333 Research Article Received: 30 June 2010 Revised: 15 March 2011 Accepted: 31 March 2011 Published online in Wiley Online Library: 17 May 2011 (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI 10.1002/xrs.1347 Potentiality of non-destructive XRF analysis for the determination of Corinthian B amphorae provenance G. Barone, a* V. Crupi, b F. Longo, b D. Majolino, b P. Mazzoleni, a G. Spagnolo, c V. Venuti b and E. Aquilia a Numerous samples of archaic transport Corinthian B type amphorae coming from the archaeological excavations of Gela (Sicily, South Italy) were analysed using non-destructive X-ray fluorescence (portable InnovX-Systems ‘Alpha 4000’). Between the 6th and the 5th century BC the Corinthian B amphorae were diffused throughout the Western Mediterranean regions and Greece. Some researchers assigned these amphorae to different production areas, both in Southern Italy and in Greece, although, up to now, the exact attribution to the production centres is still under discussion. In this paper, with the aim to characterise the production sites of this important typology of amphorae, common ceramics, undoubtedly produced in Corinth, Corf ` u and Sybaris, were also analysed as these important Greek and Magna Graecia cities are considered by the archaeologists as the production centres of ‘Corinthian B’ amphorae. The multivariate analysis, performed on selected elements, clearly distinguished two groups of amphorae which, on the basis of archeological considerations, and by the comparison with reference ceramics, were assigned to Magnae Grecia (Sybaris and surroundings) and Greek productions. Copyright c  2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Introduction The application of non-destructive techniques to study ceramic artefacts of historical – archaeological interest is getting more and more important in archaeometry science, as it is often necessary to perform analyses on very precious artefacts without sampling. The application of these analytical methods may contribute to the resolution of important archaeometric issues: (1) the characterisation of the production sites; (2) the relationships between the spreading of ancient artefacts and the quantification of the locally and non-locally produced finds in a given site; (3) the production techniques of the ceramics and, particularly, the characterisation of the fabric and the firing temperatures. In antiquity, transport amphorae were ordinary containers of commodities, so today they are rightfully considered to be important historical documents, being the most tangible evidence of ancient trade that we have. To have a knowledge of trading contacts in the archaic world, it is necessary to make a correct typological and chronological classification of transport amphorae, but also, above all, to locate their production sites to the greatest possible extent. This problem is particularly remarkable in the case of the Greek colonies. In this case the amphorae, are insomuch similar to form an amphoric ‘koin ` e’ of colonial world so that it is really hard to distinguish a factory from other without the help of archaeometric analyses. In this study, we deal with provenance problems concerning a controversial shape of amphora: the so-called archaic ‘Corinthian B’ type, according to Koehler’s classification, [1–3] nowadays spread throughout the whole Western basin of the Mediterranean Sea and also Greece (Athens, Olympia and Corfu). Until now, different hypotheses have been proposed about the provenance and production centres of this type of amphora. In particular, production sites have been located in Corinth, [2] in Corfu [4] and also in some Western Greek colonies. [2,5] More recently, Whitbread [6] has raised doubts about the provenance from Corinth, because an atelier that produced amphorae which are very similar to Corinthian B type, but dated back to the 5th century BC, has been excavated in Corfu. [7] Furthermore, some archaeologists have suggested one or more production centres in Magna Graecia. [8,9] In particular, recent archaeometric analyses, performed on a set of amphorae that coming from Messina, [10,11] have proposed a production centre in the Calabrian–Peloritan region (South Italy), probably in the vicinity of Sybaris. In this paper, numerous samples of archaic transport Corinthian B type amphorae coming from the archaeological excavations of Gela (Sicily, South Italy) were analysed using non-destructive X-ray fluorescence (XRF). With the aim to test the potentiality of the non-destructive XRF technique regarding the identification of production centres of amphorae, we have chosen to investigate findings already analysed, in a previous study, [12] using various techniques (optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier trans- form infrared spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry). This research permitted to identify two main groups of findings presumably produced in different sites: Corinth or Corfu (group I) and Calabrian Peloritan region (group II). ∗ Correspondence to: G. Barone, Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Universit` a di Catania, Corso Italia 57, 95129 Catania, Italy. E-mail: gbarone@unict.it a Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Universit` a di Catania, Corso Italia 57, 95129 Catania, Italy b Dipartimento di Fisica, Universit` a di Messina, Viale F. Stagno D’Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy c Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichit` a, Universit` a di Messina, Polo Annunziata, Messina, Italy X-Ray Spectrom. 2011, 40, 333–337 Copyright c  2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.