The large assemblage of well-preserved pottery from the extensive Late Bronze Age cemetery at Per... more The large assemblage of well-preserved pottery from the extensive Late Bronze Age cemetery at Perati in East Attica (Greece) lends itself to a case study for investigating patterns of production and consumption of Mycenaean pottery. This article presents the chemical characterization by NAA of 28 pottery samples from Perati combined with a definition of ceramic macroscopic groups. The set of samples from all three chronological stages of the cemetery covers the two prevalent macroscopic groups, the presumably local standard fabric and the commonly present so-called White Ware, a distinctive pottery group known from other sites in Greece, but rarely subjected to scientific analyses. The two main NAA groups, PerA and PerC, correlate well both with the standard fabric and with the White Ware. These groups may indicate one or more local/regional workshop(s), products of which are found only occasionally at other sites included in the Bonn database. In addition to imports with chemical patterns pointing to Central Crete and Chios, several chemical singletons have been identified. Overall, the analyses show predominant consumption of local pottery, with a limited presence of imports.
A set of 41 samples from Tas-Silg, Malta, has been analysed by neutron activation. It contained n... more A set of 41 samples from Tas-Silg, Malta, has been analysed by neutron activation. It contained nine ware groups formed by visual examination covering the Late Neolithic, Bronze Age and Punic Periods (c. 3000–218 BC). Despite this diversity and long time range, seven of these ware groups, including the ‘Thermi Ware’, all have a similar chemical composition and, therefore, have been made from the same clay. This points most probably to a local origin. One group from the Punic Period, containing only Bricky Red cooking ware, is chemically separate and represents a second distinct pattern probably assignable to a local production. Five amphora sherds also from the Punic Period, and consisting of a micaceous fabric, all have different chemical characteristics and are probably imports from overseas production sites of unknown location.
A set of 41 samples from Tas-Silg, Malta, has been analysed by neutron activation. It contained n... more A set of 41 samples from Tas-Silg, Malta, has been analysed by neutron activation. It contained nine ware groups formed by visual examination covering the Late Neolithic, Bronze Age and Punic Periods (c. 3000 -218 BC). Despite this diversity and long time range, seven of these ware groups, including the 'Thermi Ware', all have a similar chemical composition and, therefore, have been made from the same clay. This points most probably to a local origin. One group from the Punic Period, containing only Bricky Red cooking ware, is chemically separate and represents a second distinct pattern probably assignable to a local production. Five amphora sherds also from the Punic Period, and consisting of a micaceous fabric, all have different chemical characteristics and are probably imports from overseas production sites of unknown location.
A set of 122 ceramic vessels found mostly in Hellenistic tombs in Boeotia, Greece, has been analy... more A set of 122 ceramic vessels found mostly in Hellenistic tombs in Boeotia, Greece, has been analysed using neutron activation analysis. The samples had been found during excavations of ancient cemeteries in the towns of Akraiphnion and Aliartos situated, respectively, at the eastern and south-western shores of the ancient lake of Copais (north-western part of Boeotia), as well as at Tanagra and Thebes in the eastern part of the same region. The analyses resulted in a clear separation between the Copaic and eastern samples. Several of the samples also showed compositions already found among Bronze Age samples from the same region indicating a local origin. Especially with regard to the samples from the Theban tombs, the results point to an import from different origins, in some cases as distant as Asia Minor.
Chemical analysis is a well-established procedure for the provenancing of archaeological ceramics... more Chemical analysis is a well-established procedure for the provenancing of archaeological ceramics. Various analytical techniques are routinely used and large amounts of data have been accumulated so far in data banks. However, in order to exchange results obtained by different laboratories, the respective analytical procedures need to be tested in terms of their inter-comparability. In this study, the schemes of analysis used in four laboratories that are involved in archaeological pottery studies on a routine basis were compared. The techniques investigated were neutron activation analysis (NAA), X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). For this comparison series of measurements on different geological standard reference materials (SRM) were carried out and the results were statistically evaluated. An attempt was also made towards the establishment of calibration factors between pairs of analytical setups in order to smooth the systematic differences among the results.
A set of 41 samples from Tas-Silg, Malta, has been analysed by neutron activation. It contained n... more A set of 41 samples from Tas-Silg, Malta, has been analysed by neutron activation. It contained nine ware groups formed by visual examination covering the Late Neolithic, Bronze Age and Punic Periods (c. 3000 -218 BC). Despite this diversity and long time range, seven of these ware groups, including the 'Thermi Ware', all have a similar chemical composition and, therefore, have been made from the same clay. This points most probably to a local origin. One group from the Punic Period, containing only Bricky Red cooking ware, is chemically separate and represents a second distinct pattern probably assignable to a local production. Five amphora sherds also from the Punic Period, and consisting of a micaceous fabric, all have different chemical characteristics and are probably imports from overseas production sites of unknown location.
