(Ed): S. Stempniak-Kusy. Wyniki interdyscyplinarnych badań prowadzonych na terenie bazyliki archikatedralnej obrządku łacińskiego w Przemyślu w latach 2012 – 2018. MNZP 2024, 2023
The stone material of historic buildings has long been the subject of research, making it possibl... more The stone material of historic buildings has long been the subject of research, making it possible to identify where and how much of it was sourced, to determine architectural alterations, repairs and secondary uses. Przemyśl, a city in southeastern Poland, was for more than a thousand years a significant center on the border between the influences of the eastern and western worlds. An important issue in interpreting the mutual impacts concerns the assessment of the origin and relocation of the raw materials used in the city’s medieval religious buildings. Petrographic and micropaleontological studies were conducted on the material of stone fragments from the area of the castle hill, now located in the lapidarium found in the northern tower of the Przemyśl Castle, as well as the construction elements of the cathedral basilica and the St. Nicholas’ rotunda. Also presented are the results of a previously unpublished study of carbonate building material from the St. Nicholas’ rotunda. The material from the first three sites represents organodetritic limestones, composed of more or less rounded algae bioclasts, foraminifera, and fragments of oyster shells and bryozoa. The spaces between them are filled with microsparite. The term “sparite” describes crystals of carbonate minerals that are larger in diameter than micrite. In the present study, the term “microsparite” is adopted to indicate the presence of calcium carbonates in the form of very small crystals, probably formed due to the activity of seepage waters. The samples are very similar, and the differences between them are noticeable when it comes to the size of bioclasts, the number of organogenic components and the number of quartz grains. The most likely source of the studied rock material is the supra-evaporitic Upper Badenian organodetritic limestone (Żelebsko Formation). Thus, for the architectural elements of the castle building (the so-called Volodar Church?), the Romanesque capital and the brickwork of the cathedral, rock of the same Genesis and age was used, but not necessarily mined at the same place and time. A different rock material has been identified in the apse of the rotunda, namely travertine. Research in 2014 reveals the presence of moss travertine. The exact location of the source of the raw material is unclear, although it is likely to have originated in the nearby area of Przemyśl. The sample from the outer southern wall of the rotunda represents a different petrographic type of limestone, identified as biomicrite with foraminifer and spicules of Cretaceous age (the Maastrichtian). As with the travertine, its site location is unknown, but its origin near Przemyśl is likely. All in all, three types of limestone rocks have been identified in the city’s oldest religious buildings: carbonate Miocene breccia of the Żelebsko Formation, travertine, including moss travertine, and Upper Cretaceous biomicrite with foraminifera and spicules of sponges. The latter two rock types were identified in the St. Nicholas’ rotunda. Miocene limestone was traced in rickwork from the castle hill and in the building blocks of the elements of the cathedral basilica.
RAPORT CHOTYNIECKI I ANALIZY SPECJALISTYCZNE (BADANIA 2018–2023) COLLECTIO ARCHAEOLOGICA RESSOVIENSIS TOMUS XLVII.1, 2023
Joanna Trąbska, Beata Ostachowicz, Patrycja Skała, Barbara Trybalska
ARCHAEOMETRIC STUDY OF THE F... more Joanna Trąbska, Beata Ostachowicz, Patrycja Skała, Barbara Trybalska ARCHAEOMETRIC STUDY OF THE FRAGMENTS OF WHEEL-THROWNVESSELS INCLUDING AMPHORAE FROM THE CHOTYNIEC SITE(CERAMIC MASSES, COLOR LAYERS, ENCRUSTATIONS) Abstract The first results of an archaeometric study of an amphora from the Chotyniec site were published in 2021 (Czopek et al. 2021). The ceramic mass of this vessel is composed of a high-calcium matrix devoid of nickel and chromium, elements considered important for interpreting the origin of raw materials and the location of workshops. Among the filler grains, lithoclasts of volcanic rock with microlites of feldspar, structurally resembling trachyte, were identified. The present study reveals the complex structure of the wheel-thrown ceramics from the site. They are vessels of varying chemical composition, structural features and uncertain provenance. Sixteen fragments of pottery assessed as wheel-thrown ceramics fragments were examined. The research methods included microscopic observations of the surfaces of the samples using a 3D Keyence microscope, observations with an optical microscope in transmitted light, using a scanning microscope combined with chemical analysis in the micro-area, and chemical analysis of the ceramic masses by total internal reflection fluorescence spectroscopy. Statistical analyses based on the chemical composition of the ceramic masses were carried out in Statistica software using logarythmized data. The analyses included cluster analysis and principal component analysis. Both the petrographic features of the wheel-thrown ceramics (type, size, roundness, the amount of grain component) as well as the chemical composition of the ceramic masses indicate the heterogeneity of the assemblage. On the other hand, all of the vessels were made with care to transport liquid substances. Principal component analysis revealed the clear distinctiveness of some samples (1, 3, 4, 12, 16) and the existence of a distinct small assemblage consisting of only two samples (2, 9). Cluster analyses singled out samples 1, 6 and 16 as outliers (both in one cluster), and to some extent samples 2 and 9. This allowed for a closer look at the similarity of samples within the large cluster, visible as a uniform cluster in the PCA diagram. This clustering may indicate the existence of workshops using different technological traditions but relying on the same type of raw material (in terms of chemical composition), and the opposite situation - workshops producing similar ceramic masses in terms of their structure and texture with different types of raw material. Almost all the vessels (sample 3, 9 and 13 is questionable due to its fine grain size) contain a raw ma-terial which is strongly genetically related to volcanic rocks. These include both filler grains (acidic and probably also neutral volcanic rocks) and matrix components of the ceramic masses (volcanic glass, mostly with a scale-shaped habit, in one case pumice autigenic crystals that are components of ignimbrite, among which grains with a composition similar to anorthoclase dominate, indicating a connection with sodium-type volcanism). Surprisingly, the concentration of nickel and chromium is not high, with the exception of samples 1, possibly 6, 12 and 13 for chromium (238.8 ppm, 122.1 ppm, 132.7 ppm, 106, 6 ppm, respectively) and with the exception of samples 12, 13 for nickel (138.3 ppm and 111.4 ppm, respectively). Wheel-thrown ceramics containing more than 100 ppm of these ele-ments are considered to belong to the Aegean zone (Barone et al. 2004). Petrographic features, however, exclude the aforementioned samples from the Aegean zone, except perhaps for fine-grained sample 3, 9 and 13, which lacks filler (Whitbread 1995). Comparative studies carried out on archival samples from the collection of the British School of Athens exclude the possibility of assigning the amphorae of the Chotyniec assemblage to the workshops of this zone. However, 320 other workshops, for which we do not have comparative material, should not be excluded. Red, dark red and black paints are present on the surface of some of the pottery fragments, forming an ornament of stripes of different widths. Several types of red paints were used, sometimes on a single vessel (e.g., 1, 8, 10), but all are based on ferruginous clays. They were prepared separately, then applied to the surfaces of the vessels, and the whole vessel was then fired. Phosphorus and calcium compounds may have been intentionally added to the paints, which, acting as fluxes, made the paint more easily homogeneous and cryptocrystalline. The black and brownish paint was made from iron-rich clay enriched with an organic substance which reduced the red iron compounds to their black form. On the inner surfaces of some pottery fragments, white-gray or black encrustations are present. Both are dominated by calcium and phosphorus. Lead was identified in the white encrustations (between 0.52 and 1.26 wt% in sample 4, 1.59 wt% in sample 7). Similarly significant is the spot content of silver (1.45 wt. %) in the encrustation of sample 11. It is likely that some substance was used as an aseptic, perhaps also taste modifying factors were at play.
Haematite and haematite bearing rocks is a common raw material in Palaeolithic. Widespread in nat... more Haematite and haematite bearing rocks is a common raw material in Palaeolithic. Widespread in nature, it occurrs either in isolated oucrops or in privileged litostratigraphic formations (in Central Europe these are Lower Devonian, Lower Permian, Lower Triassic and Upper Triassic rocks). All must have provoked an interest of Palaeolithic people so we have searched for a fingerprint for all. So far provenance studies of ferruginous rocks used to be based on their chemical composition, mineral composition and magnetic properties. We have applied all but another one seems to be promising: haematite crystallite size measured both in natural samples
Trąbska J. 2012. Ferruginous red micro-artefacts as a source of archaeological information: a stu... more Trąbska J. 2012. Ferruginous red micro-artefacts as a source of archaeological information: a study of selected Palaeolithic sites and experimental research. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 64, 17-62. Red, cherry, orange, yellow and pink ferruginous powders have long been observed on Palaeolithic sites along with solid objects of similar material, which used to be labelled as “ochre” or “haematite”. Artefacts below 5 mm in size can carry abundant information on their provenance and processing (mixing with binders, heating, manufacturing with bone and flint tools, rubbing). Powders from selected Palaeolithic sites (Dzierzyslaw-35, Wierzawice, Michalow-Piaska, Klissoura, Gonnersdorf, Dolni Vĕstonice, Stadice, Monruz) were examined with X-ray diffraction, scanning microscopy, micro-chemical analysis, Raman spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. A database of raw materials and archaeological ferruginous objects is under construction.
