A sticky situation : a microscopic look into the resinous cargo of the Mellieħa Bay ‘mortar’ wreck

Abstract

Understanding the lifeways of past cultures is one of the main goals of an archaeologist. Studies on organics from sites can be extremely important for acquiring information relating to human vegetation interaction, landscape usages, and movement patterns. This dissertation uses organic resinous material originally recovered in 1967 and then later in 2013/14, to investigate the Maltese ‘Mortar’ wreck and the role of Malta during the Roman world. This study employs Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and palynology to analysis archaeological resin found within a marine environment. FTIR spectroscopy provided the chemical compositional data of the resinous material, then subsequently chemically similar materials with the highest probable match were assessed against the specimens. Because the specimens that were used for analysis have physical characteristic differences, the FTIR data helped determine if they were produced from the same material. The palynological analysis offered information of pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) that have been trapped inside the resin. It aided with understanding the past environmental areas that can be considered from the materials’ origin. These tests together also helped with providing potential usages of the resin and the possible purposes it was on board the vessel. It is theorized, using ground sensing radar in 2013, that a vessel at some capacity- or a section of it- is still under the mattes of Mellieħa Bay. Due to significant gaps between excavation sessions at the site, the FTIR and palynology studies revealed differences in the artifacts recovered from each session. These differences provided indications of whether the artifacts, despite being excavated nearly half a century apart, could be contextually linked or if they originated from entirely separate events. This study highlights the knowledge that can be obtained using organics recovered from archaeological sites such as these.