Analysis of Minoan white pigments used on pottery from Palaikastro

Previous analyses of Early Minoan (ca. 2200-2000 BC) and Middle Minoan (ca. 2000-1700 BC) white pigments from Crete have revealed a complex situation in which several different substances were used for the ornament on pottery . The technological situation and the nature of these pigments is still not fully understood. A high-magnesium paint has been tentatively identified a s talc, and a high-calcium paint has been tentatively identified as calcium silicate, but the distribution of these pigments is still not known. A new program of analysis by PIXE at the Bartol Research Institute of the U niversity of Delaware has examined several white pigments from Palaikastro, a site in Eastern Crete, with interesting results. Three different materia ls or mixtures of materials can be identified. None of the pigments is rich in magnesium. All of the paints tested contain substantial amounts of alum inum and silica, with a variable calcium content. One class is high in calc ium, and the second is substantially lower in calcium, but both contain app reciable amounts of iron. The third substance is an iron free white pigment . The materials can be tentatively identified as mixtures of calcium silica tes and aluminosilicates, probably with admired quartz. (C) 2000 Elsevier S cience B.V. All rights reserved.