This paper reports the results of an archaeometric investigation conducted on a set of twenty-five fragments of terra sigillata representing both ceramic ware and the moulds used to form them, dating from around 30 BCE to 30 CE. They were all found during excavation carried out in the second half of the 19th century in possible production centres within the city of Arezzo, Tuscany (central Italy). The main aim of the research was to characterise both ceramic bodies and coatings and to obtain information on production technology and provenance, as well as possible differences between the two classes of materials. For this reason, a multidisciplinary approach, consisting in the mineralogical and chemical analysis were performed on all the samples (Sciau et al., 2020). Microscopically the potsherds showed a well-purified body, sharing very similar mineralogical compositions, mainly consisting in quartz, anorthite, pyroxene, hematite, and K-feldspars; illite/muscovite was also frequently encountered. The mineralogical phases detected suggest firing temperature between 850°C and 1000°C under oxidizing conditions of a calcareous-illitic clay. Slips resulted to be produced with a Fe-rich illitic clay (Fe content of around 10-15 wt%) (Leon et al., 2015). The comparison of the chemical data (Maritan et al., 2013) also with terra sigillata wares from important production areas (Italy, Spain, France, northern Africa and Turkey), indicated systematic difference which allowed to define that the studied samples were locally produced in Arezzo. Moreover, both the ware and the matrixes resulted to be produced using the same type of clay, indicating that also the selection of the raw material and the production of moulds were of great important in the terra sigillata chaîne opératoire.
The production of terra sigillata in Arezzo, central Italy: An archaeometric investigation
Cantisani E;
2023
Abstract
This paper reports the results of an archaeometric investigation conducted on a set of twenty-five fragments of terra sigillata representing both ceramic ware and the moulds used to form them, dating from around 30 BCE to 30 CE. They were all found during excavation carried out in the second half of the 19th century in possible production centres within the city of Arezzo, Tuscany (central Italy). The main aim of the research was to characterise both ceramic bodies and coatings and to obtain information on production technology and provenance, as well as possible differences between the two classes of materials. For this reason, a multidisciplinary approach, consisting in the mineralogical and chemical analysis were performed on all the samples (Sciau et al., 2020). Microscopically the potsherds showed a well-purified body, sharing very similar mineralogical compositions, mainly consisting in quartz, anorthite, pyroxene, hematite, and K-feldspars; illite/muscovite was also frequently encountered. The mineralogical phases detected suggest firing temperature between 850°C and 1000°C under oxidizing conditions of a calcareous-illitic clay. Slips resulted to be produced with a Fe-rich illitic clay (Fe content of around 10-15 wt%) (Leon et al., 2015). The comparison of the chemical data (Maritan et al., 2013) also with terra sigillata wares from important production areas (Italy, Spain, France, northern Africa and Turkey), indicated systematic difference which allowed to define that the studied samples were locally produced in Arezzo. Moreover, both the ware and the matrixes resulted to be produced using the same type of clay, indicating that also the selection of the raw material and the production of moulds were of great important in the terra sigillata chaîne opératoire.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
