Archaeomagnetic reconstruction on the firing orientation of Italian Terra Sigillata ware

Bibliographic Data

ID24218582
AuthorsElena Arbolino (0009-0003-0673-7644), Anita Di Chiara (0000-0002-9106-9796), Raquel Bonilla-Alba (0000-0001-5678-6522), Claudia Pandolfi, Viola Federico, Gianluca Soricelli (0000-0001-7444-7487), Simona Morretta, Fabio Florindo (0000-0002-6058-9748)
Year2026
Volume76
Pages106104
Publication date2026-12-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Archaeological Science Reports (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2352-409X • E-ISSN: 2352-4103
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jasrep.2026.106104
OpenAlexW7220413519
LanguageEN
References cited39

Archaeomagnetism, the application of paleomagnetic methods to archaeological materials, can be used not only for chronological dating but also to address unresolved questions in cultural heritage research and archaeology by investigating ancient technologies. In this study, we focus on a longstanding unresolved question in Roman ceramic production: the loading configuration and stacking patterns of vessels inside kilns. We apply archaeomagnetic methods to 11 Italian Terra Sigillata (ITS) plate fragments. The samples were excavated from the Q15 Well at Largo Amba Aradam (Rome), span from the late 1 st century BCE to the early 2 nd century CE and are typologically attributed to Central Italian workshops. Rock magnetic analyses indicate that the primary magnetic carrier is cation substituted magnetite, likely titanomagnetite, and predominant pseudo-single-domain grain sizes. Reliable characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) inclinations were successfully recovered from 8 of the 11 fragments. Strikingly, all reliable fragments yielded consistently negative inclinations ranging from 37° and −57°. Given that the Earth’s magnetic field maintained a positive inclination in this region throughout the Roman period, the negative inclinations provide a strong geophysical constraint that these plates were fired in an inverted, face-down (base-up) position. This uniform orientation across fragments from different regional workshops may indicate that Roman potters employed highly standardized technological procedures. Stacking plates upside down likely maximised kiln space for maximum structural stability while simultaneously protecting the high-quality, stamped internal faces of the vessels from falling kiln debris and ash. This study highlights how an interdisciplinary approach can successfully resolve ambiguous archaeological hypotheses regarding ancient industrial workflows.

Archaeomagnetic dating · pottery firing · Roman pottery · terra sigillata · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies · Image Processing and 3D Reconstruction

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