... Aleksandra Wesełucha-Birczyńska a , Corresponding Author Contact Information , E-mail The Cor... more ... Aleksandra Wesełucha-Birczyńska a , Corresponding Author Contact Information , E-mail The Corresponding Author , Joanna Trąbska b , Martin Oliva c. ... Also the surrounding rock bears traces of it [7]. The body was probably bedaubt with a clay containing the red ochre ...
De 1997 a 2001, un nouveau site magdalenien a ete fouille a Dzierzyslaw 35 en Pologne du Sud-Oues... more De 1997 a 2001, un nouveau site magdalenien a ete fouille a Dzierzyslaw 35 en Pologne du Sud-Ouest. La presence de fosses associees en structure d'habitat est particulierement significative. Les materiaux lithiques decouverts (en general des silex erratiques, mais aussi silex jurassiques, quartz et quartzite) sont tres nombreux et caracterisent typologiquement la periode magdalenienne. Le nombre de microlithes triangulaires est remarquable; ils sont par exemple comparables a ceux de la collection de Kniegrotte en Thuringe. Les objets magdaleniens avec microlithes triangulaires du site de Dzierzyslaw 35 constituent jusqu'a present l'ensemble situe le plus au Nord-Est. Parmi les artefacts lithiques, differents objets en roche, hematite et os sont egalement attestes. Deux dates C14, effectuees a partir d'ossements de mammouth, situent le site avant le rechauffement climatique de »Bolling«.
Graphite in an archaeological context comparing to other black substances-research problems and p... more Graphite in an archaeological context comparing to other black substances-research problems and prospects Abstract Trąbska J. 2020. Graphite in an archaeological context comparing to other black substances-research problems and prospects. Analecta Archaeologica Ressoviensia 15, 17-29 In the archaeological context, substances with a black color have been extensively used in many ancient communities, in the form of items and layers, with the use of biogenic and mineral substances, and requiring a separate methodological approach. Each of them behaves differently in technological and postdepositional processes. The potential degree of the complexity of intentionally applied layers (e.g. paints or cosmetics) and the overlap of secondary substances and crusts, increases difficulties in obtaining unambiguous results and their interpretation. Graphite plays an important role among them. Several areas of the current use of graphite are, or at least could be, commonly shared in the present and in the past, and thus their analysis could be inspiring for archaeology and archaeometry. Graphite fingerprint and potential fingerprints are discussed in terms of their variability. The problem of graphitization as a potential source of misleading interpretation is discussed.
Materiały i Sprawozdania Rzeszowskiego Ośrodka Archeologicznego, 2019
The spongiolite casting mould at the site No. 20 in Przemyśl. Research results Site No. 20 in Pr... more The spongiolite casting mould at the site No. 20 in Przemyśl. Research results Site No. 20 in Przemyśl, is an important research point of the early medieval city. During field works, two parts of a casting mould for the production of axes were found at the bottom of the settlement layer. No traces of copper were observed on the discovered form, but there were visible signs of burnout outside. This form is affiliated to the Mierzanowice culture. Petrographic tests have been performed using polarizing and scanning microscopes as well as microapaleontological examinations. They allow the researchers to identify the mould material as spongiolite (spiculite), most likely coming from the vicinity of Przemyśl, where the outcrops of this rock are located. With high probability, it can be stated that this material comes from the upper part of the Lgota beds covering the aforementioned lithostratigraphic units. The type of raw material used meets the conditions for using it as a casting mould. The obtained data allow for conclusion about the local production of this form.
Archaeological excavations at 3 Maja Street in Rzeszów have unearthed,
among other types of finds... more Archaeological excavations at 3 Maja Street in Rzeszów have unearthed, among other types of finds, several thousands of pottery fragments. This collection includes shards from both glazed and painted pottery, the latter being glazed just as well. To date our ground-breaking studies of the technological side of Modern Age Sub Carpathian ceramics – which are renowned for their high quality – had examined only a miniscule portion of this corpus. Pottery making in the Sub Carpathian region has a long history, from the Middle Ages to almost the present day. Decorating surfaces of ceramic objects has an extremely long tradition. Pottery was enamelled in order to achieve a desired aesthetic effect as well as out of practical considerations – making the vessels waterproof, easier to clean, to protect painted-on decorations, etc. The pottery fragments which we wish to present here represent both painted and glazed as well as glazed-only vessels. From the wealth of pottery fragments excavated by archaeologists at 3 Maja Street in Rzeszów we selected several shards for further study, which we then examined under a polarised light microscope with transmitted light and with a scanning microscope. Each of those two methods provides slightly different information. The colour palette of shards from 3 Maja Street in Rzeszów, of which we have studied but a small segment, is extensive. In the painting patterns of the examined specimens we note the presence of cream, sky blue, dark blue, brown and white coloured glazing. The chromophores used to make dark blue pigment are cobalt, copper, manganese and iron. A rust-red colour is achieved through use of an almost opaque pigment comprised mostly of iron oxide, albeit with single grains of a cobalt blue pigment. Both pigments are frits. In one examined case we discovered a minute layer of quartz grains under the paint. The painting layers were coated with lead-silicate enamel with a delicate greenish hue, due to use of iron and copper oxides as colourants. Glazed pottery from Rzeszów is coated with enamels from a broader colour palette, with e.g. olive green, apple green, navy blue, blue and yellow hues. The ceramic mass used for mezza maiolica was meticulously prepared, with any defects of such vessels appearing only at later stages of the production process – at decoration and firing. However, please note that the study materials here are manufacturing rejects. At local workshops the potters and glazers used high quality materials although, one must say, they did not always put much effort into finishing their wares. In almost all cases effects of hundreds of years of corrosive (weathering) processes occurring inside the sedimentation layer may be discerned. Only occasionally visible to macroscopic examination, yet always apparent under a microscope. Materials for the production of the pottery were procured locally (e.g. Tertiary Era Krakowiec Clays). The materials for glazing were either imported from outside the region in semi finished product form – glass lumps, or the enamel was made on site by combining local (e.g. silica sand from Tarnobrzeg area) and imported components (e.g. lead and lead oxide from the mines in Olkusz or Siewierz acquired via Cracow). Rare colourants were doubtlessly imported. We may only guess that purchases of raw materials were made at nearby cities like Cracow or Przemyśl. We have not identified the source of non-transparent iron-oxide based frit which was discovered on one of the examined shards. We are aware, however, that manufacture and trade in such colourants (frits and powdered minerals) was a lucrative business on an European scale. Setting up of a pottery-glazer workshop includes a long list of various considerations: access to fuel and water, space to erect the kilns, adequate room to work those kilns, space to prepare glass batches, areas for storing and grinding pigment, areas for quality control and for readying the wares for transport. Such a workshop was not a fly-speck, as noted by Józef Torzewski in his treatise published at the close of the 18th century. A tile making establishment employed a certain number of people and who in various ways had an impact on the life of the local urban community, e.g. through their capacity as tradesmen guilds. Examination of the finds presented here – a tiny fragment of a much larger and colourful corpus – raises questions as to the location of workshops where they had been made, of how were those workshops organised, what had been the scale of their output. Such questions may only by answered after analysis of more shards.
Podkarpacie (Subcarpathia) is a physico-geographical region located in five countries. In south-e... more Podkarpacie (Subcarpathia) is a physico-geographical region located in five countries. In south-eastern Poland it is covered by the administrative boundaries of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. The area within Poland abounds in numerous glass factories enjoying a favorable reputation. Between the 16th and 18th centuries several glassworks and workshops producing glazed pottery, tiles and semimajolica were active. Toponymic analysis reveals the names of numerous localities reminiscent of the glass industry. The purpose of this work is to identify potential glass raw materials that were available in the present Podkarpackie Voivodeship and those that had to be imported. This is the first such study. Reference was primarily made to the borders of the current Podkarpackie Voivodeship, reaching beyond them only in the cases of rare or non-occurring raw materials. The basic glass and glaze raw materials are quartz sand, along with alkali and other fluxes, alkaline earths, chromophores, opacifiers, clarifying substances and other specific raw materials. Raw materials for the construction of all technological components of a glasswork, raw material for packaging and dispatch of glasses, fuel and water, tools, and above all experienced glass workers and glaziers are also necessary. The area of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship abounds in basic glass raw materials. The exceptions are metals and their compounds, which were certainly imported.
