Neutron Activation Analysis of Medieval Ceramics from Kinet, Turkey, especially Port Symeon Ware

Abstract

Excavation in medieval levels at the site ofKinet in southern Turkey has yielded evidence for the production of Port Saint Symeon ware, a widely, if not the most widely, distributed glazed ceramic ware in the Mediterranean in the I3 t h century. This article uses instrumental neutron activation analysis of excavated ceramics from Kinet, I930's excavations at another medieval port in the region, Port Saint Symeon/al-Mina, and selected museum pieces, to examine this phenomenon. It also examines other widely traded ceramics from the period: ones thought to originate in the Aegean. The authors attempt to gauge the cultural weight of maritime exchange of ceramics in the medieval Mediterranean, arguing that they were an essential part of the creation of a common taste in diverse societies in the central and eastern Mediterranean basin.