Continuity and innovation in glazed tableware consumption in North Africa from the Fatimid to Zirid periods

Abstract

Excavations in the former Roman port of Utica (North Tunisia) by the University of Oxford and the INP (Tunisie) have revealed an area of medieval Islamic houses in the area of the Roman forum. Stratified sequences of pottery have established four main phases of occupation which would appear to span the mid-10th to mid-11th century. The range of glazed wares and other classes of pottery is summarised per phase and a detailed study of the glaze technologies of 23 samples through time can now be compared with the study of 14 vessels previously published from Bir Ftouha, near Carthage. The Utica assemblage demonstrates that there were major changes in the consumption of glazed wares from the late Fatimid period to Zirid independent rule, not only in relation to forms and types of decoration but also in terms of glazing techniques. Up to six different glazing techniques have been identified, including transparent and opaque glazes and overglaze and underglaze decoration. Moreover, the presence of several glaze imports has been detected, showing that glazed pottery other than those produced in the central region of Ifriqiya was being consumed in North Tunisia. This work also provides relevant information with regard to the production and consumption of glazed wares in medieval Tunisia during the 10th and 11th centuries.