Using scanning electron microscopy for identification of admixtures in archaeological pottery
Dorota Riegert, Katarzyna Konopka, Urszula Kobylińska
Quarterly No. 2, 2011 pages 163-167
DOI:
keywords: archaeological pottery, scanning electron microscopy, SEM-EDS
abstract The work presented in this article describes the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with an EDS attachment in studying Early Medieval ceramic vessels from archaeological sites. These studies have allowed us to observe the shape and size of temper particles as well as analyze the chemical composition of mineral admixtures. The analyzed material consisted of fragments of Menkendorf-Szczecin type clay vessels from Polish and German archaeological sites of the 9th-11th centuries. Studies using scanning electron microscopy at various magnifications allow for the observation of mineral admixtures of different fractions, large temper particles which were added intentionally, as well as small particles which are a normal fraction of natural clay. Scanning electron microscopy studies also made it possible to classify minerals on the basis of their shapes. A group of admixtures of spherical shape and a group of polygons were identified. Point analysis of their chemical composition (SEM-EDS) allowed us to separate the minerals into groups containing quartz and those made up of other minerals containing titanium or barium in their chemical composition.