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Geological–structural map of Sicily and adjacent offshore area (modified from Catalano, Valenti, et al., 2013 with reference therein). The inset maps show (a) tectonic map of central Mediterranean area (foreland basins are shaded dark grey); and (b) main structural elements of the Sicilian chain.
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We present a 1:25.000 scale geological map of the Kumeta-Pizzuta ridge in northwestern Sicily (Italy), achieved by integrating stratigraphic, structural and geophysical data. In this area, the tectonic edifice results from the piling-up of deep-water-, carbonate platform-and pelagic platform-derived tectonic units (Imerese and Sicilide, Panormide a...
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... present an updated 1:25,000 scale geological map of the Kumeta-Pizzuta ridges located in western Sicily, Italy (Figure 1). This area represents a key sector of the Sicilian Fold and Thrust Belt (FTB) where the superpo- sition of the deep-water Imerese units over the carbon- ate platform Trapanese units produces tectonic structures and interference pattern inherited from sub- sequent tectonic events. ...
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... Sicilian orogen (Figure 1), located in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea at the NE corner of the Tuni- sian-Sicilian promontory (northern African continen- tal margin, Figure 1(a)), links the Southern Apennines and the Calabrian Arc to the Tellian and Atlas systems of North Africa (Figure 1(a)). ...
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... Sicilian orogen (Figure 1), located in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea at the NE corner of the Tuni- sian-Sicilian promontory (northern African continen- tal margin, Figure 1(a)), links the Southern Apennines and the Calabrian Arc to the Tellian and Atlas systems of North Africa (Figure 1(a)). ...
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... Sicilian orogen (Figure 1), located in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea at the NE corner of the Tuni- sian-Sicilian promontory (northern African continen- tal margin, Figure 1(a)), links the Southern Apennines and the Calabrian Arc to the Tellian and Atlas systems of North Africa (Figure 1(a)). ...
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... Sicilian FTB (Figure 1(b)) is a complex stack of S-and SE-verging imbricates locally more than 15 km thick, whose building up is linked to both the post- collisional convergence between Africa and a complex 'European' crust (Bonardi, Cavazza, Perrone, & Rossi, 2001), and to the coeval roll-back of the subduction hinge of the Ionian lithosphere (Catalano, Valenti, et al., 2013;Doglioni, Gueguen, Harabaglia, & Mongelli, 1999 and references therein). ...
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... study area is located in the southernmost edge of the Palermo Mts (Figure 1; northernmost sector of the emerged Sicilian FTB). In this area, the tectonic edi- fice results from the piling-up of deep-water-, carbon- ate platform-and pelagic platform-derived tectonic units (Imerese and Sicilide, Panormide and Trapanese domains, respectively) originating from deformations of the former northern African continental margin ( Catalano et al., 2000). ...
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... main build-up of the Sicilian tectonic edifice started in the early Miocene and resulted from the over- thrusting of thin, deep-water, carbonate tectonic units (Imerese and Sicanian) above thick, more external, car- bonate platform tectonic units (Panormide, Tranese-Sac- cense; Figure 1) in a general thin-skinned thrust tectonics (Roure, Howell, Muller, & Moretti, 1990); recently, late thick-skinned thrust tectonics has been suggested (Catalano, Valenti, et al., 2013;Gasparo Morticelli et al., 2015). ...
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... Geological sketch maps of the two investigated areas: the SCGWB on the left (a) and the BMGWB on the right (b). In the bottom left, (c) map of Sicily, illustrating the main elements of the foreland-foredeep-chain system, is shown (modified from [52]). The location of the study areas o dashed line) and BMGWB (blue dashed line) is highlighted in this latter map. ...
... The description of units and tectonic structures of the two geological sketch maps is shown in the bottom-right panel. elements of the foreland-foredeep-chain system, is shown (modified from [52]). The location of the study areas of SCGWB (red dashed line) and BMGWB (blue dashed line) is highlighted in this latter map. ...
