Miguel Ángel Cau Ontiveros

Excavating the Roman peasant II: excavations at Case Nuove, Cinigiano (GR)

This report details the survey, excavations and materials analysis carried out at Case Nuove (GR) in Tuscany, a site identified by surface survey as a possible rural house, but which excavation and materials analysis suggest was a small-scale agro-processing point of late Republican date. Through accompanying analysis of pollen and land-use data, the article considers the problems this type of site — the stand-alone agro-processing point — presents for interpretations of the Roman landscape.

Christians in a Muslim world? Radiocarbon dating of the cemetery overlaying the forum of Pollentia (Mallorca, Balearic Islands)

Abstract14C dating of human remains from the necropolis overlaying the forum of the Roman city of Pollentia (Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean) has helped to solve the problem of the chronology of these burials. Traditionally, this necropolis was thought to date from the fourth century AD. Recent archaeological data suggested a later chronology with graves that follow funerary practices considered of the Late Antique Christian communities on the island. The results of the radiocarbon dating provide an unexpected dating from the tenth to the twelfth centuries, well into the Islamic period (AD 902/903–1229). The results are of extreme importance as they offer, for the first time, an absolute chronology for this necropolis. Furthermore, they may provide archaeological evidence of the existence of non-Muslim communities into the Muslim period on the island. This absolute chronology and its implications are a major breakthrough for the history of Pollentia, Mallorca and the Balearics.

Amphorae from the Late Antique city of Tarraco-Tarracona (Catalonia, Spain): archaeometric characterisation

This paper presents the results of the petrographic, mineralogical and chemical characterisation of Late Roman amphorae from a sixth-century context found in the Medieval Cathedral of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain). This city had an intense port activity in Late Antiquity as the capital of Hispania Tarraconensis and, from the late 5th century, as an important Visigothic centre. A total of 41 amphora samples were analysed using a combination of techniques, including optical microscopy by thin-section analysis, X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction, in order to obtain information on their provenance and technology. They comprise North African, South Hispanic and Eastern Mediterranean types, mainly dated to the 5th and 6th centuries. The analysis revealed a wide diversity of chemical-petrographic groups and subgroups, indicating the import of amphorae from several production centres, in many cases being possible to determine their particular provenance. A large part of the samples correspond to Tunisian amphorae, for which a general trend was found, since in a first period they are associated with workshops from the Zeugitana region but from the late 5th or early 6th centuries ―and during all the 6th century― they are imported almost exclusively from the Byzacena . For South Hispanic and Eastern Mediterranean amphorae different workshops seem to be represented, even for a same amphora type. The results of this study provide new important evidence for a better understanding of the trade networks of Tarraco - Tarracona in Late Antiquity.

Residue analysis of the floors of a charcoal burner’s hut at Naour (Morocco)

As part of the ethnoarchaeological study carried out by S. Burri and A. Durand on the way of life of current charcoal burners in Morocco, archaeometric analyses of samples from the floor of a hut in Naour were carried out in order to identify the presence of chemical concentrations. These analyses were performed in order to understand the chemical traces left by the various activities during the occupation of the hut and to provide data that could, in the future, serve as a framework for the interpretation of the archaeological record.

Organic residue analysis of experimental, medieval, and post-medieval glazed ceramics

Glazed ceramics have not typically been sampled for organic residue analysis because the glaze is not porous; therefore, it is commonly believed that these ceramics cannot absorb substances. Although this is partially true, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the glaze may exhibit imperfections due to the production process or the use of ceramics and that these imperfections allow the ceramic matrix to trap residues of the food contained in the vessels. The absorption of organic residues in glazed ceramics is demonstrated by analyses of modern vessels experimentally enriched with wine and vegetable oils (olive and lentisk oils) and archaeological vessels obtained from post-medieval Florence (Italy) and medieval Pla d’Almatà (Balaguer, Lleida, Spain). The analyses were conducted using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry following different extraction protocols aimed at identifying lipids and wine residues preserved in the ceramic vessels. Images of the glazed ceramic coating were recorded using an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope to verify the presence of imperfections. In addition to providing information about the use of the studied vessels, the obtained results demonstrate how glazed ceramics can be studied to recover information regarding ceramic use and dietary practices in medieval and post-medieval periods when glazed wares were very common.

Organic residues analysis of Late Antique pottery from Plaça Major-Horts de Can Torras (Castellar del Vallés, Catalonia)

Organic residues analysis is an important tool in archaeological research because it sheds light on aspects of the daily life of the past. In particular, it allows us to obtain information on food production, consumption and trade. In this paper we present the results of residue analysis performed on ceramic vessels from the archaeological site of Placa Major-Horts de Can Torras (Castellar del Valles, Barcelona, Spain), a long lasting site, of which we studied the Late Antique occupation. The site is a rural settlement located in the northeast of Catalonia and it was characterized by structures made of perishable material and by the presence of silos, above which probably the living structures were placed. Analyses were carried out on twelve cooking and storage ceramic forms that were the most representative of the Late Antique phase. In particular pots, jugs, pans and dolia were analyzed, in order to investigate the food consumed at the site. Analyses were conducted by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results show the cooking of animal and vegetal products in the cooking vessels (pots and pan) and the storage of wine in the dolia . Pinaceae products are particularly abundant in some vessels, which suggests the use of this substance at the site. In general, the analyses carried out provide the first case study of residue analysis of ceramic material of this period in Catalonia and allowed us to recover information both on food habits and on the use of different ceramic forms during Late Antiquity in this area.

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 analysis of Late Roman amphorae from Africa in the ancient city of Iluro (Mataró, Catalonia, Spain)

In this paper, the results of the archaeometric study of an assemblage of Late Roman amphorae, found in several contexts from the ancient city of Iluro (Mataró, Catalonia, Spain) and with a presumable origin in Roman Africa, is presented. A total of 57 samples have been analysed, by means of optical microscopy (thin-section analysis), X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction, in order to obtain an integrated petrographic, chemical and mineralogical characterisation and, from this data, to shed light on their provenance. The results indicate the presence of a large number of fabrics, most of them with a Tunisian provenance; a fabric probably from Algeria was also found, as well as a few chemical-petrographic loners that should be related to a provenance out of Africa. Concerning the Tunisian fabrics, the comparison with data from production centres allows for a more precise provenance hypothesis for many of them. These results are useful for the study of the trade networks of Iluro in Late Antiquity, since they provide new evidence on the diversity of transport amphorae that were arriving to this urban centre in Hispania Tarraconensis, showing a more complex reality than initially suggested by the archaeological evidence.

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.