Towards an Integrated Approach to Studying the Stratified Ceramics from Dandanakan/Daş Rabat, Turkmenistan (9th–12th Centuries a.d. )

Abstract

This study draws on archaeological, stylistic, and technological evidence to explore ceramic and brick production of the medieval Islamic period in the southern Karakum region in Turkmenistan, home to many urban sites along the so-called Silk Roads. We focus on a 9th–12th centuries a.d. assemblage recovered from the site of Dandanakan/Daş Rabat during the first season of ToKa (Town of Karakum project) in 2019. Special emphasis is paid to characterizing the local ceramic fabrics and ceramic technologies through macroscopic examination and petrography, SEM-EDS, and FTIR analyses. Our results show that unglazed and glazed earthenware were manufactured using two local or regional clay outcrops, also employed in the brick kilns detected outside of Dandanakan’s city walls. A different clay was used for the slip of the glazed earthenware. These all had high lead-silica glazes, except for the turquoise glazes detected on both earthen- and siliceous wares.