Assessment of clayey raw material suitability for ceramic production, in the Northern Peloponnese, Greece

The Achaea and Corinth regions of the northern Peloponnese are renowned for their rich archaeological record. Achaea is part of mainland Greece in the North-Western Peloponnese, whereas Corinth is in the North-Eastern Peloponnese. Since ancient times, ceramic production has played an important role in the local and regional social and economic evolution in both regions. Our aim is to identify and evaluate sources of clayey raw materials outcropping in the territory of the northern Peloponnese, potentially used for ceramic production during antiquity, by means of their compositional and technological properties. This was accomplished by the systematic sampling of clayey raw materials from a wide area spanning the Northern Peloponnese. In spite of the inter-regional chemical homogeneity recorded in their geochemical analysis in terms of major, minor, and trace elements, the data obtained led to their intra-regional compositional distinction into calcareous, calcareous-dolomitic, and siliceous clayey sediments. In addition, the presence of the clay minerals (illite, chlorite, smectite, mixed phases), their granulometry, and their bulk mineralogy all proved to considerably influence some of their performance characteristics, such as their plasticity. After a full characterization of the studied material, the clay deposits in all areas did not show significant differentiations, but they did need improvement to be suitable for the production of ceramic artifacts.

Automated summary

The Achaea and Corinth regions in the northern Peloponnese are well-known for their archaeological record and the important role of ceramic production in local social and economic evolution. Through compositional and technological analysis of clayey raw materials, distinct regional variations were identified, influencing the performance characteristics of the materials for ceramic production. Despite the lack of significant differences in clay deposits across the areas, improvements were needed for them to be suitable for ceramic artifact production.