Combining residue analysis of floors and ceramics for the study of activity areas at the Garum Shop at Pompeii

Pecci, Alessandra; Domínguez‐Bella, Salvador; Buonincontri, Mauro Paolo; Miriello, Domenico; Luca, Raffaella De; Pasquale, Gaetano Di; Cottica, Daniela; Bernal‐Casasola, Darío

doi:10.1007/s12520-017-0573-7

Cited by 17 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Of note, all the amphorae which contained tartaric acid—that is, grapevine products with or without other substances (Chian amphorae P0841/BRI_104, P0746a/BRI_108, and P0293/BRI_110, torpedo jar P174/BRI_125, and Rhodian amphora 468/BRI_126)—are sealed with conifer exudates, but not the amphora that contained plant oil (Samian amphora 551 P46/BRI_95). While recent evidence indicates at least some fish sauce amphorae were also lined, resinous linings may have been more permeable than previously thought, and reuse of pine tar‐lined amphorae appears to have been commonplace (Garnier et al, 2009; Romanus et al, 2009; Pecci et al, 2018, 2021), our data agree with historical sources which mention that oil amphora are not pitched, unlike wine amphorae (Brun, 2003; Heron & Pollard, 1988). Conifer products were an important commodity in the ancient world; when Polybius describes gifts given by Antigonus to the people of Rhodes, he lists ‘a thousand talents of pitch; [and] a thousand amphorae of the same unboiled’ (Polybius, Histories , 5.29).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

There’s more to a vessel than meets the eye: Organic residue analysis of ‘wine’ containers from shipwrecks and settlements of ancient Cyprus (4th–1st century bce)

et al. 2022

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Despite growing evidence to the contrary, wine remains the assumed content of many types of ancient pottery. Vessels from the Kyrenia and Mazotos shipwrecks, and Yeronisos island presumed to have contained wine were subjected to three different extraction protocols to test the assumption that these vessels were used to import and serve wine. Chemical extracts reveal grapevine products but also other fruit juice, beeswax and plant oil, sometimes mixed with grapevine products due to intentional mixing or reuse. Biomarkers detected in sediment samples from Mazotos and Yeronisos demonstrate why quantification is vital. Analyses show that even seemingly identical ceramics from the same shipwreck contained different commodities.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

There’s more to a vessel than meets the eye: Organic residue analysis of ‘wine’ containers from shipwrecks and settlements of ancient Cyprus (4th–1st century bce)

et al. 2022

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“…In particular, the chemical nature of the layers spread on the porous pottery to make it suitable to conserve and to transport liquid foodstuff can be elucidated [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. In addition to recognising lining materials, the versatility of archaeometric approaches has been proved to be quite signi cant to tackle vessel function: by investigating organic residues in transport vessels, analytical techniques can contribute further information that support the archaeological approach in shedding light on past trade [2,3,5,[10][11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic Residues in transport vessels from the Red Sea Coast of Eritrea: A Further Element to Understand Past Commercial Relations

Zerai

Guerrini

Łucejko

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The archaeological site of Adulis lays on the Red Sea Coast of Eritrea and during Late antiquity played a significant role in interregional commerce among the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean coasts. Contacts with the Eastern Mediterranean, Arabian Peninsula and the Sasanian world have been attested from different classes of pottery that were brought to light from on-going excavations at the site. Transport vessels have attracted particular attention as they testify the extent of trades and exchange networks. Transport vessels were coated by organic materials to seal porosity and make them suitable to transport different liquids and/or food. The characterisation of coating materials helped shedding light on their function, and also support the attribution to different classes of transport vessels found in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea worlds. Here, the characterisation of the organic lining detected on a set of samples identified as Late Roman Amphora 1 is discussed. Results from the chemical analyses performed by FT-IR and GC-MS revealed that bitumen was used for lining the jars, thus leading to set the classification of the amphorae within the wide class of the so- called Torpedo jars. By overcoming the question of typological complexity posed from macroscopic examination of the sherds, the chemical investigation contributed here crucial information for the interpretation of past trading in the Indian Ocean. The research gave clues to broaden the distribution of the Torpedo jars to Adulis, giving an unexpected insight into the trading routes of the past.

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“…Moreover, it better survives upon archaeological time compared to other grape acids [9]. For this reason, it is usually considered as a grape biomarker when supported by archaeological contexts and/or archaeobotanical grape evidence [3,11,12,22]. Although synthesized by numerous plants and fungi, pyruvic, fumaric and malic acids are additionally produced during the fermentation process [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protocol Comparison for Organic Residue Analyses from Waterproofing Materials and Shards of Roman Archaeological Amphorae

Chassouant

Olmer

Delpino³

et al. 2021

Crystals

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With the aim of addressing the impact of extractive protocols in molecular characterization of ceramic content, sixteen archaeological shards and waterproofing coatings of Roman amphorae were studied to compare the extractive capacities of protocols prevalently mentioned in wine amphorae analysis. A microwave-assisted protocol is developed in order to esterify grape-derivative markers from archaeological pitch and shard. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is used to highlight the great capacities of a two-step protocol that combines organic extraction with BF3-etherate complex butylation applied on archaeological shards. Instead, simultaneous alkaline fusion and direct-resin acid-catalyzed butylation are favored for the characterization of waterproofing material. The identification of tartaric acid, together with succinic, fumaric pyruvic and syringic acids provide valuable insights on the archaeological grape-derivative content, possibly wine. Diterpenic markers highlighted Pinus pitch and wood tar, originally used to waterproof the amphorae. Since markers are reliable tools in organic residue analyses, protocols exhibiting high extractive capacities are favored to avoid false conclusions drawn through the absence of markers.

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Combining residue analysis of floors and ceramics for the study of activity areas at the Garum Shop at Pompeii

Abstract: the ERAAUB, Consolidated Group (2014 SGR 845); the Ramon y Cajal contract (RYC 2013-13369). These results are also part of the on-going projects HAR-43599-P &

Cited by 17 publications

References 41 publications

There’s more to a vessel than meets the eye: Organic residue analysis of ‘wine’ containers from shipwrecks and settlements of ancient Cyprus (4th–1st century bce)

There’s more to a vessel than meets the eye: Organic residue analysis of ‘wine’ containers from shipwrecks and settlements of ancient Cyprus (4th–1st century bce)

Organic Residues in transport vessels from the Red Sea Coast of Eritrea: A Further Element to Understand Past Commercial Relations

Protocol Comparison for Organic Residue Analyses from Waterproofing Materials and Shards of Roman Archaeological Amphorae

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