CJBAS Vol.

(01) - August - Issue 01 (2013) 44-47

Application of TG-DTA to study of Ancient Potteries from Kaveripakkam, Vellore

district, Tamilnadu, India
A.Naseerutheena, R.Ravisankarb G.Raja Annamalaic and A.Chandrasekarand
a

Department of Physics, C. Abdul Hakeem College, Melvisharam-632509, Tamilnadu, India

Post Graduate and Research Department of Physics, Government Arts College, Thiruvanamalai-606603,
Tamilnadu, India
c

Department of Physics, Shri Krishnaa College of Engineering & Technology, Mannadipet,

Puducherry-605501, India
d

Department of Physics, Global Institute of Engineering & Technology, Vellore-632509, Tamilnadu, India

Keywords:

Ancient Pottery,
Thermal analysis,
Firing temperature

Abstract
Ancient Potteries are among the oldest and most significant technological innovations in
the history of human achievement, and were the first truly synthetic material.
Spectroscopic techniques are very useful tools to achieve a detailed knowledge of the art
works. In the present study thermogravimetry (TG) and differential thermal analysis was
carried out for pottery samples recovered from the ancient settlements of kaveripakkam,
Vellore Dist, Tamilnadu to estimate the firing temperature. The TGDTG curves were
obtained in the temperature range 01000C. The results are discussed and the conclusion
is drawn.

1. Introduction
Archaeological research based on the examination of ware shape, color, decoration and overall fabric
provides a wealth of information concerning typological, stylistic and functional issues. To
complement such taxonomy schemes, archaeologists often resort to an interdisciplinary approach
involving physical sciences. The physical properties of the potteries like color, texture and size of the
clay particles composing them can be used in order to determine the technology of manufacture and
method of firing adopted by the communities. The estimation of the firing temperatures throws light on
the pyro-technological abilities of the artisans.

Corresponding author (E-mail: ravisankarphysics@gmail.com, Tel: (+91) 281-443520534).

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A.Naseerutheen et al. CJBAS Vol. (01)-August Issue 01 (2013) 44-47

The firing temperature of the ancient pottery

provides the basics for understanding many
aspects of ancient technology such as
manufacturing techniques and functional
relationships between specific resource
manufacturing combinations. Several methods
of thermal analysis are used in the laboratory to
determine, the firing temperature of ancient
potteries which are based primarily on changes
of physical characteristics occurring when clay
minerals are heated. Firing clays, which contain
40-80% of silica, makes pottery. Thermal
transformations in clay materials during firing
provide a means to estimate the firing
temperature
of
the
artefacts
Using
spectroscopic techniques to artefacts such as
potteries can give insight into its provenance
and production technology
In the pottery production process the heating
rate and length of exposure time to heat (the
soaking time) appear to be the most suitable
parameters for understanding the firing
technology. For this reason the estimate firing
temperature on potsherds is evaluated as
equivalent firing temperature which may not be
the same with the firing temperature set initially
[1-2]. From the knowledge of the equivalent
firing temperature one may be able to conclude
how the firing process evolved and how the raw
clay was tempered and used to model the
vessels.
During the last two decades a lot of scientific
papers is published in thermal analysis of clay
minerals and their transformations using
modern analytical techniques. Clay minerals
are the raw material for the production of
potteries
show
some
characteristic
transformation effects in the course of thermal
decomposition [3]. In this paper, thermal
analysis of potsherds recovered from

Kaveripakkam, Tamilnadu, India using TGDTA technique is outlined.

2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Sample Collection
The pottery samples were recovered from the
ancient settlement site kaveripakkam (1254
lat. N ; 7922 Long .E) of Vellore dist,
Tamilnadu, India. The samples were collected
at 8m from the surface of the soil. The pottery
shreds of kaveripakkam belonging between
800AD and 1800 AD in South India. Red
slipped ware was collected in the site. The
typical collection of pottery samples is shown
in Figure 1. The samples are labelled as KP1, 2,
3& 4. After removal of surface layers, the
pottery sherds were ground into fine powder
using agate mortar. This fine powered is used
for different analyses.
2.2. Thermal analysis (DTA-TG)
Thermal
analysis
that
includes
thermogravimetric (TG) investigations and
differential thermal analysis (DTA) has been
performed using DERIVATOGRAPH 1500Q.
The data were collected up to 1000C with
increments of 10 C/min.