Recent mineralogical studies on archaeological pottery samples report significant variations in a... more Recent mineralogical studies on archaeological pottery samples report significant variations in alkali metal concentrations due to environmental alterations during burial. Here we examine the effects of potassium (K) leaching on luminescence dating. The effect on the estimation of the dose rate is studied by considering four models of leaching (exponential, linear, early and late) and their impact on fine-and coarse-grain dating are calculated. The modeling approaches are applied to two cases of pottery in which evidence for alteration was found. Additionally, TL dating performed on pottery of one of the studied cases, indicates the importance of leaching effects on absolute dating measurements.
Results of Neutron Activation Analysis carried out in 1991 at the Chemistry Department of the Man... more Results of Neutron Activation Analysis carried out in 1991 at the Chemistry Department of the Manchester University on 142 ceramic samples from Cyprus, the Levant and Troia are presented here. They prove that the majority of Late Bronze Age wheel-made burnished Grey Ware found in the Eastern Mediterranean was imported from Troia.
In the course of a project of determining the provenance of Aegean Bronze Age pottery with Neutro... more In the course of a project of determining the provenance of Aegean Bronze Age pottery with Neutron Activation Analysis 46 examples of Late Mycenaean pictorial pottery mainly deriving from the Pelo ponnese and Eastem Central Greece, but also from Macedonia, Cyprus and Western Anatolia were sampled and analyzed. The new Acknowledgements:
The large assemblage of well-preserved pottery from the extensive Late Bronze Age cemetery at Per... more The large assemblage of well-preserved pottery from the extensive Late Bronze Age cemetery at Perati in East Attica (Greece) lends itself to a case study for investigating patterns of production and consumption of Mycenaean pottery. This article presents the chemical characterization by NAA of 28 pottery samples from Perati combined with a definition of ceramic macroscopic groups. The set of samples from all three chronological stages of the cemetery covers the two prevalent macroscopic groups, the presumably local standard fabric and the commonly present so-called White Ware, a distinctive pottery group known from other sites in Greece, but rarely subjected to scientific analyses. The two main NAA groups, PerA and PerC, correlate well both with the standard fabric and with the White Ware. These groups may indicate one or more local/regional workshop(s), products of which are found only occasionally at other sites included in the Bonn database. In addition to imports with chemical patterns pointing to Central Crete and Chios, several chemical singletons have been identified. Overall, the analyses show predominant consumption of local pottery, with a limited presence of imports.
A set of 41 samples from Tas-Silg, Malta, has been analysed by neutron activation. It contained n... more A set of 41 samples from Tas-Silg, Malta, has been analysed by neutron activation. It contained nine ware groups formed by visual examination covering the Late Neolithic, Bronze Age and Punic Periods (c. 3000–218 BC). Despite this diversity and long time range, seven of these ware groups, including the ‘Thermi Ware’, all have a similar chemical composition and, therefore, have been made from the same clay. This points most probably to a local origin. One group from the Punic Period, containing only Bricky Red cooking ware, is chemically separate and represents a second distinct pattern probably assignable to a local production. Five amphora sherds also from the Punic Period, and consisting of a micaceous fabric, all have different chemical characteristics and are probably imports from overseas production sites of unknown location.
A set of 41 samples from Tas-Silg, Malta, has been analysed by neutron activation. It contained n... more A set of 41 samples from Tas-Silg, Malta, has been analysed by neutron activation. It contained nine ware groups formed by visual examination covering the Late Neolithic, Bronze Age and Punic Periods (c. 3000 -218 BC). Despite this diversity and long time range, seven of these ware groups, including the 'Thermi Ware', all have a similar chemical composition and, therefore, have been made from the same clay. This points most probably to a local origin. One group from the Punic Period, containing only Bricky Red cooking ware, is chemically separate and represents a second distinct pattern probably assignable to a local production. Five amphora sherds also from the Punic Period, and consisting of a micaceous fabric, all have different chemical characteristics and are probably imports from overseas production sites of unknown location.
