Lime-natural pozzolan conservation mortars: parameters that affect reactivity and strength

The natural pozzolans studied are commercial products and come from the volcanic islands of Milos and Kimolos, as well as North Greece mainland. The materials were characterised mineralogically and chemically by XRD and SEM/EDX respectively, while their reactivity with calcium hydroxide was studied through a pozzolanic activity test. In addition, five different lime-pozzolan mixtures were prepared and studied for their compressive strength at four preset curing periods (one, three, six and twelve months). The results indicated that when chemical and mineralogical composition was similar, the main parameter affecting the reactivity of the pozzolans and the strength of the produced mixtures was the grain-size distribution of the pozzolans within the range of 0-63μm

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

MINERALOGICAL, PETROGRAPHICAL AND GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF POTTERY PRODUCTION OF THE LATE MINOAN I KILN AT HAGHIA TRIADA (CRETE): PRELIMINARY DATA

This work presents the mineralogical, petrographic and chemical characterization of 52 pottery fragments found inside the Late Minoan IB kiln at Haghia Triada.An integrated program of analyses was executed using petrographic thin-section analyses, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) with quantitative elaborations by the Rietveld method, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and neutron activation analysis (NAA). Thin section analyses of the assemblage produced four fabric groups (according to the texture of the ceramics and their mineral and rock content) and evidenced a process of clay mixing for the production of the fine ceramics.Micromorphological analyses by SEM showed that vessels underwent high temperature fi-ring thus testifying the high technology reached in the building of the kiln.XRF analyses displayed the employment of a low calcium clay for cooking pots and a calcareous clay with various tempers for the other studied ceramics.The multivariate cluster analysis performed by using chemical data of trace elements al-lowed to individuate the «reference group» of the ceramic production at Haghia Triada in the Late Minoan IB period. It consists of all the analysed samples with the exception of the low calcium cooking pots.From the comparison between the two reference groups of Haghia Triada and Kommos, it emerged a compositional diversity in their products due to the employment of different raw materials in the pottery production

