Make up in the grave: scientific analysis of contents of the so-called kohl pots at the archaeological site of Estark–Joshaqan, central Iranian plateau

Abstract

The contents of five Iron Age I–II (1200–900 BC) small ceramic vessels similar to ancient kohl pots excavated from the graves of the archaeological site of Estark–Joshaqan, near Kashan in central Iranian plateau, were characterised by optical microscopy (OM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), micro X-Ray fluorescence (μ-XRF), micro-Raman spectroscopy (µ-Raman) and field emission scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM–EDS). The analytical data demonstrated that the pots were filled with powdery white laurionite (peculiar fibrous shape) and lead (hydr)oxychloride crystals to which manganese and iron oxides were added to obtain grey and orangish colours, respectively. The occurrence of minerals such as leadhillite, cerussite, anglesite, wulfenite and vanadinite together with barite, celestine, gypsum and anhydrite was ascertained via different analytical techniques and was discussed in an archaeological and technological context. In addition, the possible occurrence of mereheadite, with a fibrous habit, has been discussed. These small pots were used as kohl containers for storing cosmetics and placed in the burials as grave goods.

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-022-01511-8
ORIGINAL PAPER
Make upinthegrave: scientific analysis ofcontents oftheso‑called
kohl pots atthearchaeological site ofEstark–Joshaqan, central Iranian
plateau
ParvizHolakooei1 · Amir‑HosseinKarimy1· RebeccaPiovesan2· JavadHosseinzadeh3· MohsenJaveri3·
FabrizioAntonelli2· LaraMaritan4
Received: 14 September 2021 / Accepted: 13 January 2022
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2022
Abstract
The contents of five Iron Age I–II (1200–900 BC) small ceramic vessels similar to ancient kohl pots excavated from the
graves of the archaeological site of Estark–Joshaqan, near Kashan in central Iranian plateau, were characterised by opti-
cal microscopy (OM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), micro X-Ray fluorescence (μ-XRF), micro-Raman spectroscopy
(µ-Raman) and field emissionscanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM–EDS).
The analytical data demonstrated that the pots were filled with powdery white laurionite (peculiar fibrous shape) and lead
(hydr)oxychloride crystals to which manganese and iron oxides were added to obtain grey and orangish colours, respectively.
The occurrence of minerals such as leadhillite, cerussite, anglesite, wulfenite and vanadinite together with barite, celestine,
gypsum and anhydrite was ascertained via different analytical techniques and was discussed in an archaeological and tech-
nological context. In addition, the possible occurrence of mereheadite, with a fibrous habit, has been discussed. These small
pots were used as kohl containers for storing cosmetics and placed in the burials as grave goods.
Keywords Kohl pot· Laurionite· Estark–Joshaqan· Lead (hydr)oxychloride
Introduction
Located some 10 km west of Kashan (Fig. 1a, b),
Estark–Joshaqan archaeological site (34° 01′ 24″ N, 51° 13′
51″ E) was first systematically excavated in four consecu-
tive seasons from 2016 to 2019 (Hosseinzadeh etal. 2017).
During the second and third seasons, some small pots with
a narrow neck and concave body filled with white, grey and
orangish materials, which were presumably considered as
kohl tubes filled with cosmetics, were unearthed. The Estark
pots were all retrieved from the trench C that included 13
graves, two of which were intact (Fig.1c, d). Although
radiocarbon dating performed on the materials from Estark
shows a long-lasting cemetery used at least in a period
spanning from 1200 to 900 BC, two different sections can
be evinced in the site: (1) the western part of the cemetery
whose archaeological materials are dated to 2000–1700 BC
based on radiocarbon data and stylistic pottery study;(2)
the eastern part (Trench C), where all the materials in this
study originated from, is dated to 1200–900 BC. Apart from
radiocarbon dating data, stylistic and comparative analysis of
potteries suggest that all the kohl pots under study recovered
from Trench C can confidently be dated to 1200–900 BC
(Hosseinzadeh etal. 2019).
The pots (Fig.2) were excavated from the so-called
shaft graves (Fig.1d) with solitary and collective burials.
From several pots of this kind, only six were retrieved from
systematic excavation, two of which were excavated from
intact graves and four from disturbed contexts. It is worth-
mentioning that no meaningful correlation between the sex
of the buried bodies and the pots was observed. While an
* Parviz Holakooei
holakooeiparviz@gmail.com; p.holakouie@aui.ac.ir
1 Department ofArt Conservation andArchaeometry, Art
University ofIsfahan, Hakim-Nezami St., P.O. Box1744,
Isfahan, Iran
2 LAMA – Laboratory forAnalysing Materials ofAncient
origin, University Iuav ofVenice, San Polo 2468,
30125Venice, Italy
3 Department ofArchaeology, University ofKashan, Qotbe
Ravandi Boulevard, Kashan, Iran
4 Department ofGeosciences, University ofPadova, Via
Gradenigo 6, 35131Padova, Italy
/ Published online: 5 March 2022
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2022) 14: 56
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