Twenty samples from different clay deposits nearby the main archeological sites in the Colline Metallifere and Val di Cornia areas have been studied in mineralogical, chemical and micro-paleontological investigations. The study has the aim to acquire data useful for an in-depth evaluation of the deposits and to reveal possible connections with the ceramic production of the area, the presence of primary centers and any difference between coastal and mainland manufacture (Fig.1).

 

X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) has been performed in order to investigate the mineralogical composition of some samples, both considering the main mineralogical phases and clay minerals. The mineralogical investigation was carried out via a PANalytical X’Pert PRO PW3040 diffractometer with a Bragg-Brentano geometry, equipped with a PW3015 X’Celerator detector and a CuKα tube (working range 40kV and 40mA), together with a Multi-Purpose Sample Stage for analysis on bothpowders and fragments.

Major and trace elements were determined by ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) and ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry) via a Perkin-Elmer-Sciex and a Pelkin Elmer Optima 2000DV spectrometer, respectively. Geological standards were used for calibration (AGV-1 and SDC-1). Major and minor elements (MgO, SiO2, K2O, CaO, Al2O3, TiO2, Fe2O3, Na2O, Rb, Ba and Ni) and rare earths (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Ho, Er, Yb, Lu) were used for PCA in order to stress differences in raw materials and for provenance studies.

Planktonic and benthonic foraminifera have been studied for bio-chronostratigraphical and paleoenvironmental investigation of the samples with significant microfossil assemblages (Fig.2).