The integration of various geophysical methodologies is considered a fundamental tool for accurately reconstructing the extent and shape of a groundwater body and for estimating the physical parameters that characterize it. This is often essential for the management of water resources in areas affected by geological and environmental hazards. This work aims to reconstruct the pattern and extent of two groundwater bodies, located in the coastal sectors of the NorthEastern Sicily, through the integrated analysis and interpretation of several geoelectrical, seismic and geological data. These are the Sant'Agata-Capo D'Orlando (SCGWB) and the Barcelona-Milazzo (BMGWB) Groundwater Bodies, located at the two ends of the northern sector of the Peloritani geological complex. These two studied coastal plains represent densely populated and industrialized areas, in which the quantity and quality of the groundwater bodies are under constant threat. At first, the resistivity models of the two groundwater bodies were realized through the inversion of a dataset of Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES), constrained by stratigraphic well logs data and other geophysical data. The 3D resistivity models obtained by spatially interpolating 1D inverse VES models have allowed for an initial recognition of the distribution of groundwater, as well as a rough geological framework of the subsoil. Subsequently, these models were implemented by integrating results from active and passive seismic data to determine the seismic P and S wave velocities of the main lithotypes. Simultaneous acquisition and interpretation of seismic and electrical tomographies along identical profiles allowed to determine the specific values of seismic velocity, electrical resistivity and chargeability of the alluvial sediments, and to use these values to constrain the HVSR inversion. All this allowed us to recognize the areal extension and thickness of the various lithotypes in the two investigated areas and, finally, to define the depth and the morphology of the base of the groundwater bodies and the thickness of the filling deposits.
... Geologically, the hilly ridge on which the site of Monte Iato lies is composed of a sequence of sedimentary carbonate and terrigenous rocks given ( Fig. 1), from the top to the bottom, by: i) Corleone Calcarenites consisting in biocalcirudites and glauconite-bearing arenites; (Burdigalian-Langhian); ii) Amerillo Formation formed by limestones with chert and planktonic foraminifera (upper Cretaceous-Eocene); iii) Hybla Formation in which marly calcilutite is associated with chert and greenish marls with calcareous plankton, benthonic foraminifera and radiolarians (Upper Valanginian-Albian); iv) Inici Formation in which white algal limestones and dolomitic limestones are alternated with stromatolitic and lopheritic limestones (Hettangian-Sinemurian) (Catalano et al., 2010;Gasparo Morticelli et al., 2017). The hill and mountain around raise among clayey soils referring to different lithostratigraphic units (after Montana et al., 2011a): ...
... -San Cipirello marls formation (Serravallian-Early Tortonian): marls, clays and silty clays rich in well preserved microfossils, mainly deep-water planktonic foraminifera (80%); the older levels can have glauconitic calcarenites, while the most recent dating ones can have poorly sorted quartz-bearing arenites; -Terravecchia formation (Late Tortonian-Early Messian): is composed of different terrigenous and calcareous-terrigenous deposits, of different grain sizes: on the top, there are deposits of clays, and silty clays, followed by quartz-rich sands, sandstones, arenites, and conglomerates. Microfossils are few and badly preserved, and mainly represented by shallow marine benthic foraminifera (Spiroplectammina carinata, Ammonia beccari tepida), and rare planktonic foraminifera (Globigerinoides obliquus extremus biozone) and calcareous nannofossils (Minilytha convallis biozone); -Tavernola formation (Numidian Flysch) (Late Oligocene-Middle Miocene): brown clays, marls, and marly clays, with interbedded Catalano et al., 2010, andGasparo Morticelli et al., 2017). quartz arenites rich in glauconite and arkosic sandstones; planktonic foraminifera (Globoquadrina dehiscens -Catapsydrax dissimilis, Globigerinoides trilobus and Praeorbulina glomerosa s.l. ...
The study explores technological choices and practices of Iron Age pottery production at Monte Iato (Sicily, southern Italy). A set of 76 specimens from the central cult place of the site (600–450 BCE) and belonging to functional categories of serving and consumption of food and drinks, food preparation, cooking and storage were analyzed using macroscopic, mineralogic and petrographic methods. As proxy data, the results revealed varied and multi-layered practices, that do differ in regard to raw material procurement, clay processing as well as firing techniques but at the same time are to some extent linked together through the constant use of grog as temper – a practice detectable over the entire use of the cult site of over 100 years, the use of similar forming techniques, surface treatments and decoration operations.
