ArcheoLogica Data 3/2023

As Open Data are becoming an essential part of archaeologic research, many databases have been created, even if, still nowadays, a high number of data related to research remains unpublished. Archaeological pottery, both with archaeologic or archeometric approach, is the main focus of various of those databases, providing valuable information about this complex and resistant material to be used for comparisons or re-used in further studies. In this framework of sharing knowledge, the Open Fabric database was created to organize and make available the archaeologic and archeometric data collected from potteries found in Tuscan contexts, embracing a historical period going from Late Antiquity to Early Renaissance. Five classes of samples have been analysed, namely coarse wares, fine wares, building materials, transport vessels and glazed vessels. The archeometric techniques applied to each class have been chosen selecting the most suitable according to the samples’ characteristics and to the different archaeological questions raised from the research. Archeometric techniques available so far are minero-petrographic analysis carried on with a petrographic optical microscope, Raman Spectroscopy, X-ray Spectrometry and Cathodoluminescence. Those can be implemented and integrated in the future to enlarge the database and offer a wider and more complete set of data. The Open Fabric database, available on MOD repositories, is briefly described in the following short article to help future users approaching the pottery field.