A Mössbauer study of an ancient pottery figure (Western-Han dynasty)

The grey pottery figure manufactured in the Western-Han Dynasty (175-118 B.C.) and the clay gathered from the same site of Beidongshan in Xuzhou have been studied by X-ray Diffraction(XRD). X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), and Mössbauer spectroscopy. They were simultaneously fired under the same conditions in different atmospheres at various temperature up to 1100°C. This study deals with the original firing atmosphere, original firing temperature and its provenance. The information mentioned above can be inferred from the method of the refiring pottery and the firing clay. The results of the original firing temperature deduced from both of them are in goodself agreement. It is found that the values of the Mössbauer parameters for the unrefired pottery figure are approximately the same as those for the clay fired at 950°C for five hours in a reduced atmosphere. The XRF analysis confirmed the locality of this pottery figure.