Portable X-Ray Fluorescence on pre-Islamic ceramics: a case study on Kur River Basin material (Fars, Iran)

An archaeometrical study is undertaken on pre-Islamic painted pottery from excavations and surveys in the Kur River Basin, conducted by the late prof. dr. L. Vanden Berghe (Ghent University) during the 1950’s. The ceramics date from the Neolithic to the Iron Age and belong to different sites and stylistic groups. The applied analytical method is portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF), a non-destructive technique to study the elemental fingerprint of ceramics. The results of this geochemical analysis reveal distinct regional and chronological differences, allowing a renewed classification of the studied ceramics. Furthermore, the data sheds light on changes in pottery technology and on questions concerning production centres and the origin of primary materials. In this paper, the results and interpretation of the acquired data will be presented