De Bonis_periodico 06/09/10 10.51 Pagina 73 Period. Mineral. (2010), 79, 2, 73-89 doi: 10.2451/2010PM0011 http://go.to/permin An International Journal of PerIodICo di MInerAlogIA MINERALOGY, CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, GEOCHEMISTRY, established in 1930 ORE DEPOSITS, PETROLOGY, VOLCANOLOGY and applied topics on Environment , Archeometry and Cultural Heritage Archaeometric study of roman pottery from Caudium area (Southern Italy) Alberto De bonis 1 *, C elestino GrifA 2, A lessio lAnGellA 2, M AriAno MerCurio 2, M AriA luisA Perrone 3 and VinCenzo MorrA 1 1 Dipartimento di scienze della terra, università degli studi federico ii, Via Mezzocannone, 8, 80134 napoli, italy. 2 Dipartimento di studi Geologici ed Ambientali, università degli studi del sannio, Via dei Mulini, 59/A, 82100 benevento, italy. 3 Via r. Morghen, 61/C, 80129, napoli, italy. Submitted, April 2010 - Accepted, July 2010 AbstrACt - Aim of this work is the minero- quartzarenite clasts. Multivariate statistical analysis petrographical characterization of late antique painted (Hierarchical Clustering and Principal Component common wares from the ancient roman settlement of Analysis) confirms the already identified groups. Caudium (today Montesarchio, Campania region, Mineralogical analyses and scanning electron italy). microscope observations of the sintering degree of twenty-two samples (4 th to 6 th century AD) clayey paste enabled to evaluate the firing collected during the archaeological survey of the area, temperatures of the most representative samples (from were studied to investigate their manufacturing 800 to 1200°C). technology and to attest a possible local production. the whole data set, along with geological features Ceramics shards are represented by 16 painted of the investigated area (wide availability of raw common ware samples; furthermore, 2 bricks, 2 kiln materials) and archaeological evidences (kiln refuses, rejects and 2 fragments of cooking ware were large number of fragments of the same ceramic class), investigated for comparison. allowed to hypothesize a local production of the Polarized light microscopy (PlM) observations and painted common wares and thus to define the X-ray fluorescence chemical analyses (Xrf) allowed respective reference group. to characterize the Caudium pottery production. two main groups of fragments were distinguished: the first riAssunto - lo scopo di questo lavoro è la one composed by painted common wares, bricks and caratterizzazione minero-petrografica di frammenti di kiln rejects, the other one by cooking ware only. two ceramica comune dipinta d’età tardo antica textural typologies were recorded within the first provenienti dall’antico insediamento romano di group (composed by calcareous clay pastes: average Caudium (attuale Montesarchio, Campania, italia). Cao ~ 11.0%), one characterized by fine pastes Ventidue campioni (datati dal iV al Vi secolo d.C.), containing tiny clasts of quartz, feldspars and few ritrovati durante la ricognizione archeologica della volcanic inclusions, the other by coarser pastes with zona, sono stati analizzati per ricostruire le tecnologie predominant volcanic temper. Cooking wares produttive e definire una possibile produzione locale. (composed by non-calcareous clay: average Cao ~ i reperti ceramici sono rappresentati da 16 frammenti 1.6%) show a large amount of temper of both volcanic di ceramica comune dipinta; inoltre sono stati and detrital origin, the latter mainly constituted by investigati per confronto 2 laterizi, 2 scarti di fornace * Corresponding author, E-mail: [email protected] De Bonis_periodico 06/09/10 10.51 Pagina 74 74 A. D e bonis , C. G rifA , A. l AnGellA , M. M erCurio , M.l. P errone and V. M orrA e 2 frammenti di ceramica da cucina. Al fine di tyrrhenian area thanks to its favorable position caratterizzare i vari reperti sono state eseguite along the Via Appia , the ancient roman road osservazioni in microscopia ottica a luce polarizzata connecting rome and Brundisium (salmon, e analisi chimiche in fluorescenza per raggi X. in 1985). t he occurrence of large clay outcrops and questo modo è stato possibile individuare due many kiln refuses in the same area, as well as a raggruppamenti principali: il primo composto dalla ceramica comune dipinta, dai laterizi e dagli scarti di ceramic tradition so far preserved strongly fornace, l’altro esclusivamente dalla ceramica da suggest a local production of painted common cucina. fra i campioni del primo gruppo (composti da ware. argilla calcarea: media Cao~11,0%) è possibile the studied ceramic samples, the first distinguere due tipologie tessiturali, una caratterizzata investigated in the Caudium area , were all dated da impasti fini contenenti piccoli clasti di quarzo, by comparison with some