Investigating the provenance of the Baetican amphorae Dressel 23: new archaeometric evidence from Late Roman consumption centres

Abstract

Baetican amphorae of the type Dressel 23 found in Late Roman consumption centres from the northeastern Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands were archaeometrically investigated in order to characterise the materials and examine their provenance. A combination of analytical techniques was used, including optical microscopy (thin-section analysis), X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The results show two main fabrics and a number of other less represented fabrics. Some of these fabrics comprise all the samples of the variants Dressel 23a and 23c, and can be related to a provenance in the Guadalquivir/Genil valleys, while other fabrics include all the Dressel 23d samples and their provenance must be situated in the coastal area of Málaga, based on their petrographic composition and the integration of the archaeological information. Some samples of Almagro 51A-B amphorae are also analysed, and show the same chemical-petrographic composition as the Dressel 23d individuals, this indicating that they both come from the same workshops. The results suggest that the arrival of Dressel 23 amphorae from the Málaga area to the analysed consumption centres may have been more significant in the Late Roman period than usually acknowledged.