La production médiévale mosane en Belgique : état de la question

Die Maas hat für die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung der Gebiete, die sie durchfließt, eine herausragende Rolle gespielt. Als schiffbarer Fluss herausragender Bedeutung stellt sie eine Achse dar, an der sich die Städte herausbilden, und auf der die Waren transportiert und verbreitet werden konnten. Seit römischer Zeit und während des ganzen Mittelalters haben sich im Tal und auf den Plateaus Töpferwerkstätten niedergelassen und vertreiben die sog. „ Maasländische Keramik“ mit ihren technischen Merkmalen und verwandten Typologien.The river Meuse has always played a part in the economic expansion of the territories it flows through. As a waterway of the highest importance, it has always been the major axis for the development of towns and the transportation and distribution of goods. In Roman times and throughout the Middle Ages, potters’ workshops were established in the valley and on the plateaus, distributing the so-called “ Mosan” ware, characterized by common technical and typological features.La Meuse a joué un rôle prédominant sur le développement économique des territoires qu’elle traverse. Voie navigable de première importance, elle constitue l’axe le long duquel vont se développer les villes et par lequel les produits pourront circuler et se diffuser. Dès l’époque romaine et durant tout le Moyen Âge, des ateliers de potiers se sont implantés dans la vallée et sur ses plateaux, et diffusent une céramique dite «mosane » aux particularités techniques et typologiques similaires.Challe Sophie, De Longueville Sylvie. La production médiévale mosane en Belgique : état de la question. In: Revue archéologique de Picardie, n°1-2, 2013. Des productions céramiques de l’époque gallo-romaine à la renaissance. Actes des journées d’étude sur les productions céramiques à Amiens et à Fosses en 2008, 2009 et 2010. pp. 155-163

Production et diffusion de la céramique “Hautement décorée” dans le Comté de Flandres (12e-14e siècle) : nouvelles données

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Production and diffusion of “Highly decorated” pottery in the County of Flanders » (12th-14th centuries): new data

International audienceThis paper wants to present some new data about the so-called highly decorated pottery in the south of the County of Flanders between the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 14th century, more than 20 years after the colloquium of Douai in 1995 (“La céramique très décorée dans l’Europe du Nord-Ouest“). More recent research on petrographic and stylistic features allowed to gain new insights on the characteristics of some production areas (fabric, forms, decoration and chronology). Also questions will be discussed concerning the distribution and circulation of this specific pottery as well as the nature of the consumption sites where this pottery is present

De métal et de terre : Concurrence, emprunts et influences dans la vaisselle, du Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne, à partir d’exemples de la mer du Nord à la Méditerranée

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Tracking the source of lead of medieval glazed pottery of the Meuse valley (Belgium) through lead isotope analyses

Lead isotope analyses (by MC-ICP-MS) have been performed on lead-glazed pottery artefacts from several production and consumption sites in the Meuse basin (Belgium) spanning a long-time period from the 9th to the 16th century CE. Comparison of the lead isotope data of the glazes from three Mosan workshops with those of galenas from Palaeozoic (Variscan) Pb-Zn deposits from both Belgium and Western Germany points to a common Pb source that we identify as the regional Pb deposits hosted in Dinantian limestones of the Ardenno-Rhenish Massif, more specifically in the Namur and Verviers synclines in Belgium and in the Aachen-Stolberg mining district in Germany. The overall similarity of isotopic compositions between the medieval artefacts and the Variscan galenas implies that the Mosan medieval potters used accessible local Pb-Zn ores mined between Namur and Huy. On the consumption sites of Dinant, the slightly different isotopic compositions of some potteries suggest that other regional Pb sources were used to produce the glazes. A comparison with Roman lead objects discovered in north-western Europe (Northern Gaul) shows the very good correspondence of the Pb isotopic compositions with those of the Medieval artefacts which indicates a very long continuity of regional lead supply and consequently of lead ore mining

Holy Smoke in Medieval Funerary Rites: Chemical Fingerprints of Frankincense in Southern Belgian Incense Burners

<div><p>Frankincense, the oleogum resin from <i>Boswellia</i> sp., has been an early luxury good in both Western and Eastern societies and is particularly used in Christian funerary and liturgical rites. The scant grave goods in late medieval burials comprise laterally perforated pottery vessels which are usually filled with charcoal. They occur in most regions of western Europe and are interpreted as incense burners but have never been investigated with advanced analytical techniques. We herein present chemical and anthracological results on perforated funerary pots from 4 Wallonian sites dating to the 12–14^th century AD. Chromatographic and mass spectrometric analysis of lipid extracts of the ancient residues and comparison with extracts from four <i>Boswellia</i> species clearly evidence the presence of degraded frankincense in the former, based on characteristic triterpenoids, <i>viz.</i> boswellic and tirucallic acids, and their myriad dehydrated and oxygenated derivatives. Cembrane-type diterpenoids indicate <i>B. sacra</i> (southern Arabia) and <i>B. serrata</i> (India) as possible botanical origins. Furthermore, traces of juniper and possibly pine tar demonstrate that small amounts of locally available fragrances were mixed with frankincense, most likely to reduce its cost. Additionally, markers of ruminant fats in one sample from a domestic context indicate that this vessel was used for food preparation. Anthracological analysis demonstrates that the charcoal was used as fuel only and that no fragrant wood species were burned. The chars derived from local woody plants and were most likely recovered from domestic fires. Furthermore, vessel recycling is indicated by both contextual and biomarker evidence. The results shed a new light on funerary practices in the Middle Ages and at the same time reveal useful insights into the chemistry of burned frankincense. The discovery of novel biomarkers, namely Δ²-boswellic acids and a series of polyunsaturated and aromatic hydrocarbons, demonstrates the high potential for organic chemical analyses of incense residues.</p></div

GC-MS chromatogram of silylated extracts of sample N13.

<p>Abbreviations (n = carbon number, m = number of double bonds): internal standard (I.S.), ω-(alkylphenyl)-alkanoic acid (APAA, n:m), fatty acids (filled rhombi, n:m), 9,10-dihydroxyalkanoic acid (filled circle, n:m), n-alkanols (open triangles, n) and mid-chain ketones (filled squares, n). Synthetic contaminants are marked with an asterisk.</p