Keywords: Pottery technology; Chaîne opératoire; Communities of practice; Clay lumps and grog; Monte Iato; Western Sicily
... The area under study lies about 30 km south-west of Palermo. It has recently been the topic of an official geological survey within the CARG Project, coordinated by the Geological Service of Italy, and falls within the Foglio 607 Corleone (Catalano et al. 2010;Gasparo Morticelli et al. 2017). The geomorphological structure of this area is expressed by two different landscapes: The first is hilly and predominantly clayey and affected by fluvial processes; the second is mainly mountainous, located in the north-eastern sector, characterized by the W-E mountain ridge of Monte Iato-Monte Giuhai (whose highest peak, Monte Kumeta, reaches 1233 m above sea level) and the southern edge of Monte Pizzuta. ...
An ethnoarchaeometric approach has been followed to identify the textural and compositional characteristics of the ceramic pastes produced in ancient Iaitas/Ietas, an indigenous site located in western Sicily on Monte Iato, a few tens of kilometres from Palermo. This approach was primarily motivated by the lack of discovered Archaic kilns or production sites/workshops and the inability to identify reference groups. Raw clays were sampled in the territory of San Cipirello and San Giuseppe Iato (today’s municipalities both sited on the northern slopes of Monte Iato), together with representative historic tiles and bricks locally produced until fairly recently. Grain-size analysis and experimental firings were performed on the clay samples. A significant number of archaeological ceramic samples (incised and painted indigenous pottery dating back to the seventh–fifth centuries BCE) from stratigraphic excavations on Monte Iato, and hypothesized as local productions on a stylistic-morphological basis, was carefully selected for archaeometric analysis. This set of samples (90 in total, comprising raw clays, historic tiles/bricks and archaeological ceramics) underwent a combined chemical and mineralogical-petrographic analysis to identify any possible compositional matching. This approach enabled the identification of minero-petrographic and chemical markers pertinent to the indigenous Archaic pottery produced at Monte Iato, although no evidence of coeval ceramic kilns has been found so far. Local raw clay sources have been documented and some significant points of the chaîne opératoire adopted in antiquity have been noted (clay mixing and tempering practices). Attesting Monte Iato as a centre of ceramic production and defining both the microscopic fabric and the average composition of local pastes open up new perspectives in the complex issue concerning the production and regional circulation of incised and painted indigenous ceramics in Archaic Sicily.
... The absence of these paleofaults, which on the whole controlled the original morphology of the ancient Sicilian platform-to-basin margin (i.e., Panormide-Imerese system), is justified by the present fragmentation of the whole Sicilian chain. It is believed to be the result of the reactivation of the Mesozoic fault systems since the Late Cretaceous tectonic inversion , Tertiary thrust tectonics (Oldow et al., 1990;Nigro and Renda, 2002;Basilone, 2009a, b;Gasparo Morticelli et al., 2017) and Quaternary extensional phase (Di Maggio et al., 2009;Basilone and Di Maggio, 2016;Agate et al., 2017). ...
The Aptian-Albian boundary is a deeply investigated time interval on the basis of the deep oceanographic, environmental and climatic changes, globally recorded along the sedimentary rock successions.
A regional latest Aptian extensional pulse in the Southern Tethyan margin is here envisaged as being responsible for different events of sedimentation and erosion in the Panormide carbonate platform as highlighted by the outcropping sections studied from the NW Sicilian fold and thrust belt.
Integrating facies and stratal pattern analysis with backstripping methods has permitted to define the interaction between tectonics and sedimentary factors of the Lower Cretaceous shallow-water carbonates.
Based on geometric configuration, lateral facies relationships, and thicknesses variations of the Lower Cretaceous Requienid limestone, is here envisaged a paleophysiography characterised by banks separated by deep channels. The margins of the isolated carbonate platform were oriented towards both the present-day west, where originally the Cala Rossa intraplatform basin developed driven by transtensional movements, and to the present-day east, where the continental slope was spreading.
