Neutron-activation study of figurines, pottery, and workshop materials from the Athenian Agora, Greece

Ceramic specimens from the excavations of the Agora of ancient Athens, Greece, including material from factories, i.e., trial firing pieces, pottery and figurine wasters, datable to the Protogeometric, Subgeometric, and Classical Periods, and stylistically related figurines and pottery were analyzed by neutron activation. The factory material from the three distinct chronological periods separated respectively into three significantly different compositional groups, indicating either that separate sources of clay were used during each of these periods or that some other significant changes in the traditions of fabrication had occurred. Many of the figurines and sherds analyzed coincided in composition with one of these three groups and therefore were shown to be consistent with the output of Athenian workshops. Some specimens of Corinthian style formed a separate compositional group as did some other specimens that agreed in composition with a clay from Aegina. Comparison of these results with previous analyses on file in the Brookhaven Data Bank revealed a number of specimens that corresponded both in style and composition to the Agora material. Most significant was a sizable amount of Classical Greek pottery excavated in southern France, in Israel, and in Cyprus that conformed in composition to the Attic Classical Group. 6 figures, 2 tables