Pottery production and exchange at the Heraion, Samos during the late third millennium BC: First steps in the study of technology and provenance

Menelaou, Sergios; Kouka, Ourania; Day, Peter M.

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.01.014

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Petrographical analyses of ceramic vessels are also very helpful in determining the origin of raw material. Plenty of studies (e.g., Ionescu et al, 2006; Barone et al, 2010; Braekmans et al, 2011; Damjanović et al, 2014; Menelaou et al, 2016, among others) suggest that specific associations of lithoclasts and crystalloclasts in the ceramics reflect geology of the area where raw material was exploited. Clasts found in the Studenica “local” ceramics from both S1 and S2 horizons, indeed occur in various geological lithologies in the wider area of the Studenica Monastery (Urošević et al, 1973).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A similar approach was applied by many authors (e.g., Breakmans et al, 2011; Ionescu & Hoeck, 2011; De Vito et al, 2015; Charalambidou et al, 2016; Fishman, 2016; Kreiter et al, 2017). In addition, we apply a set of mineralogical and petrographical analyses that are standard methods in ceramics investigations in order to: (a) separate local from possibly imported items (Tite, 2008; Breakmans et al, 2011), (b) define technological aspects of ceramic production (e.g., Lapuente & Pérez-Arantegui, 1999; Day et al, 2006; Menelaou et al, 2016; Mentesana et al, 2016, and references therein), and (c) establish the origin of raw material used for production of the studied ceramics (Whitelaw et al, 1997; Hilditch, 2007, 2013; Barone et al, 2010; Damjanović et al, 2014, among others).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microstructural, Mineralogical and Petrographical Characteristics of the Medieval Ceramics from the Studenica Monastery (UNESCO World Heritage Site): Implications on the Pottery Technology and Provenance of The Raw Material

2018

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On the basis of optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectrometry and X-ray powder diffraction analyses, we present detailed mineralogical and petrographical characteristics of 63 samples of cooking and tablewares, which originate from two Medieval horizons (S1 and S2) in the Studenica Monastery, as well as of three samples of clays regarded as possible pottery raw material. The composition of the ceramic matrix is compatible with the composition of local clay and clasts that reflect the geology of the Studenica’s surroundings. This indicates that almost all studied vessels are unequivocally made locally. However, four wares may represent imports because they show similarities with Byzantine sgraffito wares, and ceramics from the Peloponnese (13th century). In terms of technological and morphological characteristics, the studied pottery collection represents a standardized production. Firing temperatures, estimated according to the level of matrix crystallinity, mineral reactions, and the mode of the appearance of fracture surfaces, indicate that most of cooking wares were fired at 600–700°C. All glazed wares, including tablewares and cooking pots from both S1 and S2, were fired at minimum 800–900°C. Along with technological and morphological standardization the characteristics of the studied collection show knowledge of traditional skills as well as trends within the Byzantine artistic craft circle.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microstructural, Mineralogical and Petrographical Characteristics of the Medieval Ceramics from the Studenica Monastery (UNESCO World Heritage Site): Implications on the Pottery Technology and Provenance of The Raw Material

2018

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“…From the diachronic examination of fabrics versus shapes, it appears that no differentiation can be detected between clay recipes used for large or medium/small-sized vessels or warespecific groups in the Ch-EB I periods. In the subsequent period, there emerges a more varied picture with fabrics used for the manufacture of particular vessel types or even a range of similar fabrics that could reflect the existence of several production centres that produce the same types in similar or different recipes (Menelaou 2015;Menelaou et al 2016). This could point out distinct manufacturing traditions and markedly different clays that can be explained from a chronological and technological perspective.…”

Section: Reconstructing the Operational Sequence Of A Ceramic Group Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, this hitherto absence of such projects has been challenged by the holistic study of the third millennium BC pottery from the island of Samos. This paper employs an integrated ceramic analytical programme at the island settlement of Heraion (Menelaou et al 2016;Menelaou 2018), focusing on the methodological aspect of this research and its articulation with a well-informed archaeological and theoretical background. A case study of the full characterisation of one of the main fabrics recovered at Heraion is presented with the aim to stress out the effectiveness in using a micro-scale approach as a means for analysing intra-site developments of a ceramic system, craft traditions and technological choices over time, as well as to gain a better insight in the consideration of provenance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond networks and macro-scale analysis: unravelling micro-histories of pottery at Early Bronze Age Samos, Greece through an integrated methodology

