Bronze Age cooking pots: Thermal properties and cooking methods

This paper examines the interplay between manufacturing parameters and material properties in archaeological ceramic cooking ware. While previous studies on material properties have focused on the response of ceramic vessels to mechanical and thermal loads, emphasis is placed here on thermal properties and their influence on the suitability of a vessel to be used for different cooking methods. We illustrate how the material properties of a ceramic cooking vessel are influenced by its manufacture and how these material properties in turn may influence the performance and ultimately selection of certain vessels to be used for specific cooking practices for the example of late Bronze Age (LCIA) cooking vessels from Akrotiri, Greece.Cet article examine l’alternance entre les paramètres de la fabrication et les propriétés des matériaux des ustensiles en céramique archéologiques servant à la cuisson. Tandis que les études préalables concernant les vaisseaux en céramique étaient axées sur leur réaction aux contraintes mécaniques et thermiques, l’accent ici est mis sur les propriétés thermiques et leur influence sur l’aptitude d’un vaisseau en vue des différentes méthodes de cuisson. Nous montrons comment les propriétés des matériaux d’un vaisseau sont influencées par sa fabrication et de quelle manière enfin ces propriétés des matériaux peuvent influencer à leur tour la sélection de certains vaisseaux quant aux méthodes spécifiques de cuisson, exemple : les vaisseaux de cuisson d’Akrotiri, Grèce, datant de l’âge du Bronze final

Bronze Age cooking pots: Thermal properties and cooking methods

This paper examines the interplay between manufacturing parameters and material properties in archaeological ceramic cooking ware. While previous studies on material properties have focused on the response of ceramic vessels to mechanical and thermal loads, emphasis is placed here on thermal properties and their influence on the suitability of a vessel to be used for different cooking methods. We illustrate how the material properties of a ceramic cooking vessel are influenced by its manufacture and how these material properties in turn may influence the performance and ultimately selection of certain vessels to be used for specific cooking practices for the example of late Bronze Age (LCIA) cooking vessels from Akrotiri, Greece.Cet article examine l’alternance entre les paramètres de la fabrication et les propriétés des matériaux des ustensiles en céramique archéologiques servant à la cuisson. Tandis que les études préalables concernant les vaisseaux en céramique étaient axées sur leur réaction aux contraintes mécaniques et thermiques, l’accent ici est mis sur les propriétés thermiques et leur influence sur l’aptitude d’un vaisseau en vue des différentes méthodes de cuisson. Nous montrons comment les propriétés des matériaux d’un vaisseau sont influencées par sa fabrication et de quelle manière enfin ces propriétés des matériaux peuvent influencer à leur tour la sélection de certains vaisseaux quant aux méthodes spécifiques de cuisson, exemple : les vaisseaux de cuisson d’Akrotiri, Grèce, datant de l’âge du Bronze final

Think Globally, Act Locally: Global Requirements and Local Transformation in Sugar Pots Manufacture in Sicily in the Medieval and Post-Medieval Periods

Since medieval times, sugar production and consumption has had a huge impact on European social, cultural, and economic development. The introduction of sugar cultivation entailed knowledge transfer and new technological requirements, such as the manufacture of sugar pots used to crystallise sugar, which requires a specific design, and thermal and mechanical properties. This paper presents part of the results of the SPotEU project, funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, which explores the development and impact of sugar production in western Europe through the study of sugar pot manufacture from an interdisciplinary perspective, integrating archaeological and historical research with material science and material culture approaches. This paper focuses on sugar pots from Sicily, one of the main regions for sugar production in Western Europe in the 11-16th centuries A.D. Sugar pots were assessed from technological and performance points of view, aided by instrumental analysis (petrography, SEM, XRF, XRD, mechanical, and thermal property tests). The archaeological and analytical results are presented, revealing different centres of sugar pot production on the island, and specific choices in the design of the vessels and their properties. This allows us to discuss how craftspeople locally adapted their ceramic-making traditions to face the new product demands from the sugar production industry in the Mediterranean

Disseny amforal i canvi tecnològic al voltant del canvi d'era: L'aportació de l'Anàlisi d'Elements Finits

[spa] Mediante el Análisis de Elementos Finitos es posible evaluar un diseño cerámico en función de su tipologia y de las propiedades mecánicas del material. Su aplicación permite considerar los factores tecnológicos que puedan haber condicionado el cambio de una tipologia cerámica. Este análisis se ilustra con los primeros tipos anfóricos romanos producidos en la actual Cataluña (Dressel 1, Tarraconense 1 y Pascuai 7).[eng] Finite Element Analysis enables to evaluate ponery design taking into account the mechanical properlies of the material as well as the shape of the vessel. Therefore technological features in diachronic studies of typological change of ancient ceramics can be assessed. The method is illustrated with the first Rornan amphorae types from nowadays Catalonia (Dressel 1, Tarraconense I and Pascual 1)[fra] L'Analyse des Élément Finies permet d'évaluer le dessin d'une céramique en fonction des propriétés mécaniques du matérielle et de son typologie. Alors, les facteurs technologiques peuvent être considérés dans l'etude diachronique des changements de la typologie des cérarniques. Cette méthode est illustrée avec les premiers types d'amphores romaines mises a l'actuelle Catalogne (Dressel 7, Tarraconense 1 et Pascual 1)

Production Technology of Glazed Pottery in Chalcis, Euboea, during the Middle Byzantine Period

This paper focuses on various categories of glazed pottery, which were in circulation in western Euboea (Greece) during the Middle Byzantine and Late Byzantine periods. The production technology and particularly the surface treatment of Byzantine glazed pottery have been investigated on the basis of 56 ceramic fragments from a rescue excavation in Orionos street in Chalkis, Euboea. This paper focuses on the manufacture of glazed pottery within the local pottery repertoire of Chalkis, while trying to contextualise the pottery typology and to consider the issues of technology. The chemical analysis by non-invasive energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS) provided information about the compositional variation of the examined glazed ceramics assemblage. Moreover, sections of the samples were examined by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in order to determine the microstructure of the samples, as well as the vitrification and the porosity of the ceramic body. Finally, X-ray diffraction (XRD) was applied for qualitative mineralogical analysis indicating presence or absence of high temperature phases and information about firing conditions

A Physicochemical Examination of Blue Shades in Pottery: Rich, Deep and Endless

This study attempts to take aspects of pottery technology into account while concentrating on the blue pigment and glaze recipes of various kinds of glazed pottery types; that is to say, Iznik ware, Kütahya ware, Miletus ware, glazed fritware, porcelain, polychrome glazed ware, and monochrome glazed ware were collected from a rescue excavation site within the Castle of Mytilene in Lesvos Island, Greece. The decoration, surface treatment, and production technology were investigated on the basis of 23 ceramic fragments that can be dated to the Turkish/Venetian period. The present study concerns the manufacture of glazed pottery, and in particular, colour recipes and issues of glaze technology. This study endeavoured to look into the specifics of the medieval colour recipes used on the glazed ceramics from Mytilene. This was accomplished by using an analytical process that took into account the compositional information of blue pigments, glazes, and slip coatings. The chemical analysis was conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS), Raman spectroscopy provided information about the compositional variation, and the optical examination via optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS) yielded information about the sample stratigraphy of the examined ceramic sections. This investigation into glazed ceramics was able to define and reflect the key aspects of each society’s perception of colour through a large variety of colour and glaze recipes