Archaeometric characterization of Byzantine pottery from Păcuiul lui Soare

Abstract

Archaeometric investigations using OM (optical microscopy) and micro-PIXE (particle induced X-ray emission) were performed on 45 ceramic shards unearthed in archaeological excavations at Păcuiul lui Soare (southeastern Romania) and dated to the eleventh century AD. This study aimed to get clues about the raw materials and manufacturing techniques used by the potters from the Lower Danube area during the Byzantine period. The analyzed ceramic fragments were selected according to stylistic and archaeological criteria, trying to cover the entire palette of potteries discovered at this site. OM detailed the characteristics of the fabric (texture, microstructure and porosity), mineralogy, surface treatments and firing of the shards. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the PIXE data highlighted two main categories of shards with distinct compositional signatures, separated mainly by their aluminum and calcium content. Micro-PIXE maps of the interfaces between the glaze and the ceramic body showed that the green glaze is rich in lead oxide compared to the underlying ceramic body. The results of these investigations were compared to the ones previously obtained on coeval potteries from other Byzantine archaeological sites, i.e. Hârşova and Oltina, trying to get some hints about the consumption and circulation of pottery in the Lower Danube region at the beginning of the second millennium AD.

The systematic structural studies of some Byzantine ceramic fragments from Dobrudja region of Romania: Raman spectroscopy, neutron diffraction, and imaging data

“…The analyses did not reveal the presence of kaolin. White clay deposits, sometimes with different shades of yellow, are known in several areas of Dobrudja, the closest to our discoveries are in Medgidia–Mircea Vodă, at approximately 30–40 km (Bugoi et al, 2019). It can be assumed the idea about the imported nature of raw material or pottery items from the center of Dobrudja.…”

“…This is corresponded to the lead oxide phase. Previously, it was assumed (Wiechert et al, 2005) that the PbO oxide is a component of the olive‐green color glaze, including used for decorating pottery (Bugoi et al, 2019) found in the Dobrudja region of Romania. The presence of lead oxide in the glaze was also found in ceramic fragments S_1, S_2, S_3, S_4, S_21, S_22, and S_23.…”

“…In this point of view, the methods of element composition studies, such as the X‐ray fluorescence or neutron activation analysis (Bishop & Blackman, 2002; Koval et al, 2020), are attracted successfully (Dias & Prudencio, 2007). A lot of useful data has already been accumulated on the study of Bulgaria (Borzakov et al, 2022; Pulchev & Pristavova, 2021), old‐Russian pottery and frescoes (Panova et al, 2020), and ceramics from Romania and others (Bugoi et al, 2019; Burghelea et al, 2004; Ionescu et al, 2007). There has also been progress in the study of ceramic fragments by neutron structural nondestructive methods like neutron tomography and diffraction (Abdurakhimov et al, 2021; Kockelmann et al, 2001).…”

Chemistry for cultural heritage: connecting past and future

“…Finally, archaeometric investigations of ceramics from Alcazar of Nájera (Spain) and Byzantine pottery from Păcuiul lui Soare (Romania) archaeological sites were performed by Calparsoro et al [24] and Bugoi et al [25] in trying to establish the provenance and/or the consumption and circulation of pottery in specific geographical regions and time periods.…”