Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2013) 5:235–243
DOI 10.1007/s12520-013-0132-9
ORIGINAL PAPER
Preliminary archaeometric study of the Neolithic pottery
from the “Le Grottelline” site (Spinazzola, Italy)
B. Fabbri & S. Gualtieri & R. Lorenzi
Received: 28 November 2012 / Accepted: 12 March 2013 / Published online: 2 April 2013
# Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Abstract The archaeological site of “Le Grottelline”, in the
territory of Spinazzola, province of Bari (southern Italy),
which dates back to the Early Neolithic Age, is located in
the Bradanic Trough. Abundant ceramic material was recov-
ered, which mainly belongs to the Culture of “Archaic-
Impressed Pottery” and appears similar to that found in
other Neolithic sites of the Murge area. The archaeologists
recognized four ceramic classes: coarse, semi-depurated,
depurated, and figulina. Fine ceramics can be red paint
decorated. Aim of this work was a preliminary archaeomet-
ric characterization of the ceramic material from “Le
Grottelline” in order to have information about the use of
local raw materials and to address subsequent studies aimed
to verify the relationships among the Neolithic cultures of
the Murge area. The present study evidenced two typologies
of ceramic body, characterized by calcium-rich and calcium-
poor pastes, respectively, and two single samples. For the
two groups of ceramics, a manufacture with local raw mate-
rials is assumed by using two types of clay: carbonate clays
from “Subapennine Clays” formation and residual
carbonate-free clays such as the well-known “red earths”.
These two ceramic typologies are very similar to those
reported for the near Neolithic site of Ciccotto, and it also
located in the Bradanic Trough. For the two single samples,
on the contrary, a manufacturing with “Alluvial Clays” and
a provenance from the site of Pulo di Molfetta are supposed.
The red painted decorations are aluminum- and iron-rich,
while the content of calcium can be very different.
Keywords Ceramics . Early Neolithic . Le Grottelline site .
Southern Italy . Archaeometric study
B. Fabbri : S. Gualtieri (*) : R. Lorenzi
CNR, Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics,
Via Granarolo 64,
48018 Faenza, Italy
e-mail: sabrina.gualtieri@istec.cnr.it
Introduction
The Neolithic site named “Le Grottelline” is placed at the
southern-eastern border of the municipality of Spinazzola,
in southern Italy, Bari province (Fig. 1). From a geological
point of view, the Neolithic site is in the Bradanic Trough
near the borders of the Murge complex. The Bradanic
Trough is a strip of land characterized by a succession of
terraces sloping down toward Bradano River and bordered
at northeast by the Alte Murge complex and at southwest by
Lucanian territory. The northern boundary of the trough
comes up to Minervino Murge locality. The Pliocene subsi-
dence that involved the area, about 5 Ma, gave origin to a
large rolling plain with presence of small highlands
(Casnedi 1988). The Neolithic site Le Grottelline is located
over a terrace, nearby a perennial spring of water, from
where it is possible to dominate the underlying valley with-
out being seen. Therefore, it would seem a perfect site for a
Neolithic populating (Lorenzi and Serradimigni 2009).
During two excavations in the years 2004 and 2005, on
an area of about 46 m2, 1901 ceramic fragments were found,
but the reconstruction of the forms (vases and bowls) was
possible only in very few cases, owing to the elevated
fragmentation of the recovered ceramic materials. Based
on the presence and dimension of inclusions in the body,
four macroscopic classes were distinguished: coarse, semi-
depurated, depurated, and figulina ceramics. Concerning
their abundance, the semi-depurated is the most represented
(49.2 %), followed by coarse (31.9 %), figulina (11.3 %),
and depurated (7.6 %) ceramics.
The decorated fragments are quite numerous (540), about
28.4 % of the total. The frequency of decorated fragments in
the first three classes is practically the same: 32.6 % for
coarse ceramics, 28.4 % for semi-depurated ceramics, and
25.2 % for figulina, while it is much lower for the depurated
ceramics (14.5 %). The decorations are of different type:
236
