ARCHAEOMETRIC ANALYSIS FOR PROVENANCE AND CONTENT OF ROMAN AMPHORAE FROM THE SITE OF SA MESQUIDA (MALLORCA, SPAIN)

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an inorganic and organic approach to Roman amphorae found at the rural

Roman site of Sa Mesquida (Mallorca). A set of amphorae were discovered in some rooms of the earlier

phases of the villa. These amphorae were assigned to a general Tarraconensian and Italic provenance on a

macroscopic level. In order to verify this and to accurately determine the provenance an archaeometric

characterization was carried out on twelve amphorae. The analytical approach combined wavelength

dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF) for the chemical analysis, as well as powder x-ray diffraction (XRD)

and optical microscopy by thin-section analysis (OM) for the mineralogical and petrographic

characterization. In addition, organic residue analysis by gas-chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS)

was applied to investigate the content of some of the amphorae for which wine was suggested on an

archaeological basis.

The results have allowed for a better provenance determination identifying some amphorae from specific

workshops or micro-regions within ancient Tarraconensis, as well as a better definition of the Italic

materials. The organic analysis has confirmed the presence of wine in the analysed samples.