Insights into the production technology of north-Mesopotamian Bronze Age pottery

With the aim of contributing to the knowledge of north-Mesopotamian Bronze Age pottery production (3rd millennium BC, early Dynastic and early Akkadian period), the mineralogy of pottery excavated from the site of Tell Beydar (Syria) has been studied in order to make inferences concerning the clay preparation and firing techniques of that period. The fired pottery finds have been classified by archaeologists into three distinct groups on the basis of their aesthetic and visual appearance and their mechanical strength: standard, cooking and “metallic” ware.