Identification of local ceramic production in Hellenistic western Sicily

A combination of neutron activation analysis and fabric analysis using the Monte Iato case study

Abstract: 

The local ceramic production in the inland region of western Sicily remains insufficiently studied, particularly regarding the differentiation between regional and supra-regional production centers. While established typologies and chronologies, such as those proposed by Lamboglia and Morel, facilitate large-scale distribution analyses, they lack a precise correlation between shape typologies, production sites, and their developmental processes. This research project aims to refine the definition of local production groups on Monte Iato through the combined application of Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) and fabric analysis. Locally produced ceramics identified via NAA will undergo additional fabric analysis to assess the extent to which both methods yield consistent groupings. Based on this premise, fabric analysis can serve as an effective tool for rapidly and cost-efficiently determining ceramic provenance through technological and compositional characteristics, without requiring extensive chemical analyses, while maintaining a connection to scientifically verified reference samples.

This methodological enhancement provides significant added value for archaeological research. The findings will contribute to the reassessment of existing provenance models and enable a more precise mapping of ceramic production networks. Furthermore, this approach offers the potential to expand the FACEM database by incorporating previously underrepresented inland sites of western Sicily. On this basis, a more comprehensive analysis of economic and cultural interactions in the western Mediterranean during the 3rd century BCE can be undertaken.