Archaeologists excavating a 2,400-year-old pottery workshop in Sicily have uncovered three additional rooms and the remains of a second kiln, offering new evidence of an organized ceramic production complex in the Alcantara Valley.
Archaeologists first explored the area in the 1990s, uncovering rectangular rooms belonging to an ancient Greek settlement. Systematic excavations resumed in 2022. The site adds to growing archaeological evidence about life in ancient Sicily, where Greek communities established settlements beginning in the eighth century B.C.
An earlier kiln revealed pottery production
A major discovery came in 2023, when archaeologists uncovered a well-preserved pottery kiln measuring about 2 meters (6.5 feet) in diameter. A large rectangular room connected to the kiln appears to have supported different stages of production. Researchers also recovered discarded pottery, clay lumps, molds, millstones, spacers, and other tools associated with ceramic manufacturing.
Among the most significant finds were production waste and fragments linked to red-figure pottery, including bell-shaped skyphoi, or drinking cups. The red-figure technique emerged in the ancient Greek world around 530 B.C. and reversed the earlier black-figure approach by leaving figures red against a dark background.
Some pieces at Acquafredda-Imbischi had been overfired, but their decorative patterns remained visible. The finds are linked to a ceramic tradition known in Sicily during the second half of the fourth century B.C.
Three rooms and a second kiln emerge
Archaeologists expanded the excavation in 2026 to determine how the wider workshop operated. The work revealed three additional rooms connected to the production area. One contained a semicircular installation that researchers believe may have served as a working base for pottery-making activities. Another room contained traces of a second, smaller kiln.
Archaeologists in Sicily have uncovered three new rooms and a second kiln at a 2,400-year-old pottery workshop.
The finds reveal a complex production district where ancient craftspeople made ceramics, including red-figure pottery, in the 4th century BC. pic.twitter.com/MSnfq7An8R
— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) September 21, 2026
Although poorly preserved, the structure retains a layer of fired clay from the base of its combustion chamber and a central hexagonal basalt pillar. Researchers say the pillar could help them reconstruct the kiln’s original design. Together, the rooms, installations and two kilns suggest craftspeople used different spaces for different stages of production. The site’s position may also have been important.
The Alcantara Valley formed a natural route between Sicily’s Ionian coast and its interior. Acquafredda-Imbischi also lies near ancient Naxos, which archaeological and historical evidence identifies as one of the earliest Greek settlements established in Sicily. Other recent excavations in ancient Greek cities in Sicily have similarly provided new evidence about how settlements developed and how their inhabitants organized urban spaces over long periods.
Scientific studies probe ancient workshop
Researchers are using several scientific methods to investigate the settlement. Proteomic analysis of tableware is examining ancient eating habits, while satellite and remote-sensing surveys are searching for buried structures. The project also includes 3D scans of the workshop, magnetometric experiments on fired clay and petrographic and mineralogical analysis of 90 ceramic fragments.
The University of Catania and the Superintendence lead the research, with support from the Municipality of Castiglione di Sicilia and Firriato, which owns the land. Researchers will continue studying the artifacts and archaeological layers to determine who worked at the site, what they produced, and how the workshop fitted into the economy of fourth-century B.C. Sicily.
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