Peter M Day

• The University of Sheffield

The main goal of this volume is to look at social groups involved in economic activity other than members of the palace-based institutions and “elites” in Late Bronze Age Mycenaean Greek societies. The palaces and elites are the usual subject of studies of ancient economies, often from a top-down approach, but here we consider a fuller range of the...

This paper presents the analysis of Early Helladic II (EH II) pottery from Keramidaki (Ancient Corinth) and the nearby settlement of Korakou. Based on macroscopic, petrographic and SEM–EDS data, the work builds on pioneering chemical research by Michael Attas who demonstrated the limited circulation of finewares in the region and posited the existe...

One of the most important reception sites for Phoenician pottery imports in the NE Iberian Peninsula is the Early Iron Age (800–550 BC) settlement of Sant Jaume. This site is exceptional in terms of preservation and the large number of complete vessels recovered. Moreover, the ceramic assemblage comprises one of the best collections of the earliest...

Cobatillas la Vieja is one of the main settlements for understanding the beginning of the Late Bronze Age (14th-13th centuries cal. BC) in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. After the macroscopic study of their ceramic assemblage, 30 representative samples were analysed by thin-section petrography, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron mi...

El proceso de expansión del Neolítico en el S de Europa lleva generalmente asociada la difusión de un conjunto de conocimientos, tanto de carácter socioeconómico como tecnológico. Entre estos últimos, la alfarería permite observar diferentes tradiciones a partir no solo de las materias primas empleadas, sino también aportando información sobre las...

El proceso de expansión del Neolítico en el S de Europa lleva generalmente asociada la difusión de un conjunto de conocimientos, tanto de carácter socioeconómico como tecnológico. Entre estos últimos, la alfarería permite observar diferentes tradiciones a partir no solo de las materias primas empleadas, sino también aportando información sobre las...

The beginning of relationships between autochthonous communities and Phoenicians from the earliest contacts in the eighth century BC made possible the exchange of ideas, technologies and people. This work analyses the development of the Early Iron Age potteries of the Iberian Southeast, the impact of the Phoenician presence and the agency that thes...

Provenance studies of archaeological ceramics based on their elemental composition illuminate the production and distribution of pottery vessels and, in the case of transport containers, of the commodities that they contained. A basic assumption is that the elemental composition of ceramics from a specific workshop or production area can be disting...

The final stage in the life history of prehistoric pottery prior to archaeological recovery is usually the longest, and frequently the most dynamic. The remains of archaeological ceramics spend hundreds to thousands of years deposited within the upper layers of the earth's crust where they encounter the same diagenetic environmental processes as th...

This paper presents the characterisation of 48 ceramic samples from Cova d’En Pardo (Alicante, Spain). Provenance and technology analysis are carried out on materials dated back to different Early and Middle Neolithic cultural phases, including pioneer and Epicardial levels, poorly known in the area. The techniques employed are optical petrography...

Located in the Trapani Mountains of North-West Sicily, the hilltop site of Pizzo Monaco hasformed the focus of systematic excavation and an innovative, integrated study of the totalceramic assemblage, as part of the MEMOLA FP7 project. The date, provenance and productiontechnology of the varied types of pottery are investigated by macroscopic, morp...

The island of Samos occupies a key position between the central Aegean and western Anatolia during the third millennium BC. A recent study of the substantial pottery assemblages from the pivotal site of Heraion has defined a rich stratigraphy covering the entire Early Bronze Age (EBA). Currently the only known EBA site on Samos, Heraion has provide...

This paper discusses the analysis of Early Bronze Age ‘Talioti’‐style ceramics found at sites in the Argolid and Corinthia, in the north‐east Peloponnese of mainland Greece. It presents the results of an integrated methodology that addresses questions relating to the potential sources of raw materials, the identification of potting practices, and t...

Canaanite jars from the palatial site of Tiryns in mainland Greece are shown to have been producedat a number of centres on the Levantine coast, emphasising the key role of the Argive coastal citadelin trade with the eastern Mediterranean at the end of the 13th century BCE. The analytical study ofthis assemblage draws on a detailed examination of k...

This paper considers the structure of production, distribution and consumption of ceramics within Chalcolithic communities of SE Iberia, an important region for modelling social and technological change in the recent prehistory of Eurasia. Our research provides new data through the comparative analysis of domestic and metallurgical ceramics, as wel...

Changes in firing practice have been suggested as representing a revolution in ceramic technology at the beginning of the Bronze Age in Crete. The introduction of kiln structures has been held responsible for such a change, perhaps by newcomers to the island, along with other innovative technologies. However, these hypotheses were often based on li...

The first volume examines Akrotiri stratigraphy and chronology, the typology and iconography of local and imported pottery and dedicates a section to ceramic weaving equipment and an inscribed loomweight. The second volume presents the catalogue of selected ceramic material by chronological phase and findspot, plates and drawings.

