Chemical analyses of ancient ceramic fragments are offering new details about the craft networks and migration of pottery artisans in the classical Mediterranean world. By examining the element profiles of decorative vessels from late fifth and early fourth century BCE Sicily, scientists have mapped how master potters moved across the region and traded their goods. The findings were recently published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences.
Between 420 and 375 BCE, the Mediterranean basin was an active hub of political and economic exchange. For over a century prior, Athens dominated the production of red figure pottery. This highly sought after ceramic style was characterized by unpainted red terracotta figures set against a deep, glossy black background. Over time, workshops producing this exact style appeared in Sicily and across southern Italy, a region known as Magna Graecia.
The emergence of these local workshops raises questions about how the specialized manufacturing techniques transferred from the Greek mainland. Archaeologists seek to understand whether finished pots simply arrived on cargo ships, or whether the craftspeople left mainland Greece to set up new kilns in the west. Once these artisans established themselves in Sicily, their movement among different city states remains another open question.
Historical records provide virtually no details regarding the lives, training, or travels of individual potters and painters. To fill this blank space, scholars have historically relied on stylistic clues. By comparing brushstrokes, figural details, and decorative patterns, experts group unsigned pots into workshops and attribute them to distinct, anonymous artisans, such as the Chequer Painter or the Painter of Louvre K236. While tracing these stylistic developments provides a map of artistic influence, it cannot confirm whether an artisan relocated or if a pot was just copied or traded. Physical evidence linking the geological origins of the clay used in specific pots provides an objective way to test these stylistic attributions.
Annarosa Mangone of the Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro led a research team, working with colleagues from the Università degli Studi di Torino, to analyze the physical makeup of these artifacts. The researchers examined 38 red figure sherds and two black gloss fragments recovered during 20th century excavations at the ancient sites of Himera, Lipari, and Syracuse. The team designed their approach to test both the underlying ceramic body and the thin, vitrified black layer on the surface.
They employed scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X ray spectrometry to examine the microscopic structure and basic mineral composition of the sherds. To identify trace elements, the team used inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry on pulverized samples taken directly from the ceramic bodies. Trace elements exist in microscopic amounts and act as a geographical fingerprint, linking the material to the specific geological source where the clay was dug from the earth.
The black decorative gloss presented a different challenge, as it typically measures only about 15 to 20 micrometers thick. Measuring its chemistry without mixing in the clay beneath it required laser ablation mass spectrometry. A precise laser burned away tiny amounts of the black surface, allowing the mass spectrometer to read its composition independently of the base ceramic.
The chemical data allowed researchers to distinguish between locally sourced clay and imported vessels, shedding light on how these artisans navigated the ancient world. For example, the team analyzed a group of fragments stylistically attributed to the Chequer Painter. This painter is known for an aesthetic style that closely mimics Athenian traditions. The chemical analysis revealed that one fragment made in this style and found in Sicily was formed from a clay rich in chromium and nickel. This elemental profile matches the known chemical fingerprint of the Greek mainland.
A second fragment attributed to the same painter, recovered in Syracuse, matched the local elemental composition of eastern Sicily. This provides physical evidence that the Chequer Painter likely trained and worked in Greece early in their career, later migrating to the western Mediterranean to continue their craft.
The findings also outline artisan movement within Sicily itself. The team evaluated pieces attributed to the Painter of Louvre K236. Stylistic analyses had previously associated this workshop with the island of Lipari, situated off the northern coast of Sicily. The chemical makeup of a vase attributed to this painter and found in Syracuse matched the local clay of eastern Sicily, while another fragment found at the same site matched the clay of Lipari. This pattern suggests the artisan began their career in Syracuse before relocating their workshop to Lipari, while continuing to export finished goods back to the community in Syracuse.
The analysis also captured the technical knowledge of these ancient potters. The black gloss was not made from the same raw material as the main ceramic body. Artisans selected a specific iron rich, kaolinite residual clay known as terra rossa to create the glaze. In several samples, the black slip contained high concentrations of zinc and copper. Ancient potters likely processed the gloss clay using acidic mine drainage. This acidic liquid would help remove carbonate minerals that inhibit the firing process and promote the suspension of fine clay particles, demonstrating an advanced grasp of material engineering.
The primary challenge in this research is the sample size. Examining 40 fragments provides useful data points but is insufficient to map the complete production history of all the region’s active workshops. Establishing a comprehensive timeline requires thousands of data points across widespread sites.
In addition, elemental profiling depends entirely on existing comparative databases. A few imported fragments in this study could not be traced to a specific origin because reference data for trace elements in ceramics from other parts of the Mediterranean remain incomplete. Expanding the chemical dataset to include more fragments from related city states across southern Italy could clarify the exact routes potters took, ultimately mapping the full scope of artisanal migration and technological exchange in the ancient world.
The paper, “Archaeometric insight into the early South Italian red figure pottery (420–375 BCE): evidence from Himera, Lipari, and Syracuse in Sicily,” was authored by Annarosa Mangone, Marco Serino, Diego Elia, Patrizia Davit, Lorena Carla Giannossa, Claudia Biscotti, and Monica Gulmini.