Menelaou

2020

Proceedings From the 6th Scientific Conference Methodology and Archaeometry

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The study of pottery has historically served as a testing ground for archaeological theories, both due to its abundance in the archaeological record and its multifaceted use in the development of various methodological tools for the investigation of issues of exchange and external influence, technological tradition, social organisation, economic trends, and other cultural associations in past societies. Nevertheless, ceramic studies have largely extended the range of tools and techniques beyond traditional approaches that focus on stylistic, morphological, and typological attributes aiming at constructing chronological sequences or reconstructing large-scale networks of interaction. In fact, recent years in Aegean studies have witnessed an increasing concern towards the technological significance of pottery and its social context from a rather scientific-processual perspective. The project of Early Bronze Age (EBA/EB) Heraion on Samos Island, east Aegean (Greece) has successfully demonstrated that questions of ceramic production, consumption, and distribution can be meaningfully approached through the integration of different scales and levels of analytical enquiry. This has been achieved following a chaîne opératoire approach and the combination of various levels of analysis from typology, phasing, and contextual study of the entire ceramic assemblages covering the third millennium BC, with macroscopic analysis, thin section petrography, and microstructural analysis. This paper provides a brief overview of specific aspects of this project with the aim to highlight the significance of adopting a holistic approach in ceramic studies of well-defined, insular prehistoric environments.

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“…The ceramic assemblage of the contemporary Early Bronze II-III settlement on Samos, Heraion (ID 1296, ID2073, ID2626, ID3057), has also been investigated using macroscopic and petrographic analyses to characterize the earliest pottery production at this key regional site in the eastern Aegean (Menelaou et al 2016). Analysis of prehistoric sherds from domestic contexts in Heraion I-III (Early Bronze II) and IV-V (Early Bronze III) levels has provided clear indications of locally produced pottery from raw material sources in the south of the island within the vicinity of the site, and has highlighted a few known (from the western Anatolian coast at Liman Tepe: Menelaou et al 2016: 485) and unknown imported vessels.…”

Section: Connected Communities Through Ceramic Exchange: Identifying mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ceramic analysis in Greece

Hilditch¹

2016

Arch. Rep.

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Scientific, analytical or ‘archaeometric’ techniques for investigating ceramic material have been used within archaeology for over 50 years and now constitute an indispensable tool for archaeologists in the Aegean world (see Jones 1986 for a detailed summary of early work in Greece and Italy) and beyond (Santacreu 2014). This paper provides a brief historical overview of research themes investigated by ceramic analysis in Greek archaeology along with reports on a small number of recent studies, in order to demonstrate current methodologies and results. The narrative is not chronological, either by the date of analysis or the material analysed, but instead focuses on the types of archaeological questions that ancient ceramic analysis can address in order to shed light upon who produced, distributed and consumed the ceramics under consideration. Ceramic analysis investigates both the composition and technology of fired clay vessels, evidenced most frequently in the ubiquitous broken pot sherd, which can then be used to identify provenance, production sequence and cultural tradition, as well as to provide a relative date for production, in combination with typological and seriation techniques.

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Pottery production and exchange at the Heraion, Samos during the late third millennium BC: First steps in the study of technology and provenance

Cited by 7 publications

References 12 publications

Microstructural, Mineralogical and Petrographical Characteristics of the Medieval Ceramics from the Studenica Monastery (UNESCO World Heritage Site): Implications on the Pottery Technology and Provenance of The Raw Material

Microstructural, Mineralogical and Petrographical Characteristics of the Medieval Ceramics from the Studenica Monastery (UNESCO World Heritage Site): Implications on the Pottery Technology and Provenance of The Raw Material

Beyond networks and macro-scale analysis: unravelling micro-histories of pottery at Early Bronze Age Samos, Greece through an integrated methodology

Ceramic analysis in Greece

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