L'articolo discute i dati relativi ad un raro documento delle produzioni greche di età VIII sec. a.C. rinvenuto in un insediamento indigeno del Salento. Presenta i risultati di una ricerca archeometrica sulle tracce di restauro antico presenti sul vaso.

The paper deals with the results of a study on food habits during the Archaic Age in the Messapian settlement of San Vito dei Normanni (south-eastern Italy), integrating chemical analysis of organic residues by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) with the enquiries aimed at determining the actual use of pottery vessels from archaeological contexts. In the framework of a contextual approach, the traditional examination of the pottery was supported by a series of analytical techniques: analyses of technological, morphological and stylistic characteristics, use-alteration and residue analyses. The chemical characterization of organic residues carried out in the present study, together with all archaeological data, contributes not only to a better understanding of pottery function and trade, but also help us to define the “social dimension” in which the vessels were used. The results show that most of the imported cooking pots were used to boil meat, probably of ruminant animals. These data can be related with ritual meals and feasting activities based on animal sacrifice, as we can deduce from the large number of faunal remains found near the stone altar and in the area of the great building. Most of the pans were instead used to boil vegetables, mainly legumes and cereals, as confirmed by botanical remains, while some of them probably contained milk and non ruminant animal fats. Two samples of corinthian trade amphorae (type A) contained a vegetable oil, while the presence of pine resins in two samples (type B) could suggest that they originally transported wine.

This work aimed at comprehensively evaluate the potential and effectiveness of natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) for the extraction of different natural compounds from archaeological samples. We compared the procedure by DESs, which are now emerging as green and sustainable solvents, with the more conventional solvent extraction protocols, which gave measurable yields of lipid extract. The different techniques were applied on the absorbed residues of small samples of a replica pottery vessel after cooking experiments of animal fats. Direct extraction by DES and derivatization proved efficient to obtain enough fatty acids for quantification analysis of absorbed lipid residues by GC-MS. The next step was the application of DES extraction procedure on some archaeological samples previously submitted to conventional extraction methods. GC-MS analyses gave comparable results as regards the amounts and relative proportions of fatty acids identified in the archaeological samples, thus encouraging to further refine in the future the analytical protocol by DES.

Le ricerche condotte tra il 2015 e il 2016 nell’abitato fortificato di Portorusso hanno consentito di mettere in luce un ambiente coperto localizzato a ridosso del muro difensivo, all’interno del quale, in prossimità di piastre da focolare, erano stati deposti oggetti particolari come contenitori ceramici miniaturistici, ornamenti in osso, manufatti in lega di rame o conchiglie. L’analisi integrata delle evidenze archeologiche, insieme alla caratterizzazione chimica dei residui organici contenuti all’interno di cinque recipienti ceramici ha consentito di chiarire alcuni aspetti funzionali di questo ambiente suggerendo una sua destinazione cultuale.

The aim of this work was to determine the provenance and the content of a group of archaic transport amphorae of different typologies retrieved during the archaeological excavations in the archaic settlement of Castello di Alceste (S.Vito dei Normanni-Br). We analysed a group of 16 samples belonging mainly to “Corinthian B” amphorae, which are widely diffused in the western Mediterranean basin and in Greece, but whose geographical provenance is still under discussion. XRF/FP analyses revealed that the amphorae were manufactured in three different areas of the Mediterranean: southern Italy, Ionian Islands and Corinth. GC-MS analyses revealed that most of the amphorae contained wine markers, together with pine resin, probably used as a sealant for the vessel or an additive to preserve wine. The contemporary presence of oil or animal fats in some containers suggests a possible reuse of the amphorae to store and preserve other foodstuffs

Il lavoro illustra alcuni risultati della ricerca multidisciplinare, archeologica e archeometrica, condotta in stretta sinergia da archeologici e chimici, al fine di offrire un contributo ai più vasti e complessi temi della ricostruzione del paesaggio rurale del Salento e dell’alimentazione umana fra Tardoantico e Medioevo. A tale scopo, un certo numero di reperti ceramici, rinvenuti nel corso degli scavi condotti dall’Università del Salento su alcuni siti di età medievale, sono stati sottoposti ad analisi archeometriche, per determinare la natura dei residui organici assorbiti dal corpo ceramico e, in alcuni casi, visibili come incrostazioni sulla superficie interna dei contenitori.