Evanthia Tsantini

Iberian amphorae beyond the mainland: imports in southwestern Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain)

This paper offers an integrated archaeological and geochemical study of Iberian amphora found at the indigenous settlement of Puig de Sa Morisca, in southwestern Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). The results of the chemical characterisation and its comparison with a large database for this type of ceramic materials provide a first insight into trade of foodstuffs between the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands during the Iron Age. The results of this study show a considerable complexity in the Iberian amphorae arriving in the Balearic Islands. On the one hand, the study supports a previous hypothesis that certain amphora from eastern and southern Cossetania (current area of Tarragona and the Vallés) arrived in the Islands; and on the other hand, it also demonstrates for the first time the arrival of some Laietanian (current area of Maresme -Mataró) products.

Archaeometric characterization of Late Antique pottery from the rural site of Ses Païsses de Cala d’Hort (Eivissa, Balearic Islands, Spain)

This paper presents the results of an archaeometric characterization of Late Roman Pottery from a rural site on the island of Eivissa (Balearic Islands, Spain). The ceramic samples, including common wares, amphorae and cooking wares, have been analysed using X-ray fluorescence for the chemical characterization, optical microscopy by thin-section analysis for the mineralogical and petrographic characterization, and X-ray diffraction for the mineralogical analysis.The results show the importance of local/regional production for the common wares and amphorae, while for the cooking wares, all the materials are imported, including some fabrics widely distributed in the Western Mediterranean.

The production of traditional building materials in Oristano (Sardinia, Italy)

The study of ceramic-making communities which employ traditional practices can provide insights into the raw materials and techniques used over the centuries in a particular territory. The archaeometric study of ceramic products and of the raw materials used in their production is an effective complement to the existing ethnographic information. This paper focuses on the brick and tile making tradition of Oristano, a town in Central-Western Sardinia (Italy). Applying a combination of techniques, it includes an extensive analysis of traditional handmade and early industrial bricks and tiles, and a study of the local clays that may have been used as raw materials. Although we were unable to study workshops in operation, we had access to the oral testimonies of local workers regarding traditional production processes. In this sense, this is an ethnographic case study that can be considered as a semiarchaeological situation. Studies of this kind, in conjunction with ethnoarchaeometric analyses, are also useful to test some of the theoretical and methodological approaches used in archaeometric research. In this regard, the present study also explores the compositional variability of the ceramic production within the same territory.