Ceramic traditions - the evidence from clay sampling at two late prehistoric sites: Birnie (Moray) and Traprain Law (East Lothian), Scotland

Sahlén, Daniel

Ceramic traditions - the evidence from clay sampling at two late prehistoric sites: Birnie (Moray) and Traprain Law (East Lothian), Scotland

Resource type

Journal article

Creator (person)

Sahlén, Daniel

Date published

2012

Abstract

Clay sampling in archaeological studies has predominantly been used to answer questions of the provenance of ceramic materials, but recent literature has increasingly focused on further issues concerning material choices and selection (e.g. Martineau et al. 2007). These studies have often highlighted social mechanisms behind the selection of clays and tempering materials (e.g. Gosselain and Livingstone Smith 2005). The purpose of this article is to look at the relation between different ceramic materials and sampled clays from two late prehistoric Scottish sites (Figure 1A): Birnie (Moray) and Traprain Law (East Lothian). This work is based on the results of the writerâ€Ÿs PhD thesis (Sahlén 2011), which looked at the ceramic technology of metalworking ceramics, ceramic materials used for the processing of metals, in late prehistoric Scotland.