THE BURNING TEMPERATURE OF A PERSIAN-PERIOD POTTERY KILN AT TEL MICHAL, ISRAEL, ESTIMATED FROM THE COMPOSITION OF SLAG-LIKE MATERIAL FORMEDIN ITS WALL

The maximum burning temperature of a Persian-period pottery kiln excav ated at Tel Michal (Makmish), on the Mediteffanean coast north of Tel Aviv, is estimated from the composition of slag-like material which wa s formed in its Oall, using X-ray diffraction and IR spectroscopy meth ods. The kiln was built with two chambers: a lower one for the burning , and an upper one where the vessels were fired. The slag-like materia l, which contains mainly quartz and high tempemture cristobalite in po rous glassy material, was formed in the wall of the lower chamber by p artial melting of its noncalcareous sandy clay matter. Thermal simulat ion indicates that its composition is compatible with a heating temper ature between 1100-degrees and 1200-degrees-C, which represents the ma ximum buming temperature in the lower chamber of the kiln. An elevated buming temperature was needed to obtain the firing temperature of the pottery in its upper chamber.