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This study presents the results of the petrographic and geochemical analyses of the entire pottery assemblage discovered at the sixth-century (AD) cemetery of Szólád, Western Hungary, associated with the Langobard era in the territory of the former Roman province of Pannonia. Szólád is one of the most prominent archaeological sites of this period, where prior studies have shown that the cemetery was used for ca. one or two generations by a migrating group of diverse genetic background. The present work is the first integrated typological and archaeological science pottery analysis from the early migration period (fifth to sixth century) Hungary. We applied polarising light optical microscopy (OM), prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA), and neutron activation analysis (NAA) on all samples and, additionally, scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM–EDS) on one selected sample. One main fabric group with three subgroups were defined by OM, to which the majority of the samples belong. This fabric group was characterised by aplastic inclusions derived from a carbonate-cemented sandstone typical of the environs of Szólád; therefore, the vessels of this fabric group appear to have been produced locally. The remaining four samples display a variety of unique, ungrouped, fabrics (loners) indicative of different recipes and/or the presence of pottery originating from outside of the region. Our study concludes that the community associated with the cemetery favoured burying pots with the deceased that stylistically resembled archaic “Elbe Germanic” traditions, but which were in fact made locally. However, in some cases, relationships with more distant territories and cultural traditions are also represented.

This article describes the quantitative analysis of the 3D orientation of objects (i.e. particles and voids) within pottery fabrics to differentiate two categories of pottery hand-building primary forming techniques, specifically percussion-building and coil-building, comparing the use of two independent non-destructive imaging modalities, X-ray microtomography (µ-CT) and neutron tomography (NT). For this purpose, series of experimental organic-tempered vessels and coil sections were analysed. For both imaging modalities, two separate systems were employed for quantitatively describing both the orientation of individual objects, as well as the collective preferential alignment of objects within samples, utilising respectively polar and azimuth angles within a spherical coordinate system, and projected sizes within a positive Cartesian coordinate system. While the former provided full descriptions of the orientations of objects within 3D space, the latter, through a ratio dubbed here the ‘Orientation Index’ (OI), gave a simple numerical value with which the investigated samples were differentiated according to forming technique. Both imaging modalities were able to differentiate between coil-built and percussion-built vessels with a high degree of confidence, with the strength of these findings additionally demonstrated through extensive statistical modelling using Monte Carlo simulations. Despite differences in resolution and differences in the attenuation of X-rays and neutrons, µ-CT and NT were shown to provide comparable results. The findings presented here broadly agree with earlier studies; however, the quantitative and three-dimensional nature of the results enables more subtle features to be identified, while additionally, in principle, the non-destructive nature of both imaging techniques facilitates such structural analysis without recourse to invasive sampling.

This study investigates diversity among ophiolite‐bearing sediments that were exploited for pottery production in Bronze Age Crete (c.3000–1200 bc). The focus is on loose and consolidated formations of Upper Tertiary to Quaternary ages that contain some detrital products of Mesozoic ophiolitic source rocks. A literature review, geological fieldwork, sediment sampling and petrographic analysis are combined to identify the origin, the geographical distribution and the stratigraphic position of these ophiolitic sediments, and to assess regional diversity in their mineralogy and texture. The results provide insights into current archaeological problems regarding the provenance and production of ophiolite‐bearing pottery in Bronze Age Crete.