Analytical techniques in provenance determination of archaeological objects from Lower Silesia Barbara Lyd _ zba-Kopczyn ´ ska a, * , E. Zych a , C. August b , G. Rusek a , A. Pankiewicz c a Faculty of Chemistry, University of Wroclaw, ul. F. Joliot-Curie 14, 50-383 Woclaw, Poland b Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Wroclaw, pl. M. Borna 9, 50-204 Wrocław, Poland c Institute of Archaeology, University of Wroclaw, ul. Szewska 48, 50-138 Wrocław, Poland article info Article history: Received 19 December 2007 Accepted 4 February 2008 Available online 28 March 2008 Keywords: Micro-Raman spectroscopy Mineralogy X-ray powder diffraction Thermal analysis Ceramic abstract Raman spectroscopy, a non-destructive technique, appears to be a very useful research technique in archaeology and geology. In the presented study Raman spectroscopy proved to be an efficient, fast and informative tool to determine the provenance of archaeological objects found in the excavations of Lower Silesia (Poland). The combined spectroscopic, X-ray powder diffraction and petrographic methods allowed for determina- tion of the provenance and the mineralogical composition of archaeological vessels manufactured in late 9th and the turn of the 10th century that were found in Gilów located at the Sudety Foothils (south-wes- tern Poland). The analysis revealed that most of the investigated ceramics were manufactured locally, however two out of three investigated pottery groups show influence of south style originating from Moravia, a historical region located in the Eastern part of Czech Republic and South of Gilów. Ó 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction One of the most important questions asked by archaeology is the provenance of the excavated object, since any archaeological item could have been produced locally at the place where it was found or transported to the site from a location where it was orig- inally manufactured. Identification of the excavated material origin is by no means easy and straightforward. Only the power of com- bined analytical techniques allows for confident and detailed establishment of the geographical origin of the raw material used to manufacture the investigated object. Trace element methodol- ogy (ICP-inductively coupled plasma, XRD – X-ray diffraction, XRF – X-ray fluorescence, NAA – neutron activation analysis) is usually applied to assess the problem [1,2]. In the growing number of recently reported applications Raman spectroscopy [3] and other techniques (X-ray powder diffraction, mineralogical meth- ods) [4] have proven to be successful in characterization of the investigated object and determination its provenance. Early medieval stronghold in Gilów is located in the southwest part of Poland, northeast from Owls Mountains and in close prox- imity to the mountain massive of S ´ le ˛ _ za. This defensive foundation, one of the biggest medieval remains found in Silesia, consisted of two or possibly three parts that were surrounded by a moat and covered more than 4.5 ha in total (Fig. 1). The two fully recon- structed parts of the fortified site at Gilów are fairly well analyzed thanks to the thorough archaeological work that started in 1957. The fortification was set up about 890 and it was abundant proba- bly around 910–915. Gilów differs structurally from other tribal strongholds in the region so it is believed to be built by newcomers originating from Moravia (Czech Republic). This suggestion brought by the construction of the fortification is supported by other findings, like jewellery, parts of weapons and common, every day use tools and ceramics. The influence of south pottery can be seen in ornaments, shape and the colour of burn. Also technologi- cal features like: producing ceramics of clay containing sand, relief modulation and potter’s mark on the bottoms testify to the south- ern connections [5]. Since the stronghold was founded by people coming from south it seems legitimate to question if the pottery excavated in Gilów was made locally or brought there by the town builders from Moravia. First approaches to provenance identification of objects found in Gilów included petrological analysis of materials made of stone. The studies revealed that most of the investigated samples were made from locally available material, however the data obtained for several objects suggested unknown (no-Sudetes originating) source of stone [6]. The pottery found in Gilów, based on technical and stylistic dis- crepancies, can be divided into three groups [7] Group one, called ‘‘Smooth” is described as a local pottery. The second group, called ‘‘Great Moravian Ceramic”, can be distinguished by the presence of south pottery ornaments that originate from Moravia. And the third group, called ‘‘Mixed”, is characterized by presence of both local and south styles. 0022-2860/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.molstruc.2008.02.049 * Corresponding author. Tel.: + 48 71 375 7379; fax: +48 71 328 2348. E-mail address: barl@wchuwr.pl (B. Lyd _ zba-Kopczyn ´ ska). Journal of Molecular Structure 887 (2008) 41–47 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Molecular Structure journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/molstruc