There’s more to a vessel than meets the eye: Organic residue analysis of ‘wine’ containers from shipwrecks and settlements of ancient Cyprus (4th–1st century )
Resource type
Journal article
Date published
June 2022
Abstract
Despite growing evidence to the contrary, wine remains the assumed content of many types of ancient pottery. Vessels from the Kyrenia and Mazotos shipwrecks, and Yeronisos island presumed to have contained wine were subjected to three different extraction protocols to test the assumption that these vessels were used to import and serve wine. Chemical extracts reveal grapevine products but also other fruit juice, beeswax and plant oil, sometimes mixed with grapevine products due to intentional mixing or reuse. Biomarkers detected in sediment samples from Mazotos and Yeronisos demonstrate why quantification is vital. Analyses show that even seemingly identical ceramics from the same shipwreck contained different commodities.
Creator (organisation)
Briggs, Lisa
Demesticha, Stella
Katzev, Susan
Wylde Swiny, Helena
Craig, Oliver E.
Drieu, Léa
Project(s)
DNA from the Wine-Dark Sea
Funder
| Funder name | Awards |
Honor Frost Foundation | Developing the Discipline, Underwater Archaeology |
Journal title
Archaeometry
Volume
https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12747
Publisher
Wiley
Place of publication
Oxford
ISSN
0003-813X
eISSN
1475-4754
Official URL