Trąbska J., Kocańda P., Trybalska B. 2019. Modern Semi-Majolica and Glazed Ceramics from Rzeszów ... more Trąbska J., Kocańda P., Trybalska B. 2019. Modern Semi-Majolica and Glazed Ceramics from Rzeszów – Research on the Findings from the Archaeological Sites on 3 Maja Street. Analecta Archaeologica Ressoviensia 14, 109–136 Steadily growing collection of modern ceramics of the present Podkarpackie Voivodeship, has not yet been fully documented. Historical research demonstrates that Rzeszów, located on the communication route with Russia, occupied a very important position in trade relations with the East and West. The archaeometric study was performed on two fragments of semi-majolica plates and six fragments of glazed jugs, pots and tripod vessels. Vessels were made of fine-grained paste of smectite/illite, kaolinite/illite and kaolinite/illite/smectite clay. The richness of colours and shades is surprising. In the case of semi-majolica, the underglaze paintings were made with the use of frit pigments, while the overglaze ornament was made with the use of Pb-P-Ca-Si paste. ‘Slip-painting’ technique was also used. Glazes were coloured with iron, copper and cobalt compounds of various combinations and concentrations which provided different shades. In the case of semi-maiolica quartz-argillaceous primer with a potassium-bearing substance was applied, surfaces under glazes were covered with flux-bearing substances. Key words: Podkarpackie, Rzeszów, semi-maiolica, glazed pottery, SEM/EDS
Surfaces of Palaeolithic objects made of flint, bone and antler are sometimes covered by irregula... more Surfaces of Palaeolithic objects made of flint, bone and antler are sometimes covered by irregular stains from organic substances: resins, wood tar, waxes, etc. Some of these substances result from deliberate action, others are traces of deposition in ashes of a hearth. The most likely to be affected in this way are depressed features on the surface of an object. The surface of the artefact from Rusinowo is covered by intentionally executed patterns, filled by a dark grey and a black substance partly, and in an irregular manner. This black and grey substance was sampled from the grooves and studied via FTIR, μFTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and micro-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy respectively) and SEM/EDS (Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy). FTIR was used to make a comparative study of reference substances: charcoal, soot, burnt spruce needles and raw antler of modern elk. The black colour in the grooves of the Rusinowo find is caused by the presence of a residue of ash from a hearth, or hearths, presumably in a natural mixture with fulvic acids. To a minor extent, the black colour may be attributed to the presence of a Fe-S phase. No evidence was found to validate a deliberate origin of the staining.
Samples extracted from the surface of the Late Palaeolithic object made of elk antler with a surf... more Samples extracted from the surface of the Late Palaeolithic object made of elk antler with a surface featuring dark grey and black streaks and stains were submitted for SEM/EDS analysis. The non-invasive method of Raman spectroscopy was used to preserve the integrity of the artefact. The aim of the studies was identifying the substance responsible for the stains and elucidating their origin. Substances and processes taken into account included surface treatment of the object's surface with organic acids and tannins, staining by organic pigments, an organic material holder (sheath), decomposing organic remains, or ashes from fires. The dark grey and black stains were identified by analysis as concentrations of framboidal pyrite. No evidence was found that the origin of these concentrations is other than natural.
Bloomery slag which is the main and usually the only source for research on the prehistoric iron ... more Bloomery slag which is the main and usually the only source for research on the prehistoric iron smelting, is more and more often the subject of detailed metallurgical analyses. However, they are very rarely carried out for particular sections of a slag block, entirely ignoring its relations to the object in which it was created i.e. the pit. An unprecedented operation of cutting out several bloomery furnaces with the surrounding base, conducted during the 1990 on the Przeworsk culture site from the period of Roman influence in Pokrzywnica, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, allowed for carrying out thorough metallurgical and mineralogical analyses of one of those objects, in conditions resembling those in a laboratory. Not only the chemical and phase composition of slag in various places of the block was determined, but also – thanks to comparative research – the ranges of temperatures in the furnace pit were established. Observation of the well-preserved devices supporting ventilation of the furnace, so-called tuyeres, also allowed for forming many conclusions concerning their role during the smelting process.
Red powdery and crusty concentrations from the fill-up and bottom of a female burial DV3 from the... more Red powdery and crusty concentrations from the fill-up and bottom of a female burial DV3 from the Dolní Věstonice I site, representing Pavlovian culture, as well as some red raw material from the site were examined. Burial floor and fill-up is composed of marly substrate mixed with bone powder, charcoal ash and red, rounded, relatively hard particles, composed of burnt iron bearing aluminosilicates. Red crusts, present on it (maybe also within it), applied probably as suspension, are composed of unburnt iron bearing aluminosilicates. The raw material for powders is assumed to come from the site hearths red ash. Red iron artifacts, macroscopically almost identical, occur on the site also as an assemblage of loose red lumps. They are petrographically inhomogeneous and their sources are localized up to 150 km from the site. Raw material similar to the one of some of red lumps may have been used for burial ceremony.
Red and white painting layers from Celtic pottery from Southern Poland (Modlniczka 2 site near Kr... more Red and white painting layers from Celtic pottery from Southern Poland (Modlniczka 2 site near Kraków) were investigated with the use of Raman microspectroscopy, SEM/EDS and optical microscopy. The painting layers were performed homogeneously for all the examined shards, i.e. red layers as thinner, ca. 0,02 mm and white of 0,04 mm. The white painting layers are very fine grained and amorphous under SEM, prepared of compositionally complex magnesium based raw material, with phosphates and fluorite probably used as fluxes. Unusual phases: fluorite and silicon were identified. Raman spectroscopy of fine grained red painting layers revealed the presence of hematite and anatase/leucoxen. Again, rare phases, of silicon and destinezite were found. Both paints were carefully manufactured by grinding and homogenizing the raw materials. Their preliminary firing cannot be excluded. The painted pottery was fired approx. at 700–900 C, but multistage firing is possible.
(Ed): S. Stempniak-Kusy. Wyniki interdyscyplinarnych badań prowadzonych na terenie bazyliki archikatedralnej obrządku łacińskiego w Przemyślu w latach 2012 – 2018. MNZP 2024, 2023
The stone material of historic buildings has long been the subject of research, making it possibl... more The stone material of historic buildings has long been the subject of research, making it possible to identify where and how much of it was sourced, to determine architectural alterations, repairs and secondary uses. Przemyśl, a city in southeastern Poland, was for more than a thousand years a significant center on the border between the influences of the eastern and western worlds. An important issue in interpreting the mutual impacts concerns the assessment of the origin and relocation of the raw materials used in the city’s medieval religious buildings. Petrographic and micropaleontological studies were conducted on the material of stone fragments from the area of the castle hill, now located in the lapidarium found in the northern tower of the Przemyśl Castle, as well as the construction elements of the cathedral basilica and the St. Nicholas’ rotunda. Also presented are the results of a previously unpublished study of carbonate building material from the St. Nicholas’ rotunda. The material from the first three sites represents organodetritic limestones, composed of more or less rounded algae bioclasts, foraminifera, and fragments of oyster shells and bryozoa. The spaces between them are filled with microsparite. The term “sparite” describes crystals of carbonate minerals that are larger in diameter than micrite. In the present study, the term “microsparite” is adopted to indicate the presence of calcium carbonates in the form of very small crystals, probably formed due to the activity of seepage waters. The samples are very similar, and the differences between them are noticeable when it comes to the size of bioclasts, the number of organogenic components and the number of quartz grains. The most likely source of the studied rock material is the supra-evaporitic Upper Badenian organodetritic limestone (Żelebsko Formation). Thus, for the architectural elements of the castle building (the so-called Volodar Church?), the Romanesque capital and the brickwork of the cathedral, rock of the same Genesis and age was used, but not necessarily mined at the same place and time. A different rock material has been identified in the apse of the rotunda, namely travertine. Research in 2014 reveals the presence of moss travertine. The exact location of the source of the raw material is unclear, although it is likely to have originated in the nearby area of Przemyśl. The sample from the outer southern wall of the rotunda represents a different petrographic type of limestone, identified as biomicrite with foraminifer and spicules of Cretaceous age (the Maastrichtian). As with the travertine, its site location is unknown, but its origin near Przemyśl is likely. All in all, three types of limestone rocks have been identified in the city’s oldest religious buildings: carbonate Miocene breccia of the Żelebsko Formation, travertine, including moss travertine, and Upper Cretaceous biomicrite with foraminifera and spicules of sponges. The latter two rock types were identified in the St. Nicholas’ rotunda. Miocene limestone was traced in rickwork from the castle hill and in the building blocks of the elements of the cathedral basilica.