Fig. 1 Location of the archaeological site “Le Grottelline” and the
other archaeological sites and localities cited in the paper. The
evidenced area corresponds to the outcrops of “Subapennine Clays”
in the Bradanic Trough (modified after Dell’Anna and Laviano 1991)
“impression” is the most diffuse decorative technique
(around 72 % of the decorated pottery), followed at a great
distance by “incision” and “painting”. “Impression” is the
most frequent decoration technique of coarse and semi-
depurated ceramics; “incision” is rare and no other type of
decoration was found in these two ceramic classes. Also
depurated ceramics are mainly characterized by impressed
decorations, but the presence of “incision” and “painting”
decorations is not negligible. “Painting” is the typical dec-
oration of figulina ceramics: almost all the decorated shards
of this ceramic class are painted, while “impression” and
“incision” are rare.
The fragments recovered from the archaeological layers
were dated especially taking into account the decorative
typologies. The conclusion is that the main part of the
pottery can be dated back to the Early Neolithic (88.3 %),
in particular to the Archaic Impressed Pottery facies
(63.5 %). The remaining material (11.7 %) includes the
majority of the painted pottery, like figulina ceramics; this
pottery belongs to the Red Stripes facies of the Middle
Neolithic (Lorenzi and Serradimigni 2009).
The present paper would like to combine archaeological
and archaeometric data in order to have further tools for
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2013) 5:235–243
characterizing the site and for finding relationships with
other Neolithic sites of the surrounding areas. In the
Murge plateau, in fact, there are a lot of Neolithic sites
studied and described by archaeologists. The ceramics of
two sites located in the surroundings of Le Grottelline have
been well studied also from an archaeometric point of view:
Ciccotto and Pulo di Molfetta (Muntoni 2003). They will be
taken into consideration for comparison with the data here
presented. Ciccotto is located nearby Gravina di Puglia, 25–
30 km southeast of Le Grottelline, along the southwestern
strip of Murge, in correspondence of the Bradanic Trough,
exactly as Le Grottelline site. Pulo di Molfetta is about
50 km far from Le Grottelline, in northeast direction, a
couple kilometers far from Molfetta and as many from the
Adriatic Coast; the site is in the northern-central strip of
Murge, in a geographical context characterized by several
calcareous terraces parallel to the coast (Fig. 1).
Materials and analytical techniques
The archaeometric investigations were performed on a se-
lection of 13 samples purposely put at disposal by the
Soprintendenza Archeologica of Apulia: four shards of fig-
ulina ceramics and three for each of the other three archae-
ological ceramic classes (coarse, semi-depurated, and
depurated ceramics). Three fragments (two depurated and
one figulina) show a red painted decoration, while the others
are not decorated. A short description of each investigated
shard is given in Table 1.
The materials have been investigated by using the fol-
lowing analytical techniques:
– Polarized light optical microscopy on thin section by
using a Leika POL11 microscope, in order to obtain
mineralogical, petrographic, and microstructural char-
acteristics of the ceramic body
– X-ray fluorescence (Philips PW1460 spectrometer) for
determining the chemical composition (SiO2, Al2O3,
TiO2, Fe2O3, MnO, MgO, CaO, Na2O, K2O, P2O5,
SO3). One gram of powdered sample was melted with
a mixture of lithium borates (9 g) at about 1,000 °C and
then poured into platinum dishes in order to obtain a
glassy disk. For comparing the results, the obtained
compositions (weight percent) have been normalized
to 100 by excluding phosphorus and sulfur contents;
these latter are reported as resulted from the XRF
analysis
– X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) for obtaining the
qualitative composition of the crystalline phases; a
Geigerflex instrument was used with the working con-
ditions usually adopted in the ceramic field, 4 to 64° 2θ
scanning interval with a speed of 2°/min. The XRPD
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2013) 5:235–243 237