A set of 122 ceramic vessels found mostly in Hellenistic tombs in Boeotia, Greece, has been analy... more A set of 122 ceramic vessels found mostly in Hellenistic tombs in Boeotia, Greece, has been analysed using neutron activation analysis. The samples had been found during excavations of ancient cemeteries in the towns of Akraiphnion and Aliartos situated, respectively, at the eastern and south-western shores of the ancient lake of Copais (north-western part of Boeotia), as well as at Tanagra and Thebes in the eastern part of the same region. The analyses resulted in a clear separation between the Copaic and eastern samples. Several of the samples also showed compositions already found among Bronze Age samples from the same region indicating a local origin. Especially with regard to the samples from the Theban tombs, the results point to an import from different origins, in some cases as distant as Asia Minor.
Chemical analysis is a well-established procedure for the provenancing of archaeological ceramics... more Chemical analysis is a well-established procedure for the provenancing of archaeological ceramics. Various analytical techniques are routinely used and large amounts of data have been accumulated so far in data banks. However, in order to exchange results obtained by different laboratories, the respective analytical procedures need to be tested in terms of their inter-comparability. In this study, the schemes of analysis used in four laboratories that are involved in archaeological pottery studies on a routine basis were compared. The techniques investigated were neutron activation analysis (NAA), X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). For this comparison series of measurements on different geological standard reference materials (SRM) were carried out and the results were statistically evaluated. An attempt was also made towards the establishment of calibration factors between pairs of analytical setups in order to smooth the systematic differences among the results.
A set of 41 samples from Tas-Silg, Malta, has been analysed by neutron activation. It contained n... more A set of 41 samples from Tas-Silg, Malta, has been analysed by neutron activation. It contained nine ware groups formed by visual examination covering the Late Neolithic, Bronze Age and Punic Periods (c. 3000 -218 BC). Despite this diversity and long time range, seven of these ware groups, including the 'Thermi Ware', all have a similar chemical composition and, therefore, have been made from the same clay. This points most probably to a local origin. One group from the Punic Period, containing only Bricky Red cooking ware, is chemically separate and represents a second distinct pattern probably assignable to a local production. Five amphora sherds also from the Punic Period, and consisting of a micaceous fabric, all have different chemical characteristics and are probably imports from overseas production sites of unknown location.
Recent mineralogical studies on archaeological pottery samples report significant variations in a... more Recent mineralogical studies on archaeological pottery samples report significant variations in alkali metal concentrations due to environmental alterations during burial. Here we examine the effects of potassium (K) leaching on luminescence dating. The effect on the estimation of the dose rate is studied by considering four models of leaching (exponential, linear, early and late) and their impact on fine-and coarse-grain dating are calculated. The modeling approaches are applied to two cases of pottery in which evidence for alteration was found. Additionally, TL dating performed on pottery of one of the studied cases, indicates the importance of leaching effects on absolute dating measurements.
Results of Neutron Activation Analysis carried out in 1991 at the Chemistry Department of the Man... more Results of Neutron Activation Analysis carried out in 1991 at the Chemistry Department of the Manchester University on 142 ceramic samples from Cyprus, the Levant and Troia are presented here. They prove that the majority of Late Bronze Age wheel-made burnished Grey Ware found in the Eastern Mediterranean was imported from Troia.
In the course of a project of determining the provenance of Aegean Bronze Age pottery with Neutro... more In the course of a project of determining the provenance of Aegean Bronze Age pottery with Neutron Activation Analysis 46 examples of Late Mycenaean pictorial pottery mainly deriving from the Pelo ponnese and Eastem Central Greece, but also from Macedonia, Cyprus and Western Anatolia were sampled and analyzed. The new Acknowledgements:
