Ceramics research laboratory

The Ceramics Preparation Laboratory is equipped with a diamond saw, polisher/grinder which can be used to prepare thin sections for a range of archaeological and geological materials for their use in transmitted microscopy. The thin sectioned material can then be analysed using the AxioScope 5 in our Light Microscopy lab or digitised using the Axio Scan in the Advanced Microanalysis lab.

The lab can also be used for general finds processing, where artefacts can be sorted and washed safely, as the sink is equipped with a silt trap.

The lab also holds the Ann Woods thin section teaching and reference collection, which has been expanded over the years. The collection possesses over 2,000 thin sections of varying natures. Real archaeological materials like pottery, mortars and lithics are the base of the collection, but experimental and geological samples are also represented.