RAPORT CHOTYNIECKI I ANALIZY SPECJALISTYCZNE (BADANIA 2018–2023) COLLECTIO ARCHAEOLOGICA RESSOVIENSIS TOMUS XLVII.1, 2023
Joanna Trąbska, Beata Ostachowicz, Patrycja Skała, Barbara Trybalska
ARCHAEOMETRIC STUDY OF THE F... more Joanna Trąbska, Beata Ostachowicz, Patrycja Skała, Barbara Trybalska ARCHAEOMETRIC STUDY OF THE FRAGMENTS OF WHEEL-THROWNVESSELS INCLUDING AMPHORAE FROM THE CHOTYNIEC SITE(CERAMIC MASSES, COLOR LAYERS, ENCRUSTATIONS) Abstract The first results of an archaeometric study of an amphora from the Chotyniec site were published in 2021 (Czopek et al. 2021). The ceramic mass of this vessel is composed of a high-calcium matrix devoid of nickel and chromium, elements considered important for interpreting the origin of raw materials and the location of workshops. Among the filler grains, lithoclasts of volcanic rock with microlites of feldspar, structurally resembling trachyte, were identified. The present study reveals the complex structure of the wheel-thrown ceramics from the site. They are vessels of varying chemical composition, structural features and uncertain provenance. Sixteen fragments of pottery assessed as wheel-thrown ceramics fragments were examined. The research methods included microscopic observations of the surfaces of the samples using a 3D Keyence microscope, observations with an optical microscope in transmitted light, using a scanning microscope combined with chemical analysis in the micro-area, and chemical analysis of the ceramic masses by total internal reflection fluorescence spectroscopy. Statistical analyses based on the chemical composition of the ceramic masses were carried out in Statistica software using logarythmized data. The analyses included cluster analysis and principal component analysis. Both the petrographic features of the wheel-thrown ceramics (type, size, roundness, the amount of grain component) as well as the chemical composition of the ceramic masses indicate the heterogeneity of the assemblage. On the other hand, all of the vessels were made with care to transport liquid substances. Principal component analysis revealed the clear distinctiveness of some samples (1, 3, 4, 12, 16) and the existence of a distinct small assemblage consisting of only two samples (2, 9). Cluster analyses singled out samples 1, 6 and 16 as outliers (both in one cluster), and to some extent samples 2 and 9. This allowed for a closer look at the similarity of samples within the large cluster, visible as a uniform cluster in the PCA diagram. This clustering may indicate the existence of workshops using different technological traditions but relying on the same type of raw material (in terms of chemical composition), and the opposite situation - workshops producing similar ceramic masses in terms of their structure and texture with different types of raw material. Almost all the vessels (sample 3, 9 and 13 is questionable due to its fine grain size) contain a raw ma-terial which is strongly genetically related to volcanic rocks. These include both filler grains (acidic and probably also neutral volcanic rocks) and matrix components of the ceramic masses (volcanic glass, mostly with a scale-shaped habit, in one case pumice autigenic crystals that are components of ignimbrite, among which grains with a composition similar to anorthoclase dominate, indicating a connection with sodium-type volcanism). Surprisingly, the concentration of nickel and chromium is not high, with the exception of samples 1, possibly 6, 12 and 13 for chromium (238.8 ppm, 122.1 ppm, 132.7 ppm, 106, 6 ppm, respectively) and with the exception of samples 12, 13 for nickel (138.3 ppm and 111.4 ppm, respectively). Wheel-thrown ceramics containing more than 100 ppm of these ele-ments are considered to belong to the Aegean zone (Barone et al. 2004). Petrographic features, however, exclude the aforementioned samples from the Aegean zone, except perhaps for fine-grained sample 3, 9 and 13, which lacks filler (Whitbread 1995). Comparative studies carried out on archival samples from the collection of the British School of Athens exclude the possibility of assigning the amphorae of the Chotyniec assemblage to the workshops of this zone. However, 320 other workshops, for which we do not have comparative material, should not be excluded. Red, dark red and black paints are present on the surface of some of the pottery fragments, forming an ornament of stripes of different widths. Several types of red paints were used, sometimes on a single vessel (e.g., 1, 8, 10), but all are based on ferruginous clays. They were prepared separately, then applied to the surfaces of the vessels, and the whole vessel was then fired. Phosphorus and calcium compounds may have been intentionally added to the paints, which, acting as fluxes, made the paint more easily homogeneous and cryptocrystalline. The black and brownish paint was made from iron-rich clay enriched with an organic substance which reduced the red iron compounds to their black form. On the inner surfaces of some pottery fragments, white-gray or black encrustations are present. Both are dominated by calcium and phosphorus. Lead was identified in the white encrustations (between 0.52 and 1.26 wt% in sample 4, 1.59 wt% in sample 7). Similarly significant is the spot content of silver (1.45 wt. %) in the encrustation of sample 11. It is likely that some substance was used as an aseptic, perhaps also taste modifying factors were at play.
Haematite and haematite bearing rocks is a common raw material in Palaeolithic. Widespread in nat... more Haematite and haematite bearing rocks is a common raw material in Palaeolithic. Widespread in nature, it occurrs either in isolated oucrops or in privileged litostratigraphic formations (in Central Europe these are Lower Devonian, Lower Permian, Lower Triassic and Upper Triassic rocks). All must have provoked an interest of Palaeolithic people so we have searched for a fingerprint for all. So far provenance studies of ferruginous rocks used to be based on their chemical composition, mineral composition and magnetic properties. We have applied all but another one seems to be promising: haematite crystallite size measured both in natural samples
Trąbska J. 2012. Ferruginous red micro-artefacts as a source of archaeological information: a stu... more Trąbska J. 2012. Ferruginous red micro-artefacts as a source of archaeological information: a study of selected Palaeolithic sites and experimental research. Sprawozdania Archeologiczne 64, 17-62. Red, cherry, orange, yellow and pink ferruginous powders have long been observed on Palaeolithic sites along with solid objects of similar material, which used to be labelled as “ochre” or “haematite”. Artefacts below 5 mm in size can carry abundant information on their provenance and processing (mixing with binders, heating, manufacturing with bone and flint tools, rubbing). Powders from selected Palaeolithic sites (Dzierzyslaw-35, Wierzawice, Michalow-Piaska, Klissoura, Gonnersdorf, Dolni Vĕstonice, Stadice, Monruz) were examined with X-ray diffraction, scanning microscopy, micro-chemical analysis, Raman spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. A database of raw materials and archaeological ferruginous objects is under construction.
... Aleksandra Wesełucha-Birczyńska a , Corresponding Author Contact Information , E-mail The Cor... more ... Aleksandra Wesełucha-Birczyńska a , Corresponding Author Contact Information , E-mail The Corresponding Author , Joanna Trąbska b , Martin Oliva c. ... Also the surrounding rock bears traces of it [7]. The body was probably bedaubt with a clay containing the red ochre ...
De 1997 a 2001, un nouveau site magdalenien a ete fouille a Dzierzyslaw 35 en Pologne du Sud-Oues... more De 1997 a 2001, un nouveau site magdalenien a ete fouille a Dzierzyslaw 35 en Pologne du Sud-Ouest. La presence de fosses associees en structure d'habitat est particulierement significative. Les materiaux lithiques decouverts (en general des silex erratiques, mais aussi silex jurassiques, quartz et quartzite) sont tres nombreux et caracterisent typologiquement la periode magdalenienne. Le nombre de microlithes triangulaires est remarquable; ils sont par exemple comparables a ceux de la collection de Kniegrotte en Thuringe. Les objets magdaleniens avec microlithes triangulaires du site de Dzierzyslaw 35 constituent jusqu'a present l'ensemble situe le plus au Nord-Est. Parmi les artefacts lithiques, differents objets en roche, hematite et os sont egalement attestes. Deux dates C14, effectuees a partir d'ossements de mammouth, situent le site avant le rechauffement climatique de »Bolling«.
Graphite in an archaeological context comparing to other black substances-research problems and p... more Graphite in an archaeological context comparing to other black substances-research problems and prospects Abstract Trąbska J. 2020. Graphite in an archaeological context comparing to other black substances-research problems and prospects. Analecta Archaeologica Ressoviensia 15, 17-29 In the archaeological context, substances with a black color have been extensively used in many ancient communities, in the form of items and layers, with the use of biogenic and mineral substances, and requiring a separate methodological approach. Each of them behaves differently in technological and postdepositional processes. The potential degree of the complexity of intentionally applied layers (e.g. paints or cosmetics) and the overlap of secondary substances and crusts, increases difficulties in obtaining unambiguous results and their interpretation. Graphite plays an important role among them. Several areas of the current use of graphite are, or at least could be, commonly shared in the present and in the past, and thus their analysis could be inspiring for archaeology and archaeometry. Graphite fingerprint and potential fingerprints are discussed in terms of their variability. The problem of graphitization as a potential source of misleading interpretation is discussed.
