The Kalaureia Research Program The Sea, the City and the God

The archaeological research at the sanctuary of Poseidon on Kalaureia (Poros) engage the tools and methodologies of chemistry and micro-morphology in order to amass as much evidence as possible on the activities that took place in the sanctuary in antiquity.

Two types of analysis are carried out, focusing on organic and on inorganic remains respectively. These remains are either amorphous lumps of material or even invisible traces in ceramic pots and in the soil. 

 Sample for organic residue analysis. B. Wells.

The chemical approach to plant and animal invisible traces is called “Organic Residue Analysis”. Pots used in the past to store or cook food, absorbed food lipids which often survive over the centuries. Potsherds found in excavations are processed and the lipids are extracted in the laboratory. The chemical signature of each of these lipids is typical of specific foods that can be identified if suitable analytical processes are applied. Similarly identifiable bio-molecular traces of food can be found in the soil. The organic residue analysis can detect the storage or cooking of a variety of animals and plants or their by-products such as oils and fats, wine, wax etc.  

Inorganic lumps for analysis. B. Wells. 

Inorganic amorphous remains, which may derive from craft activities, are examined using a range of laboratory techniques which involve micro-morphological examination of thin sections and magnetic susceptibility tests. These tests aim at the identifying the inorganic materials which are often found in amorphous small fragments. They also help to determine their place of origin and the technological processes through which they were produced. This type of analysis is instrumental in analyzing end products and waste from activities such as pottery making, smelting and smithing. 

DM