Provenancing of VI–VII century terra sigillata coming from Matera burial area by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

One of the most important aspects of archaeometric investigations regards provenance. There are numerous studies on pottery in which the origin is investigated employing NAA, XRF or ICPMS. “Terra Sigillata” productions have been widely studied from the point of view of the composition as well. This work represents the first analytical application of the XPS technique in pottery provenancing and in particular of three Terra Sigillata wares exhibited in the Matera National Archaeological museum and dating back to the sixth-seventh century AD. XPS permitted to ascertain the samples were imported and among the different known ateliers the samples match the composition of Sigillata A/D, specifically the one produced in the factory of Henchir el-Guellal at Djilma, central Tunisia. The analyses also definitely excluded the possibility that a local production, imitating the shapes of African Terra Sigillata in accordance with the tendency of production typical of the sixth and seventh centuries AD, occurred.