Characterization of hellenistic period pottery sherds (megarian bowls and west slope wares) from Eskişehir-Şarhöyük (Dorylaion) excavations

In a frame of an archaeometric work, the technological parameters for the production (such as raw materials used in body and slip layers, firing temperatures and atmosphere, microstructural features, and etc.) of 26 Megarian bowls and 22 West Slope ware sherds, which were unearthened during the excavations through the collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Anadolu University since 1989, were investigated. In this context, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in combination with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), micro-Raman spectroscopy and thermal gravimetry-differential thermal (TG-DTA) analysis were performed. The results showed that the bodies of the sherds were produced from clay sources which contain illitic clay minerals and also sometimes calcite and dolomite. It is believed that the bodies of the sherds should have been exposed to different firing temperatures up to 1100 0C. The difference in colors of the slip layers which have higher iron content than the body layers of the sherds suggests that it was obtained by adjusting the redox conditions of firing. However, these two groups of Hellenistic wares were compared in order to enlighten the difference in production technology. It was discovered that calcite and dolomite containing clay sources were used for the production of the Megarian bowls and the West Slope wares, respectively. It was also noticed that slip layers of the West Slope wares were richer in iron than the Megarian bowls. Finally, the knowledge about the pottery production at Dorylaion settlement during the Hellenistic period was accumulated.