A pilot archaeometric analysis of the Middle Iron age pottery from Argištiḫinili
2025, 34, Numer 1
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The newly launched Armenian-Polish archaeological project at Davti Blur, a hill located in the western part of the ancient site of Argištiḫinili, presents a valuable opportunity to conduct comprehensive research on the distribution and consumption of pottery within this Urartian city. This article presents the first stage of the study, which focuses on pXRF analysis of a ceramic assemblage comprising 134 potsherds, diverse in terms of ware types, functionality, context, and chronology. The assemblage includes, among others, fragments of high-quality Urartian Red Burnished Ware discovered in the palatial complexes of both citadels, domestic pottery from the lower town, and funerary vessels from a newly identified urnfield cemetery. Most of the fragments date to the Late Urartian period (first half of the 7th century BCE), although the assemblage also contains sherds attributed to the post-Urartian period (late 7th–6th centuries BCE). The article explores the correlations between geochemical compositional variability and the typological as well as spatial diversity of the ceramics under investigation.
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