Table 1 Main archaeological features of the ceramic shards

Sample Part of the artifact Dimensions (cm) Ceramic class Type of decoration Color in fresh fracture

LG1 Wall 10×6.5 Coarse Absent Gray

LG2 Wall 8×6 Coarse Absent Brown
LG3 Wall 6×5 Coarse Absent Brown
LG4 Wall 6.5×6 Semi-depurated Absent Pinkish orange
LG5 Wall 6.5×5.5 Semi-depurated Absent Pinkish gray
LG6 Wall 6×4 Semi-depurated Absent Brown
LG7 Wall 9×5 Depurated Absent Reddish gray
LG8 Wall 4.5×3.5 Depurated Red painting Pinkish gray
LG9 Wall 5×4.5 Depurated Red painting Pinkish gray
LG10 Wall 3.5×3 Figulina Absent Light brown
LG11 Wall 4×3 Figulina Absent Pinkish gray
LG12 Wall 4×3.5 Figulina Absent Pinkish gray
LG13 Rim 3.5×2 Figulina Red painting Pinkish gray

analysis was performed only on six samples (LG1, samples LG11 and LG12. Silicate grains (quartz, feldspars,
LG2, LG3, LG5, LG8, LG9), which were opportunely and micas) are the main temper components, together with
selected on the base of the ceramic typologies defined scarce calcite granules in the samples LG5, LG7, and LG8.
by combining the microscopy observations and the The macro-pores are in low quantity (<5 %) and are mainly
chemical compositions rounded, with maximum dimension around 250 μm.
– Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for the
qualitative determination of the chemical composition
of the red decorations. The spectra were collected at a
depth where the results appeared constant. Then, in
order to have a semi-quantitative evaluation, they were
compared with those of the ceramic bodies, which were
collected on a fresh fracture surface. These analyses
were carried out at the ICCOM institute of CNR in Pisa

Results

The data obtained for the ceramic bodies by observations in

thin section and chemical investigations put in evidence
several differences among the samples. Two main groups,
quite homogeneous, were at last defined, named “Group 1”
(six samples) and “Group 2” (four samples). Two other
samples are different to each other and are not included in
the above-mentioned groups; they are individuated as single
samples. Due to the small dimension of the shard, the
sample LG13 only underwent LIBS analysis.

Group 1

In this group, six samples are included (LG5, LG7, LG8,

LG10, LG11, and LG12). The microstructure of the ceramic
paste is fine and homogenous (Fig. 2). The matrix is semi-
isotropic to isotropic, and the non-plastic inclusions (less than
150 μm) are not more than 10–15 % and even much less in the
Fig. 2 Micrographs under crossed polars of the ceramic samples of
the archaeometric group 1: a sample LG5; b sample LG7; c sample
LG8; d sample LG10; e sample LG11; f sample LG12. The magnifi-
cation is the same for all the samples, as shown in the a
238 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2013) 5:235–243

The distinctive chemical characteristics of this group
(Table 2) are the relatively high values of calcium (9–17 %
CaO) and magnesium (2–3 % MgO) and, as a consequence,
relatively low contents of silica (57.5 % on average). The
contents of phosphorus (0.31–0.65 % P2O5) are slightly
higher than those usually present in ceramic clays. So, you
can imagine that a small pollution of phosphorus occurred
during burial, especially for the shards LG8 and LG10 (0.65
and 0.55 % P2O5, respectively). May be that phosphorus is
made available by the decomposition of bones that were
buried near the ceramic shards (Maritan and Mazzoli 2004;
Fabbri and Gualtieri 2008). This hypothesis is supported by
the finding of a butchering area just adjacent the habitation
structure (Lorenzi and Serradimigni 2009).
The XRD investigations evidenced fairly variable min-
eralogical compositions depending on the firing level
reached (Riccardi et al. 1999; Cultrone et al. 2001). The
sample LG5, for example, contains small amounts of
calcite, illite, and gehlenite, besides to quartz and feld-
spars (Fig. 3). So, this sample was probably fired at 800–
850 °C. Instead, the sample LG8 does not show calcite
and illite, while are present anorthite, gehlenite, and py-
roxene formed during the ceramic firing (Fig. 3).
Therefore, it was fired at about 900 °C. On the whole,
for this group we can deduce a firing temperature in the
range 800–900 °C approximately, which is in accordance
with the semi-isotropic groundmass. The generally
pinkish-gray color of the fracture surfaces let us to deduce
a prevailing reductive firing atmosphere.
The LIBS analysis showed that the paste of the shard
LG13 contains a significant amount of calcium, comparable
to that of the sample LG8. Based on this result, maybe the
shard LG13 can be included in the same ceramic group 1.
Group 2
The samples LG2, LG3, LG4, and LG6 are included in this
group, which is characterized by a semi-isotropic matrix
with temper abundance around 10 %, or even less especially
in the sample LG6. The grain-size distribution can be de-
fined serial, with maximum grain sizes around 300 μm
(Fig. 4). The temper is made of mono-crystalline quartz
grains (in LG3 also poly-crystalline), feldspars, micas (mus-
covite and biotite), and some grains of augite-type pyrox-
ene, for example in the sample LG2 (Fig. 4). In LG2, rare
carbonate grains are also present, while all the other samples
have iron-rich nodules, more abundant in LG4.
The macro-pores are generally scarce (<5 %) and are
rounded or elongated. In the first case, the dimensions rise
up to 300 μm at the most, while the lengthened pores can
reach 1 mm and are frequently parallel to the external surface.
From a chemical point of view (Table 2), the main distinc-
tive features of the body of this group are the low contents of
calcium (around 2 % CaO) and magnesium (<1.5 % MgO)
and as a consequence high values of silica (around 68 %). The
presence of carbonate grains can justify the higher calcium
concentration (5.74 % CaO) of the sample LG2, while the
minor quantity of temper can justify the low content in silica

