Archaeometric evidences of the 4th-2nd century BC amphorae productions in north eastern Sicily

This work focuses on the petro-archaeometric analysis of several transport amphorae dated back from 4th to 2nd century BC which were found in various archaeological excavations recently carried out in Messina and Milazzo (north eastern Sicily). These amphorae, generally known as Graeco-Italic, raise the problem of the identification of their production areas. Petrographic analyses proved the presence of two groups characterised by the presence of coarse metamorphic or volcanic inclusions and one group with finer metamorphic inclusions. Multivariate statistical analyses made it possible to detect the production area of the amphorae with metamorphic inclusion in north eastern Sicily, comparing them with locally produced bricks and clay sediments cropping out near the ancient cities. On the contrary, the studied amphorae rich in volcanic inclusions have petrographic and chemical features which can be attributed to production areas in the Campanian region. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.