The first results of archaeometric characterization and provenance studies of Byzantine amphorae from Poland

Abstract This paper reports on the results of the archaeometric characterization and provenance study of 27 fragments of medieval amphorae dating to the 11 th – 13 th century, recovered from the Czermno hillfort (chronicle name: Cherven’ ) – one of the most important sites in the early medieval Polish-Rus’ border zone. Two main groups of amphorae were identified through petrographic and elemental analysis. Comparison of WD-XRF results with the database of the “Archaeology and Archaeometry” laboratory in Lyon has linked one of them to a larger group of Byzantine amphorae manufactured in the Dardanelles strait area (Günsenin I and IV). The results obtained highlight some of the problems that arise when studying trade within Early (Kyivan) Rus’, in particular with regard to its western trading outposts.