This paper provides a contextual summary of a diachronic analysis of ceramic vessels and hunter-gatherer societies from the final Pleistocene to the later Holocene in a remote corner of the Vitim Basin in Eastern Siberia. An integrated programme of ceramic analysis, raw materials survey, and archaeological investigation is drawn into new models of...

In this paper petrographic and NAA analyses of two categories of ceramic wares of the early medieval Vega of Granada (southeast Spain) are presented. The vessels analysed include Water Containers and Glazed Wares and were manufactured between the sixth and the twelfth centuries CE. This is the period of the Islamization of Iberia and the emergence...

This paper focuses on the study of the pre-Hispanic ceramics from the site of La Cerera (Gran Canaria) (7th century AD – 13th century AD). An integrated approach combining various levels of analysis has been carried out, employing morphological, technical and functional analysis of the pots, as well as their instrumental characterization: X-ray flu...

In exploring ceramic production technology and exchange during the Late Helladic IIIB-Late Helladic IIIC Phase 1 periods in the area of the Saronic Gulf, pottery fromseveral archaeological sites has been analysed, characterising compositional groups and tracing their movement around the region. This investigation has highlighted and characterised a...

In the early part of the Early Bronze (EB) II period, the Aegean world sees the appearance of the collared jar, the first ceramic Maritime Transport Container (MTC) of the region. Based on a study and scientific analyses of hundreds of EB II transport jars, focusing on the harbour towns of Poros-Katsambas on Crete, Akrotiri on Thera and Ayia Irini...

Transport jars from the Mycenaean citadel of Tiryns, a coastal centre in the Bronze Age, were analysed in a macroscopic and petrographic study. Over 400 vessels and vessel fragments, mostly Transport Stirrup Jars (TSJs) and Canaanite jars, were recorded; around a quarter of them were selected for analysis. The vessels derive from both the upper and...

The present landscape of the Mesara Plain, an intermountain basin located in Southern Crete, results from millennia of geological transformation. Human presence in the area had a strong impact on landscape change since the Final Neolithic (second half of the 4th millennium BC), when the first signs of land erosion and deforestation appeared. This p...

Over recent years, there has been a growing interest in the analytical investigation of Phoenician pottery recovered from sites in Catalonia (NE Iberian Peninsula). Studies which integrate mineralogical, chemical and microstructural analysis have been carried out at seven sites in the Ilercavonia and Cossetania areas, analysing a total of 123 ceram...

Variability in ceramic classes and technological practice is discussed across the range of pottery produced at or near Phaistos, Crete in Early Minoan IB. It is at this time that new shapes and surface decoration were introduced, leading to the suggestion of abrupt discontinuity in ceramic manufacture, if not in society. Drawn from a broader study...

Production and exchange of the earliest ceramic vessels in the Aegean: a view from Early Neolithic Knossos, Crete - Volume 75 Issue 288 - Peter Tomkins, Peter M. Day

The influence of tempering and firing practices on the fracture strength and fracture energy of traditional pottery is presented, focusing on the mechanical behaviour of low-calcareous ceramics and how it compares to that of comparable calcareous ceramics. Material tests on experimental briquettes show that the measured increase in fracture strengt...

The principles governing thermal shock resistance are introduced briefly, followed by the presentation of an experimental study conducted to assess the influence of temper and firing temperature on the thermal shock resistance of clay-based ceramics. Focusing on the assessment of a material's capability to resist thermal stresses, difficulties whic...

This paper presents the results of a systematic investigation of the pozzolanic activity of different types of ceramic admixtures, as a function of their chemical composition (calcareous, non-calcareous) and vitrification state. The study was carried out on experimental ceramic-lime mixtures. The evaluation of the reactivity of the different cerami...

The excavation of a large circular dished earthwork near Carnforth, North Lancashire, in 1982, has revealed a substantial Bronze Age funerary monument. The earliest structure was a sub-rectangular enclosure of limestone boulders dated to c. 1740–1640 BC cal. and associated with parts of two poorly preserved inhumation burials lying on the previousl...

In this paper we undertake a petrographic analysis of cooking wares in order to explore the relationship between cultural change and issues of production, consumption and distribution of cooking wares, and particularly between political authority and the location of workshops in the early Islamic Vega of Granada, a region in south-eastern Spain. Th...

This paper is a summary of the results of a workshop held at Knossos in August 1992. The aims of the workshop were to examine the most coherent and reliable deposits, place them in a chronological sequence, and decide on common terminologies and definitions. This brief paper provides a framework and serves as a common introduction to various detail...

This paper focuses on plain, stylistically unvaried pottery from three Late Neolithic sites from the Mondego Plateau, Portugal, and investigates ceramic production and exchange among small‐scale prehistoric societies by means of thin‐section petrography and chemical analysis (INAA). The results show that the majority of the pottery was made with wi...

