Eastern Mediterranean amphorae from Late Antique urban centers of the northeastern Iberian Peninsula: archaeometric characterization

Abstract

Amphorae from Palestine, Turkey, the Aegean and other areas of the eastern Mediterranean are frequently documented in Late Antique archaeological contexts in northeastern Spain, in relation to the transport of wine and other products. In order to gain further information on their compositional variability, provenance and production technology, a series of these amphorae was archaeometrically characterized. The amphorae were sampled from various contexts found in consumption centres of the current Catalan coastal territory, dated between the 5th and 7th centuries AD. Various types of eastern Mediterranean amphorae were characterized, including the most common ones, such as LRA 1, LRA 4, LRA 2 and LRA 3, but also others less represented in the ceramic assemblages. The selected samples were analyzed using a combination of techniques (WD-X-ray fluorescence, X-ray powder diffraction and optical microscopy by thin section analysis) for their chemical, mineralogical and petrographic characterization. The results show the presence of well differentiated fabrics and chemical compositions for each of the amphora types analyzed as well as certain variability in some of them, related to differences in provenance and/or production technology. Comparison with available archaeometric and archaeological data from eastern Mediterranean production centers enabled for provenance hypotheses for many of the amphorae under study.