The application of a magnetohydrostatic method (U. Andres, 1975) to the separation of quartz grains from crushed pottery matrix is described. A water solution of the paramagnetic salt Mn(NO₃)₂ was used as the magnetic medium. A few hundred milligrams of quartz can be separated in a few minutes; the salt solution is easily washed off with water before hydrofluoric acid etching; and by varying the magnetic field and/or using solutions with different magnetic susceptibilities, obtained by using different salt concentrations, different minerals can be separated. -- AATA