Archaeometric characterization of Byzantine pottery from Păcuiul lui Soare

Archaeometric investigations using OM (optical microscopy) and micro-PIXE (particle induced X-ray emission) were performed on 45 ceramic shards unearthed in archaeological excavations at Păcuiul lui Soare (southeastern Romania) and dated to the eleventh century AD. This study aimed to get clues about the raw materials and manufacturing techniques used by the potters from the Lower Danube area during the Byzantine period. The analyzed ceramic fragments were selected according to stylistic and archaeological criteria, trying to cover the entire palette of potteries discovered at this site. OM detailed the characteristics of the fabric (texture, microstructure and porosity), mineralogy, surface treatments and firing of the shards. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the PIXE data highlighted two main categories of shards with distinct compositional signatures, separated mainly by their aluminum and calcium content. Micro-PIXE maps of the interfaces between the glaze and the ceramic body showed that the green glaze is rich in lead oxide compared to the underlying ceramic body. The results of these investigations were compared to the ones previously obtained on coeval potteries from other Byzantine archaeological sites, i.e. Hârşova and Oltina , trying to get some hints about the consumption and circulation of pottery in the Lower Danube region at the beginning of the second millennium AD.