Table 2 Chemical composition of the samples obtained by means of XRF (oxide weight percent)

Group Sample SiO2 Al2O3 TiO2 Fe2O3 MnO MgO CaO Na2O K2O P2O5 SO3

1 LG5 59.28 17.87 0.69 5.77 0.10 2.51 9.94 1.11 2.73 0.31 0.07
LG7 55.64 15.79 0.58 5.81 0.08 1.83 16.83 0.95 2.50 0.40 0.08
LG8 58.19 16.81 0.64 5.80 0.10 2.59 12.10 1.21 2.56 0.65 0.06
LG10 57.70 16.50 0.61 5.42 0.09 2.03 13.90 1.35 2.41 0.55 0.06
LG11 59.32 18.21 0.72 5.94 0.09 2.45 9.33 1.20 2.73 0.38 0.07
LG12 55.19 18.85 0.72 6.29 0.10 2.98 12.14 1.20 2.54 0.26 0.04
x 57.55 17.34 0.66 5.84 0.09 2.40 12.37 1.17 2.58 0.43 0.06
σ 1.78 1.16 0.06 0.28 0.01 0.41 2.74 0.13 0.13 0,15 0.01

2 LG2 67.82 16.11 0.57 4.77 0.16 1.17 5.74 1.13 2.53 0.23 0.03
LG3 68.14 18.80 0.54 5.77 0.08 1.36 1.67 0.88 2.76 0.09 0.02
LG4 68.10 18.20 0.62 5.04 0.11 1.48 2.25 1.24 2.96 0.15 0.02
LG6 63.83 21.62 0.60 6.81 0.30 1.24 2.21 0.61 2.78 0.19 0.03
x 66.97 18.68 0.58 5.60 0.16 1.31 2.97 0.97 2.67 0.16 0.02
σ 2.10 2.27 0.03 0.91 0.10 0.14 1.87 0.28 0.18 0.06 0.01

Single shards LG1 55.57 16.42 0.60 5.90 0.09 1.89 15.79 1.08 2.65 0.33 0.06
LG9 53.94 16.89 0.59 5.48 0.09 2.07 17.98 0.53 2.43 0.22 0.09

