Four centuries of cooking wares at Priene: Tracing transformation in supply and trade patterns in western Asia minor (Turkey)

This paper presents the results of a diachronic and multidisciplinary investigation into the production and consumption of cooking ware in the ancient city of Priene (Turkey). Three major chronological horizons are considered, covering the fourth to the first century BCE: the late Classical/early Hellenistic period, the middle Hellenistic period, and the late Hellenistic/early Roman Imperial period. Following a thorough typological and macroscopic study of fabrics, an integrated analytical approach combining petrography and elemental analysis (wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence) was applied to investigate the main macroscopic types and fabrics that characterised cooking wares. Integration of the results from the typological study with the subsequent analyses of 90 representative samples has provided high-resolution insights into cooking ware production and consumption at Priene over the study period. In addition to tracing transformations in local and regional manufacture over time, the results show that cooking wares were imported to the city from several places and, moreover, at a scale at least equivalent to that for other categories of ceramic vessels at that time. Changes in the manufacturing technology of local and regional products and the origin of imports are discussed in the context of significant historical developments that took place in this region over the period covered by the study

On the Analysis and Interpretation of Pottery Production and Distribution

Ceramics are particularly well suited for investigating general patterns of the distribution of premodern products. Archaeometric methods, used to determine raw materials and production techniques, permit the identification of places of production. The work of the research group presented here pursues two objectives: (i) to investigate the usefulness of portable X-ray fluorescence equipment for the analysis of ceramics and (ii) to identify, interpret and study distribution areas of ceramic products in comparative prospective. The paper discusses key economic concepts, sets out the archaeometric methodology and presents initial results in the context of two examples

Using pXRF for the Analysis of Ancient Pottery

The aim of the secound workshop on the use of portable energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) organized by the Cluster of Excellence TOPOI was to exchange experiences and discuss the basic requirements for the use of pXRF as a tool for chemical analysis of archaeological ceramics. During two days, 49 participants from eight European countries discussed nineteen lectures, twelve of which are published here as papers presenting research on ceramics and glass of various periods from Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Rumania, Ukraine, Sudan, Syria and the United Kingdom. The focus was on analysing bulk pottery and on the possibilities of non-destructive determination of chemical composition. The number of chemical elements significant for provenance studies and determinable with sucient precision and accuracy plays a major role. This was compared with chemical analysis using WDXRF, ICP-MS, NAA. The different examples prove that the chances of positive outcomes depend very much on the individual cases

Ceramics from Meroë and Hamadab. Report on the First Results of Classification by Re-firing (MGR Analysis) and Chemical Analysis (WD-XRF)

Aus dem Areal der sog. Royal Baths in Meroë und der städtischen Siedlung Hamadab wurden bisher 143 Keramikproben nach ihrer Zusammensetzung klassifiziert, wobei MGR-Analysen durch Nachbrennen kleiner Keramikfragmente bei 1100–1200 °C, wellenlängendispersive Röntgenfluoreszenzanalysen (WD-RFA) und Dünnschliffuntersuchungen zum Einsatz kamen. Diese Klassifizierung dient als Grundlage für die archäologische Bearbeitung der Keramik. Es zeigte sich eine unerwartet große Variabilität der an beiden Orten verwendeten Rohstoffe. Durch Vergleich mit Tonproben aus der Region sind die verwendeten Tontypen als lokal vorhandene alluviale Niltone, Waditone und hell brennende kaolinitische Tone zu identifizieren. Sowohl in Meroë als auch in Hamadab wurden vor allem die alluvialen Niltone, aber auch untereinander verschiedene Waditone verwendet. Soweit die in Anbetracht der großen Variabilität noch geringe Probenzahl repräsentativ ist, fehlen im Areal der sog. Royal Baths in Meroë Gefäße aus kaolinitischen Tonen. Drei davon sehr verschiedene Tontypen kennzeichnen die analysierten sechs importierten Gefäße.So far, 143 ceramic samples from the area of the so-called Royal Baths at Meroë and the urban settlement of Hamadab have been classified according to their composition. The methods applied were MGR analysis by the re-firing of small ceramic fragments at 1100 to 1200 °C, wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis (WD-XRF) and thin-section analysis. This classification will serve as the basis for the archaeological examination of the pottery. The analyses revealed an unexpectedly great diversity in the raw materials used at both locations. By means of comparison with clay samples from the region, the clay types in use can be identified as locally available alluvial Nile clays, Wadi clays and pale-firing kaolinitic clays. At Meroë as well as Hamadab alluvial Nile clays were used predominantly, but differing varieties of Wadi clay were used too. To the extent that the analysed samples are representative – and the number of them is still small considering the great variety of types – no vessels of kaolinitic clays have been recovered from the area of the so-called Royal Baths at Meroë. Three clay types very different from them characterize the analysed six imported vessels.

