Archaeometrical investigation on ceramic ware from Dougga (Tunusia)

The archaeological ceramic sherds examined in this study by means of different analytical techniques belong to three different ceramic classes (sigillata Africana, the so called Dougga Ware and the African cooking ware). They came from the excavation and surveys carried out at Dougga (high Tunisian Tell) and in particular from the rural settlement of Ain Wassel. They date to the Byzantine period (VI-VII century A. C.). The archaeometrical investigation was aimed to the characterization of the Dougga Ware class which was probably a local imitation of standardized shapes belonging to the sigillata Africana. This fine ware, well attested from the archaeological point of view (1), was produced in Tunisia and spread all over the Mediterranean. Aim of this work was to assess the provenance of the sigillata pottery excavated at Ain Wassel in order to clarify the ceramic circulation models in a rural context and to spread new light on the relationship between production and consumption sites. Ceramic sherds chemical composition of the was investigated by ICP-OES technique while FT-IR, XRD and transmission optical microscopy provided information concerning the crystallographic phases which are also correlated to the production technology (firing temperature and atmosphere). Chemical data were also submitted to multivariate treatments in order to identify groups of sherds having similar composition, i.e. the same provenance.