Decorated Archaic Pottery From the Heracles Sanctuary at Thebes: A Materials, Technology and Provenance Study*

Abstract

Forty-seven decorated samples of Archaic pottery excavated at a Heracles sanctuary (Thebes, Boeotia) were studied through a combined surface and body approach, using non-destructive techniques. Most of the samples were archaeologically classified as Theban/Boeotian, others as Corinthian and a few as possibly Euboean. The techniques employed were optical microscopy and SEM-EDAX (micromorphology and compositional analysis of the surfaces) and XRF for the analysis of the ceramic body. The results provided information on the technological level of the collected pottery as well as on the relation of the chemistry and micromorphology of the pigments, aimed at assisting provenance studies.

A non-destructive technological study of three fresco fragments from Iklaina, Pylos, Greece

“…SEM/EDS can be a very useful technique for the analysis of multi-layered archaeological samples (Mastrotheodoros, et al, 2013). However, given that sampling was not possible, the fresco fragments were examined intact and without any prior treatment; the analyses were therefore again affected by the substrate composition.…”

Kynos Through Time: Decorated Pottery Sherds from Eleven Strata of a Homeric Greek Site

“…21,26 Thus, phases 7 and 5 were preferentially sampled. Finally, as the pottery decoration reflects the degree of raw materials processing and/or the skill of the craftsmen, 4,11,15 only decorated sherds were collected; the majority of them show dark-brown/black decorative patterns, several bear red, while white decorations are found on a few fragments too (Fig. 1).…”

“…10,14 The quality of the decoration depends on the raw materials, the technological and artistic capacities of the potters, and the price to be paid, and thus important differentiations as regards fineness of pottery may be seen among products of different eras and areas. Thus, the investigation of the chemical and technological characteristics of pottery decorations may, in some instances, contribute to the estimation of the pots' provenance, 15 an issue commonly approached through the analyses of the body-clays' major, minor, and trace element concentrations. 16,17 Yet, the application of analytical methods for the study of ancient pottery offers comprehensive answers to questions beyond provenance, such as the composition/processing of the potter's raw materials, along with the materials and techniques encountered in the pots' decoration.…”

Ceramic analysis in Greece

“…Just as at the prehistoric sanctuary of Dhaskalio-Kavos discussed above, later ritual centres of the protohistoric periods can hold the key to assessing the regional sphere of interaction in which a ritual centre operated and held meaning. Following this vein, an integrated programme of non-destructive analyses of the red, black, white and distinctive purple pigments on decorated pottery from the Sanctuary of Heracles at Thebes, Boeotia (ID3019) has been used to elucidate the circulation of dedicatory vessels in the Late Geometric II to the Archaic period, late eighth to sixth century BC (Mastrotheodoros et al 2013). To link variations in decorative appearance to potentially different provenances, the study analysed both the surface and ceramic body using optical microscopy, SEM-EDAX (energy dispersive x-ray analyser) and XRF analysis, in addition to conducting experiments on the thermal treatment modification of iron pigments (Mastrotheodoros et al 2013: 822).…”