Analisi chimiche su gruppi di lucerne bollate di fabbricazione urbana

Ceci Monica, Schneider Gerwulf. Analisi chimiche su gruppi di lucerne bollate di fabbricazione urbana. In: Epigrafia della produzione e della distribuzione. Actes de la VIIe Rencontre franco-italienne sur l'épigraphie du monde romain (Rome, 5-6 juin 1992) Rome : École Française de Rome, 1994. pp. 433-446. (Publications de l'École française de Rome, 193

Imported and local Firmalampen in Aquileia. Chemical analyses by WD-XRF

Firmalampen from Aquileia (BUCHI 1975) have been analysed by WD-XRF for major and twelve trace elements to find their places of manufacture. Fifty-five of the analysed lamps were imports from the major lampmaking workshops at Modena represented by 421 own analyses. Only one of the lamps selected for analysis is an import from Poetovio. This confirms previous findings indicating that imported lamps are almost exclusively from Modena, e.g. at Rome, Cosa, Poetovio. Thirty-seven of the analysed lamps are very probably local products. The large compositional variability of the locai lamps is reflected in the composition of moulds, wasters and clay samples from the region. Firmalampen and moulds even with the same potter's name were made from different raw materiai, e.g. non-calcareous and calcareous clay, thus evidencing that severa! workshops were operating in different parts of the region at the same or at different periods. Single finds of locai lamps from Aquileia were detected by analysis at Bad Reichenhall, Aquincum and Poetovio.Sono stati analizzati per mezzo di WD-XRF gli elementi maggiori e dodici in traccia di "Firmalampen" da Aquileia (BUCHI 1975) per individuare il loro luogo di fabbricazione. Cinquantacinque delle lucerne analizzate sono importazioni dalle principali officine di Modena rappresentate da 421 analisi effettuate in proprio. Solo una delle lucerne selezionate per l'analisi è un 'importazione da Poetovio. Questo conferma i risultati precedenti, ad esempio a Roma, Cosa, Poetovio, i quali indicano che le lucerne di importazione venivano quasi esclusivamente da Modena. Trentasette delle lucerne analizzate sono molto probabilmente prodotti locali. La grande variabilità della composizione delle lucerne locali si riflette nella composizione degli stampi, scarti e campioni di argilla della regione. "Firmalampen" e stampi anche con lo stesso nome del vasaio furono realizzati con diverse materie prime, ad esempio, argilla non calcarea e calcarea, evidenziando in tal modo che le differenti officine operavano in diverse parti della regione nello stesso o in diversi periodi. Singoli locali rinvenimenti di lucerne da Aquileia sono stati rilevati mediante analisi a Bad Reichenhall, Aquincum e Poetovio

Chemical analyses of sealing clays and the use of administrative artefacts at Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad (Syria)

At the site of Tell Sabi Abyad (Syria), hundreds of day sealings dating to the Late Neolithic period have been found. Crucial to their interpretation is the question whether they are of local or non-local origin, thus indicating use in storage or exchange practices respectively. Analysis of the chemical composition of the sealing clays with X-ray fluorescence analysis indicates that all sealings came from Sabi Abyad itself.Des scellements en argile datant du Néolithique Récent ont été trouvés par centaines à Tell Sabi Abyad (Syrie). Il importe de savoir si leur origine est locale ou non pour comprendre leur fonction : utilisation pour l ' emmagasinement ou à fin d'échanges. Les résultats des analyses par fluorescence X de la composition chimique de ces scellements ont montré qu'ils provenaient tous de Sabi Abyad.Duistermaat Kim, Schneider Gerwulf. Chemical analyses of sealing clays and the use of administrative artefacts at Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad (Syria). In: Paléorient, 1998, vol. 24, n°1. pp. 89-106

am Beispiel von Gesteinen des Schwarzwaldes

Anatektische Schmelzen haben bei der Entstehung granitischer bis dioritischer Magmen in der Erdkruste eine entscheidende Bedeutung. Die große Tiefe und breite Ausdehnung, in der sich sialische Granitisations-Prozesse vollziehen, bedingen aber auch die Seltenheit ihres Aufschlusses an der Erdoberfläche. An Stelle dieser Übergänge metamorph -> magmatisch in situ (ERDMANNSDÖRFFER, 1948) wurden daher stets die wesentlich kleinräumigeren Erscheinungen in Migmatiten untersucht. Man ging dabei von der Voraussetzung aus, daß diese als "Modell Systeme" anzusehen sind (MEHNERT, 1968/71). Die meisten geochemischen Untersuchungen zu diesem Thema berücksichtigten bisher nur die Hauptelemente. Angaben über Spurenelement-Konzentrationen basieren meist nur auf wenigen Einzelanalysen. Als Grundlage der hier vorgelegten Zusammenfassung geochemischer Daten zur Migmatitgenese dienten im wesentlichen die petrologischen Untersuchungen anatektischer Gesteine von MEHNERT und von BÜSCH (Zitate im Text). Diese Basis wurde durch Hinzunahme von neueren Literaturdaten erweitert. Die Analyse einer möglichst großen Anzahl von Einzelproben von Gneisen, Leukosomen und Melanosomen auf Haupt-, Neben- und Spurenelemente und die Berücksichtigung der Auswirkungen der Streuungen erbrachte neue Erkenntnisse…thesisDFG, SUB Göttinge