Deciphering ceramics manufacturing techniques from the medieval city of Qalhât, Oman.
[sciencythoughts.blogspot.com]
At the beginning of the first millennium AD, the Indian Ocean became a region of long-distance trade between the Middle East, India, South(east)-Asia and Africa, thanks to monsoon winds. The Qalhât site (Sultanate of Oman) located near the Ra’s al-Hadd was a key harbour city for short- to long-distance trade from the 13th to the 15th century. The city was founded around 1100 AD, sacked by the Portuguese in 1508 and becametotally abandoned during the 16th century. More than two hundred thousand ceramic shards have been excavated from this site, and preliminary visual classifications based on shape and decors, as well Raman and X-ray fluorescence studies have been carried out. Many questions are still open for pottery characterised by a simple monochrome glaze and a porous body intermediate between that of terra cotta and faience. There are two well defined groups by visual examination, the so-called ‘Blue speckled’ and ‘Brown speckled’ wares; these are commonly found in many sites of the Arabic Peninsula and their place of production is highly disputed.
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