Borg in-Nadur pottery abroad : a report from the Sicilian necropoleis of Thapsos and Matrensa

Abstract

The Middle Bronze Age (15th-13th century BC) is without doubts the most relevant period in the history of the interconnections between Sicily and the Maltese archipelago in prehistory. The survey of all the Borġ in-Nadur-type pottery in eastern Sicily (Tanasi 2008), the identification of Thapsos-type pottery in Maltese contexts (Tanasi 2010), and the recent archaeometric definition of the Maltese ceramic imports and the recognition of the first examples of Maltese-style pottery produced in Sicily (Tanasi 2014b; Barone et alii, this volume, chapter 4) have shown the importance of re-visiting the old assemblages of archaeological material stored in the museums using modern techniques of analysis. Moreover, the complete publication of the Borġ in-Nadur-type pottery from tombs 13 and 23 of the Cozzo del Pantano necropolis, partially published and discussed by Orsi in 1893 (Orsi 1893), together with the local Thapsos pottery with which they occurred in context, has demonstrated the importance of a new autoptic study of the ceramics, never photographed or classified before, in terms of the identification of potential imports versus local products (Tanasi 2011b; Tanasi 2014b). The present contribution has to be seen in the context of this research strategy. It considers the Borġ in-Nadur-type pottery from other excavations and fieldwork, namely the material from tombs 6, 22, 23, 34, 64 and E at Thapsos, from tomb 6 at Matrensa, studied between 2010 and 2012 at the Archaeological Museum of Syracuse (Fig. 1). Furthermore, some ceramics from Cannatello and Ognina will be presented and discussed.