Roman pottery from Viminacium (Serbia 2nd-3rd centuries AD): Compositional characterisics, production and technologigal aspects

Abstract

This study presents the results of mineralogical, petrographic and chemical analyses of 58 speci-mens of pottery and eight kiln wastes from the archaeological site of Viminacium and allows the cre-ation of a reference chemical and mineral-petrographic group. Four representative samples of argillaceous sediment were characterised by mineral-petrographicanalysis before and after firing tests at 600 and 900 °C. Comparisons of the characteristics of the pot-tery, kiln wastes and local clay established the source of the raw materials and production methods. Petrographic analysis enabled the division of the pottery into the following: i) four fabrics character-ised by inclusions perfectly consistent both with the lithotype outcroppings in the immediate vicinityof Viminacium and clay and kiln wastes, therefore deemed to be of local origin; ii) seven petrographic“singles”, three of which are of uncertain production. Firing tests conducted at 900 °C on the clay samples showed (by PXRD) the formation of hematite, gehlenite and pyroxene phases (in samples with calcite and dolomite precursors), all of which werealso present in the pottery deemed to be of local origin. XRF con firmed the divisions made on a min-eral-petrographic basis. The identi fied textural properties indicate firing temperatures in the range of700-1050 °C