Multi-Technique Characterization of Pottery Unearthed from the Mantai Port Site, Sri Lanka

In 2019, a joint team from Sichuan University, China, and the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, excavated the Mantai port site, unearthing numerous pottery sherds. Traditional typological analysis suggests that these sherds are associated with diverse cultural contexts. However, typological analysis, which relies mainly on visually observable features, generally provides only broad, macroscopic classifications. Moreover, most excavated sherds are fragmentary and lack diagnostic features, which may lead to misclassification. To address this issue, 44 representative pottery sherds were analyzed by proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) combined with elastic backscattering spectrometry (EBS) for elemental analysis. Factor analysis of the elemental data revealed two compositionally distinct and internally consistent clusters within the complex assemblage, corresponding respectively to Roman Red Ware and Roman Black Ware, and identified several possible typological misclassifications among visually similar Roman and Indian wares. The comparatively homogeneous elemental compositions of these two groups suggest the use of relatively consistent raw material recipes. Microstructural observations and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses also identified two sherds with mineralogical characteristics distinct from other samples. This multi-technique approach refines classification of visually ambiguous pottery and provides a useful analytical framework for interpreting pottery from culturally complex trade-port contexts.