Production of Late Bronze-Early Iron Age handmade pottery from Central Epirus (Prefecture of Ioannina), Greece

The present work represents the first archaeometric study of pottery from central Epirus (Prefecture of Ioannina). It is combining the macroscopic examination of a large ceramic body, and the petrographic analysis of 104 samples from Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age handmade pottery from Liatovouni in the Konitsa region, and Krya in the Ioannina Basin. For comparative reasons, 27 samples from a number of sites in the Ioannina Basin were also examined microscopically. The study provides new information regarding the potential provenance and technology of manufacture of ceramic vessels in the study region. Although local preferences in pottery recipes and their correlation to specific wares are apparent, ceramic production in the region is characterized by a shared knowledge of materials, processes and techniques, pointing to contacts not only with neighboring sites, but with areas further afield.