Objectives and approach

The Lab&Museum School (24^th – 25^th May, 2027) aims to foster discussion and deepen knowledge of groundbreaking methodologies in the field of ceramic archaeometry. Participants will benefit from the expertise of internationally renowned scholars, who will present data and materials from their ongoing research projects. Topical lectures, observation of archaeological collections, and laboratory sessions will be based on archaeological materials from excavations and museum collections, and a wide range of digital, optical, and spectrometric techniques will be discussed.

The multisite setting of the School also provides participants with a unique opportunity to experience both laboratory and hand-on training sessions, thanks to the support of the two EMAC2027 partner institutions in Belgium. The laboratory sessions will be held at the Faculty of Science at the University of Namur, and the hands-on sessions on archaeological assemblages will take place at the Royal Museum of Art and History in Brussels.

The training sessions focus on two themes, which, in line with the objectives of EMAC2027, provide targeted case studies to explore broader issues relating to the geological, archaeological, and historical contextualisation and interpretation of analytical data.

‘Choosing the Best Clays ?’ : Tuscan Pottery Through the Ages

This training consists of laboratory sessions on archaeological and geological materials, supplemented by topical lectures from the School instructors. The course explores pottery traditions in Tuscany from the Early Iron Age to the Middle Ages. Particular attention will be given to the selection of raw materials in relation to the specificities of the Tuscan geological setting. Clay preparation and tempering practices will be discussed in light of the technical and physical constraints associated with manufacturing and using pottery items. We will explore how to connect archaeometric results with the archaeological and geological context in order to unravel the technical and cultural implications of phenomena of continuity, change, or abandonment of craft traditions among past communities. The case of the widespread diffusion of the crushed calcite, marble, and gabbro tempering techniques in Etruria, northern Italy and across the Alps throughout history will, in this context, receive special attention. During the laboratory training at the Faculty of Sciences of the Université de Namur, participants will have the opportunity to examine a wide range of petrographic thin sections of archaeological ceramics from various contexts (Val d’Arno and northern Etruria, Val di Cecina, Val d’Elsa, Maremma region) as well as from different types of pottery, such as cooking wares, transport containers, opus doliare, and styles such as Villanovan impasto, Etruscan bucchero, ceramica grezza, colature rosse, vetrine sparse. Petrographic sections of clay briquettes obtained from loose sediment deposits from Val d’Arno and Val d’Elsa will also be available for discussion.

‘Arftul Glazes’: Archaeometry and the Study of Medieval and Modern Ceramics

This training involves the analysis of museum collections, supplemented by targeted lectures from the School instructors. It explores the range of aesthetic and functional capabilities offered by ceramic glazes from the viewpoint of innovation. At the Royal Museum of Art and History, the School participants will have the opportunity to handle items from a large collection of nearly 4,000 sherds originating from various workshops in Fustat, the medieval capital of Egypt. The collection comprises traded imports, local wares, kiln wasters, and flawed items dating from the 7^th century to the 19^th century. Following its foundation in 640 AD, the city of Fustat rapidly became a major commercial and cultural centre of the Islamic world. Its workshops saw the development of diverse glazing techniques that combined different compounds and colourants to achieve a wide range of aesthetic effects. The instructors will present recent multimethod research combining p-XRF, then SEM-EDS and Raman spectrometry on Mamluk pottery (13^th – 15^th c.). This multi-method approach has the potential to reassess the number of sgraffito workshops operating along the Nile Valley within the context of market realities that extend beyond an elite community. The case of Fustat will serve as a basis for discussing broader archaeometric research conducted by the instructors on glazed ceramics from other regions of the Islamic and Byzantine worlds, on the complex issue of the Roman and/or eastern legacy of this artful craft, and on new developments on the archaeometric analysis of pigments and colourants.

School instructors

Florence Liard, UCLouvain

Julie Marchand, RMAH & Université libre de Bruxelles

Silvia Amicone, University of Tübingen

Simona Raneri, University of Florence

Jaume Buxeda i Garrigós, University of Barcelona

Adamantia P. Panagopoulou, University of Barcelona

Théo Bouvart, University of Namur