Materiały i Sprawozdania Rzeszowskiego Ośrodka Archeologicznego, 2019
The spongiolite casting mould at the site No. 20 in Przemyśl. Research results Site No. 20 in Pr... more The spongiolite casting mould at the site No. 20 in Przemyśl. Research results Site No. 20 in Przemyśl, is an important research point of the early medieval city. During field works, two parts of a casting mould for the production of axes were found at the bottom of the settlement layer. No traces of copper were observed on the discovered form, but there were visible signs of burnout outside. This form is affiliated to the Mierzanowice culture. Petrographic tests have been performed using polarizing and scanning microscopes as well as microapaleontological examinations. They allow the researchers to identify the mould material as spongiolite (spiculite), most likely coming from the vicinity of Przemyśl, where the outcrops of this rock are located. With high probability, it can be stated that this material comes from the upper part of the Lgota beds covering the aforementioned lithostratigraphic units. The type of raw material used meets the conditions for using it as a casting mould. The obtained data allow for conclusion about the local production of this form.
Archaeological excavations at 3 Maja Street in Rzeszów have unearthed,
among other types of finds... more Archaeological excavations at 3 Maja Street in Rzeszów have unearthed, among other types of finds, several thousands of pottery fragments. This collection includes shards from both glazed and painted pottery, the latter being glazed just as well. To date our ground-breaking studies of the technological side of Modern Age Sub Carpathian ceramics – which are renowned for their high quality – had examined only a miniscule portion of this corpus. Pottery making in the Sub Carpathian region has a long history, from the Middle Ages to almost the present day. Decorating surfaces of ceramic objects has an extremely long tradition. Pottery was enamelled in order to achieve a desired aesthetic effect as well as out of practical considerations – making the vessels waterproof, easier to clean, to protect painted-on decorations, etc. The pottery fragments which we wish to present here represent both painted and glazed as well as glazed-only vessels. From the wealth of pottery fragments excavated by archaeologists at 3 Maja Street in Rzeszów we selected several shards for further study, which we then examined under a polarised light microscope with transmitted light and with a scanning microscope. Each of those two methods provides slightly different information. The colour palette of shards from 3 Maja Street in Rzeszów, of which we have studied but a small segment, is extensive. In the painting patterns of the examined specimens we note the presence of cream, sky blue, dark blue, brown and white coloured glazing. The chromophores used to make dark blue pigment are cobalt, copper, manganese and iron. A rust-red colour is achieved through use of an almost opaque pigment comprised mostly of iron oxide, albeit with single grains of a cobalt blue pigment. Both pigments are frits. In one examined case we discovered a minute layer of quartz grains under the paint. The painting layers were coated with lead-silicate enamel with a delicate greenish hue, due to use of iron and copper oxides as colourants. Glazed pottery from Rzeszów is coated with enamels from a broader colour palette, with e.g. olive green, apple green, navy blue, blue and yellow hues. The ceramic mass used for mezza maiolica was meticulously prepared, with any defects of such vessels appearing only at later stages of the production process – at decoration and firing. However, please note that the study materials here are manufacturing rejects. At local workshops the potters and glazers used high quality materials although, one must say, they did not always put much effort into finishing their wares. In almost all cases effects of hundreds of years of corrosive (weathering) processes occurring inside the sedimentation layer may be discerned. Only occasionally visible to macroscopic examination, yet always apparent under a microscope. Materials for the production of the pottery were procured locally (e.g. Tertiary Era Krakowiec Clays). The materials for glazing were either imported from outside the region in semi finished product form – glass lumps, or the enamel was made on site by combining local (e.g. silica sand from Tarnobrzeg area) and imported components (e.g. lead and lead oxide from the mines in Olkusz or Siewierz acquired via Cracow). Rare colourants were doubtlessly imported. We may only guess that purchases of raw materials were made at nearby cities like Cracow or Przemyśl. We have not identified the source of non-transparent iron-oxide based frit which was discovered on one of the examined shards. We are aware, however, that manufacture and trade in such colourants (frits and powdered minerals) was a lucrative business on an European scale. Setting up of a pottery-glazer workshop includes a long list of various considerations: access to fuel and water, space to erect the kilns, adequate room to work those kilns, space to prepare glass batches, areas for storing and grinding pigment, areas for quality control and for readying the wares for transport. Such a workshop was not a fly-speck, as noted by Józef Torzewski in his treatise published at the close of the 18th century. A tile making establishment employed a certain number of people and who in various ways had an impact on the life of the local urban community, e.g. through their capacity as tradesmen guilds. Examination of the finds presented here – a tiny fragment of a much larger and colourful corpus – raises questions as to the location of workshops where they had been made, of how were those workshops organised, what had been the scale of their output. Such questions may only by answered after analysis of more shards.
Podkarpacie (Subcarpathia) is a physico-geographical region located in five countries. In south-e... more Podkarpacie (Subcarpathia) is a physico-geographical region located in five countries. In south-eastern Poland it is covered by the administrative boundaries of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. The area within Poland abounds in numerous glass factories enjoying a favorable reputation. Between the 16th and 18th centuries several glassworks and workshops producing glazed pottery, tiles and semimajolica were active. Toponymic analysis reveals the names of numerous localities reminiscent of the glass industry. The purpose of this work is to identify potential glass raw materials that were available in the present Podkarpackie Voivodeship and those that had to be imported. This is the first such study. Reference was primarily made to the borders of the current Podkarpackie Voivodeship, reaching beyond them only in the cases of rare or non-occurring raw materials. The basic glass and glaze raw materials are quartz sand, along with alkali and other fluxes, alkaline earths, chromophores, opacifiers, clarifying substances and other specific raw materials. Raw materials for the construction of all technological components of a glasswork, raw material for packaging and dispatch of glasses, fuel and water, tools, and above all experienced glass workers and glaziers are also necessary. The area of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship abounds in basic glass raw materials. The exceptions are metals and their compounds, which were certainly imported.
Trąbska J., Kocańda P., Trybalska B. 2019. Modern Semi-Majolica and Glazed Ceramics from Rzeszów ... more Trąbska J., Kocańda P., Trybalska B. 2019. Modern Semi-Majolica and Glazed Ceramics from Rzeszów – Research on the Findings from the Archaeological Sites on 3 Maja Street. Analecta Archaeologica Ressoviensia 14, 109–136 Steadily growing collection of modern ceramics of the present Podkarpackie Voivodeship, has not yet been fully documented. Historical research demonstrates that Rzeszów, located on the communication route with Russia, occupied a very important position in trade relations with the East and West. The archaeometric study was performed on two fragments of semi-majolica plates and six fragments of glazed jugs, pots and tripod vessels. Vessels were made of fine-grained paste of smectite/illite, kaolinite/illite and kaolinite/illite/smectite clay. The richness of colours and shades is surprising. In the case of semi-majolica, the underglaze paintings were made with the use of frit pigments, while the overglaze ornament was made with the use of Pb-P-Ca-Si paste. ‘Slip-painting’ technique was also used. Glazes were coloured with iron, copper and cobalt compounds of various combinations and concentrations which provided different shades. In the case of semi-maiolica quartz-argillaceous primer with a potassium-bearing substance was applied, surfaces under glazes were covered with flux-bearing substances. Key words: Podkarpackie, Rzeszów, semi-maiolica, glazed pottery, SEM/EDS
Surfaces of Palaeolithic objects made of flint, bone and antler are sometimes covered by irregula... more Surfaces of Palaeolithic objects made of flint, bone and antler are sometimes covered by irregular stains from organic substances: resins, wood tar, waxes, etc. Some of these substances result from deliberate action, others are traces of deposition in ashes of a hearth. The most likely to be affected in this way are depressed features on the surface of an object. The surface of the artefact from Rusinowo is covered by intentionally executed patterns, filled by a dark grey and a black substance partly, and in an irregular manner. This black and grey substance was sampled from the grooves and studied via FTIR, μFTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and micro-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy respectively) and SEM/EDS (Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy). FTIR was used to make a comparative study of reference substances: charcoal, soot, burnt spruce needles and raw antler of modern elk. The black colour in the grooves of the Rusinowo find is caused by the presence of a residue of ash from a hearth, or hearths, presumably in a natural mixture with fulvic acids. To a minor extent, the black colour may be attributed to the presence of a Fe-S phase. No evidence was found to validate a deliberate origin of the staining.
