Pottery production and the raw material resources: the case of SE Thessaly

Presented by Areti Pentedeka, Petros Koutsovitis, and Andreas Magganas
In track Posters

Thessaly during the Neolithic was characterised by dense settlement distribution on a wide range of geomorphological and topographic zones. This paper focuses on the neighbouring sites of Magoula Visviki (Velestino 4 / Agios Georgios Ferron 3: ATAE 274), Magoula Agrokipiou (Velestino 1 / Velestino 2: ATAE 280) and Hatzimissiotiki Magoula (Stefanovikeio 5 / Stefanovikeio 5: ATAE 277), all situated in the southern niche of the eastern Thessalian plain, but in different microenvironments (plain, hillside, lacustrine). The ceramic assemblages of these sites were examined as a case study of defining local origin and distinguishing the ceramic production of adjacent settlements, inevitably exploiting very similar (if not the same) raw material sources.
To this end, a total of 138 pottery samples, representative of all wares and shapes and dating to all Neolithic sub-phases (from Early Neolithic to the Chalcolithic period), along with 23 raw material samples (rock fragments, plastic sediments and sands from the vicinity of the sites, then processed experimentally in the laboratory) were examined under the polarising microscope, and were subjected to refiring tests. Additionally, 65 rock samples were analysed petrographically and chemically (EPMA-EDS & WDS, XRF, ICP-MS). The integrated approach adopted enabled the geological and geochemical characterisation of different geological formations in SE Thessaly, thus shedding light on the pottery production and ceramic technology characterising each site, and facilitating the micro-scale discrimination between typologically very similar ceramic sequences. Moreover, the analyses results allow for further discussion on the formation of local potting traditions and the shaping of regional connectivity.