x average value, σ standard deviation

Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2013) 5:235–243
Fig. 3 Representative diffractograms of the different types of ceramics: group 1=LG5 and LG8; group 2=LG2 and LG3; single samples=LG1 and
LG9. qtz quartz; C calcite; I/M illite/mica; Kf K-feldspar; Pl plagioclase; Gh gehlenite; Px pyroxene; He hematite
(63.83 %) and higher values of alumina (21.72 %), iron oxide
(6.81 %), and manganese oxide (0.30 %) in the sample LG6
(Table 2).
In all the samples, phosphorus concentrations are less
than 0.23 % P2O5, so that it is possible to exclude a pollu-
tion of this element during the period of burial of the
samples.
The crystalline phases detected by XRD (Fig. 3) are
quartz in abundant amount and minor quantities of plagio-
clase, K-feldspar, and illite/mica, as shown by the diffracto-
gram of the sample LG3. According to the calcium value
higher than the other samples (5.7 vs. 2 % CaO approxi-
mately), traces of calcite were also detected in the sample
LG2. The presence of illite gives the possibility to define a
firing temperature range lower than 900 °C; the presence of
calcite in the sample LG2 indicates even lower tempera-
tures, may be less than 800 °C.
239
Single samples
Two finds (LG1 and LG9) cannot be included in the above
mentioned groups. The sample LG1 is characterized by a
homogenous paste with anisotropic matrix, poor of macro-
pores, and with a temper (10 % in abundance) made of quartz
and calcite grains with variable sizes from 250 μm up to 1 mm.
Calcite is in form of micrite as well as of microfossils (Fig. 5).
The XRD analysis confirms the presence of quartz and calcite
as main components of the paste, with a minor quantity of illite
and feldspars (Fig. 3). The contemporaneous presence of
calcite and illite allows us to hypothesize a firing temperature
less than 800 °C, also according to the anisotropy of the
clayey matrix. From a chemical point of view, the
percentages of silica and calcium are in accordance with
the above mineralogy that means high value of CaO
(15.79 %) and low content of silica (55.57 %).
240
Fig. 4 Micrographs of the ceramic samples of the archaeometric group
2: a sample LG2 (crossed polars); b sample LG3 (crossed polars); c
and d sample LG4 (plane and crossed polars, respectively); e and f
sample LG6 (plane and crossed polars, respectively)
The sample LG9 shows a scarce quantity of temper
(around 3 %) made of grains with an average dimension of
300 μm approximately (Fig. 5). The groundmass is
Fig. 5 Micrographs of the two single samples: a and b two different
pictures of the sample LG1 (crossed polars); c and d sample LG9
(plane and crossed polars, respectively). In the micrographs of the
sample LG9, the layer of red painted decoration is visible
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2013) 5:235–243
homogeneous and anisotropic; the macro-pores are scarce
and partially filled by secondary calcite. The composition of
the temper is given by abundant grains of mono- and
poly-crystalline quartz, and rare micrite, feldspars, and
microfossils.
The XRD investigation points out a high amount of
quartz, calcite, and illite (Fig. 3). Since it was not seen in
thin section, calcite is in the majority present as fine grains
well distributed in the groundmass. In this case, the firing
temperature did not get over 800 °C, as the sample LG1.
The chemical composition mirrors the said mineralogical
composition, and it is characterized by a high quantity of
calcium (17.98 % CaO) and a relatively low amount of silica
(53.94 %). As regards the phosphorus content in the two
single finds (0.33 and 0.22 % P2O5 in LG1 and LG9 respec-
tively), it is possible to assume that they had not been
subjected to a significant pollution of this element.
Red painted decoration
The LIBS spectra of the painted decoration of the shards
LG8, LG9, and LG13 show the same trend for aluminum
and iron, whose contents are much higher in the decoration
compared with the correspondent ceramic body. On the
contrary, calcium concentration is very low in the decoration
of the samples LG8 and LG13, while it is very high and
similar to the body in the sample LG9. This different com-
position of the decoration could be a further demonstration
of the singularity of this shard, which has already been
classified as “single” with reference to its microstructure.
In addition, it can be noted that no other chemical element
was detected in quantity that would justify the formation of
a red pigment after firing.
Discussion
The optical observations in thin section permitted to
subdivide the shards into two types, which are charac-
terized by fine or semi-fine microstructure, respectively.
The shards with fine microstructure include materials
that were archaeologically classified as depurated or
figulina ceramics, with the only exception of the sample
LG5 described as semi-depurated ceramic body. The
samples with semi-fine structure only include ceramics
that were archaeologically classified as coarse or semi-
depurated. So, the archaeological classification of the
ceramic bodies, based on naked eye observation of the
macro-structure, can be considered a valid and very