Samples extracted from the surface of the Late Palaeolithic object made of elk antler with a surf... more Samples extracted from the surface of the Late Palaeolithic object made of elk antler with a surface featuring dark grey and black streaks and stains were submitted for SEM/EDS analysis. The non-invasive method of Raman spectroscopy was used to preserve the integrity of the artefact. The aim of the studies was identifying the substance responsible for the stains and elucidating their origin. Substances and processes taken into account included surface treatment of the object's surface with organic acids and tannins, staining by organic pigments, an organic material holder (sheath), decomposing organic remains, or ashes from fires. The dark grey and black stains were identified by analysis as concentrations of framboidal pyrite. No evidence was found that the origin of these concentrations is other than natural.
Bloomery slag which is the main and usually the only source for research on the prehistoric iron ... more Bloomery slag which is the main and usually the only source for research on the prehistoric iron smelting, is more and more often the subject of detailed metallurgical analyses. However, they are very rarely carried out for particular sections of a slag block, entirely ignoring its relations to the object in which it was created i.e. the pit. An unprecedented operation of cutting out several bloomery furnaces with the surrounding base, conducted during the 1990 on the Przeworsk culture site from the period of Roman influence in Pokrzywnica, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, allowed for carrying out thorough metallurgical and mineralogical analyses of one of those objects, in conditions resembling those in a laboratory. Not only the chemical and phase composition of slag in various places of the block was determined, but also – thanks to comparative research – the ranges of temperatures in the furnace pit were established. Observation of the well-preserved devices supporting ventilation of the furnace, so-called tuyeres, also allowed for forming many conclusions concerning their role during the smelting process.
Red powdery and crusty concentrations from the fill-up and bottom of a female burial DV3 from the... more Red powdery and crusty concentrations from the fill-up and bottom of a female burial DV3 from the Dolní Věstonice I site, representing Pavlovian culture, as well as some red raw material from the site were examined. Burial floor and fill-up is composed of marly substrate mixed with bone powder, charcoal ash and red, rounded, relatively hard particles, composed of burnt iron bearing aluminosilicates. Red crusts, present on it (maybe also within it), applied probably as suspension, are composed of unburnt iron bearing aluminosilicates. The raw material for powders is assumed to come from the site hearths red ash. Red iron artifacts, macroscopically almost identical, occur on the site also as an assemblage of loose red lumps. They are petrographically inhomogeneous and their sources are localized up to 150 km from the site. Raw material similar to the one of some of red lumps may have been used for burial ceremony.
Red and white painting layers from Celtic pottery from Southern Poland (Modlniczka 2 site near Kr... more Red and white painting layers from Celtic pottery from Southern Poland (Modlniczka 2 site near Kraków) were investigated with the use of Raman microspectroscopy, SEM/EDS and optical microscopy. The painting layers were performed homogeneously for all the examined shards, i.e. red layers as thinner, ca. 0,02 mm and white of 0,04 mm. The white painting layers are very fine grained and amorphous under SEM, prepared of compositionally complex magnesium based raw material, with phosphates and fluorite probably used as fluxes. Unusual phases: fluorite and silicon were identified. Raman spectroscopy of fine grained red painting layers revealed the presence of hematite and anatase/leucoxen. Again, rare phases, of silicon and destinezite were found. Both paints were carefully manufactured by grinding and homogenizing the raw materials. Their preliminary firing cannot be excluded. The painted pottery was fired approx. at 700–900 C, but multistage firing is possible.
Microstructural features of ferruginous red artefacts and microartefacts, i.e. crystallite size o... more Microstructural features of ferruginous red artefacts and microartefacts, i.e. crystallite size of haematite and the haematite habit appeared to be indicators of geological origin and processing of "ochres". Their variability allows to reveal a complexity of macroscopically identical red artefacts and microartefacts assemblages. The conclusion are based on analyses of several dozens haematite-bearing rocks of various geological origin and "ochres" from Palaeolithic sites.
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An important issue in interpreting the mutual impacts concerns the assessment of the origin and relocation of the raw materials used in the city’s medieval religious buildings. Petrographic and micropaleontological studies were conducted on the material of stone fragments from the area of the castle hill, now located in the lapidarium found in the northern tower of the Przemyśl Castle, as well as the construction elements of the cathedral basilica and the St. Nicholas’ rotunda. Also presented are the results of a previously unpublished study of carbonate building material from the St. Nicholas’ rotunda. The material from the first three sites represents organodetritic limestones, composed of more or less rounded algae bioclasts, foraminifera, and fragments of oyster shells and bryozoa. The spaces between them are filled with microsparite. The term “sparite” describes crystals of carbonate minerals that are larger in diameter than micrite. In the present study, the term “microsparite” is adopted to indicate the presence of calcium carbonates in the form of very small crystals, probably formed due to the activity of seepage waters. The samples are very similar, and the differences between them are noticeable when it comes to the size of bioclasts, the number of organogenic components and the number of quartz grains. The most likely source of the studied rock material is the supra-evaporitic Upper Badenian organodetritic limestone (Żelebsko Formation).
Thus, for the architectural elements of the castle building (the so-called Volodar Church?), the Romanesque capital and the brickwork of the cathedral, rock of the same Genesis and age was used, but not necessarily mined at the same place and time. A different rock material has been identified in the apse of the rotunda, namely travertine. Research in 2014 reveals the presence of moss travertine. The exact location of the source of the raw material is unclear, although it is likely to have originated in the nearby area of Przemyśl. The sample from the outer southern wall of the rotunda represents a different petrographic type of limestone, identified as biomicrite with foraminifer and spicules of Cretaceous age (the Maastrichtian). As with the travertine, its site location is unknown, but its origin near Przemyśl is likely. All in all, three types of limestone rocks have been identified in the city’s oldest religious buildings: carbonate Miocene breccia of the Żelebsko Formation, travertine, including moss travertine, and Upper Cretaceous biomicrite with foraminifera and spicules of sponges. The latter two rock types were identified in the St. Nicholas’ rotunda. Miocene limestone was traced in rickwork from the castle hill and in the building blocks of the elements of the cathedral basilica.
ARCHAEOMETRIC STUDY OF THE FRAGMENTS OF WHEEL-THROWNVESSELS INCLUDING AMPHORAE FROM THE CHOTYNIEC SITE(CERAMIC MASSES, COLOR LAYERS, ENCRUSTATIONS)
Abstract
The first results of an archaeometric study of an amphora from the Chotyniec site were published in 2021 (Czopek et al. 2021). The ceramic mass of this vessel is composed of a high-calcium matrix devoid of nickel and chromium, elements considered important for interpreting the origin of raw materials and the location of workshops. Among the filler grains, lithoclasts of volcanic rock with microlites of feldspar, structurally resembling trachyte, were identified. The present study reveals the complex structure of the wheel-thrown ceramics from the site. They are vessels of varying chemical composition, structural features and uncertain provenance. Sixteen fragments of pottery assessed as wheel-thrown ceramics fragments were examined. The research methods included microscopic observations of the surfaces of the samples using a 3D Keyence microscope, observations with an optical microscope in transmitted light, using a scanning microscope combined with chemical analysis in the micro-area, and chemical analysis of the ceramic masses by total internal reflection fluorescence spectroscopy. Statistical analyses based on the chemical composition of the ceramic masses were carried out in Statistica software using logarythmized data. The analyses included cluster analysis and principal component analysis.
Both the petrographic features of the wheel-thrown ceramics (type, size, roundness, the amount of grain component) as well as the chemical composition of the ceramic masses indicate the heterogeneity of the assemblage. On the other hand, all of the vessels were made with care to transport liquid substances. Principal component analysis revealed the clear distinctiveness of some samples (1, 3, 4, 12, 16) and the existence of a distinct small assemblage consisting of only two samples (2, 9). Cluster analyses singled out samples 1, 6 and 16 as outliers (both in one cluster), and to some extent samples 2 and 9. This allowed for a closer look at the similarity of samples within the large cluster, visible as a uniform cluster in the PCA diagram. This clustering may indicate the existence of workshops using different technological traditions but relying on the same type of raw material (in terms of chemical composition), and the opposite situation - workshops producing similar ceramic masses in terms of their structure and texture with different types of raw material.
