Abstract
Microanalyses methods by LA-ICP-MS, EPMA (SEM, WDS and EDS) and Raman micro-spectroscopy were applied in analyses of the black and the red decorations and the ceramic-body of an Iron Age Phoenician Bichrome pottery at Tel Dor on the Carmel coast of Israel. The current study aimed to identify the technology utilized in the Bichrome decoration in Phoenician workshops. Chemical analyses with LA-ICP-MS and EPMA (WDS and EDS) demonstrate that the black decoration contains Fe2O3 and MnO, whereas the red decoration consists of Fe2O3 but is poor in MnO. These compositions are in accordance with the use of ferromanganese and ferruginous based pigments for the black and the red decorations, respectively. The ceramic-body is calcareous and consists of SiO2 and Al2O3 of the fired-clay and CaO of calcite. EPMA-SEM images of the pigment layers show fragmented microstructures in which small pigment particles are coated on the ceramic-body substrate. EPMA-WDS elemental maps of the painted decorations illustrate non-homogeneous distribution patterns of Fe2O3, MnO, which are in accordance with the fragmented microstructures. The results reveal the use of the manganese based technique in the black decoration of the Bichrome pottery in Phoenician workshops. With this technique, painting with both ferromanganese pigment and with ferruginous pigment facilitates simultaneous black and red decorations of the Bichrome pottery through a single firing in an oxidizing atmosphere. The identification of hematite in the painted decorations by Raman micro-spectroscopy confirms firing of the Bichrome pottery in an oxidizing atmosphere.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 938-951 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports |
| Volume | 21 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The current study is a part of a wider comprehensive research of East Mediterranean paint decorated pottery supported by the Israel Science Foundation (grant no. 209/14; directed by A. Gilboa, the University of Haifa and the S. Shoval, the Open University of Israel). The study is also supported by the Research Funds of the Open University of Israel (grant no. 31016). These supports are gratefully acknowledged. The author is very grateful to the Tel Dor excavators, Prof. Ayelet Gilboa of the University of Haifa and Prof. Ilan Sharon of the Hebrew University, for providing the Phoenician Bichrome pottery for the study. The author also thanks Dr. Paula Waiman-Barak and Mr. Golan Shalvi of the University of Haifa. This work was partially carried out while S. Shoval was on sabbatical at the Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University. The author expresses his appreciation to Prof. Oded Navon of this Institute for his collaboration. The author is grateful to Mr. Omri Dvir of this institute for operating the LA-ICP-MS and EPMA laboratories, performing the analyses and for useful discussions. The author thanks Dr. Anna Radko of the Hebrew University Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology for performing the Raman micro-spectroscopy analyses. The anonymous reviewers are thanked for their comments.
Funding Information:
The current study is a part of a wider comprehensive research of East Mediterranean paint decorated pottery supported by the Israel Science Foundation (grant no. 209/14 ; directed by A. Gilboa, the University of Haifa and the S. Shoval, the Open University of Israel). The study is also supported by the Research Funds of the Open University of Israel (grant no. 31016 ). These supports are gratefully acknowledged. The author is very grateful to the Tel Dor excavators, Prof. Ayelet Gilboa of the University of Haifa and Prof. Ilan Sharon of the Hebrew University, for providing the Phoenician Bichrome pottery for the study. The author also thanks Dr. Paula Waiman-Barak and Mr. Golan Shalvi of the University of Haifa. This work was partially carried out while S. Shoval was on sabbatical at the Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University. The author expresses his appreciation to Prof. Oded Navon of this Institute for his collaboration. The author is grateful to Mr. Omri Dvir of this institute for operating the LA-ICP-MS and EPMA laboratories, performing the analyses and for useful discussions. The author thanks Dr. Anna Radko of the Hebrew University Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology for performing the Raman micro-spectroscopy analyses. The anonymous reviewers are thanked for their comments.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd
Keywords
- Bichrome decoration
- Ceramic-body
- Ferromanganese black pigment
- Ferruginous red pigment
- Iron reduction technique
- Manganese based technique
- Oxidizing firing
- Phoenician workshops