Ceramic building materials from the ancient Témesa (Calabria region, Italy): Raw materials procurement, mix-design and firing processes from the Hellenistic to Roman period
Introduction
Ceramic building materials (hereafter CBM) are a class of archaeological items (bricks, brickworks, tiles, water pipes, etc.) made of fired clays used for architectural and/or structural purposes in ancient manufacts. They can be considered among the oldest and most enduring porous construction materials and the study of their technological features represents an effective tool for gathering the material culture identity and urban setting of the ancient populations (Lavan and Mills, 2015). In fact, advancements and improvements in the production processes (e.g., selection of more suitable raw materials, control of firing conditions) were continuously introduced over time, depending on the skilfulness achieved in a specific historical period and/or local traditions (Moavenzadeh, 1990, Gassner et al., 2001). Thus, the ceramic production technology, from the raw material exploitation up to the firing dynamics, can be inferred by their study.
Geological disciplines, and in particular mineralogy and petrology, are largely applied in the study of archaeological ceramic samples (e.g. Childs, 1989, De Bonis et al., 2018, Maritan, 2019, Quinn, 2013, Stoltman, 2001) as they deal with complex systems, namely natural geological materials used to produce artifacts, and are able to describe and interpret the technological processes that these products experienced (Artioli and Angelini, 2011, Memmi Turbanti et al., 2011).
Further than the contribution of mineralogy and petrology in an archaeometric study, a careful investigation of the fossiliferous content of ceramic materials offers the possibility to address a range of important questions on the origin/provenance of ancient artifacts and trace back the technology (e.g. Maritan et al., 2007, Privitera et al., 2015, Quinn and Day, 2007a, Quinn and Day, 2007, Wilkinson et al., 2016).
Microfossils present in the clayey matrix of archaeological ceramics are normally those contained in the raw clays used for pottery making and their investigation permits to relate ancient ceramics to specific deposits of raw materials, thus representing a reliable tool to determine the “history” of ancient artifacts. Actually, petrological and/or geochemical investigation of ancient pottery complemented by the study of fossiliferous content, enables confident interpretations of origin and, in some instances, the precise location of the exploited sources (Grifa et al., 2021, Quinn and Day, 2007a).
The state of conservation of fossils can even provide additional technological details, in particular on the achievement of different firing temperatures, usually estimated by evaluating the mineralogical assemblages (Cultrone et al., 2001, De Bonis et al., 2014, Grifa et al., 2009).
Such a multi-analytical approach, consisting in the cross-disciplinary application of mineralogy, petrology and micropaleontology, was used for the study of CBM from the archaeological site of Pian della Tirena, next to the modern town of Nocera Terinese (Calabria region, southern Italy) (Fig. 1, where an important Greek colony on the Tyrrhenian coast, associated to the ancient settlement of Témesa, was implanted. Here, a flourishing worksite set up from the second half of the 4th century BCE up to the 3rd century CE.
A comprehensive technological knowledge of the crafting procedures adopted in this site represents the aim of the paper; firing dynamics, selected raw materials and how they were mixed have been investigated, also by collecting clays and sands from the areas surrounding the site. Hence, the diachronic evolution of the ceramic production technology and exploitation of raw materials in the area of Pian della Tirena was pointed out, providing new insights on raw material procurement, combination of clay and temper and firing technology.
Although CBM production was generally promoted by the local availability of clayey raw materials, CBM were also included in large regional and extra-regional traffics, particularly during the Roman period in some southern Tyrrhenian settlements (Moavenzadeh, 1990, Gassner et al., 2001, Gianfrotta, 2015). Therefore, the presence of possible importations was considered, to provide new insights on operating trades possibly active in the analyzed large timespan.
Section snippets
Archaeological context
The site of Pian della Tirena consists of a promontory of approximately thirty acres located on the Tyrrhenian coast of the Calabria region, next to the modern town of Nocera Terinese, where it is identified the Greek settlement of Témesa (Fig. 1). The area is attested in scholarly literature as early as the 16th century, and ascribed to the Greek town of Terina on the basis of an erroneous interpretation of the historical toponymy (Cicala et al., 2014). Only after the first archaeological
Geological framework
The archaeological area of Pian della Tirena is located next to the Tyrrhenian coastline on a Pleistocene marine-cut terrace, just upstream confluence of two rivers, Grande (to the south) and Savuto (to the north), in the northern sector of the Calabria-Peloritani arc (Fig. 1b). The area falls within the southern portion of the Amantea basin, a Neogene basin formed by the tectonic subsidence along the Tyrrhenian margin of Calabria as the result of the extensional faulting during the early
Materials
Thirty-one samples of CBM consisting of roof- and cover-tiles from both Brettian and Roman phases of the context were selected for the investigation (Table 1).
The specimens of Brettian phase came from closed and clearly dated contexts, such as those of some cappuccina-style tombs on the northern slopes of the plateau (Cicala et al., 2014). Other roof-tiles and semicircular cover-tiles were located in one of the buildings, within the central sector of the upper terrace (Cicala et al., 2014). As
Analytical techniques
Textural features and mineralogical characteristics of ceramic samples were investigated via Polarising Light Microscopy (PLM) using a polarised microscope Nikon Eclipse 6400 POL on thin sections. Sand samples were observed with a Stereo Microscope Leica S8 APO.
The Grain Size Distribution (GSD) of the a-plastic grains has been determined by Image Analyses (IA) on representative samples using ImageJ software (in plane polarized light). A-plastic inclusions have been manually contoured in order
Mineralogy, texture, and compositional features of CBM
Most of the specimens from both Brettian and Roman town contexts can be assembled in a first petrographic group (Group 1, Table 2) characterized by inactive matrices and colour variable from creamy to light brown to brownish orange to reddish brown. The only exception is sample BC5 characterised by a zoned and weakly active ceramic body. Fine skeleton particles consisting of quartz, feldspar and mica are scattered in the matrix along with a coarser metamorphic temper (Fig. 2a, b).
Coarse
Conclusions
The study carried out on ceramics from the archaeological site of Pian della Tirena shed light on the technology of CBM produced in the ancient settlement of Témesa from the second half of the 4th century BCE and the 3rd century CE.
The important contribution of disciplines such as mineralogy and petrology in solving some aspects of the technological process involving cultural heritage materials is attested by the abundant literature produced in the last decades (e.g. Artioli and Angelini, 2011,
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Chiara Germinario: Conceptualization, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. Alberto De Bonis: Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. Filippo Barattolo: Investigation, Writing – review & editing. Luigi Cicala: Investigation, Writing – review & editing. Luigi Franciosi: Writing – review & editing, Funding acquisition. Francesco Izzo: Writing – review & editing. Alessio Langella: Writing – review &
Acknowledgements
PRIN research grant n. 2005108872_003 (Indagini archeometriche e paleobiologiche su materiali archeologici provenienti da siti della costa calabra con particolare riferimento a Pian della Tirena) (L.F.) funded the research. The authors thank Giovanna Greco, scientific coordinator of the PRIN research project that supported the research, Simonetta Bonomi, Roberto Spadea and Gregorio Aversa, who introduced and facilitated the study of archaeological materials from Pian della Tirena.
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