Morgantina Studies, Volume III

Fornaci e Officine da Vasaio Tardo-ellenistiche. (In Italian) (Late Hellenistic Potters' Kilns and Workshops)

Ninina Cuomo di Caprio

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN:
  9780691605166
  9780691040141
• eBook ISBN:
  9781400862108
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Archaeology
• Index: Social Sciences

The kilns at Morgantina, site of the well-known excavations in central Sicily, are an outstanding example of multiple potters' workshops in use during the late Hellenistic period. In fully documenting these ten kilns, excavated between 1955 and 1963, Ninina Cuomo di Caprio offers both a representative cross-section of the physical setting of ceramic production in this ancient Greek city and evidence for its daily industrial activity. She includes detailed plans and section drawings of each kiln and formulates hypotheses on its operation in light of modern thermodynamics. The text, which is in Italian, is preceded by an English-language summary. Cuomo di Caprio's archaeological study of the kiln structures and their ceramic products is supplemented by such diagnostic tools as thermoluminescence analysis, neutron activation analysis, X-ray diffraction, and optical examination by polarizing microscope. Opening an entirely new window into the everyday working practices of the Morgantina potters, this study demonstrates that they operated at a very sophisticated level: selecting and purifying specific clays, and adding certain materials to manipulate their working and firing characteristics.

Originally published in 1992.

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Indice
• Appendice 1: Analisi Di Termoluminescenza Su Campioni Prelevati Da Fornaci Di Morgantina, Nell'ambito Degli Studi Di Datazione, ( N . Cuomo Di Caprio - E. Sibilia - M. Martini - G. Spinolo)
• Appendice 2: Analisi Per Attivazione Neutronica Su Campioni Prelevati Da Fornaci E Da Manufatti Fittili Di Morgantina, Nell'ambito Degli Studi Di Provenienza, (A. Cesana - N. Cuomo Di Caprio - M. Terrani)
• Appendice 3: Indagini Tecniche E Analisi Di Microscopia Ottica Su Campioni Prelevati Da Fornaci E Da Manufatti Fittili Di Morgantina, Nell'ambito Degli Studi Di Caratterizzazione E Di Provenienza, ( N. Cuomo Di Caprio)