The Akrotiri cooking vessel assemblage is well represented in several successive phases throughout the Bronze Age. We present an interdisciplinary approach to study the relationships between morphology, technology and use for the Middle and early Late Cycladic periods at Akrotiri. Based on the changes and variations observed in cooking pot morpholo...

The harbor site of Kommos, Crete, has yielded rich evidence for long-distance exchange in the form of ceramic transport jars of types used not only for distribution within Crete and the Aegean, but also across the eastern Mediterranean. An integrated petrographic and chemical approach is here employed in order to determine the provenance of short-n...

The harbor site of Kommos, Crete, has yielded rich evidence for long-distance exchange in the form of ceramic transport jars of types used not only for distribution within Crete and the Aegean, but also across the eastern Mediterranean. An integrated petrographic and chemical approach is here employed in order to determine the provenance of short-n...

The influence of tempering on the mechanical performance of pottery is assessed. Emphasis is placed on the examination of the impact of temper shape (low vs. high sphericity) and extent of vitrification on the strength and toughness of the ceramic material. Measurements on experimental briquettes show that the replacement of platy phyllitic temper...

Combined petrographic and chemical analysis of MN and LN ceramics from the Cave of the Cyclops on the island of Youra, Greece, has revealed a compositionally diverse assemblage with a range of different local and off-island sources. Ceramics deposited in Neolithic times on this barren, rocky outpost of the Sporades chain may have originated from a...

The influence of temper on the performance characteristics of cooking ware pottery is assessed. Emphasis is placed on the examination of the impact of temper shape (platy vs. angular) on strength, toughness, thermal conductivity and thermal shock resistance. Mechanical and thermal tests performed on experimental briquettes tempered with phyllite or...

In former studies on archaeological cooking pots or archaeological pyrotechnical ceramics their thermal conductivity was discussed only in relation with other parameters but, it was never actually determined. In the present study a modified Lees’ disk setup was used in order to determine the thermal conductivity of a series of experimental ceramic...

The scientific analysis of ceramics often has the aim of identifying groups of similar artefacts. Much published work focuses on analysis of data derived from geochemical or mineralogical techniques. The former is more likely to be subjected to quantitative statistical analysis. This paper examines some approaches to the statistical analysis of dat...

Pottery from the Late Minoan I kiln at Haghia Triada in the Mesara Plain, southern Crete, was analysed by a range of techniques, comprising thin-section petrography, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and neutron activation analysis. The project characterizes the ceramic fabrics and probable raw materials, correlate...

Microfossils can be a common component of ancient ceramic artefacts. Their analysis in this unusual context is a little-known, yet promising, cross-disciplinary application of micropalaeontology. This article presents the first detailed assessment of the phenomenon of microfossils in ancient ceramics and demonstrates how micropalaeontology can cont...

The calcareous skeletal remains of various microscopic organisms such as foraminifera and ostracods are a striking feature of thin sections of many archaeological ceramics from the Aegean Bronze Age. While the presence of these calcareous microfossils in pottery has been noted for some time, attempts to utilize them to further the aims of ceramic c...

Ceramic ritual objects from the Late Minoan IIIC (ca. 1175-1050 B.C.) shrine at Kavousi, Crete, were analyzed by thin-section petrography and scanning electron microscopy. The authors investigate aspects of the objects' production technology, drawing on the extensive comparative data available in the study area. It appears that potters manufactured...

The determination of provenance probably forms the primary role of geochemical analyses in archaeological ceramic studies. In what has comprised a successful field of study, the ultimate basis for such research has been the comparison of pottery compositions with the geochemical diversity displayed by clay deposits within a given study area. Althou...

Although a small number of studies have attempted to introduce automatic grouping procedures into thin section petrography of archaeological ceramics, the majority of studies continue to be carried out by non-automatic means. Although such an approach with the single observer grouping samples has a number of advantages, it is problematic when deali...

The existing geochemical diversity of clay deposits consists the underlying assumption for the determination of provenance of archaeological ceramics on the basis of their chemical composition. This assumption was tested on Quarternary red clayey alluviums from Central and Eastern Crete (Greece), an area rich in archaeological pottery and very popu...

Ceramic vessels and associated vitreous debris, excavated at Coppergate, York, UK, have been interpreted as the remains of Roman glass-making from the raw materials. This paper reports the results of analysis of this assemblage by XRF, ICPS, XRD, SEM–EDAX and thin-section petrography. These findings suggest that some ceramic vessels, used as crucib...

The formation of reference groups comprises an important procedure in chemical provenance studies of archaeological pottery. Material from ancient kilns is thought to be especially suitable for reference groups, as it comprises a definite unit of past production. Pottery from the Late Minoan IA kiln excavated at Kommos, Crete was analysed in order...

The formation of reference groups comprises an important procedure in chemical provenance studies of archaeological pottery. Material from ancient kilns is thought especially suitable for reference groups, as it comprises a definite unit of past production. Pottery from the Late Minoan IA kiln excavated at Kommos, Crete was analysed in order to pro...