useful operation in order to address the selection of
the materials for archaeometric investigations.
Taking into consideration all the archaeometric results,
two main typologies of ceramic body were recognized,
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2013) 5:235–243
which were certainly obtained by using clay raw materials
very different from each other:
1. Fine carbonate-rich body (six samples); a refining inter-
vention was perhaps applied to the natural clay for
obtaining the fineness of this body
2. Semi-fine carbonate-poor body, with serial distribution
of temper (four samples); it was probably obtained by
using natural clay, without any modification by the
potter
In addition, there are two single samples (LG1 and LG9)
that cannot be included in the previous groups due to their
specific microstructure.
Despite the limited number of analyzed samples, it is
possible to propose that the two above groups of ceramics
likely were locally produced, as explained hereinafter. In
other words, both fine and semi-fine ceramics were manu-
factured in the site under examination. As for the two single
shards, there is the possibility that they came from another
site, not too far from Le Grottelline. The variability of the
ceramic materials present in the Le Grottelline site is com-
parable with that found for the other archaeological sites
cited in the introduction, namely Ciccotto and Pulo di
Molfetta.
The ceramic type 1 of Le Grottelline is similar to the typical
ceramics from Ciccotto. The latter are characterized by a fine
calcium-rich ceramic paste (14 % CaO on average), and they
are distinguished into two subgroups due to the different
fineness of the paste and to the absence/presence of new
crystalline phases formed during firing. These ceramics were
realized with the use of the same raw materials that is
Pleistocene “Subapennine Clays,” as such or after the appli-
cation of a depuration process, and fired at different temper-
atures (Laviano and Muntoni 2003a).
The “Subapennine Clays” outcrop in the entire area of the
Bradanic Trough (Lazzari and Pieri, 2002); they are quite
fine, show a homogeneous composition, and are suitable for
ceramic production (Dell’Anna and Laviano 1991; Dondi et
al. 1992). Therefore, even for the type 1 of Le Grottelline, it
can be assumed a manufacturing by using local outcrops of
“Subapennine Clays”, likely after depuration.
The Ca-poor ceramic typology from Le Grottelline site is
very similar to the main ceramic typology of Pulo di
Molfetta and to a largely minority group from Ciccotto.
For these two sites, Laviano and Muntoni (2003a, b, 2006)
propose a local production with raw materials genetical-
ly similar to the “red earths.” They are quite small
residual deposits, formed due to local dissolution pro-
cesses of carbonatic rocks, very diffuse in the Murge
area (Muntoni 2003).
The use of local red earths can be also proposed for the
Ca-poor ceramics from Le Grottelline. In fact, residual
deposits of bauxite, including an abandoned mine, are well
241
known in the surroundings of Spinazzola (Mongelli 1994).
But it must be emphasized that the chemical composition of
the “red earths” is generally very different from that of these
ceramics (Dell’Anna 1967; Dell’Anna and Garavelli 1968;
Laviano and Moresi 2008). The contents of aluminum, iron,
and titanium, for example, are approximately double those
of ceramics. Therefore, it is worth considering other clayey
materials, for example the Ca-poor pelitic levels embedded
in the limestone of the Murge complex, which also outcrop
in the area between Le Grottelline and Pulo di Molfetta
(Morelli et al. 2000).
The samples LG1 and LG9 are very similar to the
calcium-rich ceramics from Pulo di Molfetta, for which
Laviano and Muntoni (2003b) propose the use of the local
“Alluvial Clays”. These clays were used at Pulo di Molfetta
as they are or after depuration, giving rise to two subgroups
of ceramics, with semi-fine and fine microstructure, respec-
tively, but with very similar chemical composition. We
hypothesize that also the shards LG1 and LG9 were pro-
duced by using alluvial clays. Small deposits of this type
could exist along the very close and short karsts canyons
near Le Grottelline, but we did not find any information on
this point in the literature. So, it seems more reasonable to
propose the hypothesis that the shards LG1 and LG9
were produced in Pulo di Molfetta with local alluvial
clays, as such and depurated, respectively. Anyway, the
chemical composition of the shard LG1 let us suppose
that it could have been obtained by using the same
Subapennine Clays utilized for the typology 1, without
any refining intervention.
The sample LG9 is very fine as the samples of the
typology 1, but it differs from them because it contains
about 3 % of big silicate grains. The very low amount of
large grains does not permit to hypothesize a voluntary
addition of silicate sand as a technological choice because
it would not imply any real change in the technological
characteristics of the ceramic paste. So, it would seem more
sustainable the idea that it deals with a shard having a
