0000000001226222
AUTHOR
Babette Bechtold
The Beginning of Western Greek Amphorae Production in Western Sicily: Archaeometric and Archaeological Studies on 6th–5th Centuries BCE Amphorae Manufactured in Himera
About 560 western Greek amphorae (6th–5th centuries BCE) re-used in enchytrismos burials were unearthed in the necropolis of the Dorian-Chalcidian colony of Himera in northwestern Sicily. Among the most striking issues is the determination of their geographical provenance. For this purpose, ceramic samples chipped from freshly broken surfaces of all the amphorae were first subdivided into macrofabrics by the use of a hand lens. Thereon, the samples were studied in accordance with standardized methods by the use of reflected light microscopy. Due to the special focus of our project on the characterization of Sicilian productions, a selection of amphorae which showed visible, macroscopic affi…
Selinunte (Sicily) and its productive context: the clayey raw materials applied in a long-lived ceramic production (seventh to third century BCE)
The westernmost of the Greek-Sicilian towns, Selinunte, founded in western Sicily during the second half of the seventh century BCE, gives amazing evidences of a historic activity of ceramic production (seventh to third century BCE). The present study aims to identify the raw materials available in the vicinity of the archaeological site of Selinunte, which were possibly used by the ancient potters, and to characterise them by means of petrographic and chemical techniques. A sampling campaign of clays and sands for tempering was undertaken in the archaeological site and the adjacent area. Moreover, locally produced archaeological bricks and tiles were considered helpful for comparison regar…
CAMPANIAN WINE FOR PUNIC SICILY: PETROGRAPHIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES OF GRAECO-ITALIC AMPHORAE FROM PALERMO
This contribution proposes a combination of archaeological fabric analysis and petrographic research applied to the study of 35 sherds of Graeco-Italic amphorae mostly found in Palermo, but also in Pantelleria and Malta (Tab. 1). The provenance identification derived from both approaches gives evidence for the arrival, in North-Western Sicily, of presumable wine amphorae from central-Tyrrhenian Italy since the very late 4th century BC. The production of the majority of the material has been confidentially attributed to the area of the Gulf of Naples/Ischia, but a second large group originates from several, still unidentified production sites to be located along the coastal strip of Campania…