X-ray fluorescence analysis of the pottery shards from dahan-E ghulaman, the achaemenid site in Sistan, east of Iran

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether pottery shards from Dahan-e Ghulaman were locally made or imported from elsewhere. Dahan-e Ghulaman is one of the most ancient settlements in Iran’s Sistan during the Achaemenid period. The study shows that the antiquity of the site goes back to the 6th and 5th centuries BC, the earthenware found in Dahan-e Ghulaman being simple and unpainted in buff and buffish red colours. However, another type of pottery also can be observed in the Dahan-e Ghulaman collection; these are painted red inside and milky outside, and are similar to ceramics from the Nadali site in Afghanistan. The dishes include short cups with wide mouths in red and orange. Archaeologists believe that most of the pottery shards are locally made; hence, to test this hypothesis, a scientific analysis was done to determine the chemical composition of the pottery shards. X-Rays Fluorescence (XRF) was applied to determine the major and trace elements of the pottery shards. The results demonstrate that most of the pottery shards are in the same group and this strongly suggests that they are local products. Additionally, based on the major and trace elements, it can be suggested that five samples are not locally made.