Weber, Martin, 2015. XRF Analysis of Late Bronze and Iron Age Ceramics from West-Central Syria.
In preliminary results there appear to be recognizable differences in the chemical composition of the various vessel types. For example, comparing the chemical signatures of cooking vessels from the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age (fig. 1), it can be seen that the most prevalent elements are Ca, Ti, Mn, Sr, Zr, and Pd with more-or-less pronounced differences in their respective intensities. At the same time, a comparison of Late Bronze and Iron Age storage vessels (fig. 2) shows a somewhat different pattern, the major trace elements being Ca, Fe, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Rh, and Pd. Again, differences in their respective intensities can be distinguished.