-0 hardback; 978-1905119-09-7 paperback £19.99. - Sam Turner (ed.). Medieval Devon and Cornwall: Shaping an Ancient Countryside. xvi+176 pages, 67 illustrations. 2006. Bollington: Windgather; 978-1-905119-07-3 paperback £19.99. - Christopher Lowe. Excavations at Hoddom, Dumfriesshire: An Early Ecclesiastic Site in South-west Scotland. xviii+222 pages, 87 figures, 67 plates. 2006. Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland; 9780-903903-39-4 hardback £35. - Clare Mccutcheon. Medieval Pottery from Wood Quay, Dublin: The 1974-6 Waterfront Excavations (National Museum of Ireland Medieval Dublin Excavations 1962-81, Ser. B, vol. 7). 2006. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy; 1-904890-12-1 hardback €35. - Barbara Yorke. The Conversion of Britain: Religion, Politics and Society in Britain c. 600-800. xvi+334 pages, 2 maps, tables. 2006. Harlow: Pearson Education; 978-0-852-77292-2 paperback £18.99. - Veronica Ortenberg. In Search of the Holy Grail: The Quest for the Middle Ages. xvi+336 pages, 17 illustrations. 2006. London: hambledon continuum; 9781-85285-383-9 hardback £25. - Brian Marshall. Lancashire’s Medieval Monasteries. 156 pages, 68 illustrations. 2006. Blackpool: Landy; 978-1-872895-68-0 paperback £10. - C.M. Woolgar. The Senses in Late Medieval England. xii+372 pages, 86 b&w & colour illustrations. 2006. New Haven & London: Yale University Press; 978-0300-11871-1 hardback £25. - Martin Hansson. Aristocratic Landscape: The Spatial Ideology ofthe Medieval Aristocracy (Lund Studies in Historical Archaeology 2). 224 pages, 68 illustrations. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiskell International; 91-22-02154-X paperback SEK294. - Viccy Coltman. Fabricating the Antique: Neoclacissism in Britain, 1760-1800. xii+256 pages, 86 illustrations, 5 colour plates. 2006. Chicago (IL): University of Chicago Press; 0-226-11396-5 hardback $48 & £30.50. - Volume 81 Issue 311

A multi‐analytical investigation on medieval pottery from Caltagirone (Sicily, Italy)

AbstractA multi‐analytical approach was used to investigate Medieval and post‐medieval (thirteenth‐seventeenth century) ceramic artefacts from archaeological excavations at Caltagirone (Sicily, Italy). The chemical, structural and micro‐morphological characterizations were carried out by the combined use of surface‐sensitive techniques, such as X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and bulk analytical techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy/energy‐dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD). Fragments of basins, bowls, vases of great historical and archaeological interest as the first Sicilian evidences of such polychromatic decorations were sampled in different conservation conditions. In order to characterize the conservation state and determine the possible causes of alteration and/or degradation phenomena, for each sample both the ceramic body and the polychromatic glaze of the artefacts were studied. The presence on some artefacts of a lead glaze, which is typical of Islamic ceramics, suggested the use of manufacturing techniques directly derived from the Islamic domination in Sicily, even beyond the ninth century. Degradation phenomena such as the partial devitrification of the glaze, i.e. the slow structural reorganization towards stable crystalline phases, and the leaching by mineral dissolution in the soil, were determined by surface and bulk analysis results. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Lusters of renaissance pottery: Experimental and theoretical optical properties using inhomogeneous theories

Luster decoration of medieval and renaissance potteries constitutes one of the most important and sophisticated decoration techniques of the Mediterranean basin. Lusters consist in a thin layer of silver and copper nanocrystals immersed in a dielectric matrix. Different physical phenomena are responsible for the very brilliant and complex colored effect produced by the lusters. On one hand, according to the thickness of the thin layer, interferential effects occur giving rise to a classical iridescent effect. On the other hand, the nanostructure of the metallic compound leads to extra absorption, generally observed in the visible or near infrared, due to an external resonance associated with the excitation of a surface plasmon in the metallic particles. The position of this resonance, and so the color of the film, depends from many parameters, mainly: (1) the relative volume fraction p of the metal inclusions. (2) The mean size of the metal particle. (3) The shape of the particles and (4) the dielectric functions of the constituents. These two phenomena are not independent as the second one greatly affects the dielectric function of the film and, thus, its optical thickness. In this paper, the physical and optical properties of various lusters from Deruta and Gubbio (Italy) of the XVI century are presented. The structure and the composition of the different films have been determined by scanning electron microscope (SEM), ion beam analyses (PIXE and RBS) and low incidence X-ray diffraction. The optical properties have been determined by two different techniques: (a) hemispherical spectroscopic measurements under near-normal incidence; (b) gonioscopic measurements for a given angle of incidence and wavelength. The first one allows the determination of the effective index of refraction of the inhomogeneous layer, and the second one the determination of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of the material.

Characterisation of decorations on Iranian (10th–13th century) lustreware

It has been recently shown that lustre decoration of Medieval and Renaissance pottery consists of silver and copper nanoparticles, dispersed within the glassy matrix of the ceramic glaze. Lustre surfaces show peculiar optical effects, such as metallic reflection and iridescence. Here we report the findings of a study on lustred glazes of several shards belonging to Iranian pottery of the 10th and 13th centuries, decorated on both sides. Two different glazes, depending on the side of the sample, have been identified. Different lustre chromatic effects are characterised by the relative presence of silver- and copper-metal nanoparticles dispersed in the glassy matrix.

