THE FIRING TEMPERATURE OF A PERSIAN-PERIOD POTTERY KILN AT TEL-MICHAL, ISRAEL, ESTIMATED FROM THE COMPOSITION OF ITS POTTERY

The firing temperature of a Persian-period kiln excavated at Tel Micha l (Makmish), on the Mediterranean coast north of Tel Aviv, Israel, is estimated from the composition of its pottery, using X-ray diffraction and IR spectroscopy methods. The kiln was built with two chambers: an upper one where the vessels were fired and a lower one for the burnin g. Storage jars that had been fired and remained inside the kiln are c omposed of lime tempers and quartz sand in a fired clay matrix that co ntains amorphous material and the high-temperature Ca-silicates gehlen ite and anorthite. The tempers are composed of re-formed calcite. Ther mal simulation indicates that the composition is compatible with a hea ting temperature of 800-900-degrees-C, which represents the firing tem perature in the upper chamber of the kiln.