Ceramic production and distribution in North-East Italy: Study of a possible trade network between Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto regions during the final Bronze Age and early Iron Age through analysis of peculiar “flared rim and flat lip” pottery Marta Tenconi a, ⁎, Lara Maritan a , Giovanni Leonardi b , Benedetta Prosdocimi b , Claudio Mazzoli a a Department of Geosciences, University of Padova, Via Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova, Italy b Department of Cultural Heritage: Archaeology and History of Art, Cinema and Music, University of Padova, Piazza Capitaniato 7, 35139 Padova, Italy abstract article info Article history: Received 25 September 2012 Received in revised form 9 March 2013 Accepted 8 June 2013 Available online xxxx Keywords: Storage pottery Late Final Bronze Age–Early Iron Age Speleothems Provenance Production technology Flaring rim and flat lip (FRFL) pottery A particular type of pottery characterised by flaring rims and flat lips (FRFL ware) was widespread across the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in North-East Italy between the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age. A few of these jars have also been found occasionally in sites in the neighbouring Veneto region. Combined petrographic and chemical analyses were carried out on several shards from three settlements in the Veneto region, Concordia Sagittaria, Padova and Castion d'Erbè, in order to distinguish between local and imported varieties. Petrographic analysis revealed that local products and suspected imported artefacts of this type of pottery are compositionally different. The minero-petrographic composition of the FRFL potsherds is also uniform. Specifically, the presence of carbonate fragments with growing and saw teeth structures, showing alternation of growing white and dark-brown laminae, indicates the use of a similar temper, perhaps composed of concretions or speleothems. In addition, comparisons with a few shards from Friuli Venezia Giulia sites show considerable similarities. This evidence, together with the great diffusion and abundance of FRFL in Friuli Venezia Giulia, indicate that this ware originated from this region and was transported to the nearby Veneto. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction This study focuses on a distinct class of jars with characteristic flared rims and flat lips (FRFL pottery) (Fig. 1), which spread during the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age in fortified settlements called “castellieri” in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region (North-East Italy) (Càssola Guida and Balista, 2007; Càssola Guida and Mizzan, 1996; Corazza, 2003; Malnati et al., 1996; Maselli Scotti and Paronuzzi, 1984; Mizzan, 1997). Some specimens have also been found in a few early Iron Age sites, in both settlements and grave contexts, in the neighbouring Veneto region, particularly at Concordia Sagittaria (Malnati et al., 1996), Oderzo (Malnati et al., 1996), Montebelluna (Bianchin Citton and Manessi Caron, 1999), Padova (Fogolari and Chieco Bianchi, 1976; Rubagotti, 2006), Este (Capuis and Chieco Bianchi, 2006; Chieco Bianchi and Capuis, 1985) and Castion d' Erbè (Rossi, 2008)(Fig. 2). These findings have inspired debate among archaeologists regarding their provenance. According to the archaeological interpretation, FRFL pottery appears to be standardised hand-made production, made with the coil technique, characterised by a coarse carbonate-tempered paste, and thus easily dis- tinguishable from other types of vessel. In addition, in the fortified settlements in Friuli, macroscopically similar pastes are also attested to the production of other types (Prosdocimi, 2010). The different frequencies in the two regions and the high macroscopic similarity between FRFL jars support the archaeological hypothesis that this class of pottery originated in Friuli Venezia Giulia and subsequently spread and was used also in the Veneto region (Prosdocimi, 2010). If confirmed by archaeometric evidence, this would be a unique case of exportation/importation between the two regions, with dif- ferent settlement systems and types of ceramic production until the VIII century BC, when the influence of the Veneto can be identi- fied in the Friuli material culture (Bagolan and Leonardi, 2000; Càssola Guida, 2006). This paper presents the results of an archaeometric study on FRFL pottery from the Venetian sites of Concordia Sagittaria, Padova and Castion d' Erbè, to define whether this ceramic type was locally produced or imported, to identify possible trade with other regions, and to deter- mine the production technology. A few specimens of FRFL pottery from the Friuli Venezia Giulia settlements of Gradisca di Spilimbergo, Palse di Porcia, Aquileia, Terzo Ramo del Timavo and Grotta del Mitreo were also analysed for comparison. Applied Clay Science xxx (2013) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 049 8279143; fax: +39 049 8279134. E-mail address: marta.tenconi@gmail.com (M. Tenconi). CLAY-02686; No of Pages 14 0169-1317/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2013.06.020 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Applied Clay Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/clay Please cite this article as: Tenconi, M., et al., Ceramic production and distribution in North-East Italy: Study of a possible trade network between Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto..., Applied Clay Science (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2013.06.020