New Chemical Evidence for the Use of Combed Ware Pottery Vessels as Beehives in Ancient Greece

Authors: Evershed R.P.¹; Dudd S.N.¹; Anderson-Stojanovic V.R.²; Gebhard E.R.³

Source: Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 30, Number 1, January 2003 , pp. 1-12(12)

Publisher: Academic Press

Abstract:

Coarseware vessels from excavations at Isthmia, Greece, in contexts dating from the Hellenistic and Roman periods, resemble ceramic beehives used by the ancient Greeks and still in recent use on the Cycladic islands and Crete. Chemical investigations of absorbed residues were performed with the aim of obtaining direct evidence for the use of these vessels as beehives. High-temperature gas chromatography (HT-GC) and HT-GC/mass spectrometry (HT-GC/MS) were used to screen lipid extracts for the presence of compounds characteristic of beeswax. Samples of beeswax taken from a 19C ethnographic beehive was used as reference material. Potsherds from 10 pithoi recovered from the same Isthmia excavation served as controls. A significant proportion of the sherds from the putative beehive vessels contained compounds, i.e. n- alkanes, wax esters, fatty acids and long-chain alcohols congruent with those seen in the reference beeswax. ¹³C values were determined for the individual components of the lipid extracts and reference beeswax by means of compound specific GC-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS). On the basis of the molecular structures, carbon number distributions and ¹³C values 16 of the 40 sherds studied were shown to contain residues of beeswax. None of the pithoi contained beeswax residues although two yielded residues consistent with degraded triacylglycerols. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jasc.2001.0827

Affiliations: 1: Organic Geochemistry Unit, Biogeochemistry Research Centre, School of Chemistry, Cantock's Close, Bristol, BS8 1TS, U.K. 2: Department of Classics and Fine Art, Wilson College, 1015 Philadelphia Avenue, Chambersberg, PA 17201-1285, U.S.A. 3: University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, U.S.A.

Publication date: 2003-01-01

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Anthropology & Archeology
• By this author: Evershed R.P. ;  Dudd S.N. ;  Anderson-Stojanovic V.R. ;  Gebhard E.R.

Website © Publishing Technology. Article copyright remains with the publisher, society or author(s) as specified within the article.

• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Information for advertisers