Provenance and production technology of Bronze and Iron Age pottery from Tell Mishrifeh/Qatna (Syria).

This work deals with the archaeometric study of the Bronze Age and Iron Age pottery from Tell Mishrifeh/Qatna (central-western Syria), where the complete cycle of ceramic production is well documented. Petrographic, chemical and diffractometric analyses were carried out on both potsherds and a clayey material found in a separation basin within the area of the workshops. Petrographic groups were defined and maximum firing temperatures and redox firing conditions were estimated, providing constraints on identifying the production technology and its evolution with time. The studied potsherds turned out to be locally produced, with only a few cases of possible similarities with those described for other localities along the Orontes Valley, and in a couple of cases with evidence of pottery exchange.