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Document Details : Title: A Pilot Study of Byzantine Amphorae from Chalcis Subtitle: Technological Development in Manufacturing Author(s): PANAGOPOULOU, Adamantia P. , VROOM, Joanita , HEIN, Ano , KILIKOGLOU, Vassilis , TZAVELLA, Elli Journal: Pharos Volume: 25 Date: 2021-2023 Pages: 141-160 DOI: 10.2143/PHA.25.0.3293421 Abstract : In the present pilot study, a small assemblage of three types of ceramic transport jars was examined, which were discovered in a rescue excavation at Orionos Street in Chalcis in central Euboea, Greece, and can be dated in the Middle Byzantine period. Between the 12th and mid-13th centuries AD various types of Byzantine wares were manufactured at Chalcis, which was a production place as well as an important trading centre for pottery. The initial typological study of the finds from the Orionos excavation verified that the main amphora type used was the so-called ‘Günsenin 3’. This amphora type has been found in various parts of the Aegean (and beyond), and it can be roughly dated from the 12th to the mid-13th century. It is not yet known if Chalcis was the production centre of all these finds of the Günsenin 3 amphora all over the Aegean. Fragments of the ‘Günsenin 2’ amphora type and the amphora type preliminarily called ‘A8A’, which were also found in the Orionos excavation, can be dated to the 10th-11th centuries. The scope of the present case study concerns compositional and micro-structural characterisation of these containers. For this purpose, sections of nine selected fragments were examined by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The chemical analysis by SEM-EDS and portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (pXRF) provided information about the compositional variation of the examined amphora assemblage. Finally, x-ray diffraction (XRD) and petrographic analyses were applied for qualitative mineralogical analysis. The initial analytical results achieved in this case study allowed for drawing general conclusions concerning the technological development in the manufacturing of Byzantine amphora in Euboea. |
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