Almost all the vessels (sample 3, 9 and 13 is questionable due to its fine grain size) contain a raw ma-terial which is strongly genetically related to volcanic rocks. These include both filler grains (acidic and probably also neutral volcanic rocks) and matrix components of the ceramic masses (volcanic glass, mostly with a scale-shaped habit, in one case pumice autigenic crystals that are components of ignimbrite, among which grains with a composition similar to anorthoclase dominate, indicating a connection with sodium-type volcanism). Surprisingly, the concentration of nickel and chromium is not high, with the exception of samples 1, possibly 6, 12 and 13 for chromium (238.8 ppm, 122.1 ppm, 132.7 ppm, 106, 6 ppm, respectively) and with the exception of samples 12, 13 for nickel (138.3 ppm and 111.4 ppm, respectively). Wheel-thrown ceramics containing more than 100 ppm of these ele-ments are considered to belong to the Aegean zone (Barone et al. 2004). Petrographic features, however, exclude the aforementioned samples from the Aegean zone, except perhaps for fine-grained sample 3, 9 and 13, which lacks filler (Whitbread 1995). Comparative studies carried out on archival samples from the collection of the British School of Athens exclude the possibility of assigning the amphorae of the Chotyniec assemblage to the workshops of this zone. However, 320
other workshops, for which we do not have comparative material, should not be excluded.
Red, dark red and black paints are present on the surface of some of the pottery fragments, forming an ornament of stripes of different widths. Several types of red paints were used, sometimes on a single
vessel (e.g., 1, 8, 10), but all are based on ferruginous clays. They were prepared separately, then applied to the surfaces of the vessels, and the whole vessel was then fired. Phosphorus and calcium compounds may have been intentionally added to the paints, which, acting as fluxes, made the paint more easily homogeneous and cryptocrystalline. The black and brownish paint was made from iron-rich clay enriched with an organic substance which reduced the red iron compounds to their black form.
On the inner surfaces of some pottery fragments, white-gray or black encrustations are present. Both are dominated by calcium and phosphorus. Lead was identified in the white encrustations (between 0.52 and 1.26 wt% in sample 4, 1.59 wt% in sample 7). Similarly significant is the spot content of silver (1.45 wt. %) in the encrustation of sample 11. It is likely that some substance was used as an aseptic, perhaps also taste modifying factors were at play.
among other types of finds, several thousands of pottery fragments. This collection includes shards from both glazed and painted pottery, the latter being glazed just as well. To date our ground-breaking studies of the technological side of Modern Age Sub Carpathian ceramics – which are renowned for their high quality – had examined only a miniscule portion of this corpus. Pottery making in the Sub Carpathian region has a long history, from the Middle Ages to almost the present day. Decorating surfaces of ceramic objects has an extremely long tradition. Pottery was enamelled in order to achieve a desired aesthetic effect as well as out of practical considerations – making the vessels waterproof, easier to clean, to protect painted-on decorations, etc. The pottery fragments which we wish to present here represent both painted and
glazed as well as glazed-only vessels. From the wealth of pottery fragments excavated by archaeologists at 3 Maja Street in Rzeszów we selected several shards for further study, which we then examined under a polarised light microscope with transmitted light and with a scanning microscope. Each of those two methods provides slightly different information. The colour palette of shards from 3 Maja Street in Rzeszów, of which we have studied but a small segment, is extensive. In the painting patterns of the examined specimens we note the presence of cream, sky blue, dark blue, brown and white coloured glazing. The chromophores used to make dark blue pigment are cobalt, copper, manganese and iron. A rust-red colour is achieved through use of an almost opaque pigment comprised mostly of iron oxide, albeit with
single grains of a cobalt blue pigment. Both pigments are frits. In one examined case we discovered a minute layer of quartz grains under the paint. The painting layers were coated with lead-silicate enamel with a delicate greenish hue, due to use of iron and copper oxides as colourants. Glazed pottery from Rzeszów is coated with enamels from a broader colour palette, with e.g. olive green, apple green, navy blue, blue and yellow hues. The ceramic mass used for mezza maiolica was meticulously prepared, with any defects of such vessels appearing only at later stages of the production process – at decoration and firing. However, please note that the study materials here are manufacturing rejects. At local workshops the potters and glazers used high quality materials although, one must say, they did not always put much effort
into finishing their wares. In almost all cases effects of hundreds of years of corrosive (weathering) processes occurring inside the sedimentation layer may be discerned. Only occasionally visible to macroscopic examination, yet always apparent under a microscope.
Materials for the production of the pottery were procured locally (e.g.
Tertiary Era Krakowiec Clays). The materials for glazing were either imported from outside the region in semi finished product form – glass lumps, or the enamel was made on site by combining local (e.g. silica sand from Tarnobrzeg area) and imported components (e.g. lead and lead oxide from the mines in Olkusz or Siewierz acquired via Cracow). Rare colourants were doubtlessly imported. We may only guess that purchases of raw materials were made at nearby cities like Cracow or Przemyśl. We have not identified the source of non-transparent iron-oxide based frit which was discovered on one of the examined shards. We are aware, however, that manufacture and trade in such colourants (frits and powdered minerals) was a lucrative business on an European scale.
Setting up of a pottery-glazer workshop includes a long list of various
considerations: access to fuel and water, space to erect the kilns, adequate room to work those kilns, space to prepare glass batches, areas for storing and grinding pigment, areas for quality control and for readying the wares for transport. Such a workshop was not a fly-speck, as noted by Józef Torzewski in his treatise published at the close of the 18th century. A tile making establishment employed a certain number of people and who in various ways had an impact on the life of the local urban community, e.g. through their capacity as tradesmen guilds. Examination of the finds presented here – a tiny fragment of a much larger and colourful corpus – raises questions as to the location of workshops where they had been made, of how were those workshops organised, what had been the scale of their output. Such questions may
only by answered after analysis of more shards.
by the administrative boundaries of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. The area within Poland abounds in numerous glass factories enjoying
a favorable reputation. Between the 16th and 18th centuries several glassworks and workshops producing glazed pottery, tiles and semimajolica were active. Toponymic analysis reveals the names of numerous localities reminiscent of the glass industry. The purpose of this
work is to identify potential glass raw materials that were available in the present Podkarpackie Voivodeship and those that had to be
imported. This is the first such study. Reference was primarily made to the borders of the current Podkarpackie Voivodeship, reaching
beyond them only in the cases of rare or non-occurring raw materials. The basic glass and glaze raw materials are quartz sand, along
with alkali and other fluxes, alkaline earths, chromophores, opacifiers, clarifying substances and other specific raw materials. Raw
materials for the construction of all technological components of a glasswork, raw material for packaging and dispatch of glasses, fuel
and water, tools, and above all experienced glass workers and glaziers are also necessary. The area of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship
abounds in basic glass raw materials. The exceptions are metals and their compounds, which were certainly imported.
An important issue in interpreting the mutual impacts concerns the assessment of the origin and relocation of the raw materials used in the city’s medieval religious buildings. Petrographic and micropaleontological studies were conducted on the material of stone fragments from the area of the castle hill, now located in the lapidarium found in the northern tower of the Przemyśl Castle, as well as the construction elements of the cathedral basilica and the St. Nicholas’ rotunda. Also presented are the results of a previously unpublished study of carbonate building material from the St. Nicholas’ rotunda. The material from the first three sites represents organodetritic limestones, composed of more or less rounded algae bioclasts, foraminifera, and fragments of oyster shells and bryozoa. The spaces between them are filled with microsparite. The term “sparite” describes crystals of carbonate minerals that are larger in diameter than micrite. In the present study, the term “microsparite” is adopted to indicate the presence of calcium carbonates in the form of very small crystals, probably formed due to the activity of seepage waters. The samples are very similar, and the differences between them are noticeable when it comes to the size of bioclasts, the number of organogenic components and the number of quartz grains. The most likely source of the studied rock material is the supra-evaporitic Upper Badenian organodetritic limestone (Żelebsko Formation).
Thus, for the architectural elements of the castle building (the so-called Volodar Church?), the Romanesque capital and the brickwork of the cathedral, rock of the same Genesis and age was used, but not necessarily mined at the same place and time. A different rock material has been identified in the apse of the rotunda, namely travertine. Research in 2014 reveals the presence of moss travertine. The exact location of the source of the raw material is unclear, although it is likely to have originated in the nearby area of Przemyśl. The sample from the outer southern wall of the rotunda represents a different petrographic type of limestone, identified as biomicrite with foraminifer and spicules of Cretaceous age (the Maastrichtian). As with the travertine, its site location is unknown, but its origin near Przemyśl is likely. All in all, three types of limestone rocks have been identified in the city’s oldest religious buildings: carbonate Miocene breccia of the Żelebsko Formation, travertine, including moss travertine, and Upper Cretaceous biomicrite with foraminifera and spicules of sponges. The latter two rock types were identified in the St. Nicholas’ rotunda. Miocene limestone was traced in rickwork from the castle hill and in the building blocks of the elements of the cathedral basilica.
