Islamic Pottery from Ancient Termez (Uzbekistan)

The study deals with the Islamic pottery from Termez (southern Uzbekistan), with a special focus on the wares dated to the 9th-12th centuries. The city was a major urban settlement, along one of the routes of the Silk Road. Ceramics, both glazed and unglazed, were produced in several workshops located in the lower city (shahristan) and its suburbs (rabad). Glazed and unglazed wares, including cooking pots, two pottery moulds and two sphero-conical vessels from two excavated areas at Termez are examined by X-ray Fluorescence, X-ray Diffraction, and petrographic thin section analysis. Clayey sediments from different areas of the site are incorporated as a local reference for comparison. The aim is to examine the provenance of the vessels and to determine the production techniques. The results reveal that all the vessels were produced by using calcareous clays and most of them exhibit similar geochemical composition; nevertheless, several chemical groups and petrographic fabrics were identified. XRD points that firing temperatures were generally between 800 and 1000-1100°C, being the latter prevalent. The results of this study are remarkable since archaeometric researches on Central Asian pottery are still few

Archaeology · Geochemistry · Geography · Mineralogy · Petrography · Pottery · Provenance · Settlement (finance · Archaeological Research and Protection · Building materials and conservation · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · Geology

• Ceramic supply at the Uzundara Hellenistic fortress on the Bactrian-Sogdian border

  Open Access•V Martínez Ferreras, Nigora Dvurechenskaya•Archaeological Research in Asia•2026

  Incluir item

• Continuity and change in coarse ware manufacture in North-Western Bactria between the Kushan and high medieval periods

  Open Access•V Martínez Ferreras, Maura M Bestetti et al.•Archaeological Research in Asia•2026

  Incluir item

• Islamic glazed wares from ancient Termez (southern Uzbekistan). Raw materials and techniques

  Open Access•Judit Molera, V Martínez Ferreras et al.•Journal of Archaeological Science…•2020

  Incluir item

• Les céramiques anciennes sous le regard des archéosciences

  Open Access•Nadia Cantina, Ayed Ben Amara et al.•ArchéoSciences•2019

  Incluir item

• Zooarchaeology of ancient Termez (Uzbekistan)

  Open Access•Rodrigo Portero, Enrique Ariño Gil et al.•Archaeological Research in Asia•2022

  Incluir item

• Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Tableware and Common Wares from Early Medieval Tokharistan

  Open Access•Maura M Bestetti, V Martínez Ferreras et al.•Heritage•2025

  Incluir item

• Islamic ancient Termez

  Open Access•Agnese Fusaro, Josep María Gurt i Esparraguera et al.•Archaeological Research in Asia•2022

  Incluir item

• Early Medieval coarse wares from northern Bactria-Tokharistan. Archaeological and archaeometric characterization

  Open Access•Maura M Bestetti, V Martínez Ferreras et al.•Archaeological Research in Asia•2022

  Incluir item

• Ancient pottery in Central Asia. Archaeological and archaeometric approaches. Introduction to the special issue

  Open Access•Elise Luneau, V Martínez Ferreras•Archaeological Research in Asia•2025

  Incluir item

• Hematite nucleation and growth in the firing of carbonate-rich clay for pottery production

  Open Access•Luca Nodari, E Marcuz et al.•Journal of the European Ceramic…•2007

  Incluir item

• Carbonate and silicate phase reactions during ceramic firing

  Open Access•Giuseppe Cultrone, Carlos Rodriguez-Navarro et al.•European Journal of Mineralogy•2001

  Incluir item

• Mineralogical transformations of calcareous rich clays with firing

  Open Access•M J Trindade, M Trindade et al.•Applied Clay Science•2009

  Incluir item

• Temperature evolution inside a pot during experimental surface (bonfire) firing

  Open Access•Marino Maggetti, CH NEURURER et al.•Applied Clay Science•2011

  Incluir item

• Geomorphology and Late Holocene morphogenesis of Tchinguiz Tepe hill (Old Termez, Uzbekistan, Central Asia)

  Open Access•Ana Sánchez del Corral, Hubert Thum•Quaternary International•2012

  Incluir item

• Assessing Hellenistic to nomadic cultural patterns through pottery in ancient Termez, Uzbekistan

  Open Access•V Martínez Ferreras, Andreas Angourakis et al.•Geoarchaeology•2018

  Incluir item

• Alteration and Contamination of Archaeological Ceramics

  Open Access•J Buxeda I Garrigós•Journal of Archaeological Science•1999

  Incluir item

• Étude du matériel de Hulbuk (Ma wara’al-nahr-Khuttal), de la conquête islamique jusqu'au milieu du XI e siècle (90/712-441/1050)

  Maggy Siméon, M Pierre Siméon•Étude du matériel de Hulbuk (Mā…•2009

  Incluir item

• The Islamic Ancient Termez Through the Lens of Ceramics

  V Martínez Ferreras, Agnese Fusaro et al.•Iran•2019

  Incluir item

• Pottery from Jām

  Alison L Gascoigne, Rebecca Bridgman•Iran•2010

  Incluir item

• Nishapur Revisited

  Rocco Rante, Annabelle Collinet•Nishapur Revisited•2013

  Incluir item

• Tableware in the Hellenistic Tradition from the City of Kampyr Tepe in Ancient Bactria (Uzbekistan)

  Open Access•V Martínez Ferreras, J M Gurt Esparraguera et al.•Archaeometry•2016

  Incluir item

• Phosphates in Archaeological Finds

  Open Access•Lara Maritan, Claudio Mazzoli•Archaeometry•2004

  Incluir item

• Pottery Production in the Buddhist Communities in Central Asia

  Open Access•Evanthia Tsantini, V Martínez Ferreras et al.•Archaeometry•2016

  Incluir item