Iberian amphorae beyond the mainland: imports in southwestern Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain)

This paper offers an integrated archaeological and geochemical study of Iberian amphora found at the indigenous settlement of Puig de Sa Morisca, in southwestern Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). The results of the chemical characterisation and its comparison with a large database for this type of ceramic materials provide a first insight into trade of foodstuffs between the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands during the Iron Age. The results of this study show a considerable complexity in the Iberian amphorae arriving in the Balearic Islands. On the one hand, the study supports a previous hypothesis that certain amphora from eastern and southern Cossetania (current area of Tarragona and the Valles) arrived in the Islands; and on the other hand, it also demonstrates for the first time the arrival of some Laietanian (current area of Maresme -Mataro) products.