Yes / Red Lustrous Wheelmade ware is one of the most recognisable classes of pottery from the Late Bronze Age of the east Mediterranean. Yet both its production source and the nature of its contents and use remain a source of some debate. These questions are tackled here through an intensive programme of scientific analysis involving 95 samples of Red Lustrous Wheelmade ware and related wares from seven sites in Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt. Petrography and instrumental neutron activation analysis are combined in the study of the ceramic fabrics, with a view to specifying the source of this ware; while gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry are used to analyse absorbed and visible residues in and on the sherd samples, in the hope of shedding light on vessel contents and possible use. The results of the fabric analysis show the ware to be extremely homogeneous, indicative of a single source: northern Cyprus is at present the most likely candidate, although further analysis, particularly of clay samples from the region in question, would certainly be desirable. The residue analysis suggests that Red Lustrous Wheelmade ware might have been used to carry some kind of plant oils, possibly perfumed, and that in some instances the vessel interior was coated with beeswax as a sealant. / AHRC

Yes / Transport and storage vessels in Red Lustrous Wheelmade ware (RLWm ware) were traded across a large area of the eastern Mediterranean for approximately 300 years (c. 1500–1200 BCE) during the Late Bronze Age (c.1600–1000 BCE). The extreme consistency of the ceramic, in form, fabric, chemistry and mineralogy, points to a single production source for the ware, which, although no kiln sites have been identified, is generally accepted to have been on Cyprus. The aim of this study was to determine whether organic residues were present in this very fine, dense ware, and to characterise the contents of RLWm ware vessels from different sites, contexts and periods, and of different forms, to improve our understanding of the trade in this ceramic type. To that end, 101 RLWm ware sherds, together with three visible residues, were examined from sites in Turkey, Cyprus, Egypt and Syria. Residues were identified in more than half of the samples, indicating that organic material is absorbed into and preserved in this very fine fabric. Four commodities were identified: fat (probably plant oil), which in four residues was identified further as castor oil; beeswax; bitumen; and Pinaceae spp. resin. The commodities were found alone or, occasionally, one of the latter three was combined with the fat or oil. Fatty material was the only commodity present at all sites and its wide distribution may indicate that generally the vessels were used for a mixture or mixtures based on plant oils, in some cases containing castor oil. It was impossible to determine whether the beeswax, bitumen and resin formed part of this mixture or represented post-firing treatments of the ceramic to make it less porous. The identification of more than one type of residue indicates that RLWm ware vessels did not always contain the same commodity. No significant correlation could be detected between the vessel forms, and the dating of many of the sherds was not precise enough to reveal any variation through time. The type of residue present did vary depending on the geographical location of its final use. Beeswax was, with two exceptions, only present in samples from Turkey, while bitumen was found exclusively in samples from Cypriot sites. The occurrence of at least one example of every commodity in the samples from Cyprus is consistent with the theory that this ware was manufactured on Cyprus, and indicates that the vessels could also have been filled and exported from there. The variation in content of the vessels found in different geographical areas could highlight a special trading relationship between the Hittite heartland in Turkey and the Cypriot potters who produced the ware, and a possible trade in bitumen as a raw material between the north Syrian coastal area of Ugarit and Cyprus. / This research was funded by an AHRC PhD studentship (number 110786), awarded to V. Steele.

Red Lustrous Wheelmade Ware (RLWm ware) transport and storage vessels have been excavated from Late Bronze Age (LBA) sites across the eastern Mediterranean. These distinctive vessels were traded for the valuable commodity they contained so far unidentified. Seventy-three sherds (61 RLWm ware, 12 in local fabrics) and two visible residues were analysed for organic residues using standard lipid extraction techniques. Seven residues from a previous study were re-examined. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identified four materials - beeswax, bitumen, fat/oil and resin. Beeswax, found only in vessels from Hittite sites in Turkey, was probably used as a post-firing treatment. Fat/oil, present in some sherds from every site, represents the contents of the vessels and showed many of the characteristics of degraded plant oil. Two examples contained a plant sterol and three yielded ricinoleic acid, a biomarker for castor oil. Gas-chromatography compound-specific isotope ratio mass spectrometry of selected residues excluded dairy products, ruminant animal fats and fish oils as source materials for the fats/oils, while comparison with a small database of modern oils created during this study does not exclude plant oils. Selected samples analysed by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry did not reveal wine residues. Data on the elemental composition of the fabric collected during another study was re-analysed and compared with data from a further published study, confirming the remarkable consistency of RLWm ware fabric. Volume calculations were also attempted to give an estimate of the capacity of the main vessel forms.

Red Lustrous Wheelmade Ware (RLWm ware) transport and storage vessels have been excavated from Late Bronze Age (LBA) sites across the eastern Mediterranean. These distinctive vessels were traded for the valuable commodity they contained so far unidentified. Seventy-three sherds (61 RLWm ware, 12 in local fabrics) and two visible residues were analysed for organic residues using standard lipid extraction techniques. Seven residues from a previous study were re-examined. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identified four materials ¿ beeswax, bitumen, fat/oil and resin. Beeswax, found only in vessels from Hittite sites in Turkey, was probably used as a post-firing treatment. Fat/oil, present in some sherds from every site, represents the contents of the vessels and showed many of the characteristics of degraded plant oil. Two examples contained a plant sterol and three yielded ricinoleic acid, a biomarker for castor oil. Gas-chromatography compound-specific isotope ratio mass spectrometry of selected residues excluded dairy products, ruminant animal fats and fish oils as source materials for the fats/oils, while comparison with a small database of modern oils created during this study does not exclude plant oils. Selected samples analysed by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry did not reveal wine residues. Data on the elemental composition of the fabric collected during another study was re-analysed and compared with data from a further published study, confirming the remarkable consistency of RLWm ware fabric. Volume calculations were also attempted to give an estimate of the capacity of the main vessel forms. / Arts and Humanities Research Council / Extensive folders of data and appendices which accompany this thesis are not presently available online.