THE ISLAMIC CERAMIC OF THE SANTARÉM ALCAÇOVA: RAW MATERIALS, TECHNOLOGY, AND TRADE

Abstract

This study focuses on the analysis of Islamic ceramics from the Alcaçova of Santarém, Portugal. To establish the ceramic raw material provenance and ceramic technology, a set of raw materials was sampled and compared with the archaeological ceramics. Raw materials were dry sieved to increase the clay content, to reconstruct the ceramist homogenization pro- cess, and to evaluate chemical and mineralogical variation. Results showed that two raw ma- terials were selected for local ceramic production, whereas some artefacts were imported.