The present work is part of a project that includes archaeometric research of Early Iron Age and Archaic era pottery from various archaeological sites in the western Peloponnese and western mainland Greece. This paper provides an overview of the current archaeometric research for the local and imported pottery of Olympia (western Peloponnese).

Using a multi-analytical approach, supported by geological sampling and experimental firing, the geochemical, petrographic and technological features of the local pottery are established, thus enabling observable distinctions to be made from imported ware. The archaeometric analyses also provide clues to the economic-political, ecological and social milieu of the site and its environs. For this reason, aspects beyond the question of provenance that arise from archaeometric analyses are also discussed.

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