AN ARCHAEOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF IRON AGE CERAMICS, WESTERN SICILY

Selinunte, an important archaeological site, is located on the south-western coast of Sicily about 25m above sea level. It was built over three hills (Marinella, Manuzza, and Gaggera) and is 1500m long by 1000m wide, with the Acropolis taking up 500m by 300m. The site rests on top of lower Pleistocene sedimentary rocks made mostly of sand and clay (calcarenite). The purpose of this study is to analyze the chemical properties of Mediterranean pottery collected from western Sicily (e.g. Selinunte, Salemi and Partanna) and Lipari. These data are being used to learn about potential Iron Age ceramic technologies and as an attempt to delineate the relationships between natural resources (clay) and ceramic artefacts. In total, 91 samples were tested, 65 of which are approximately 6th century BC pottery pieces collected from Selinunte while twelve are plaster samples taken from Selinunte’s remaining architecture. Buildings at Selinunte were built primarily with locally quarried Tufa. The remaining samples include: 5 sediment samples from the island of Lipari along the Cave di Caolino Trail, 3 Partanna artefacts, and 6 Greek ceramics from a site near Selinunte.

The pieces were crushed with a mortar and pestle and examined using XRF, PANalytical (MiniPal 4). All samples exhibited high levels of Si and SiO2, while most also contain Ca. More specifically, the Selinunte samples (n = 65), contained high levels of Si (38.6%), Fe (14.9%), Al (11.5%), and SiO2 (30.5%). While the plaster samples (n = 12) showed high levels of Ca (66.8%), CaO (34.4%), and Si (13.8%). The Greek ceramics (n = 6) also consisted of high amounts of Si (39%), Ca (14.8%), and SiO2 (31.6%). Lipari sediment consists mostly of Si (42.8%) and SiO2 (37.2%) with smaller amounts of Fe (15.22%), Ca (14.9%), and Al (13.8%). The Partanna artefacts were also nearly all Si (61.8%) and SiO2 (41.8%). These samples are currently undergoing further characterization physically (petrographic thin sections) and chemically (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy). Results from these analyses are in progress. These findings will be compared to other geological areas in and around Sicily to determine their provenance, as well as further defining the technological differences between Greek and Phoenician ceramic material cultures.