Between mighty hillforts: a multi-method study of Laukskola Bronze Age settlement pottery
Volume 28 (2021), pp. 81–100
Pub. online: 29 December 2021
Type: Article
Open Access
Open Access
Received
6 July 2021
6 July 2021
Revised
4 September 2021
4 September 2021
Accepted
29 September 2021
29 September 2021
Published
29 December 2021
29 December 2021
Abstract
This paper presents the results of a multi-method study of the Laukskola Late Bronze Age open
field settlement pottery assemblage. The aim of the study was to describe the technical and stylistic
aspects of Laukskola pottery, and their relationship with the nearby hillfort material. The production
tendencies and their role in the function of the pottery were also analysed. Macroscopic
analysis combined with ceramic petrography, reflective transformation imaging, and wavelength
dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy were conducted in the analysis of the pottery. Nearby
clay resources were surveyed and further analysed for provenance interpretations. The results of
the study show that Laukskola pottery was locally produced by using highly plastic sandy moraine
clay, tempered with granitic rock and quartzite. Stylistically, the pottery combined local and nonlocal
elements. The function corresponds with the visual parameters and choices for production.