Plaster Analysis: The Microanalytic Characterization of Plaster Samples

Abstract

The goal of this study was to establish chronological and technological relationships between the various plasters on the walls in different areas in this house. This required the development of formal criteria for distinguishing plaster types independent of the architectural and stylistic analysis. With these formal criteria defined, technical and chronological analysis of the plasters could proceed.Quantitative analysis of wall plasters presents several new challenges for archaeological characterization work. Unlike ceramics or lithics which are typically small and where one or two samples are sufficient to reflect the range of variability in each artefact, wall plasters present an entirely different magnitude of problem for sampling. As the product of a single plastering event the size of the resulting plaster artefact can be many kilograms extending over an entire house.¹¹⁰Where normally artefacts such as ceramics reflect one technological treatment, a single wall-plastering event can involve several distinct technologies in different areas within a structure. Where artefacts such as ceramics are synthesized in a finite sequence of discrete steps, a plastering event can involve numerous overlapping stages of production (e.g. plastering and decoration) taking place at the same time in different parts of a structure.