The Beginning of Western Greek Amphorae Production in Western Sicily: Archaeometric and Archaeological Studies on 6th–5th Centuries BCE Amphorae Manufactured in Himera

Abstract

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 affinities with the majority of the macrofabrics previously attributed to the region of Himera was submitted for thin-section petrography at the polarizing microscope and chemical analyses (ICP-MS and ICP/OES). This new data set was compared with reference samples investigated by previous research, referring to ceramic raw clays of the colony’s territory and local tablewares of the Iato K480-type. Our study confirms the local manufacture of the entire selection of transport vessels. The identification of a production of western Greek wine (?) amphorae in Himera dating mainly from the third quarter of the 6th to the first quarter of the 5th century BCE breaks new grounds in view of a better interpretation of the colony’s economic development during the later archaic period. Furthermore, it underlines Himera’s prominent position within the wider frame of regional economic interaction.

Phoenician–Punic amphorae in northern coastal Etruria: New evidence from Pisa (Italy)

“…Comparative evaluations of geochemical results with XRF reference data available in the literature were thus carried out to shed light on the possible provenance of the examined materials. In particular, results have been compared with reference data on Phoenician-Punic amphorae whose productions are attested in the Mediterranean area, from Spain to western Sicily, and North Africa (Amadori et al, 2002(Amadori et al, , 2017Fantuzzi et al, 2020;Montana & Randazzo, 2015;Montana et al, 2020). Among compositional diagrams, the Si/Ca versus Al/Ca binary graph appeared particularly meaningful in discriminating between petrofabrics and production areas (Figure 5b).…”

“…Specifically, these two specimens exhibited slightly different petrographic features when observed in thin sections, suggesting a possible different provenance location; the comparison with reference data would indicate, in fact, a good match with the Cadiz workshop (Fantuzzi et al, 2020), characterized by quartz, microfossils and calcite inclusions, calcareous micromass. Otherwise, fabrics F1 and F4 can be interpreted as Sicilian productions, whose peculiar compositional features are extensively described in the literature (Fantuzzi et al, 2020;Montana & Randazzo, 2015;Montana et al, 2020). It is noteworthy that Motyian and Soluntine production areas can be discrimi- nated among studied amphorae; in fact, samples 3, 21, 34, 35 and 39 seem to match well with reference samples from Solunto, characterized by the predominant presence of monocrystalline quartz sand, rare pyroxene and feldspars, rare chert, and sandstone fragments, while samples 6, 10, 22, 41 and 42 (along with 4, 9 and 24 for which thin sections are not available) seems to be more related to Motya production, identified by the predominant presence of calcareous lithoclasts, along with monocrystalline quartz sand.…”

“…These studies provided numerous scientific contributions in recent years, as evidenced by the bibliographic collections and online databases (e.g., https://ergasteriaproject.com/bahia-de-cadiz/; http://amphorae.icac.cat/). Among the recent works, it is worth mentioning the contributions of Babette Bechtold (Bechtold, 2015; Montana et al, 2020) on the amphorae of western Sicily and Massimo Botto for the amphorae of Sardinia (Botto et al, 2006), and finally the remarkable scientific production of Spanish scholars dedicated to the South Iberian ateliers (Fantuzzi et al, 2020; García Fernández & Sáez Romero, 2021).…”

Think Globally, Act Locally: Global Requirements and Local Transformation in Sugar Pots Manufacture in Sicily in the Medieval and Post-Medieval Periods

“…In the case of Himera-Buonfornello, different potters moved their production near the trapetum, where the vessels were immediately used and where potters worked in the same restricted area with the other workers of the trapetum. Regarding our knowledge of ceramic production in the area, the use of Terravecchia formation deposits has been attested to since the Greek phases [123,124]. In contrast, for the chronological range, the only available study is that of D'Angelo et al [125], which indicates that this clay was used for the production of the polychrome glazed Polizzi ware.…”