IBERIAN CERAMIC PRODUCTION FROM BASTI (BAZA, SPAIN): FIRST GEOCHEMICAL, MINERALOGICAL AND TEXTURAL CHARACTERIZATION* G. CULTRONE, 1 E. MOLINA, 1 C. GRIFA 2 and E. SEBASTIÁN 1 1 Departamento Mineralogía y Petrología, Universdad de Granada, Avda. Fuentenueva s/n., 18002 Granada, Spain 2 Dipartimento Studi Geologici ed Ambientali, Università del Sannio, Via dei Mulini 59/A, 82100 Benevento, Italy Ceramic fragments from the archaeological excavation of the Iberian–Roman city of Basti (Spain) were studied from a geochemical point of view and by applying a statistical tool to X-ray fluorescence data to discover similarities between ceramic materials. The analysis of these samples was completed by performing a mineralogical analysis, textural observation, and by characterizing the porous system and the colour of the pieces. Our results enabled us to identify the source area of the clayey raw material in the surroundings of Basti and to estimate the firing temperature of the ceramics. Differences in the chemistry were confirmed by characteristics of the pastes and the mineralogical composition of the pieces. Some samples show black cores, which would suggest the presence of organic matter in the raw material and fast firing of the ceramics. The main types of temper were quartz grains and gneiss fragments, although carbonate grains were also identified. Our evidence suggests that most of the samples were well fired. New silicate phases were found to be present in several samples. The mercury intrusion porosimetry verified and confirmed the firing temperature of non- carbonated samples. Colorimetry showed that the colour of the ceramics varied according to the amount of CaO that they contained. KEYWORDS: IBERIAN CERAMIC, BASTI, GEOCHEMISTRY, FIRING TEMPERATURE, RAW MATERIAL PROVENANCE INTRODUCTION The archaeological site of Basti, an important Iberian–Roman city, is located on Cerro Cepero, a hill near the modern town of Baza (Granada, Spain; Fig. 1). This site includes the city itself, several necropoleis and various other structures (Adroher Auroux 2008). The beginnings of this settlement would seem to date back to the Copper Age, and there is direct evidence from the ninth century bc, a period of growth due to its strategic position on trade routes between the Mediter- ranean coast, the Phoenician ports and the inland Iberian peninsula. The Iberian and Roman occupations provided the greatest economic and technological inputs to the city. The city’s growing influence reached its height in the fourth century bc. A city wall and one of the most important necropoleis in the area were built during this period. The discovery of the ‘Dama de Baza’, which had one of the most complete funeral dowries and became the most important surviving Iberian sculpture, shows the control exerted by these people over the area’s resources (Gil Julià 2008). After the Roman conquest, the influence of the city remained strong as the route of the Via Herculea passed near this ‘oppidum’, so highlighting its importance for trade in the Roman Empire. *Received 20 April 2009; accepted 19 April 2010 Archaeometry 53, 2 (2011) 340–363 doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4754.2010.00545.x © University of Oxford, 2010