Comprehensive Archaeometric Study of Ayla-Aksum Amphorae from Adulis, Red Sea Coast of Eritrea

Current archaeological excavations in the ancient port of Adulis, on the Red Sea coast, in present-day Eritrea have yielded a large corpus of imported and local pottery. These wares come from contexts dated from the 5th to the 7th century CE, during which this port was intensely occupied. Imported pottery from the Eastern Mediterranean, the Levant, Indian Ocean and Arabian Peninsula dominated the assemblages, testifying the importance of the site in inter-regional trade. Moreover, a local pottery production also flourished, equally significant to understand the culture- history of the site. At present, only scarce archaeometric information is available about the pottery assemblages excavated from Adulis. The main focus of this research is on the ‘Ayla-Aksum’ amphorae – dominating the Adulis assemblages – which have been investigated here with a multi-analytical archaeometric approach, together with local pottery, Late Roman Amphora 1, dolia samples, and slipped ware. Petrographic, Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis and Inductively Coupled Plasma -Optical Emission Spectrometry analyses allowed the distinction of fabrics and compositional groups, significant to provide information on the provenance and helpful in completing the ceramic sequence at Adulis. Moreover, data from mineralogical (X-ray Powder Diffraction) and micro-structural (Scanning Electron Microscopy) viewpoints are discussed to highlight different technologies of production and micro-structural features relevant to complement information on provenance in as much as a discussion on organic residue analysis on some samples by Fourier Transform InfraRed Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). By considering the typological classification presented in this study, corroborated by mineralogical and geo-chemical information, this research represents the first comprehensive archaeometric investigation of pottery assemblages from Adulis.