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An archaeometric study of early Copper Age pottery from a cave in Romania

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 July 2019

Alexandra Enea-Giurgiu Open the ORCID record for Alexandra Enea-Giurgiu [Opens in a new window] ,
Corina Ionescu Open the ORCID record for Corina Ionescu [Opens in a new window] ,
Volker Hoeck ,
Tudor Tămaş  and
Cristian Roman
Alexandra Enea-Giurgiu
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, 1 Kogălniceanu Str., 400084 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Corina Ionescu*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, 1 Kogălniceanu Str., 400084 Cluj-Napoca, Romania Institute of International Relations History and Oriental Studies, Archeotechnologies & Archeological Material Sciences Laboratory, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, 18 Kremlevskaya Str., 420000 Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia Division Geography and Geology, Paris Lodron University, 34 Hellbrunnerstraße, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Volker Hoeck
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, 1 Kogălniceanu Str., 400084 Cluj-Napoca, Romania Division Geography and Geology, Paris Lodron University, 34 Hellbrunnerstraße, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Tudor Tămaş
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, 1 Kogălniceanu Str., 400084 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Cristian Roman
Affiliation:
Corvin Castle, 1–3 Castelului Str., 331141, Hunedoara, Romania
*
*E-mail: corina.ionescu@ubbcluj.ro
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Abstract

Early Copper Age pottery sherds discovered in a cave within the crystalline dolomites of the Southern Carpathians (Romania) were investigated by polarized light optical microscopy (OM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) to obtain information on the pottery production in the Copper Age in the territory of present-day Romania. Microscopically, the clayey matrix of the ceramic body is highly birefringent or consists of low-birefringent and isotropic parts mixed together, containing fragments of quartz, muscovite, alkali feldspar, plagioclase, biotite, chlorite, heavy minerals and metamorphic and magmatic rocks, as well as an opaque material. The EMPA data revealed an Fe-rich illite-like matrix and helped to identify the mineral nature of the inclusions. Local pottery production in bonfires or surface clamps is envisaged. Miocene illitic clays may have been used as raw materials, mixed with a small amount of sandy temper. The thermal changes revealed by OM, the modification of the XRPD peaks and the EMPA data suggest firing temperatures of between 800 and 850°C.

Keywords

archaeometryearly Copper AgeEMPAFoeni GrouppotteryRomaniaXRPD
Type
Article
Information
Clay Minerals , Volume 54 , Issue 3 , September 2019 , pp. 255 - 268
Copyright
Copyright © Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2019 

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Footnotes

Associate Editor: Joao Labrincha

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