PROVENANCE STUDIES OF ANCIENT POTTERY BY NEUTRON ACTIVATION AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL APPROACH TO POTTERY PROVENANCE PROBLEMS, WAS ATTEMPTED USING NEUTRON ACTIVATION AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. THE FIRST PART OF THE STUDY INCLUDED THE INVESTIGATION OF PROBLEMS ARISING FROM THE DIRECT COMPARISON OF TRACE ELEMENT COMPOSITIONS OF NATURAL CLAYS AND CERAMICS. THREE OF THE MOST IMPORTANTFACTORS THAT MAY ALTER THE CLAY COMPOSITION DURING ITS TREATMENT (MIXING, PURIFICATION AND FIRING) WERE SYSTEMATICALLY INVESTIGATED. THE STUDY OF THE POTTERYEXCHANGE NETWORK, DURING THE MIDDLE AND LATE CYCLADIC PERIOD, AMONG PREHISTORIC AKROTIRI ON THERA, MELOS, NAXOS AND KNOSSOS WAS THE SECOND PART OF THE THESIS. THE CONCENTRATIONS OF 20 MINOR AND TRACE ELEMENTS WERE DETERMINED: NA, SC, CR, FE, CO, AS, RB, SB, CS, LA, CE, SM, EU, TB, YB, LU, HF, TA, TH AND U. A FAST NAA METHOD WAS ALSO DEVELOPED BASED ON THE MEASUREMENT OF SHORT-LIVED RADIONUCLIDES. THE CONCENTRATIONS OF NA, AL, K, CA, TI, V, MN, CO, EU AND DY WERE DETERMINED IN SAMPLES TAKEN FROM ROOF TILES FROM ANCIENT PELLA WHICH HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY ANALYSED BY THE FIRST METHOD. THE RESULTS FROM THE TWO METHODS WERE COMPARED.ΕΠΙΧΕΙΡΗΘΗΚΕ ΜΙΑ ΠΟΛΥΠΛΕΥΡΗ ΠΡΟΣΕΓΓΙΣΗ ΤΟΥ ΠΡΟΒΛΗΜΑΤΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΠΡΟΕΛΕΥΣΗΣ ΑΡΧΑΙΩΝ ΚΕΡΑΜΕΙΚΩΝ ΧΡΗΣΙΜΟΠΟΙΩΝΤΑΣ ΑΝΑΛΥΣΗ ΜΕ ΝΕΤΡΟΝΙΚΗ ΕΝΕΡΓΟΠΟΙΗΣΗ (ΑΝΕ) ΚΑΙ ΣΤΑΤΙΣΤΙΚΗ. ΤΟ ΠΡΩΤΟ ΤΜΗΜΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΡΓΑΣΙΑΣ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΜΕΘΟΔΟΛΟΓΙΚΟ ΚΑΙ ΣΧΕΤΙΖΕΤΑΙ ΜΕ ΠΡΟΒΛΗΜΑΤΑ ΠΟΥ ΠΡΟΚΥΠΤΟΥΝ ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ ΑΠ'ΕΥΘΕΙΑΣ ΣΥΓΚΡΙΣΗ ΤΗΣ ΙΧΝΟΣΤΟΙΧΕΙΑΚΗΣ ΣΥΣΤΑΣΗΣ ΦΥΣΙΚΩΝΑΡΓΙΛΛΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΑΡΧΑΙΩΝ ΚΕΡΑΜΕΙΚΩΝ. ΕΓΙΝΕ ΣΥΣΤΗΜΑΤΙΚΗ ΔΙΕΡΕΥΝΗΣΗ ΤΩΝ ΠΑΡΑΓΟΝΤΩΝ ΠΟΥ ΠΡΟΚΑΛΟΥΝ ΜΕΤΑΒΟΛΕΣ ΣΤΙΣ ΣΥΓΚΕΝΤΡΩΣΕΙΣ ΤΩΝ ΑΡΓΙΛΛΩΝ ΟΠΩΣ ΑΝΑΜΕΙΞΗ ΜΕ ΑΛΛΕΣ, ΚΑΘΑΡΙΣΜΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΨΗΣΙΜΟ. ΑΚΟΛΟΥΘΗΣΕ Η ΕΠΙΛΥΣΗ ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΓΙΚΟΥ ΠΡΟΒΛΗΜΑΤΟΣ. ΜΕΛΕΤΗΘΗΚΕ ΤΟ ΔΙΚΤΥΟ ΑΝΤΑΛΛΑΓΩΝ ΚΕΡΑΜΕΙΚΗΣ ΤΟΥ ΠΡΟΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΟΥ ΑΚΡΩΤΗΡΙΟΥ ΤΗΣ ΘΗΡΑΣ ΜΕ ΦΥΛΑΚΩΠΗ ΤΗΣ ΜΗΛΟΥ, ΝΑΞΟ ΚΑΙ ΚΝΩΣΣΟ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΗ ΜΕΣΟΚΥΚΛΑΔΙΚΗ ΚΑΙ ΥΣΤΕΡΟΚΥΚΛΑΔΙΚΗ ΠΕΡΙΟΔΟ. ΠΡΟΣΔΙΟΡΙΣΤΗΚΑΝ ΟΙ ΣΥΓΚΕΝΤΡΩΣΕΙΣ 20 ΙΧΝΟΣΤΟΙΧΕΙΩΝ: NA, SC, FE, CR, CO AS,RB, SB, CS, LA, CE, EU, SM, YB, TB, LU, HF, TA, TH ΚΑΙ U. ΑΝΑΠΤΥΧΘΗΚΕ ΕΠΙΣΗΣ ΤΑΧΕΙΑ ΜΕΘΟΔΟΣ ΑΝΕ ΒΑΣΙΖΟΜΕΝΗ ΣΤΗ ΜΕΤΡΗΣΗ ΒΡΑΧΥΒΙΩΝ ΡΑΔΙΟΙΣΟΤΟΠΩΝ ΜΕ ΤΗΝ ΟΠΟΙΑ ΠΡΟΣΔΙΟΡΙΣΤΗΚΑΝ ΟΙ ΣΥΓΚΕΝΤΡΩΣΕΙΣ 10 ΙΧΝΟΣΤΟΙΧΕΙΩΝ: NA, AL, K, CA, TI, V, MN, CO,EU ΚΑΙ DY. Η ΜΕΘΟΔΟΣ ΕΦΑΡΜΟΣΤΗΚΕ ΣΕ ΔΕΙΓΜΑΤΑ ΚΕΡΑΜΙΔΩΝ ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ ΑΡΧΑΙΑ ΠΕΛΛΑ ΤΑΟΠΟΙΑ ΕΙΧΑΝ ΠΡΟΗΓΟΥΜΕΝΩΣ ΑΝΑΛΥΘΕΙ ΜΕ ΤΗ ΠΡΩΤΗ ΜΕΘΟΔΟ. ΤΑ ΑΠΟΤΕΛΕΣΜΑΤΑ ΤΩΝ ΔΥΟ ΜΕΘΟΔΩΝ ΣΥΓΚΡΙΘΗΚΑΝ ΜΕΤΑΞΥ ΤΟΥΣ

Knossos and the earlier Neolithic landscape of the Herakleion basin

status: publishe

Strength of kaolinite-based ceramics: Comparison between limestone- and quartz-tempered bodies

The addition of temperwas a common practice in the fabrication of traditional ceramics. The presentwork shows the effects of limestone or quartz added as temper to a kaolinitic clay, on the strength of the ceramic body. With this purpose ceramic tests were prepared adding the 5, 15 and 25% of each temper to a kaolinitic clay. Unimodal skewed grain size distributions (GSDs) for temperwere used instead on single grain sizes used in previous experimental works. Furthermore, samples were fired at 500, 750 and 1000 °C in order to analyse the effect of firing temperature on ceramic strength. A correlation between the strength and the porosity, the mineralogy and the microstructure of the samples is presented. Results shows that while temper improves the strength of 500 °Cand 750 °C-fired bodies, it worsens that of samples fired at 1000 °C. Moreover, while at 500 and 1000 °C limestone-tempered materials are less strong than quartz-tempered ones, at 750 °C the opposite occurs. For quartz-tempered bodies fired up to 750 °C, no difference in strength changing the temper GSD is observed, while in other cases the coarser the temper, the less strong the ceramic