Greyware pottery from Sant Miquel de la Vall: some throughts about the distribution and exchange of utilitarian cooking pots in medieval Catalonia

Abstract

Medieval greyware pottery from Sant Miquel de la Vall presents a specific case for the study of this type of production in Catalonia. The archaeometric characterization of a group of 10 samples, consisting of their petrographic analysis based on the microscopical examination of thin sections and their chemical and mineral characterization through the analysis of X Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and X Ray Diffraction (XRD), has allowed to identify up to four different productions, some of which have also been retrieved in distant sites located on the areas of Anoia and Gironès. The aim of this paper is to present some thoughts about the possible routes of distribution and exchange of pottery in the Middle Age and on the role played by the rivers Segre, Llobregat and Ter in connecting different sites throughout the Catalan landscape between 11th and 12th centuries.