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 bce)

Lisa Briggs; Stella Demesticha; Susan Katzev; Helena Wylde Swiny; Oliver E. Craig; Léa Drieu

doi:10.1111/arcm.12747

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 bce)

Lisa Briggs, Stella Demesticha, Susan Katzev, Helena Wylde Swiny, Oliver E. Craig, Léa Drieu

Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

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.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	779-797
Journal	Archaeometry
Volume	64
Issue number	3
Early online date	6 Feb 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12747
Publication status	Published - Jun 2022

Bibliographical note

© 2021 The Authors. Archaeometry © 2021 University of Oxford. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details

Keywords

amphora
organic residue
plant oil
shipwreck
syringic acid
tartaric acid
wine

Access to Document

10.1111/arcm.12747

Briggs_resubmitted
© 2021 The Authors. Archaeometry © 2021 University of Oxford. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details
Accepted author manuscript, 59.5 KB

Cite this

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abstract = "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.",

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AU - Demesticha, Stella

AU - Katzev, Susan

AU - Wylde Swiny, Helena

AU - Craig, Oliver E.

AU - Drieu, Léa

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AB - 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.

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