Chemical Characterisation of Organic Residues on Late Roman Amphorae from the Villa del Tellaro (Noto, Italy)

Organic residues were extracted from ten amphorae recovered during excavations at the Late Roman Villa del Tellaro (Noto, Sicily). The samples were analysed using liquid chromatography coupled to a high-resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometer (LC-MS). Biomarkers of plant oils, including saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (oleic, linoleic, palmitic, stearic) and the oxidation product azelaic acid, were identified in eight samples. Wine-compatible biomarkers (syringic acid, L-proline, malic acid), albeit in the absence of tartaric acid, were detected in two samples alongside the oil markers, a pattern that would be consistent with, though not in itself proof of, amphora reuse. Two further samples yielded a more saturated, degraded fatty-acid profile most parsimoniously interpreted as a strongly degraded plant oil, although a contribution of animal or fish fat (possibly garum) cannot be excluded on the fatty-acid data alone. Diterpenoid resin acids diagnostic of Pinaceae spp. pitch (dehydroabietic acid, 7-oxo-DHA, 15-hydroxy-7-oxo-DHA) were identified in all ten samples, confirming the systematic application of pine resin coatings. The assemblage comprises mainly North African types (Tripolitana II, Tripolitana III, Keay 35A/B, Keay 62Q) alongside one Eastern Mediterranean amphora (LRA8) and unidentified forms. The results offer the first archaeometric evidence for the contents of transport amphorae from the Villa del Tellaro, contributing new data on Late Antique trade between North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, and southeastern Sicily.