Figure 1. A typical collection of pottery

samples of Kaveripakkam
3. Results and Discussions
A typical TG and DTA curves are shown in
Figure 2 for KP4. The DTA curve for sample

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A.Naseerutheen et al. CJBAS Vol. (01)-August Issue 01 (2013) 44-47

shows both exothermic and endothermic peak

at different temperatures due to the distinct
nature of composition.
According to Clark [4] and Moropoulou [5] the
endothermic peak around 100 to 200C is due
to the moisture water. In KP4 from room
temperature to 290C an endothermic peak was

observed due to water. The exothermic peak in

the range of 300400C in the samples is due to
the combustion of organic material. The
organic material might be added intestinally as
a binder in the preparation of pottery or the raw
material itself contained organic material [5].

Figure 2. DTA and TGA spectrum for KP4

Moropoulou [5], Mohamed Hajjaji [6], Ahlem

Chakchouk [7] stated in their study that the
endothermic peak at 450 to 650C is due to the
dehydroxylation of kaolanite The presence of
this characteristic thermic peak indicates that
the kaolanite mineral survived the firing
process applied by the ancient pottery. In KP4,
the absence of this endothermic peak in
indicates that the shreds were fired above this
temperature. According to Clark [4], the
absence of exothermic peak between 900
1000C indicates that the pottery had not been
fired above this temperature. The samples taken
for the study not showed exothermic in this
region, indicating all the samples fired at 900C

or
below.
Further
the
absence
of
dehydroxylation of kaolinte peak and
exothermic peak at 900C indicates that these
samples would have been fired between 650 to
900C.
The following steps are used to estimate the
firing temperature analysis in weight loss of
the pottery in thermogravimetric method
1. Low temperature , below
400C
involving dehydration
2. Intermediate temperature (400C
500C) involving dehydroxylation
3. Decomposition of carbonates mainly
calcite (700-800C)
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A.Naseerutheen et al. CJBAS Vol. (01)-August Issue 01 (2013) 44-47

The sample (KP4) doesn't show the

decomposition of calcite which occurs 700 to
800C indicating calcite was absent in the
samples. It indicates that samples were fired
below 900C. The mass loss on temperature
intervals is not uniform in the samples may be
due to the mineral composition of pottery
sherds.

[4]

Clark G., Leach B.F. and OConner S/

(Ed).: Islands of inquiry: Colonization,
Seafaring and the Archeology of Maritime
Landscape papers in honor of Atholl
Anderson, Terra Australia, Australian
National university press, 435452 (2008).

[5] Moropoulou A., Bakolas A. and Bisbikou

K.: Thermal analysis as a method of
characterizing
ancient
ceramic
technologies. Thermochemica Acta, 2570,
743753 (1995).

4. Conclusion
The thermal analysis of the ancient potteries
shows that the samples were fired below
900C. Further this analysis indicates that the
dehydroxylation and the organic material used
in making of pottery. The application of DTATG
technique
allowed
the
thermal
characterization of ancient potteries. The future
work plans to confirm the firing temperature
analysis using analytical techniques.

[6] Mohamed Hajjaji, Salah Kacim, Mohamed

Boulmane.:
Mineralogy
and
firing
characteristics of a clay from the valley of
Ourika. Applied Clay Science, 21, 203212
(2002).
[7] Ahlem Chakchouk, Lotfi Trifi, Basma
Samet and Samir Bouaziz.: Formulation of
blended cement: Effect of process variables
on clay pozzolanic activity. Construction
and Building Materials, 23, 13651373
(2009).

References
[1] Gosselain O.P.: Bonfire of the enquiries.
Pottery firing temperatures in archaeology:
what for?. Journal of Archaeological
Science, 19, 243-259 (1992).
[2] Livingstone Smith A.: Bonfire II: the return
of pottery firing temperatures. Journal of
Archaeological Science, 28, 991-1003
(2001).
[3] Ravisankar R., Raja Annamalai G.,
Naseerutheen A., Chandrasekaran A.,
Prasad.M.V.R.,
Satpathy
K.K.,
Maheswaran
C.:
Analytical
characterization of recently excavated
megalithic sarcophagi potsherds in
Veeranam village, Tiruvannamalai dist.,
Tamilnadu, India. Spectrochimica Acta
Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular
Spectroscopy.115 ,845-853 (2013)

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