Determination of the firing temperature and redox atmosphere of the pottery from the Bronze Age settlement Kamenny Ambar by x-ray diffraction phase analysis

Abstract

XRD is used to determine the phase composition of the Bronze age pottery. Chlorite and calcite presence and the lack of high-temperature newly formed minerals indicate low firing temperatures (650-800°C) that are characteristic of the bonfire firing technology. The oxidizing atmosphere is established for a number of ceramic fragments due to the presence of iron oxidized compounds (hematite and goethite). The quantitative data on the additive content (talc, calcite, etc.) in pottery is obtained.