SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS ON THE PROVENANCE OF THE BLACK GLAZED POTTERY FROM POMPEII: A CASE STUDY

Abstract

Optical microscopy (OM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry have been applied to the analysis of Black Glazed pottery from Pompeii (Italy), to have information about their provenance. The ceramic sherds, dating from the fourth century BC to the first century BC, were considered, on the basis of archaeological assumptions, to be locally produced. Clayey sediments from the Salerno area were sampled as a potential source for the production of these ceramics and therefore investigated with the same analytical techniques. The comparison of sampled clays and pottery sherds provided evidence for their compositional similarity, in particular by use of a multivariate statistical approach (PCA). The compatibility of the raw materials considered is clearly in evidence and corroborates the use of these possible sediments for the production of the ceramic body of the Black Glazed pottery.