Vom 07. Juni bis 15. September 2016 ist im Staatlichen Historischen Museum Moskau die Sonderausst... more Vom 07. Juni bis 15. September 2016 ist im Staatlichen Historischen Museum Moskau die Sonderausstellung »Die Griechen der Antike zwischen Pontos Euxeinos und Maiotis« zu sehen. In ihr werden zehn Jahre internationale und interdisziplinäre Forschung zur sog. Griechischen Kolonisation auf der Taman'-Halbinsel durch das archäologische ‘Bosporos Projekts’ präsentiert, das vom Staatlichen Historischen Museum Moskau und der Eurasien-Abteilung des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts in Berlin getragen wird. Im Begleitkatalog zur Ausstellung werden neben archäologischer Feldforschung und dem (Arbeits-) Leben aus den letzten 10 Jahren, auch Einblicke in interdisziplinäre Teilprojekte gegeben, ohne die aktuelle archäologische Projekte nicht mehr denkbar sind. Am Anfang werden Impressionen der Ausstellungseröffnung am 07. Juni 2016 im Staatlichen Historischen Museum gezeigt (5-7). Darauf folgt ein Überblick über die Geschichte des ‘Bosporos Projekts’ auf der Taman'-Halbinsel, wobei ‘Highlights’ der Grabungstätigkeiten und der naturwissenschaftlichen Untersuchungsmethoden vorgestellt werden (8-20). Auf den allgemeinen Überblick folgen detaillierte Einblicke in die naturwissenschaftlichen Teilprojekte und der Bearbeitung ausgewählter archäologischer Funde. Die Paläogeographie hat die antike Landschaft rekonstruieren können, wie sie sich den Griechen dargestellt hatte. Völlig überraschend wurde dabei ein zweiter schiffbarer Wasserweg östlich der heutigen Straße von Kerč (dem antiken Kimmerischen Bosporus) aufgedeckt: der sog. Kuban-Bosporus (21-27). Diese Erkenntnis führte zur Zusammenarbeit mit Historikern und Philologen: archäologische und geomorphologische Erkenntnisse werden mit der historischen Geographie und Topographie abgeglichen (28-34). Im Rahmen des Projekts dienten zudem archäologische Surveys der Untersuchung des antike Siedlungssystem auf der Taman'-Halbinsel (35-39). Dann werden die zwischen 2006 und 2015 in der griechischen Siedlung Golubickaja 2 aufgedeckten Fundgattungen erläutert: die früheste griechische Importkeramik, die bis in das 1. Viertel des 6. Jh. v. Chr. zurückreicht (40-44); Terrakotten, die nach Herkunft, Datierung, Bedeutung und ihre Verwendung in der Antike dargestellt werden (45-51); Transportamphoren verschiedener Herstellungszentren, die aus einem Amphorenkomplex des 5. Jh. v. Chr. stammen (52-55); Amphorenstempel werden im Kontext des Bosporanischen Reichs nach Herkunft und Datierung vorgestellt (56-58); attische und attisierende schwarzfirnis Keramik aus dem 6. - 2. Jh. v. Chr. werden in ihrem Typenrepertoire erklärt (59-61); handgeformte Keramik wird im Bilde der Analogien aus den Nachbargebieten der indigenen Völker besprochen (62-64); Fundmünzen aus dem späten 6./Anfang 5. Jh. bis ans Ende des 2. Jh. v. Chr. erlauben einen Vergleich im Kontext des Bosporanischen Reichs (65-70); technische Geräte wie Reibsteine waren zur Herstellung des Grundnahrungsmittels Getreide notwendig (71-73); Knochenfunde geben Auskunft über die Zusammensetzung von Nutz- und Haustiere sowie des Speiseplans der Bewohner (74-76); ein ungewöhnliches Bodenobjekt neben der Siedlung gehört vermutlich zu einer Tonabbaugrube (77-79). Zuletzt werden noch zwei weitere Grabungsprojekte auf der Taman'-Halbinsel vorgestellt: Die Fortifikation der im 6. Jh. v. Chr. am Ufer des Kuban-Bosporus gegründeten griechischen Siedlung Strelka 2 (80-84) sowie das Heiligtum der Artemis Agrotera auf dem Berg 'Boris und Gleb' (85-89). Abschließend gewähren lokale chemische Gruppen sowie die Lokalisierung hellenistischer Keramik aus der sog. Kirbei-Werkstatt im kleinasiatischen Kyme einen Einblick in die laufenden archäometrischen Untersuchungen zur Herkunftsbestimmung der Keramik (90-93).
A Late Bronze Age fragment of a clay cuneiform tablet with the Gilgamesh Epic was found in the 19... more A Late Bronze Age fragment of a clay cuneiform tablet with the Gilgamesh Epic was found in the 1950s on the surface at Megiddo. The presence of scribes in Megiddo is evident from the el-Amarna letters. This is the only first-class literary Mesopotamian text ever to be found in Canaan. The aim of the present study was to examine the origin of this tablet, by mineralogical and elemental methods. The petrographic and NAA results indicate that the tablet was not Mesopotamian, but was written in southern Israel. The implications of this result in view of the small corpus of scholarly cuneiform texts discovered in Egypt and the southern Levant in the second millennium BCE are discussed.
