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MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering
MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering
August 20, 2026

Research uncovers Bronze Age branding

A team of researchers including DMSE’s William Gilstrap studying an ancient form of Arabian pottery provides insight into how ancient producers connected with consumers.
Categories: In the Media
Regional map with the location of Qurayyah, Tell el-Kheleifeh, Pella, and the other sites mentioned in the PLOS One paper.
Luciani et al., PLOS One, 2026

What makes a brand a brand?

A team of researchers from the University of Vienna, MIT, and other institutions has studied an ancient form of Arabian pottery called Qurayyah Painted Ware, examining its materials, manufacturing techniques, designs, and distribution to understand how branding emerged in the ancient world.

The findings, published in the journal PLOS One in August, provide new insight into how ancient products became recognizable and helped build relationships between producers and consumers. The United Kingdom’s The Independent and several German-language media outlets took notice.

DMSE Senior Technical Instructor William Gilstrap, who supervises the lab facilities at MIT’s Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology, or CMRAE, was a co-author of the study.

Learn more in The Independent, The Austrian Press Agency, ORF, Der Standard, and News.at.