Tracing ancient artisanal gestures: Digital applications and experimental archaeology on South Italian red-figure pottery production

This paper explores how the integration of computational imaging and experimental archaeology can enhance the understanding of technological practices in South Italian red-figure pottery. Within the framework of the A.G.A.T.H.O.C.L.E.S. Project, funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, this research focuses on the first and second generations of workshops active in Sicily and their connections with Campanian and Paestan ceramic production. Moving beyond traditional stylistic analysis, the study emphasizes the significance of Persistent Signs on Surfaces—such as incisions, brush marks, and pigment residues—as diagnostic indicators of workshop-specific procedures. Digital tools, including Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) and digital portable microscopy, enable the detection and measurement of micro-traces otherwise invisible to the naked eye. When combined with experimental replication, these techniques allow researchers to reconstruct artisanal gestures, test hypotheses on pigment application (including a peculiar red-ochre, notably known as miltos), and assess the chromatic challenges faced by ancient painters prior to firing. Ultimately, this study argues for a re-humanization of ancient technological processes by foregrounding the embodied experience of craft and the material consciousness of ancient red-figure vases’ painters.