Including subsidence analysis and significance of the top-unconformity of the Requienid limestone a tectonic event at the end of the Aptian was detected as responsible for the fragmentation of the platform in various rotating fault-blocks and reworking of shallow-water carbonates towards the slope. The variable subsidence rates correspond to the different responses, both emersion and drowning, of the various platform-blocks to the extensional tectonics.
Paleoceanographic changes, detected around the world during the Aptian-Albian, are well recorded also from the Sicilian sections, where continental clays – as the product of weathering of crystalline rocks – metallic crusts (hardgrounds) and condensed phosphatized pelagic deposits – as the product of sediment starvation, condensation and drowning – cover the Lower Cretaceous shallow-water carbonates respectively in the different faulted blocks of the segmented carbonate platform. Chemical and mineralogical analyses confirm for these deposits an influence in their formation caused by variations in oceanographic and environmental conditions, as increasing of metal ions in the surficial sea-water and high rates of groundwater precipitation. Paleoclimate evaluation reveals changes from the greenhouse arid conditions, developed during the lower Cretaceous and permitting the sedimentation of the shallow-water carbonates, to warm-humid climate condition during the latest Aptian-lower Albian boundary.
... During the Middle-Miocene, the décollement of the African Meso-Cenozoic cover (Panormide platform and Imerese-Sicanian deep-water basin) enhanced a deep-seated deformation phase, along with duplexing of the Panormide platform beneath the Alpine Tethys wedge leading to its emersion. Since the Late Messinian, activation of basement faults led to a generalized emersion of the orogenic units through large-wavelength fold culminations accompanied by syn-tectonic deposition at their southern limbs (Barreca, 2015;Gasparo Morticelli et al., 2017). Concurrently the prism front was partly indented to the southeast by the thick and locally already emerged Hyblean platform. ...
... During the Messinian Salinity Crisis, the syntectonic sedimentation proceeded with evaporitic sequences (gypsum and carbonates) in tectonically-controlled restricted depozones along the northernmost margin of the Caltanissetta Basin (Roveri et al., 2008;Butler et al., 2015, Gasparo Morticelli et al., 2017. Messinian evaporites are also found in the northern side of the Peloritani, above the San Pier Niceto terrigenous formation (Finetti, 2005) (Sage et al., 2005) and Valencia (Maillard et al., 2006) slopes as well as in Eastern Mediterranean offshore of Cyprus (Gorini et al., 2015). ...
... Bianchi et al., 1987;Lentini et al., 1990;Barreca and Maesano, 2012;Barreca and Monaco, 2013;Guarnieri, 2004;Barreca, 2016). However, no major shear zones, cutting the SFTB, are recognizable on the general geological map (Figure 2), and in the numerous published geologic and structural maps either (Bigi et al., 1991;Napoli et al., 2012;Catalano et al., 2013a;Lentini and Carbone, 2014;Gasparo Morticelli et al., 2017) except possibly along the NW-SE Cefalu-Mt Judica line (Barreca et al., 2016). Moreover, as shown by recent detailed paleomagnetic studies, most of these dextral strike-slip faults only accommodated minor offsets (Monaco and De Guidi, 2006;Barreca and Monaco, 2013;Speranza et al., 2018). ...
... To build the 3D model, extrapolation of horizons and faults in areas uncovered by seismic lines was possible with available published geological cross-sections and field data (Avellone and Barchi, 2003;Avellone, et al., 2010;Catalano et al., 2010a, b;Gasparo Morticelli et al., 2017). ...
... Kumeta and Mt. Rocca Busambra ridges has been already discussed by many authors Nigro and Renda, 2001;Di Stefano et al., 2002;Basilone, 2009;Avellone et al., 2010;Gugliotta et al., 2014;Gasparo Morticelli et al., 2017). ...
... Rocca Busambra were two morphostructural highs during the Jurassic and their evolution was affected by multiple extensional faulting until the lowermost Cenozoic ( Fig. 16; Di Stefano et al., 2002;Bertok and Martire, 2009;Basilone, 2009;Basilone et al., 2010Basilone et al., , 2014. As a matter of fact, various sets of inherited normal faults affecting the Trapanese unit crop out in the field (Figs. 5 B and 17;Basilone et al., 2010;Avellone et al., 2010;Gasparo Morticelli et al., 2017). In addition, between the Mt. ...
