Mössbauer, XRD and XRF study of Roman amphorae and amphora kilns from the Roman provinces of Baetica and Lusitania andclays

Summary

Roman Haltern 70 type amphorae found at Castro do Vieito, an archaeological site in the north of Portugal, in the former Roman province of Lusitania, were studied by 57-Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, X ray diffraction and X ray fluorescence with the aim of elucidating their firing conditions and their site of production. For comparison, sherds found at eight kiln sites in the south of Spain, in the former Roman provinces of Baetica and Lusitania, were studied. Moreover, clays collected near the kiln sites were fired in the laboratory for comparison with the amphora material. The amphorae from Castro do Vieito as well as the sherds from the kiln sites were found to have been fired at temperatures around 800 oC in atmospheres that changed between reducing and oxidizing at least once during the firing cycle. Oxidation during the final stage of firing often lead to sherds with more divalent iron in the core than on the surface. The amphorae found at Castro do Vieito appear to have been produced in southern Spain and used to transport agricultural produce to the north, but a definite location for their production cannot yet be given.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage