Composition analysis of medieval ceramics by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique is expected to be one of the most preferred techniques in archaeology research since it does not disrupt the structural and chemical form of archaeological samples, and it is considered virtually nondestructive analysis method. In this work, LIBS is used for analyses of glaze, paint, and clay of medieval ceramics collected from East Plain Cilicia, Osmaniye Province during archaeological survey. Transparent glazed and colour-painted ceramics of the Islam and Byzantine pottery traditions are analysed to detect distinctive and common features of the chemical compositions of their glazes. The spectral lines of Islamic and Byzantine glazes indicate that their structures are same. However, strontium (Sr) is determined in the transparent glaze of Islamic ceramics. Elemental composition and homogeneity of paint on one of the sample are determined by LIBS analysis. Colour changes are related with composition differences of the paint content in the archaeological ceramic. In addition, the clay classification of archaeological ceramics taken from the Yapılıpınar mounds, Taşlıhöyük mounds, and Örenşehir ancient sites is done using PCA and PLS-DA chemometric techniques. According to the results of the classification, Yapılıpınar mounds terracotta ceramics differ from those of Taşlıhöyük and Örenşehir ancient sites.