This paper treats the contexts of eighteen Late Geometric and Subgeometric pottery fragments from Naxos, Sicily, analysed by Neutron Activiation Analysis. The results do not allow the definition of any local production of pottery of Euboean type at Naxos but provide new insights into the exchange of Geometric ceramic wares of local origin in southern Italy and Sicily. Most recent excavations elucidate the organisation of the earliest settlement. An almost-orthogonal intersection between two streets outlines a chequered urban layout already around 700 BCE. The coaeval enclosure with the bothros and hard-packed floor that occupies the south-west corner of the street intersection indicates the cult of some hero or ancestor. The finding of krater fragment Na 16 with the depiction of an anodos further implies the ritual properties of its context of deposition. Finally, the excavation under the hard-packed floor provides a glimpse of even earlier settlement phases associated with Sikel material culture.

This paper examines a Greek Middle Geometric II pottery assemblage recovered during the Tunisian-Spanish excavations in the ancient city of Utica, Tunisia. The ceramics come from the deposit that sealed Well 200017, which further contained animal bones representing the remains of a ritual collective banquet. The ceramics are mainly of Phoenician, Libyan and Sardinian as well as Greek, Italic and Iberian origin. Most of the sherds come from bowls for consumption of food and drinks; there are also a few vessels for serving food and amphoras, while cooking vessels are very scarce. Based on our radiocarbon evidence, the context dates between 965–903 cal BCE, with a lower interval at 832 cal BCE. Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) was carried out on forty-five samples mainly of Geometric pottery in two campaigns. This paper presents the NAA results of the pottery from Utica’s well that were sampled during the first campaign in 2015.