known shapes in late feldspati e poche inclusioni vulcaniche, l’altra da antique (4 th to 6 th century AD; Perrone, 2005). impasti grossolani costituiti prevalentemente da the aim of this study is the archaeometrical degrassante vulcanico. characterization of a set of painted common ware i frammenti di ceramica da cucina (composti da impasti non-calcarei: media Cao~1,6%) sono fragments, in order to attest a local crafting of costituiti da abbondante degrassante, sia vulcanico che this typical ceramic production widespread in sedimentario, quest’ultimo formato prevalentemente southern italy during late roman period. the da clasti quarzarenitici. l’analisi statistica multivariata archaeometrical data on this set of fragments ha confermato i raggruppamenti già individuati. were compared with a couple of kiln refuses tramite l’analisi mineralogica diffrattometrica su attributed to the same painted common ware. polveri e l’osservazione in microscopia elettronica del Moreover two bricks and two cooking ware grado di sinterizzazione degli impasti sono state samples were also analyzed in order to verify valutate anche le temperature di cottura di alcuni differences or similarities of the technological campioni rappresentativi (comprese fra 800 e 1200°C). Questi risultati, insieme con le caratteristiche features among local ceramic productions. geologiche (ampia disponibilità di materie prime) e All the specimens come from three of the 151 archeologiche (presenza di scarti di fornace, gran sites forming the Caudium archaeological area numero di frammenti della stessa classe di ceramica) (sites 111, 118, 121), discovered during an della zona in esame, hanno permesso di identificare archaeological reconnaissance survey. this una produzione locale limitata alla ceramica comune preliminary survey represents a very important dipinta e di definirne il relativo gruppo di riferimento. step of an archaeological investigation necessary to reconstruct the ancient settlements Key worDs : Caudium; reference group; painted arrangement , and to estimate a site frequentation common ware; Avellino Pumice; Ariano Unit. on the basis of the surface distribution of the findings, especially ceramics shards . introDuCtion the archaeological area of Caudium is sited in GeoloGiCAl bACKGrounD a valley ( Valle Caudina ) located in the middle of the southern Apennine chain of Campania region the Valle Caudina (fig. 1) is a tectonic (italy). Caudium (today Montesarchio) can be depression delimited by the Mesozoic carbonate considered the ancient capital of the Caudini , a massifs of the taburno-Camposauro northwards, samnite tribe that peopled the area before the s. Agata de’ Goti mountains westwards and roman conquest in the third century b.C. in the Avella-Partenio chain southwards, the east side roman period the city kept good trade is characterized by the smoother morphologies exchanges especially with naples and the of Miocene formations characterized by De Bonis_periodico 06/09/10 10.51 Pagina 75 Archaeometric study of roman pottery from Caudium area (Southern Italy) 75 fig. 1 - sketch map (1:250000) showing the main lithologies of the Valle Caudina area (modified after “Carta Geologica dell’Appennino Meridionale”. bonardi et al., 1988). silicoclastic sedimentary successions. Fortore Unit formation (Chiocchini, 2001), the field geology relieved some of the most which outcrop principally on the Avella-Partenio representative southern Apennine tectono - slopes, not far from the southern side of the Valle stratigraphic units including the Lagonegro Unit , Caudina . outcropping in the northwestern area of in the Quaternary age the valley was covered Montesarchio with the Flysch Rosso formation, by slope deposits, alluvial fans, fluvial-lacustrine a late Cretaceous to oligocene red marls and sediments and volcanic products coming from shales with interbedded coarse detrital limestone tyrrhenian margin eruptive vents: Campanian (Pescatore et al. , 1999). ignimbrite (39 ka bP; De Vivo et al. , 2001; in unconformity with the Lagonegro Unit , the fedele et al. , 2008) from Phlegraean fields and Altavilla Unit (Messinian to Pliocene) crops out. Avellino Pumice of somma-Vesuvius (4.3 ka Deposited in a piggy-back basin along the active bP; santacroce et al. , 2008). furthermore, the border of the Apennine chain (ori and friend, presence of other products of the somma- 1984), this unit is formed by sandstones with Vesuvius activity cannot be excluded (e.g., AD silty clay layers; messinian evaporites are also 472 eruption). present in the lower portion. the succession continues with the Ariano Unit MAteriAls AnD MetHoDs (early to Middle Pliocene) represented by gray- blue, well stratified marly and sandy clays. this unit the 22 investigated shards ( tAble 1/A, 1/b), was