A preliminary archaeometric study of pottery remains from the archaeological site of Timpone della Motta, in the Sibaritide area (Calabria — southern Italy)

摘要

In this paper, we focus on the archaeometric characterisation of some pottery remains dated to the 8th and early 7th centuries BC. The sherds examined come from excavations carried out by the Groningen Institute of Archaeology (GIA) on the acropolis of Timpone della Motta, an archaeological site located in Francavilla Marittima, near the well-known Greek colony of Sybaris (Calabria, southern Italy). As the site was one of the most important sanctuaries in the area during the 8th century BC, pottery from the sanctuary is one of the main sources of evidence for cultural and technological transformations which occurred within the indigenous Oinotrian society. However, in order to evaluate the significance of the individual classes of pottery, their provenance needs to be better understood. A first step in this direction was to clarify which pottery classes were produced locally at Timpone della Motta. We focus here on three ceramic classes frequently found in the sanctuary: a) matt-painted pottery; b) Oinotrian-Euboean style; and c) colonial ware (hydriskoi), for further information on the probable provenance area and the technological features of these ceramic categories. A multi-analytical approach was used, including petrographic, mineralogical and chemical investigations by means of optical and scanning electron microscopy. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). The results are compared with those deriving from minero-chemical and granulometric characterisation of some clay sediments sampled from outcrops near the study site, representing the potential source of clay used for ceramic production in this area. Preliminary data indicate that the mattpainted and Oinotrian-Euboean sherds were probably locally produced, since their chemical composition markedly resembles that of the clay sediments. As regards the hydriskoi, some chemical differences were observed with respect to local clays and the other two classes, perhaps indicating a different production centre for this type of pottery. However, local manufacture exploiting the Fe- and Mg-richer clay layers in the sampled outcrop cannot be excluded for this group.