Thermal analysis in the investigation of ancient ceramics from the Polutepe archeological site

Thermogravimetric (TG/DTG), thermoluminescence (TL), and X-ray poweder diffraction (XRD) techniques were applied to charcterize samples collected from the archaeological site of Polutepe in Azerbaijan, dating to the Neolithic period, and gave new information on the firing technology. TG/DTG analysis exhibits a characteristic profile of dehydration and dehydroxylation processes and calcite decomposition, which are traditionally interpreted as mild firing. The ceramic sample was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction for the mineralogical composition, and it consisted mainly of quartz, calcite, feldspars, and muscovite. For investigated ceramic sample, the thermal behaviour investigation is consistent with their mineralogical findings and resulted in the firing temperature at 700C due to the existence of calcite.