The paper, authored by Professors Ilaria Caloi and Federico Bernardini from the Department of Humanities at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, presents the first application of microCT to experimental ceramic vases. These vases were created either solely on the potter's wheel or through a combination of hand-building techniques and the potter's wheel.

The research addresses a significant challenge in archaeology: identifying the primary forming techniques of ancient ceramics. Traditional macroscopic analysis often falls short, as the potter's wheel can obscure the surface traces of the initial forming method.

The innovative use of microCT, a technology evolved from medical computed tomography, allows for detailed 3D visualization and quantification of pottery components, including lithic particles, voids, and structural joints, without damaging the artifacts.

For this study, microCT was applied to replicas of Minoan cups from Phaistos, Southern Crete, at the Multidisciplinary Laboratory of the Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics, in Trieste.

These experimental replicas were produced by Cretan potter Vassiliki Politakis, in collaboration with Ilaria Caloi, following strict experimental procedures and using natural clays and tools from Minoan times. The potter's wheel used was constructed based on models proposed by scholars of Minoan Crete. Four distinct ceramic techniques were employed: throwing-off-the-hump, wheel-throwing from a solid clay ball, wheel-pinching, and wheel-coiling.