# The Interdisciplinary Approach of Some Middle Bronze Age Pottery from Eastern Romania
## 3 Results and Discussions
### Interdisciplinary Analyses
#### 3.2.3 \(\mu\)FTIR Analyses  
The \(\mu\)FTIR analyses performed for all 11 samples showed similarities in terms of chemical compounds present in the raw clay used for pottery making. The appearance of the obtained spectra is the same, except for the L11 fragment, which is a feature that will be discussed at length (Figure 10). The range 4000-3000 cm\({}^{-1}\) is attributed to water [45], and the absorbed water [46; 47] from the samples was also detected through obvious peaks from \(\sim\)3368 cm\({}^{-1}\) and \(\sim\)1630 cm\({}^{-1}\), corresponding to the -OH deformations, most likely as a result of deposition processes. Kaolinite (Al\({}_{2}\)Si\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{5}\)(OH)\({}_{4}\)) was identified in almost all samples by peak position in the region 3500-3750 cm\({}^{-1}\)[46; 48; 49]. All fragments were fired at temperatures above 500 \({}^{\circ}\)C, as indicated by the absence of the 915 cm\({}^{-1}\) doublets [46; 50; 51] of kaolinite, except for the L11 sample. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Sample**} & \multicolumn{8}{c}{**Elemental Composition in Weight Percent (\%)**} \\ \cline{2-11}  & **Si** & **Al** & **P** & **Mg** & **Ca** & **K** & **Na** & **Fe** & **Ti** & **C** & **O** \\ \hline L1 & 24.65 & 9.42 & 1.30 & 0.84 & 1.83 & 3.76 & 0.34 & 4.63 & 1.43 & - & 51.80 \\ L2 & 22.30 & 9.96 & 2.10 & 1.46 & 1.86 & 2.50 & 0.60 & 3.42 & 0.72 & 0.64 & 54.44 \\ L3 & 26. In all analyzed samples, calcite (CaCO\({}_{3}\)) was identified by peaks at \(\sim\)2970 cm\({}^{-1}\), \(\sim\)2936 cm\({}^{-1}\), \(\sim\)2519 cm\({}^{-1}\), \(\sim\)737 cm\({}^{-1}\). In addition, the presence of carbonates [51,52] is visible from the broad band at 1300-1500 cm\({}^{-1}\), which indicates that the firing temperatures of the vessels did not exceed 700-750 \({}^{\circ}\)C [51]. At \(\sim\)706 cm\({}^{-1}\), aragonite was identified [53], the anhydrous variant of calcium carbonate, which was present in five samples (L2, L4, L6, L8, L9). Silicates are represented by the Si-H stretching of quartz [45] in the region 1900-1870 cm\({}^{-1}\), the representative peaks from 1973 cm\({}^{-1}\) and 1870 cm\({}^{-1}\) being visible in all samples. Moreover, quartz [48, 49, 50, 54, 55] was also identified at \(\sim\)2231 cm\({}^{-1}\), \(\sim\)1162 cm\({}^{-1}\) and \(\sim\)692 cm\({}^{-1}\). Wollastonite [49] (CaSiO\({}_{3}\)) was identified at 925 cm\({}^{-1}\) in sample L7 and at 1055 cm\({}^{-1}\) in the L8. In the same sample, the presence of diopside [49] (CaMg[Si\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{6}\)]) at 628 cm\({}^{-1}\) was highlighted so that both identified minerals come from the raw clay. In addition, muscovite [56,57] (KAl\({}_{3}\)Si\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{10}\)(OH)\({}_{2}\)) is present in all samples at 1270-1272 cm\({}^{-1}\) and \(\sim\)818 cm\({}^{-1}\). Feldspars are present at \(\sim\)1772 cm\({}^{-1}\), establishing their alkaline nature by identifying the anorthoclase [51,56] ((NaK)[AlSi\({}_{3}\)O\({}_{8}\)]) at \(\sim\)667 cm\({}^{-1}\) and albite [49,51,58] (NaAlSi\({}_{3}\)O\({}_{8}\)) at \(\sim\)645 cm\({}^{-1}\). Iron oxides [51] were detected in all samples at \(\sim\)656 cm\({}^{-1}\). The presence of feldspars is related to the aluminosilicates, potassium and magnesium from the EDX analysis. The presence of iron oxides identified by macro- and microscopy is also found in the \(\upmu\)FTIR spectra, which supports the ferruginous nature of clay established by EDX. The high phosphorus concentration identified by the EDX analysis and the lack of phosphates in the \(\upmu\)FTIR spectra supports the hypothesis on the origin of this element from vessel usage. Although no carbon was identified in some fragments, the correlation of EDX results with \(\upmu\)FTIR spectra indicated the presence of carbonates and calcite in all samples so that the firing temperatures did not exceed the decomposition limit of carbonates.