Sorting out problems with Late Roman eastern Mediterranean cooking wares from Tarraco (Tarragona, Spain) combining archaeology and archaeometry

Tarraco was the ancient capital of Hispania Tarraconensis, a Roman province in the Western Mediterranean. It was a strategic enclave and one of the most important ports during the Roman Empire and Late Antiquity. The archaeological record of the city shows a variety of imported products arrived from several regions including a significant amount of eastern Mediterranean wares, amongst which there are fine, table-wares, amphorae, and coarse and cooking wares. This work focuses on the integrated archaeological and archaeometric study of these eastern types of Late Roman cooking wares from the mid-7th century to the early 8th century. In previous works, these products were classified as Aegean and North Palestinian imports. However, for some of these materials a detailed macroscopic study revealed similarities with local/regional products, opening the possibility of regional ware imitating eastern prototypes. An analytical study was carried out, applying a combination of WD-XRF and Optical Microscopy to identify their provenance. The results point to the coexistence of imported eastern Mediterranean wares and local/regional imitations. At the same time, some of the typologies identified as eastern Mediterranean products seem to have been produced locally or regionally.

Automated summary

Tarraco was a strategic port and the capital of Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis. Archaeological findings reveal the presence of imported eastern Mediterranean wares as well as locally or regionally produced imitations of these products during the Late Roman period. Through analytical studies, their provenance was determined using WD-XRF and Optical Microscopy methods.