Investigation of a group of Early Chalcolithic ceramic samples from Gökçeada Uğurlu-Zeytinlik settlement using archaeometric methods

Researching archaeological artifacts is important for the protection of cultural heritage. Uğurlu Zeytinlik settlement is located in the southwest of Gökçeada district of Çanakkale province. In the study, 10 pottery sherds from the Early Chalcolithic Period, seized from different places during the 2022 excavations in the Uğurlu-Zeytinlik (Gökçeada) settlement, were analyzed using archeometric methods. The aim of this research is to determine the properties, mineralogical composition, firing degrees, chemical components and production technology of the raw materials used in the production of amorphous ceramic pieces recovered from archaeological excavations. As a result of color analysis, internal colors were determined as brown to very dark greyish brown, external colors were determined as reddish brown to very dark greyish brown, and section colors were determined as brown to very dark greyish brown. As a result of petrographic analysis, quartz, plagioclase, amphibole volcanic rock fragment, opaque mineral and biotite mineral contents were determined. Peaks belonging to quartz, feldspar, plagioclase, calcite and hematite minerals were determined in the XRPD graphs. The firing temperature is thought to be 800-850°C since clay peaks and high temperature minerals are not seen. As a result of chemical analysis, it was determined that calcareous clay was used in all samples because the CaO rate was lower than 6%. Since the K2O, Fe2O3, CaO, MgO and TiO2 ratios are less than 9%, it shows that the clay is resistant to temperature. It is seen that the minerals found in the formations in the Uğurlu-Zeytinlik (Gökçeada) settlement and the surrounding region are compatible with the minerals detected as a result of the analysis. For this reason, it was concluded that the samples examined were produced locally from clay resources in the region.