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Organic residue analysis of experimental, medieval, and post-medieval glazed ceramics

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Abstract

Glazed ceramics have not typically been sampled for organic residue analysis because the glaze is not porous; therefore, it is commonly believed that these ceramics cannot absorb substances. Although this is partially true, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the glaze may exhibit imperfections due to the production process or the use of ceramics and that these imperfections allow the ceramic matrix to trap residues of the food contained in the vessels. The absorption of organic residues in glazed ceramics is demonstrated by analyses of modern vessels experimentally enriched with wine and vegetable oils (olive and lentisk oils) and archaeological vessels obtained from post-medieval Florence (Italy) and medieval Pla d’Almatà (Balaguer, Lleida, Spain). The analyses were conducted using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry following different extraction protocols aimed at identifying lipids and wine residues preserved in the ceramic vessels. Images of the glazed ceramic coating were recorded using an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope to verify the presence of imperfections. In addition to providing information about the use of the studied vessels, the obtained results demonstrate how glazed ceramics can be studied to recover information regarding ceramic use and dietary practices in medieval and post-medieval periods when glazed wares were very common.

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Acknowledgments

The Biblioteca Magliabechiana project was directed by the Soprintendenza Archeologica della Toscana and carried out by the Cooperativa Archeologia. The materials were studied by an interdisciplinary team at the University of Siena and Florence under the direction of F. Francovich and F. Cantini. In particular, the slip wares from Florence were studied as part of the PhD dissertation of Eva Degl’Innocenti and were analyzed as part of the activities of the Archaeometry Laboratory at the University of Siena at Grosseto by A. Pecci in collaboration with the Department of Archaeology and Department of Chemistry at the University of Siena. The modern ceramics were analyzed in a collaboration between the DIBEST Department of The University of Calabria and the Department of Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia at the University of Siena. The analysis of the ceramic vessel from Pla d’Almatà was performed in the framework of the project “Patrons d’assentament i estructuració del territori al Segre mitjà. El Pla d’Almatà (Balaguer), segles VIII – XII,” 2009 ACOM 0040, under the scientific direction of Carme Alòs and Eva Solanes at the Museu de la Noguera (Balaguer) as part of the project PROFOLANT, PIEF-GA-2009-235863, 7th Framework Program, People, Marie Curie actions (scientist in charge M.A. Cau, Marie Curie Fellow A. Pecci). This paper is part of the activities of the ERAAUB, Consolidated Group (2014 SGR 845) funded by the Comissionat per a Universitats i Recerca del DIUE of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, and the Dipartimento di Biologia, Ecologia e Scienze della Terra (DIBEST) of the Università della Calabria. It is also part of the project National Plan of I +D+I Late Roman Pottery in the Western Mediterranean: exploring regional and global trade networks through experimental sciences (LRPWESTMED) (ref. HAR2013-45874-P), founded by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Secretaría de Estado de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación with contribution from FEDER founds, directed by M.Á. Cau and the activities of the Ramon y Cajal contract (RYC 2013- 13369) founded by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of A. Pecci. We are grateful to Mariano Davoli, who was responsible for the SEM laboratory of the DIBEST Department at the University of Calabria, for his kindness and assistance in obtaining the SEM images of the glazed ceramics. We thank the people from Escalaplano (Sardinia) for their kindness in demonstrating the procedures for lentisk oil production, and in particular to “Gruppo Folkloristico” for their explanations and for accompanying us. We are also grateful to Maria Pizzalis for sharing her memories on the use of lentisk oil with us.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Equip de Recerca Arqueològica i Arqueomètrica de la Universitat de Barcelona (ERAAUB), Universitat de Barcelona, c/ Montalegre 4,6, 08001, Barcelona, Spain

    Alessandra Pecci & Miguel Ángel Cau Ontiveros

  2. Dipartimento di Biologia, Ecologia e Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi della Calabria, Via P. Bucci, cubo 12B, Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy

    Alessandra Pecci & Domenico Miriello

  3. Centre d’Interprétation du Patrimoine Coriosolis et Service du Patrimoine de la Communauté de Communes de Plancoët Plélan, Rue César Mulon, 22130, Corseul, France

    Eva Degl’Innocenti

  4. Dipartimento di Biotecnologie, Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Siena, via Aldo Moro, 2, 53100, Siena, Italy

    Gianluca Giorgi

  5. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain

    Miguel Ángel Cau Ontiveros

  6. Dipartimento di Civiltà e Forme del Sapere, Università di Pisa, Via Pasquale Paoli, 15, 56126, Pisa, Italy

    Federico Cantini

  7. Museu de la Noguera, Plaça dels Comtes d’Urgell, 5, 25600, Balaguer, Spain

    Eva Solanes Potrony & Carmen Alós

Authors
  1. Alessandra Pecci
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  2. Eva Degl’Innocenti
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  3. Gianluca Giorgi
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  4. Miguel Ángel Cau Ontiveros
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  5. Federico Cantini
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  8. Domenico Miriello
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Correspondence to Alessandra Pecci.

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Pecci, A., Degl’Innocenti, E., Giorgi, G. et al. Organic residue analysis of experimental, medieval, and post-medieval glazed ceramics. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 8, 879–890 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-015-0262-3

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