Characterization of Archaeological Materials Employing Geochemical and Analytical Methods

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Geochemistry and Geochronology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 579

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Material Science Institute (ICMUV), University of Valencia, Carrer del Catedrátic José Beltrán Martinez 2, 46980 Paterna, Spain
2. Department of Prehistory, Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Valencia, Avenida de Blasco Ibáñez 28, 46010 Valencia, Spain
Interests: archaeological science; archaeometry; analytical chemistry
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Guest Editor
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Pisa, Via S. Maria 53, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Interests: geology; cultural heritage; ancient material analyses
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Collegaues,

Over the last few decades, there has been constant development of geochemical methods to characterise archaeological materials and potential sources due to the limitations of naked-eye observation, becoming a well-established practice in archaeological research, wherein the identification of archaeological artefacts’ raw material provenance is a key piece of evidence for better understanding the mobility of human groups in the past.

The geochemical identification and characterisation of raw materials and the connection between the materials and archaeological artefacts have been fundamental to reconstruct aspects such as settlement dynamics, exchanges and patterns of raw material exploitation, and manufacturing processes.

Spectroscopic techniques such as ultraviolet–visible and infrared spectroscopies, X-ray diffraction and fluorescence, and mass spectrometry, among others, have been significantly employed to study archaeological remains.

This Special Issue covers a wide range of destructive and non-destructive analytical techniques used for characterising and dating archaeological remains and raw materials and, therefore, attempting to study provenance, manufacturing, depositional, and material conservation and chronological questions.

We are also open to studies combining spectroscopic techniques and others, such as microscopic ones, and works cross-referencing analytical data and information derived via classic archaeological methods. Finally, manuscripts debating the development of innovative methodological approaches and the quality of the obtained data have a valuable importance in this collection.

Dr. Gianni Gallello
Prof. Dr. Marco Lezzerini
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • chemical elements
  • trace elements
  • mineralogy
  • petrology
  • geochemistry
  • archaeological materials

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 7080 KB  
Article
Phase and Composition Study of 18th Century Qallaline Tiles, Tunis
by Philippe Colomban, Gulsu Simsek-Franci, Xavier Gallet, Anh-Tu Ngo, Wided Melliti-Chemi and Naceur Ayed
Minerals 2025, 15(8), 865; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15080865 - 15 Aug 2025
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Abstract
The potters of Qallaline (or Kallaline, from qallāl, meaning “potters” in Arabic), a district of Tunis (Tunisia) near the now-vanished Bab Kartâjanna gate, produced tiles from the 16th century until the end of the 19th century, with peak activity in the 18th [...] Read more.
The potters of Qallaline (or Kallaline, from qallāl, meaning “potters” in Arabic), a district of Tunis (Tunisia) near the now-vanished Bab Kartâjanna gate, produced tiles from the 16th century until the end of the 19th century, with peak activity in the 18th century. These tiles, made from local clay, feature decorations influenced by Hafsid art, the Castilian Renaissance, the Spanish Baroque of the Valencia region, and Ottoman styles. Their characteristic color palette combines green, blue, and ochre. Representative sherds from various 18th-century sites were analyzed using SEM-EDS, portable XRF (pXRF), and Raman microspectroscopy. The results were compared with tiles from earlier (16th-century Iznik, Türkiye), contemporary (18th-century Tekfur Palace, Istanbul, Türkiye), and later (19th-century Naples, Italy) productions used for similar purposes. The chemical signature of the different cobalt ores used appears to depend primarily on the production period. The pastes used in Iznik, Tekfur, and Qallaline ceramics exhibit different compositions. Qallaline potters employed three types of pastes, varying in calcium content, which were used either separately or together within the same tile. In some cases, tin was also present in association with lead. The cobalts used at Qallaline originate from different sources than those used contemporaneously in Meissen (Saxony), as well as from those used in the decoration of Iznik tiles one or two centuries earlier, which are themselves comparable to the cobalt used in Persian mīnā’ī. The As, Ni, and Mn contents are similar to those of the cobalt employed at the Royal Manufacture of Sèvres, believed to have come from the Giftain Valley in Catalonia. Full article
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