The aid of Bayesian radiocarbon modeling in assessing the chronology of Middle Bronze Age Sicily at the site level. A case study

Abstract

This work explores the issue of the absolute chronology of Sicilian Middle Bronze Age (MBA) at the site level. While the overall absolute chronological framework of the period has been worked out through the years via historical means (namely, presence of datable ceramic imports from Late Helladic Greece), the chronology of individual sites has not been explored. In a Bayesian radiocarbon framework, this work aims at addressing the issue of the start, end, duration, and position within the overall MBA time-frame of a case study settlement (Portella, in north-eastern Sicily). Five models for the site chronology are built and compared, and the broader archaeological and cultural implications are discussed. The analysis indicates that the site is likely to represent an early stage of the development of the overall MBA and, notably, that its end is not likely to have been linked to the historical event that marks the end of MBA elsewhere in the same area. The analysis calls for a need of future site-by-site evaluations of the chronology of MBA at the site level.