Chemometric characterization of 5th century A.D. amphora-producing centres in the Mediterranean.

The application of two chemometric techniques for data structure analysis (Ward's hierarchical clustering and Principal Components Analysis) has permitted the characterization of 5th century A.D. amphora-producing centres in the Mediterranean on the basis of X-ray fluorescence data on 66 amphora fragments. The chemometric study complements and reinforces the conclusions drawn from typological and archaeological analysis. Nineteen samples of unknown origin have been classified (using the SIMCA method) into the eight proposed classes of amphora production.