FOCUS: Provenance of ceramics revealed by magnetic susceptibility and thermoluminescence

A new method for provenance determination of ceramics is presented. The sam ples were measured for magnetic susceptibility and for the TL intensity pro duced by artificially induced radiation in a pre-heated sample. Characteris tic differences in magnetic susceptibility and TL sensitivity were found to exist between different clay sources, and in a diagram of susceptibility v ersus TL intensity, ceramics of different provenances often plot in distinc tly different areas. Samples of 0-01-1 g of burnt clay were used. The metho d has been tested on a dozen archaeological sites, three of which are prese nted here as examples. Choice of tempering material, firing temperature, an d oxygen tension during firing affect the susceptibility and the TL signals somewhat, and these effects have been tested experimentally.