The “management” of painted and monochrome pottery of Neolithic Thessaly, Central Greece: technology and provenance

Vasso Rondiri & Eleni Asderaki-Tzoumerkioti In E. Photos-Jones, Y. Bassiakos, E. Filippaki, A. Hein, I. Karatasios, V. Kilikoglou & E. Kouloumpi (eds), 2016. Proceedings of the 6th Symposium of the Hellenic Society for Archaeometry (Bar International Series 2780), Oxford: 3-12.

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The research potentials of Neolithic ceramic material have been stressed repeatedly by archaeologists concerned with ancient pottery in Greece. In Thessaly, Central Greece, the density of Neolithic sites offers an additional research tool to the study of Neolithic pottery in matters of technology and provenance. The present study examines the results of macroscopic and chemical analysis of painted pottery of the Early and Middle Neolithic period deriving from excavations and surface surveys of prehistoric sites in Thessaly, having as a goal further investigation on matters of production, provenance and circulation of Neolithic pottery. An experimental non-destructive method was used for the chemical analysis of the painted sherds in order to examine the paste, pigments and slips applied on their surface. The analysis was performed with a pXRF device in the laboratories of the Ephorate of Antiquities in Volos and had as a result the identification of the pigments as well as specific elements which show a differentiation among pottery of different geographical areas of Thessaly and maybe a first indication of its provenance.