Medieval Pottery Kilns in the Carpathian Basin

Medieval Pottery Kilns in the Carpathian Basin

Archaeological excavation of a medieval structure and an assemblage of prehistoric artefacts from the summit of Traprain Law, East Lothian, 1996 - 1997

Investigations on the summit of Traprain Law, East Lothian, recorded and partly excavated approximately 300 sq m of fire-damaged ground immediately south of the summit 'pond'. The majority of the area excavated, roughly 240 sq m, proved either to be outcropping bedrock or shallow sandy loam soils overlying bedrock. These soils contained a range of early and later prehistoric artefacts. The remaining area excavated, roughly 60 sq m, contained a stretch of stone wall interpreted as the remains of a building and associated with quantities of medieval ( 13th- to 14th-century) pottery and iron nails. The nature of the medieval use of Taprain Law is reviewed in the light of this. The work was jointly sponsored by Historic Scotland and the National Museums of scotland.

Medieval pottery kilns in the Carpathian Basin

This article discusses tenth–sixteenth-century pottery kilns in the Carpathian Basin in the territory of medieval Hungary. Kilns are classified on the basis of their structure, building technique and firing technology and these characteristics are examined using archaeological evidence, ethnographical sources and also technological and pyrotechnical analysis. The archaeological and stratigraphical features and some methodological problems of medieval pottery kiln study are also discussed and a topographical analysis of the pottery kilns in relation to the workshops and settlements on the basis of archaeological and historical evidence is presented. The history of the development, origin and distribution of the types of medieval pottery kilns in the Carpathian Basin is also presented. There is a brief discussion of the contribution that pottery kiln studies can make to the understanding of workshop organization.

The Rescue Excavations of some Medieval Redware Pottery Kilns at Stenhousemuir, Falkirk between 1954 and 1978

A Watching brief and limited excavations of the mid- to late 1950s and early 1960s on a medieval pottery production site near Falkirk is reported on. The large assemblage of redware pottery is described and discussed by vessel-form, and a link suggested between the kiln site and the Knights Hospitallers at Torphichen Preceptory based on the decorative style of the pottery. The excavated kilns are also discussed in the context of the Scottish medieval pottery industry.

Excavation of Neolithic enclosures at Cowie Road, Bannockburn, Stirling, 1984-85

Excavations undertaken in 1984 and 1985 on cropmark sites identified as pit and post alignments revealed a bow-ended pit-defined enclosure dated to late-fifth to mid-fourth millennium BC, a post-defined enclosure dated to the mid-fourth to early-third millennium BC, and possible domestic activity. The pits of the enclosure showed up to three phases of use with deposits containing Carinated Bowl-type pottery in the later phases. Medieval or post medieval `rig & furrow' overlay the site and a small assemblage of medieval pottery is also described. There are notes on: `Geology, geomorphology, and soils' by David Jordan (29--31); `Archaeological background' by J S Rideout (31--2); `The palaeochannel' by David Jordan (43--4); `Neolithic pottery' by Trevor Cowie (44--7); `Stone artefacts' by Ann Clarke (48--51); `Radiocarbon dated charcoals' by Michael Cressey (51); the results of radiocarbon dating; `Macroplant assessment' by Tim Holden (53--4); and `Appendix 1' (60--5) presenting tabulated information of phases in pits, and `Appendix 2: medieval and later features' (65--6) including `Medieval pottery' by D Hall (65--6) and cartographic sources.

A Late Medieval and Tudor Horse Burial Ground: Excavations at Elverton Street, Westminster

SUMMARYExcavations at two adjacent sites in Elverton Street, Westminster, uncovered evidence for an extensive late medieval and Tudor horse burial ground. In all 197 pits were found cut into natural sand. Thirty-one contained the articulated skeletal remains of dismembered horses; the remains of seventy-six individuals were identified from twenty-seven pits (material in four pits was not quantified). Four pits held the fully articulated skeletons of dogs. Another twenty-one pits produced a few disarticulated animal bones. The remaining pits were empty; some may have been unused, but it is thought that most, if not all, once contained animal carcasses, and that the bones had not survived burial in the acidic sand. A few produced small fragments of peg tile and abraded sherds of Roman and medieval pottery, all of which are thought to be residual. The only artefacts that can be directly linked to the burials are two horseshoes of a type commonly in use from the mid-fourteenth to sixteenth centuries. Bones from two of the horse burials were respectively assigned by high-precision radiocarbon dating to the first half of the fifteenth century, and the late fifteenth to early seventeenth century. The stratigraphic evidence, however, suggests that the burial ground had fallen into disuse by about the beginning of the seventeenth century, when the site was extensively quarried for sand.The horse bones from the burial ground provided a unique opportunity to study the characteristics of the late medieval and Tudor horse population. Analysis indicates that most, if not all, of the horses were male. They were generally stockily built, with withers heights mainly between 1.30 m and 1.45 m (12¾ and 14¼ hands). Most were fully adult, and many were elderly and infirm, and almost certainly at or near the end of their useful lives. Their carcasses had been skilfully dismembered, and there was evidence to suggest that at least some had been skinned; there was no direct evidence for meat removal.