Nowadays, over time and increasing the awareness of the destructive effects of the use of chemical and toxic substances on the objects, the environment and users, the replacement or, minimum use of these harmful materials in the treatment and protection of valuable and rare objects is a priority. So throughout the world, researchers are seeking to develop and use safe and standard methods in this area. One of these methods is the plasma technology. Plasma can be defined as the fourth state of matter. Giving energy to a gas will induce the ionization of some of its molecules and atoms. The plasma contains therefore, besides neutral molecules, positively and negatively charged particles, although its overall charge is neutral. Cold plasma due to features such as low temperature and high energy, in addition to a wide range of applications in various fields, since 1979, has attracted the attention of specialists in conservation and restoration of cultural and historical objects. Cold plasma in disinfection and cleaning treatments of works has been examined as a non-toxic and non-invasive alternative in the field of cultural heritage. Different methodologies were developed in time using mechanical methods, solvents and, more recently, laser, to cleaning of architectural surfaces, and in a more recent time, atmospheric plasma began to be tested for such application. A positive feature of plasma is the fact that is contactless: it does not interfere mechanically with the surface being treated, and also with soft chemical action, the process of cleaning only limited to the first layers of the surface. Hence this method can prevent the adverse effects of solvent and /or imprisonment and lateral harmful products on the pores and porous surface, which is often present in common cleaning methods. In other words this method could be a good alternative for abrasion methods, that cannot remove the dirt from the pores and often lead to the damaging of the original surface, or for chemical methods, which solvents can transport undesired materials (dirt or old coatings) deeper inside through pores, cavities or cracks. Plasma might substitute or be used in combination with other techniques, particularly for delicate objects where original material might be endangered by a mechanical or wet cleaning method. In many cases the plasma alone is not as efficient as traditional methods. For instance, in case of removal of graffiti, a combination of plasma with traditional cleaning methods showed surprisingly good results or in the case of removal of oil paint from wall paintings, a pre-treatment with plasma can improve the removal with traditional solvents. The application of innovative cleaning technology on cultural properties demands sufficient knowledge concerning the cleaning process itself and the long-term behavior of an object after cleaning, because they are often unique and irreplaceable. Furthermore, the experiences carried out in various museums and research centers mentioned in this paper showed that cold plasma is appropriate methods to remove corrosion curst on metals particularly tarnished silver. Decontamination of wood and the objects based on cellulose like paper and cotton as well as protein materials (leather, wool) is another application of cold plasma presented in the paper.

The archaeological sites, including the Sarcham, Bardemar and Kenacheh were excavated during the Darian Dam Archaeological Salvage Project (DDASP) in the Hawraman region, west of the Kurdistan province, western Iran. These sites are adjacent to the Sirwan River. Bardemar is an open-air site and Kenacheh is a cave site. Both sites contain the material cultures of the late Islamic period with simple brown potteries. Mica was the temper which used for making the potteries, so their tempers are shiny and reflect easily the light. The potteries of these two sites were hand-made and not well-fired. The Sarcham is a multi-period site and was recognized the records of Parthian/Sassanid period, Iron Age I, late Bronze Age and Chalcolithic period. The historical period potteries are mostly orange and wheel-made. While, the Iron Age I potteries are divided to buff, orange and grey colors. The grey wares are less abundant. These potteries that have temper were mostly hand-made and under-fired. The same characteristic can be seen in those of the Bronze Age. Potteries related to the Chalcolithic period are categorized into two groups of red slipped and the buff wares. The latter ones that are occasionally characterized by black-on-buff decoration are in minority. During this period the straw-temper was mostly used for tempering the potteries, where they were mostly under-fired. Totally 42 potsherds were selected for X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis including 14 samples from Bardeh Mar, 8 samples from Kenacheh and 20 samples from Sarcham. Some factors that could help to better characterize the soils, including variety of sites in which the potteries are found, their uses and the pottery styles, were used to provenance the potteries of this study. In addition to the data of the potteries, data of three soil samples surrounding the excavated sites were generated. The XRD data showed that calcite, quartz, clay minerals, feldspar and iron oxides are the main pottery-forming minerals, while the calcite, quartz and clay minerals are the main soil-forming minerals. The XRD data suggests derivation of few potteries from non-local materials. However, the XRF data from the potteries revealed that all the samples are cogenetic and originated from the soils of the same geological formation. All the excavated sites are located on the same rock types or the alluvium derived from them. The rocks and consequently the derived alluvium (soils) were formed as the result of the same geological process (es). This is the evidence confirming the results obtained by the XRF data. The XRD and XRF data that are compiled with the geological information of the area where the sites are located indicates that all the potteries of different periods have similar characteristics and made by the use of local materials. All the potteries from Chalcolithic period to the late Islamic period, even the ones with lower frequencies, were made using the local soils. The results are also applicable for the Kenacheh cave, where it has been used by the local transhumances. Location of the Hawraman region in a mountainous area, adjacent to the west-central Zagros and Mesopotamia has caused that the way of living of the ancient people of this area be always questionable. Recognition of the soils that had been the origin of the potteries is helpful for characterization of the geographical origin of the potteries.