Ilaria Caloi nous présentera ses récents travaux alliant analyses macroscopiques, archéologie expérimentale et techniques d'imagerie (micro-CT scan) pour mieux saisir les modes de façonnage de la céramique minoenne

The sole autoptic analysis is often not sufficient to identify the primary forming techniques used to produce a vessel, especially if there is a combination of hand building and potter’s wheel. I will present here a new study, recently conducted with my colleague F. Bernardini, combining macroscopic observations and X-ray microCT analysis on experimental cups. The later are replicas of Minoan conical cups typical of MM IIA Phaistos, reproduced using a combination of hand-building technique and potter’s wheel. The results obtained by this recent work indicate that the visualization of topographic thickness variation in vessels walls, identification of possible structural joints in virtual sections, and evaluation of voids orientation, when integrated with traditional macroscopic analysis, allow one to recognise the primary forming techniques and enable the reconstruction of complex ceramic technological processes.