Thirteen seismic reflection profiles and field observations have been used to build a three-dimensional watertight geological model of the sub-surface architecture of the Trapanese carbonate platform unit of the Apennine-Maghrebian chain in the Mt. Kumeta and Mt. Rocca Busambra (NW Sicily, Italy). Either a single step or a two-step thrust-fault deformation model is acceptable on the basis of seismic interpretation but the integration of 3D model reconstruction and 3D geomechanical restoration, validates only the scenario with a single stage of deformation.
The 3D model highlights along strike variation of the structural style for the Trapanese unit where pre-existing discontinuities (e.g. inherited Mesozoic normal faults) played an important role in the preferential occurrence of hinterland verging structures. In detail, backthrusts (N-verging) are dissected by tear faults along the Mt. Kumeta structure whereas an imbricate backthrust system evolves into thrust along the Mt. Rocca Busambra structure. Shortening estimate indicates low amount of internal deformation affecting the carbonate platform unit (<15%). The combined approach of three-dimensional geological modeling and restoration allowed us to: (i) discriminate the best structural interpretation for the subsurface architecture of the Apennine-Maghrebian chain, detecting issues or inconsistencies in previous seismic interpretations and (ii) propose a valuable tool for hydrocarbon exploration to be applied in other complex structural areas worldwide.
... Similar features may be observed in other places such as at Monte Kumeta (Mallarino et al. 2002;Gasparo Morticelli et al. 2017), in the Sciacca area (Rocca Porcaria, Mascle 1964) or in Eastern Sicily (Truillet 1966). ...
Earthquakes are phenomena that are still being learned by the scientific community, and poorly known, especially as regards the prevention, by the population. Having a more complete knowledge is a basic step in understanding the vastness and intensity of the destructive phenomenon that involves a great amount of people. The recent earthquakes occurred in Central Italy (L’Aquila and Amatrice earthquakes) are examples that demonstrate the importance of having knowledge about these phenomena to contrast their destructive effects. We present a geological field trip to recognise causes and landscape effects of palaeo-earthquakes recorded in the Mesozoic rock successions outcropping in Sicily. The isolated carbonate reliefs of Rocca Busambra and Monte Barracù (Sicani Mountains) are spectacular sites of a passive continental margin where synsedimentary tectonic features—as palaeo-faults, neptunian dykes, morphostructural scarps, submarine landslide and soft sedimentary deformation structures—document earthquake causes and effects. Field evidence show in detail as the several palaeo-faults mapped in the Rocca Busambra stepped margin triggered the soft-sediment deformation structures recorded in the coeval deep-water rock succession of the Monte Barracù. In this view, the proposed field trip can represent a powerful tool to enhance the naturalistic and geological importance of the study areas by establishing geosites and protected areas for a proper fruition of geological-natural heritage and/or for geoconservation. Thus, through the proposed field trip it is possible to observe palaeo-earthquakes activity and landscape products, having an educational training purpose also for public administrators, whose rapid and skilled action is necessary for the prevention and reduction of the geohazard.
... The WSW-ENE trending and~20-km-long carbonatic ridges of Mt. Kumeta (1,233 m above sea level, Figure 2a Integrated field surveys and seismic reflection profiles (Albanese & Sulli, 2012;Avellone et al., 2010;Catalano, Avellone, Basilone, & Sulli, 2010;Catalano, Avellone, Basilone, Gasparo Morticelli, et al., 2010;Gasparo Morticelli et al., 2017) document that the study area corresponds to a thrust pile made up-from top to bottom-by the following tectono-stratigraphic units separated by regional décollements (Figure 3b): (1) a thin (few tens of meters), highly deformed and very discontinuous level of varicolored clays, remnants of the Sicilide nappe; ...
