Premium
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST: QUALITY CONTROL AND FIRING TECHNOLOGY IN THE PRODUCTION OF MEDIEVAL GREYWARE CERAMICS IN CATALONIA, SPAIN
Author(s) -
Travé Allepuz E.,
Quinn P. S.,
Álvaro Rueda K.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
archaeometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-4754
pISSN - 0003-813X
DOI - 10.1111/arcm.12495
Subject(s) - kiln , archaeology , quality (philosophy) , thermal shock , environmental science , mining engineering , materials science , engineering , history , metallurgy , physics , quantum mechanics
The following study sheds new light on the quality control procedures of ancient potters by comparing cooking vessels exported from the medieval kiln‐site of Cabrera d'Anoia (Barcelona) with ‘wasters' that were discarded at source. The firing temperature of examined sherds indicates that only pots subjected to a maximum temperature of 800–850°C were offered for sale. The potters at Cabrera d'Anoia appear to have been fully aware of the optimal balance between thermal and physical shock resistance of vessels fired within this range and strived to control firing in order to achieve better products than that of competing workshops.