Dark pottery from the early Iron Age in southern Veneto, Italy: The provenance issue under the adoption of specific technological procedures

One of the earliest known settlements of Pre-Roman Padua, Veneto Region (north-eastern Italy) was located in the very centre of the present-day city. The archaeological excavations revealed structures related to craft activities (metallurgical and pottery workshops) and residential areas datable from the late 9th to the 1st century BCE. A large pyrotechnic structure formed by an earthen block densely filled and covered by broken ceramic vessels was found, bringing to light the earliest foundry of the Pre-Roman Padua known to date. Many potsherds found in the site correspond to a regional ceramic class that included coarse and fine wares mainly composed of very dark ceramic bodies. A multi-analytical study based on macroscopic and petrographic descriptions as well as mineralogical, geochemical and microstructural analyses, was carried out in order to state the technological choices adopted for producing these dark vessels and the provenance of the raw materials. A poorly manufacturing w...