Moroccan clay deposits: Physico-chemical properties in view of provenance studies on ancient ceramics

peer reviewedFeatures of clayey raw materials from most important traditional pottery centers in the vicinity of the main medieval sites in Morocco, and their fired products were investigated. Besides clay from the North of Morocco, the used raw material was illitic clays (10–100%) and smectite-rich clays (0–67%) with variable amount of kaolinite, quartz and feldspars. Chlorite was also present in a small amount. The main major oxides were Si2O, Al2O3 and CaO. The fired tests (800–1100 °C) displayed a decrease in open porosity of the sintered clay by raising the temperature, mainly from 1000 °C due to the inception of melting. This change was coupled with the change in mineralogical composition. New crystalline phases as Ca silicates (diopside and gehlenite), hematite, spinel and mullite occurred during firing process, attesting to the inception of melting and were responsible for porosity reduction. Reference clays for pottery were established based on the clay mineralogy and chemical composition. The present study would help to answer some archeological questions concerning possible sourcing areas for archeological ceramics, to determine techniques for the production of artefacts, and then to interpret cultural influences. Furthermore, the obtained results will support the inception of development of a compositional database for Moroccan pottery