Mycenaean pottery from the Argolid and Achaia—a mineralogical approach where chemistry leaves unanswered questions

Abstract

The chemical classification of Mycenaean pottery from the Northern Peloponnese by neutron activation analysis (NAA) resulted in two groups with very similar chemical compositions assigned to production centres in the Argolid and in Achaia, respectively. The statistical separation of these two groups on the basis only of their chemical composition was difficult, and not clear‐cut for all of the examined samples. A complementary mineralogical examination by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) of some selected samples indicated differences in the mineralogical composition, which confirmed the determined chemical differences. Furthermore, a clay sample was examined, which showed a composition similar to that of the pottery.