The present work deals with the FTIR spectroscopy study of the ancient pottery from excavated from Arikamedu, Puducherry, India. This technique is a power full tool for assessing both chemical and mineralogical composition of the archaeological materials. The firing methods and firing conditions of potsherds at the time of manufacture by a potter were inferred from the characteristic absorption peaks and the bands observed due to the presence of magnetite and hematite in the samples. FT-IR spectroscopic results revealed that archaeological samples were fired to a temperature greater than 800°C.