... On the other hand, seismic data and mesostructural analyses Catalano, Avellone, Basilone, & Sulli, 2010;Catalano, Avellone, Basilone, Gasparo Morticelli, et al., 2010) reveal that both carbonate ridges display an antiformal geometry and are bounded along their northern slopes by high-angle backthrust faults, merging at depth with a subhorizontal décollement ( Figure 3b; Avellone et al., 2010;Albanese & Sulli, 2012). Kinematic indicators suggest the occurrence of high-angle dextral E-W transpressive faults Barreca and Maesano, 2012;Gasparo Morticelli et al., 2017), as well as of a NW-SE dextral and NNE-SSW sinistral conjugate fault system, offsetting faults formed during Serravallian-Tortonian tectonics. ...
The paleomagnetic investigation of the western Sicily Maghrebian belt has revealed since the 1970s that large clockwise rotations up to 140° with respect to the Hyblean-African foreland occurred synchronous with Tertiary shortening of the chain. The observation that rotations decrease stepwise from internal to external tectono-stratigraphic units led in the 1990s to a widely accepted model postulating that rotational thrust-sheet emplaced during forward orogenic propagation. More recently, other authors suggested that clockwise rotations from Sicily are conversely the result of late orogenic dextral strike-slip tectonics. Here we report on a paleomagnetic investigation of 30 Jurassic-Eocene sedimentary sites sampled mainly across the WNW-ESE Mt. Kumeta and Rocca Busambra ridges (Trapanese Unit), both bounded to the north by high-angle reverse faults with dextral strike-slip components. We find rotations of 110°-120° at faults of northern ridge margins, which decrease to 80°-90° at ~200 m to the south and rise again moving further south. Thus, an excess rotation of 20°-40° due to dextral-strike-slip shear is annulled to the regional rotational background of the Trapanese Unit at only 200 m from fault traces, translating to paleomagnetically calculated strike-slip offsets not exceeding 600 m. Further north, seven sites sampled in the Imerese Unit, tectonically stacked above the Trapanese Unit, yield a ~130° rotation. Thus, our data confirm that CW rotations in Sicily are predominantly related to thrust-sheet emplacement. Strike-slip tectonics has very limited relevance and gives local rotations that fade out at only 200 m from fault planes.
Archaeoseismic analysis performed in Western Sicily point to deformed archeological remains at Lilybaeum, a Punic coastal city founded in 397 B.C. at the Island’s westernmost edge. Starting from the direct observation of deformed ruins, an interdisciplinary work-strategy, which has included field-structural analysis, drone-shot high-resolution aerial photogrammetry, and geophysical prospecting, was employed to investigate whether the identified deformations may represent the ground effects of a previously unknown large earthquake in the area. Among the unearthed remains, some mosaics and a stone-paved monumental avenue show evidence of tectonic deformation being fractured, folded, and uplifted. Trend of folding and fracturing is consistent with the NNW-SSE oriented tectonic max stress axis to which western Sicily is currently undergoing. Displacement along a fracture deforming the Decumanus Maximus together with the finding of a domino-type directional collapse, enable us to interpret the observed deformation as the ground signature of a coseismic slip. Seismic rupture occurred along a previously unmapped deformation front that well fits in the seismotectonic context of Western Sicily. Measured offset, geophysical prospecting, and age-constraints all point to the possibility that a highly-energetic earthquake nucleated in the area following a coseismic rupture along a NE-SW trending back-verging reverse fault towards the end of the IV century A.D. Since seismic catalogs do not provide evidence of such a large earthquake, the latter might represent a missed event in the historical seismic record. This finding provides constraints to redefine the seismic hazard of Western Sicily, a region where recurrence-time intervals for large earthquakes are still unknown.
The study focuses on the reconstruction of the chaîne opératoires of Iron Age pottery production at Monte Iato (Sicily, southern Italy), in terms of clay deposits selection, raw material processing and firing technology. A set of 76 specimens from the central cult place of the site (600-450 BCE) and belonging to functional categories of serving and consumption of food and drinks, food preparation, cooking and storage were analyzed using macroscopic, mineralogic and petrographic methods. As proxy data, the results deepen our insights into local potters’ technologies and choices by revealing varied and multi-layered communities of practice determined by corresponding ceramic manufacture processes. These do differ in regards of raw material procurement, clay processing as well as firing techniques but at the same time are in some extent linked together through the constant use of grog as temper – a practice detectable over the entire use of the cult site of over 100 years.
