The Production and Distribution of Hellenistic Ceramics from the Northeast Peloponnese at the Panhellenic Sanctuary at Nemea: A Petrographic Study

The Panhellenic Sanctuary at Nemea was an important political and religious feature in the landscape of the Northeast Peloponnese in the Hellenistic period (323-146 B.C.). As a small, rural sanctuary in a valley without any evidence of a permanent settlement, Nemea was dependent on the towns and cities in the vicinity for supplies and support. Located on a crossroads between the two most politically and economically important cities in the region—Corinth and Argos—Nemea serves as an ideal site for the study of ceramic distribution in the area. However, one of the most interesting aspects of Nemea is the Kiln Complex located within the sanctuary itself, demonstrating that it was independent in some respects. This study utilises a combination of traditional ceramic study and ceramic petrography to answer questions relating to the identification and provenance of plain, coarse, and cooking wares found within the sanctuary at Nemea. By focusing the ceramic study on assemblages from two types of contexts, both domestic, from a series of houses, and industrial, from the Kiln Complex and other crafting areas, the extent of ceramic production and exchange taking place at Nemea is examined. In order to provenance many of these ceramics, extensive comparative studies were completed on ceramics excavated in Corinth and Lerna. It is contended that such an integrated, analytical approach offers new insights not only into the production of ceramics at Nemea, but also the identification and distribution of ceramics produced in other centres within the Northeast Peloponnese.