Late 6th – early 4th century BCE western Greek amphorae produced in Selinunte (western Sicily): Ceramic paste characterisation by an integrated archaeometric approach

Abstract

This paper aims at an interdisciplinary, archaeological and archaeometric characterisation of the western Greek amphorae series produced in late Archaic and Classical-period at Selinunte (southwestern Sicily). Furthermore, it seeks for archaeometric parameters useful for its distinction from the morphologically very similar production of nearby Agrigento.

The research is based on a macroscopic examination, according to the standardised methods of Fabrics of the Central Mediterranean (FACEM), combined with petrographic analyses of 25 amphorae samples and eight coarse ware samples of presumed local fabric found mostly in Selinunte, in the artisanal quarter, in the western town, and in the major sanctuary on the acropolis. Furthermore, a small selection of three amphorae has been unearthed in the western necropolis of Himera and at Cossyra/Pantelleria. Chemical analyses have been undertaken on a group of ten amphorae and four coarse ware samples.

As a result, our study confirms the local manufacture of the entire selection of 33 samples and the more than acceptable petrographic and chemical homogeneity of the ceramic pastes produced with locally sourced clays. Some slight but significant compositional, textural and micro-paleontological differences between Selinuntine and Agrigento productions were pointed out.

The identification of a production of western Greek wine-carrying (?) amphorae in Selinunte dating from the late 6th-earlier 4th century BCE supports earlier archaeometric analyses and breaks ground for a better understanding of the colony’s economic development during the late Archaic and Classical periods. The present research will help to clarify the distribution of the class especially in Selinunte’s territory, while its supra-regional circulation seems to have been quite limited.