About the New Type of Amphorae “Sporades-1”, Imitating the Amphorae of Ikos

Abstract

In a series of articles of 2009, 2011 and 2013, we localized a group of amphorae from Ikos, an island polis in the Sporades. In total, two morphological groups of such amphorae were identified, most of which were large pythoids. The vessels of the first group (the second quarter — the middle of the 4 th century BC) have a belt on the leg. In amphorae of the second group (middle — third quarter of the 4 th century BC, no later), with the same morphology, there is no belt on the leg. In addition to the semi-standard amphorae of both groups, fractional vessels with a smaller body diameter close to conical form were assigned to Ikos production. Over time, it became clear that the assignment of these “fractional” vessels to Ikos was a delusion, since they have a different profiling of the body: the neck is higher, the rim is small, and the leg is highly profiled, with large expansion and much higher. The clay of these amphorae, although similar to the clay of Ikos amphorae, is still clearly lighter in weight. In addition, they date from a slightly different time than the Ikos amphorae, namely, the second half, more often the last third of the 4 th century BC. An analysis of a sample of such amphorae in 14 vessels showed that this group of containers should be separated into an individual type, and although it is not yet possible to attribute them to any specific production center, it seems that this center was located somewhere either on one of the islands of the Sporades, or in Chalkidiki. For the sake of convenience, we will call it “Sporades-1” type, provisionally.