different area of provenance. The peculiar chemical compo-
sition (calcium-rich other than aluminum- and iron-rich) of
the red painted decoration of the same shard LG9 would be
another element in support of this hypothesis.
By comparing the three above sites, a substantial corre-
spondence is noted as it regards the values of the firing
temperatures deduced on the mineralogical basis. For the
calcium-poor ceramics of Le Grottelline and Pulo di
Molfetta, a temperature between 700 and 900 °C was eval-
uated. This range is wide due to the difficulties of evaluation
when the calcium content is low (Fabbri 1998; Ricciardi et
al. 2007). As for the ceramics produced at Le Grottelline and
Ciccotto with purified Subappennine Clays, the evaluation
of the firing temperature is simpler because the presence of
carbonates in the raw materials gives rise to a series of
242
reactions during firing, which constitute the so-called min-
eralogical thermometer (Cultrone et al. 2001; Trindade et al.
2009). The proposed values for both sites are usually from
about 800 to over 900 °C.
As for the red painted decorations, they are also present
in the ceramics from Ciccotto and Pulo di Molfetta, and
their frequency is always the same that is around 3 % of the
decorated shards (Muntoni 2003; Lorenzi and Serradimigni
2009). Unfortunately no chemical analyses have been pub-
lished for them.
The results obtained in this work for Le Grottelline
ceramics indicate that they used two different clay materials:
one rich in aluminum and iron and the other rich in alumi-
num, iron, and calcium. The Al- and Fe-rich material was
utilized for decorating shards attributed to the local produc-
tion of Le Grottelline site, while the Ca-rich decoration was
used in a shard for which a provenance from the Pulo di
Molfetta site was supposed. But a deeper study on the red
painted decorations of the three above-mentioned sites
would be very useful in order to clarify the real situation
from this point of view.
The comparison between the qualitative chemical com-
position of the calcium-poor decorations and that of “red
earths” suggests that these clays can have been used, as they
are, as raw materials for this type of decoration. For the
second type, you cannot exclude the hypothesis of a mixture
with fine carbonate-rich material, with the aim of obtaining
a lighter red color. Finally, the red color of the decorations
indicates that the firing atmosphere was quite oxidant during
heating, while it should have become less oxidant during
cooling. In these conditions, the color of the body turns
pinkish gray, while the less porous decoration preserves
the red color.
Conclusion
The results of the archaeometric analyses showed significant
changes in microstructure and composition of the pottery
from the site “Le Grottelline,” which is located in the
Bradanic Trough nearby the Murge complex. The results
allow you to recognize the existence of two well-represented
typologies of ceramic paste, of which one is fine and
calcium-rich and the other semi-fine and calcium-poor. For
the calcium-rich ceramics, a local manufacturing is assumed
with carbonate clays of the “Subapennine Clays” Formation,
analogously to the near archaeological site of Ciccotto. The
technology of preparation of the ceramic paste likely includ-
ed a purification process and a firing at a temperature
generally not over 900 °C. For the calcium-poor ceramics,
the provenance of the raw material used was not exactly
individuated. The great similarity with the majority group of
the Neolithic site of Pulo di Molfetta and a minority group
Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2013) 5:235–243
of Ciccotto let us suppose the use of the same type of raw
materials for all the sites that is clays coming from small
outcrops of residual materials, like the diffuse deposits of
“red earths.” They were likely used as such and the artifacts
were fired at 700–900 °C. Calcium-rich ceramics are some-
time red-paint decorated by using “red earths” as raw mate-
rials, which are rich in aluminum and iron.
The repertory of the typologies of ceramic paste from Le
Grottelline is completed by two single samples. For them,
you can suppose the use of local alluvial clays, as they are
and after depuration respectively, or a provenance from Pulo
di Molfetta, where these types of ceramics are the most
represented. The red decoration of one of the two samples
is also unique, with a high concentration of calcium, other
than aluminum and iron. Then, the hypothesis of importa-
tion of this shard results reinforced and the hypothesis of a
provenance of the artifact from Pulo di Molfetta is credible.
Previous studies on Apulian Neolithic sites conclude that
all the recovered ceramics were locally produced. On the
contrary, we hypothesize that there were exchanges of ce-
ramic artifacts between the sites, in particular Pulo di
Molfetta and Le Grottelline. It would be desirable that
further studies were addressed to pursue the matter, in
particular by extending the analysis to the red painted dec-
orations of the Neolithic sites mentioned in this paper and
eventually others.
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