Our colleague at the BNC was the lead author of a new, large-scale study that investigates pottery production during the Bronze Age (c. 1850-1300 BC) at the Minoan town of Palaikastro, east Crete. Both provenance and production technology were investigated through petrographic analysis of thin sections and wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, using 288 archaeological pottery samples, as well as locally collected geological samples. The results showed that most of the pottery was locally produced using raw materials from a small number of geological outcrops adjacent to the town, but also identified pottery imported from southern and central Crete.
The most significant stylistic and technological changes occurred with the transition between the Protopalatial and Neopalatial periods (c. 1700 BC), and also to a lesser extent between the Neopalatial and Postpalatial periods (c.1450), reflecting similar changes occurring across the island, but significant links with earlier pottery production traditions remained suggesting the importance of local factors too. Among these, the growth of the town, already underway by the late Protopalatial period, may have played an important role, prompting a shift towards more efficient modes of pottery production.
Read the original open access paper published in a Q1 journal, the Annual of the British School at Athens via this link!
