Phoenician Pottery in the Western Mediterranean: A New Perspective Based on the Early Iron Age (800–550 BC) Settlement of Sant Jaume (Alcanar, Catalonia)

Abstract

One of the most important reception sites for Phoenician pottery imports in the NE Iberian Peninsula is the Early Iron Age (800–550 BC) settlement of Sant Jaume. This site is exceptional in terms of preservation and the large number of complete vessels recovered. Moreover, the ceramic assemblage comprises one of the best collections of the earliest wheel-thrown pottery that is considered evidence of trade from the western Phoenician colonies and their specific interest in exploiting metallurgical resources. In this research, a sample of 58 individuals of wheel-thrown pottery has been analysed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), petrography (PE), and scanning electron microscopy attached with an energy dispersive X-ray unit (SEM-EDX). It was possible to identify 29 ceramic groups, some of which correspond to known Phoenician workshops of southern Andalusia and Ibiza, though the origin of most groups remains to be determined. The wide variety of sources identified illuminates the patterns of trade and exchange that the Phoenicians developed during the Early Iron Age and the export of their manufactured products. This information is fundamental to our understanding of the economic system developed by the Western Mediterranean Phoenician colonies that affected and transformed indigenous communities in the Mediterranean region.