I contrassegni eoliani : classificazione e distribuzione

In the Aeolian Islands the so-called potter's marks are widespread on about 10% of the vases during the Middle Bronze Age 3 (Milazzese facies: 1500 - 1300 BCE) and in some cases they can be identified already in the previous Capo Graziano phase. A new catalog, classification and analysis of more than 250 marks from the various Islands of the archipelago and from Milazzo (in the nearby northern Sicilian coast) is proposed here. The study investigates the distribution of the types of marks on the vessel's shapes, the Islands and in the functional huts/spaces within the villages of Lipari-Acropoli, Salina-Portella, Panarea-Milazzese and Filicudi-Montagnola. Generally speaking, there is no direct and exclusive correlation between the types of marks and the shapes/functions of the vessels but there are some tendential preferences.

The Islands, although within the framework of a general shared repertoire, differ according to a geographical gradient: the greatest differences are between the more distant Islands of Panarea and Filicudi. A significant difference between the Islands reflects the function of the vessels: in Lipari and Panarea marks are mainly on fine table vessels while in Filicudi and Salina on storage vessels. Regarding the spatial distribution within the villages, the set of data does not indicate a direct link between marks and use contexts. Moreover, Salina's detailed analysis shows that the marks were not intended for huts with particular functions but are found in housing, storage rooms and processing areas. Lipari -the Central Place of the Archipelago- confirms its peculiarity, both for the abundance of the repertoire and for the presence in some huts of identical sets but incised with a certain degree of variability and therefore probably not all attributable to individual craftsmen but maybe to a workshop.

In the context of an artisan organization at the workshop level, it is likely that the (workshop's) marks were linked to ceramics produced under specific circumstances or episodes. [Publisher's text]