Kentucky Redware & Local Geology

This project took place in 2013, and was related to a known archaeological site in Bourbon County, Kentucky. The original excavation was led by archaeologist Nancy O'Malley Estes.

The c.1820s Ingels House was built with bricks that were made from an adjacent deposit of red clay, and fired in a kiln on the same property. Redware pottery sherds were also found at the site. These were made both for use on the farm and for trade.

Materials characterisation technology was used to analyse both the shards and the samples of the clays found at the site. These methods included X-Ray Diffraction, X-Ray Fluorescence, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Digital Thermographic Analysis. The data was used to determine an approximate firing temperature range for the pottery and bricks, and to verify that the composition of the clay found at the site was mineralogically similar or identical to the fired wares of the pottery. One goal of the study was to confirm that the shallow depression in the land had been formed from the process of mining the clay for use by the pottery.