During Early Iron Age large numbers of bronze tripod cauldrons were ritually dedicated at a certa... more During Early Iron Age large numbers of bronze tripod cauldrons were ritually dedicated at a certain range of Greek sanctuaries. While the actual cauldron was commonly hammered from a bronze disc, the three legs and two handles were cast applying the lost wax technique. Particularly at the backsides of tripod leg fragments, at areas out of view and therefore not necessarily completely cleaned by the ancient artisans, small residues of the casting ceramics can be still found adhering to the metal. Furthermore, casting cores are usually still extant. These ceramic residues provide essential information about the casting process. A central question to be addressed is the location and organization of the workshops. While the metals in most cases had to be imported, it can be assumed that for the casting ceramics raw materials from the vicinity of the specific workshop were used. Therefore, it can be expected that the chemical composition of the casting ceramics can be linked to reference data of specific production sites for ceramics in general and of metallurgical workshop debris with pyrotechnical ceramics in particular. Structural examination of ceramic fragments on the other hand provides technological details of the casting process. Recent results of an ongoing project will be presented, including material from Olympia (Elis) and Kalapodi (Phthiotis).
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Papers by Hans Mommsen
Am Anfang werden Impressionen der Ausstellungseröffnung am 07. Juni 2016 im Staatlichen Historischen Museum gezeigt (5-7). Darauf folgt ein Überblick über die Geschichte des ‘Bosporos Projekts’ auf der Taman'-Halbinsel, wobei ‘Highlights’ der Grabungstätigkeiten und der naturwissenschaftlichen Untersuchungsmethoden vorgestellt werden (8-20). Auf den allgemeinen Überblick folgen detaillierte Einblicke in die naturwissenschaftlichen Teilprojekte und der Bearbeitung ausgewählter archäologischer Funde. Die Paläogeographie hat die antike Landschaft rekonstruieren können, wie sie sich den Griechen dargestellt hatte. Völlig überraschend wurde dabei ein zweiter schiffbarer Wasserweg östlich der heutigen Straße von Kerč (dem antiken Kimmerischen Bosporus) aufgedeckt: der sog. Kuban-Bosporus (21-27). Diese Erkenntnis führte zur Zusammenarbeit mit Historikern und Philologen: archäologische und geomorphologische Erkenntnisse werden mit der historischen Geographie und Topographie abgeglichen (28-34). Im Rahmen des Projekts dienten zudem archäologische Surveys der Untersuchung des antike Siedlungssystem auf der Taman'-Halbinsel (35-39). Dann werden die zwischen 2006 und 2015 in der griechischen Siedlung Golubickaja 2 aufgedeckten Fundgattungen erläutert: die früheste griechische Importkeramik, die bis in das 1. Viertel des 6. Jh. v. Chr. zurückreicht (40-44); Terrakotten, die nach Herkunft, Datierung, Bedeutung und ihre Verwendung in der Antike dargestellt werden (45-51); Transportamphoren verschiedener Herstellungszentren, die aus einem Amphorenkomplex des 5. Jh. v. Chr. stammen (52-55); Amphorenstempel werden im Kontext des Bosporanischen Reichs nach Herkunft und Datierung vorgestellt (56-58); attische und attisierende schwarzfirnis Keramik aus dem 6. - 2. Jh. v. Chr. werden in ihrem Typenrepertoire erklärt (59-61); handgeformte Keramik wird im Bilde der Analogien aus den Nachbargebieten der indigenen Völker besprochen (62-64); Fundmünzen aus dem späten 6./Anfang 5. Jh. bis ans Ende des 2. Jh. v. Chr. erlauben einen Vergleich im Kontext des Bosporanischen Reichs (65-70); technische Geräte wie Reibsteine waren zur Herstellung des Grundnahrungsmittels Getreide notwendig (71-73); Knochenfunde geben Auskunft über die Zusammensetzung von Nutz- und Haustiere sowie des Speiseplans der Bewohner (74-76); ein ungewöhnliches Bodenobjekt neben der Siedlung gehört vermutlich zu einer Tonabbaugrube (77-79). Zuletzt werden noch zwei weitere Grabungsprojekte auf der Taman'-Halbinsel vorgestellt: Die Fortifikation der im 6. Jh. v. Chr. am Ufer des Kuban-Bosporus gegründeten griechischen Siedlung Strelka 2 (80-84) sowie das Heiligtum der Artemis Agrotera auf dem Berg 'Boris und Gleb' (85-89). Abschließend gewähren lokale chemische Gruppen sowie die Lokalisierung hellenistischer Keramik aus der sog. Kirbei-Werkstatt im kleinasiatischen Kyme einen Einblick in die laufenden archäometrischen Untersuchungen zur Herkunftsbestimmung der Keramik (90-93).