Sourcing Volcanic Millstones from Greco-Roman Sites in Albania

Abstract

Provenience studies provide insights concerning trade in various goods, such as millstones. This is the first attempt to source millstones from Albania. Thirty-one vesicular volcanic millstones, predominately from the Greek and Roman periods, were obtained from two sites, 21 from Apollonia and ten from Butrint. The purpose of this study was to determine the provenience of these millstones using textural, mineralogical, and chemical data. The compositions of the samples were compared to those of vesicular volcanic sources in the central and eastern Mediterranean. Eight viable sources were initially identified based on major element chemistry; these were ultimately reduced to three based on trace element provenience studies. All of the Apollonia and five of the Butrint millstones have chemical signatures similar to those of Sicilian sources (the Iblean Fields and Mt. Etna). The remaining five Butrint millstones are chemically similar to stones from quarries other on the Cycladic island of Melos other than Rema (another Melian quarry), suggesting that Melian sources were exploited earlier than previously thought. The results of this preliminary study indicate there was no preference for a given source region at a particular time in the past. They also provide a baseline for future provenience studies of millstone trade patterns in Albania.