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IV. ANALYSIS OF THE POTTERY
1. Fabric Analysis
The analysis of ceramic fabrics has been revolutionised by the adoption of
petrological techniques (cf. for example Peacock 1970; 1977a). These
enable visually similar wares to be differentiated, for example by the
recording of the quantities of certain 'heavy minerals' present in the
clay, or by the counting of grains of specified minerals present in a thin
section. The allocation of fabrics to sources may be
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achieved by comparison with kiln-associated fabrics, or
with geological samples (e.g. Drury 1978, 58; Williams 1977). A major
disadvantage of petrological analysis is its cost in terms of time and
money, which effectively restricts its application in projects of the kind
undertaken by the present author. Furthermore, the differentiation of
visibly-similar wares is not always successful (cf. Fulford 1975b). It
would be difficult to justify the use of petrological techniques to
differentiate visibly dissimilar wares, and
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