CHEMICAL AND MINERALOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL BUILDING MATERIALS FROM SEYITÖMER HÖYÜK, KÜTAHYA, TURKEY

Abstract

This paper focuses on the spectroscopic and thermal analysis of the archaeological samples of mortar and plaster from middle Bronze Age and Achaemenid period in Seyitömer Höyük. The composition of the samples was investigated using X-ray diffffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetric thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The results showed that human used different types of raw materials in the preperation of the mortar and plaster in the Middle Bronze Age and Achaemenid period. The material used in middle Bronze Age contains muscovite whereas the material in Achaemenid period contains albite. Although, the chemical composition of the mortar and plaster used in the period were similar, the calcium content of the plaster is relatively higher than the one of the mortar indicating people’s awareness of the binding properties of calcite.