Comparative analysis of natural raw materials and ceramic items from the excavations of the Markula hillfort and the pottery production center near the Atara village in Eastern Abkhazia

The paper provides results of the comparative analysis of the ceramic items, samples of natural clay and sand from the Markula hillfort and the pottery production center near the Atara village located in Eastern Abkhazia. The studies were carried out using the methodology developed by A. A. Bobrinskiy and X-ray diffraction analysis to verify the earlier data on distinctive features of the natural raw material used to produce ceramics in this district. These analyses confirmed presence of substantial quantities of sand from hematite and goethite which are ore minerals, in the natural raw material (clay and sand) and the ceramics retrieved from these two sites. The concentration of hematite and goethite in the baked ceramics amounts to 5-7 wt% of hematite sand. This characteristic can be considered as a signature of the ceramics made in the geological district that also includes the area east of the Kodor river between the Markula hillfort and the Atara village. The analysis identified common traditions of ceramic making at these sites (clay + sand + organic solution) and use of the same stamps on the pithoi; it can be also inferred from the analysis that in the 3rd-14th centuries the same population inhabited this area where various pottery production centers functioned.