Spaces and lifestyles from the Portuguese period in Northern Africa: cities and towns of the “Overseas Gharb” (15th to 17th centuries)
Among the several findings uncovered during the archaeological excavations carried out in Qsar es-Seghir the number of ceramic objects that need to be studied is humongous. According to previous archaeological works, these ceramic artifacts may came both from local sources in Northern Morocco and exogenous ones, mainly Portugal and Spain, but also other Mediterranean, Atlantic and even Asiatic ports. Whether they came from one place or another is a question that is yet to be solved, and even when general location is known, a more precise provenance can provide important data for historical analysis. In fact, this research is crucial not only to recognize the daily life change from Muslim to Christian society, but also to understand the logistic of the town’s supply and trade networks during Portuguese period.
In this project, the mineralogical and geochemichal characteristics of the analyzed ceramic bodies and those from different clay pits in Morocco, Portugal and Spain will be essayed, in order to thoroughly determine their provenance (geological origin). Besides, we will study the technological features of the different ceramic artifacts (firing temperatures, glazes, and pigments). In this context, statistically significant sampling of ceramic artifacts, considering the different typologies and decorations that were found in Qsar es-Seghir, will be carried out for chemical, mineralogical and textural characterization of both ceramic body and glazes or slips.
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Financiación
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, 2014 Call for Scientific Research & Technological Development Project Grants (PTDC/EPH-PAT/4174/2014)
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Periodo:
- 2016-2017
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Investigador Principal:
- Dr. Jorge Manuel Simão Alves Correia (Universidade do Minho)
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Investigador arkeomat:
- Dr. Javier Garcia Iñañez (Dpt. Geografía, Prehistoria y Arqueología, UPV/EHU; IKERBASQUE Basque Foundation for Science)