ARCHAEOMETRIC STUDY OF THE FRAGMENTS OF WHEEL-THROWNVESSELS INCLUDING AMPHORAE FROM THE CHOTYNIEC SITE(CERAMIC MASSES, COLOR LAYERS, ENCRUSTATIONS)
Abstract
The first results of an archaeometric study of an amphora from the Chotyniec site were published in 2021 (Czopek et al. 2021). The ceramic mass of this vessel is composed of a high-calcium matrix devoid of nickel and chromium, elements considered important for interpreting the origin of raw materials and the location of workshops. Among the filler grains, lithoclasts of volcanic rock with microlites of feldspar, structurally resembling trachyte, were identified. The present study reveals the complex structure of the wheel-thrown ceramics from the site. They are vessels of varying chemical composition, structural features and uncertain provenance. Sixteen fragments of pottery assessed as wheel-thrown ceramics fragments were examined. The research methods included microscopic observations of the surfaces of the samples using a 3D Keyence microscope, observations with an optical microscope in transmitted light, using a scanning microscope combined with chemical analysis in the micro-area, and chemical analysis of the ceramic masses by total internal reflection fluorescence spectroscopy. Statistical analyses based on the chemical composition of the ceramic masses were carried out in Statistica software using logarythmized data. The analyses included cluster analysis and principal component analysis.
Both the petrographic features of the wheel-thrown ceramics (type, size, roundness, the amount of grain component) as well as the chemical composition of the ceramic masses indicate the heterogeneity of the assemblage. On the other hand, all of the vessels were made with care to transport liquid substances. Principal component analysis revealed the clear distinctiveness of some samples (1, 3, 4, 12, 16) and the existence of a distinct small assemblage consisting of only two samples (2, 9). Cluster analyses singled out samples 1, 6 and 16 as outliers (both in one cluster), and to some extent samples 2 and 9. This allowed for a closer look at the similarity of samples within the large cluster, visible as a uniform cluster in the PCA diagram. This clustering may indicate the existence of workshops using different technological traditions but relying on the same type of raw material (in terms of chemical composition), and the opposite situation - workshops producing similar ceramic masses in terms of their structure and texture with different types of raw material.
Almost all the vessels (sample 3, 9 and 13 is questionable due to its fine grain size) contain a raw ma-terial which is strongly genetically related to volcanic rocks. These include both filler grains (acidic and probably also neutral volcanic rocks) and matrix components of the ceramic masses (volcanic glass, mostly with a scale-shaped habit, in one case pumice autigenic crystals that are components of ignimbrite, among which grains with a composition similar to anorthoclase dominate, indicating a connection with sodium-type volcanism). Surprisingly, the concentration of nickel and chromium is not high, with the exception of samples 1, possibly 6, 12 and 13 for chromium (238.8 ppm, 122.1 ppm, 132.7 ppm, 106, 6 ppm, respectively) and with the exception of samples 12, 13 for nickel (138.3 ppm and 111.4 ppm, respectively). Wheel-thrown ceramics containing more than 100 ppm of these ele-ments are considered to belong to the Aegean zone (Barone et al. 2004). Petrographic features, however, exclude the aforementioned samples from the Aegean zone, except perhaps for fine-grained sample 3, 9 and 13, which lacks filler (Whitbread 1995). Comparative studies carried out on archival samples from the collection of the British School of Athens exclude the possibility of assigning the amphorae of the Chotyniec assemblage to the workshops of this zone. However, 320
other workshops, for which we do not have comparative material, should not be excluded.
Red, dark red and black paints are present on the surface of some of the pottery fragments, forming an ornament of stripes of different widths. Several types of red paints were used, sometimes on a single
vessel (e.g., 1, 8, 10), but all are based on ferruginous clays. They were prepared separately, then applied to the surfaces of the vessels, and the whole vessel was then fired. Phosphorus and calcium compounds may have been intentionally added to the paints, which, acting as fluxes, made the paint more easily homogeneous and cryptocrystalline. The black and brownish paint was made from iron-rich clay enriched with an organic substance which reduced the red iron compounds to their black form.
On the inner surfaces of some pottery fragments, white-gray or black encrustations are present. Both are dominated by calcium and phosphorus. Lead was identified in the white encrustations (between 0.52 and 1.26 wt% in sample 4, 1.59 wt% in sample 7). Similarly significant is the spot content of silver (1.45 wt. %) in the encrustation of sample 11. It is likely that some substance was used as an aseptic, perhaps also taste modifying factors were at play.
among other types of finds, several thousands of pottery fragments. This collection includes shards from both glazed and painted pottery, the latter being glazed just as well. To date our ground-breaking studies of the technological side of Modern Age Sub Carpathian ceramics – which are renowned for their high quality – had examined only a miniscule portion of this corpus. Pottery making in the Sub Carpathian region has a long history, from the Middle Ages to almost the present day. Decorating surfaces of ceramic objects has an extremely long tradition. Pottery was enamelled in order to achieve a desired aesthetic effect as well as out of practical considerations – making the vessels waterproof, easier to clean, to protect painted-on decorations, etc. The pottery fragments which we wish to present here represent both painted and
glazed as well as glazed-only vessels. From the wealth of pottery fragments excavated by archaeologists at 3 Maja Street in Rzeszów we selected several shards for further study, which we then examined under a polarised light microscope with transmitted light and with a scanning microscope. Each of those two methods provides slightly different information. The colour palette of shards from 3 Maja Street in Rzeszów, of which we have studied but a small segment, is extensive. In the painting patterns of the examined specimens we note the presence of cream, sky blue, dark blue, brown and white coloured glazing. The chromophores used to make dark blue pigment are cobalt, copper, manganese and iron. A rust-red colour is achieved through use of an almost opaque pigment comprised mostly of iron oxide, albeit with
single grains of a cobalt blue pigment. Both pigments are frits. In one examined case we discovered a minute layer of quartz grains under the paint. The painting layers were coated with lead-silicate enamel with a delicate greenish hue, due to use of iron and copper oxides as colourants. Glazed pottery from Rzeszów is coated with enamels from a broader colour palette, with e.g. olive green, apple green, navy blue, blue and yellow hues. The ceramic mass used for mezza maiolica was meticulously prepared, with any defects of such vessels appearing only at later stages of the production process – at decoration and firing. However, please note that the study materials here are manufacturing rejects. At local workshops the potters and glazers used high quality materials although, one must say, they did not always put much effort
into finishing their wares. In almost all cases effects of hundreds of years of corrosive (weathering) processes occurring inside the sedimentation layer may be discerned. Only occasionally visible to macroscopic examination, yet always apparent under a microscope.
Materials for the production of the pottery were procured locally (e.g.
Tertiary Era Krakowiec Clays). The materials for glazing were either imported from outside the region in semi finished product form – glass lumps, or the enamel was made on site by combining local (e.g. silica sand from Tarnobrzeg area) and imported components (e.g. lead and lead oxide from the mines in Olkusz or Siewierz acquired via Cracow). Rare colourants were doubtlessly imported. We may only guess that purchases of raw materials were made at nearby cities like Cracow or Przemyśl. We have not identified the source of non-transparent iron-oxide based frit which was discovered on one of the examined shards. We are aware, however, that manufacture and trade in such colourants (frits and powdered minerals) was a lucrative business on an European scale.
Setting up of a pottery-glazer workshop includes a long list of various
considerations: access to fuel and water, space to erect the kilns, adequate room to work those kilns, space to prepare glass batches, areas for storing and grinding pigment, areas for quality control and for readying the wares for transport. Such a workshop was not a fly-speck, as noted by Józef Torzewski in his treatise published at the close of the 18th century. A tile making establishment employed a certain number of people and who in various ways had an impact on the life of the local urban community, e.g. through their capacity as tradesmen guilds. Examination of the finds presented here – a tiny fragment of a much larger and colourful corpus – raises questions as to the location of workshops where they had been made, of how were those workshops organised, what had been the scale of their output. Such questions may
only by answered after analysis of more shards.
by the administrative boundaries of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. The area within Poland abounds in numerous glass factories enjoying
a favorable reputation. Between the 16th and 18th centuries several glassworks and workshops producing glazed pottery, tiles and semimajolica were active. Toponymic analysis reveals the names of numerous localities reminiscent of the glass industry. The purpose of this
work is to identify potential glass raw materials that were available in the present Podkarpackie Voivodeship and those that had to be
imported. This is the first such study. Reference was primarily made to the borders of the current Podkarpackie Voivodeship, reaching
beyond them only in the cases of rare or non-occurring raw materials. The basic glass and glaze raw materials are quartz sand, along
with alkali and other fluxes, alkaline earths, chromophores, opacifiers, clarifying substances and other specific raw materials. Raw
materials for the construction of all technological components of a glasswork, raw material for packaging and dispatch of glasses, fuel
and water, tools, and above all experienced glass workers and glaziers are also necessary. The area of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship
abounds in basic glass raw materials. The exceptions are metals and their compounds, which were certainly imported.