Argiles. De la physique du matériau à l’expérimentation brings together the proceedings of four study days of the ‘Clay’ Collective Program (2018-2020) of the CNRS Joint Research Unit, Archaeology and Sciences of Antiquity (UMR 7041 - ArScAn, Nanterre), on the theme of ‘studying materiality’. The study of this polymorphic material has focused on four complementary areas: physical properties, construction, artefacts and texts relating to clay. As a forum for cross-disciplinary exchange, the meetings and then the volume itself form and opportunity to share the continuities, specifics, technical and cultural convergences or divergences of working with clay. The three parts correspond to the themes covered during these days:

I. Formation, structure, characterization, definitions of a material deals with the physics of clays, the geomorphology of clay landscapes, clay construction, the restoration of architectural remains, cuneiform tablets and clay objects, and finally mentions of clay in Mesopotamian texts, Linear B and Egyptian hieroglyphs.

II. Uses of clays and clay soils: from ‘unfired’ to ‘fired’ is devoted to these two states of clay: ‘unfired’ clay is explored through the geomorphology of the ‘clay country’ that is Mesopotamia, and earthen architecture from Cyprus to Western Europe, from the Neolithic to Roman times is investigated; ‘fired’ clay focuses on bricks and ceramics, which illustrate the transition between the two states, then on ovens and cooking devices, and the possible connections between Mesopotamian texts, the archaeology of the ancient Near East and experimentation.

III. Reproduction in clay: reconstruction, protocol, experimentation retraces several experimental approaches around ceramics and construction in the Near Eastern, Minoan, Egyptian and Western worlds.

Overall the book brings together 28 contributors, including university teachers, researchers, engineers, doctoral and post-doctoral students, attached to several teams of the Argiles unit as well as other laboratories and institutes in France and abroad. Each has enriched, through their specialism, their knowledge or their individual experience, an aspect of or an approach to clay and clay soils.