Pottery Deposits Research Articles

The ritual context of pottery deposits from the Late Bronze Age settlement at Wrocław Widawa in southwestern Poland

In this paper, I survey archaeological evidence for deliberate deposits mostly containing ceramic vessels but also stones and animal bones. They were discovered at a Late Bronze Age settlement, dated to the 9th-8th centuries, situated in the northern part of the contemporary city of Wrocław in southwestern Poland. Their stratigraphical contexts indicate that their deposition took place at the very end of the use of the site, i.e. after the accumulation of the thick occupational layers. Based on the fine preservation of the vessels and their distribution, I argue that they are remains of practices performed in a common settlement area, resulting in the deposition of used ceramics. I also refer to a broad concept of the notion of ‘pottery deposits’ and compare the presented evidence with similar finds from other sites with a similar chronology.

Editorial log book and review comments for Justyna Baron, The ritual context of pottery deposits....

Editorial log book and review comments for Justyna Baron, The ritual context of pottery deposits....

‘A GROUP OF LATE HELLADIC IIIB1 POTTERY FROM MYCENAE’ REVISITED: THE STRATIGRAPHY OF THE TRENCHES ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEPOSIT AND THE POTTERY FROM LEVEL 3 OF THE PREHISTORIC CEMETERY CENTRAL III EXTENSION EAST

In 1952 Sinclair Hood found a large deposit of pottery in front of the Great Poros Wall at Mycenae and published a brief account of its discovery the following year. In 1966 Elizabeth French published a paper discussing the pottery, assigning it an early Late Helladic IIIB1 date. From these accounts, we know that the deposit appeared in four trenches: Prehistoric Cemetery Central (PCC) III, where it sat on a surface of hard tramped earth; PCC IV, where it lay on bedrock; and PCC III Extension East and Area VII, where it rested on white clay plaster floors. But otherwise we learn little about the stratigraphy of these four trenches. Using Hood's unpublished excavation notebook, this paper examines the stratigraphy of the trenches associated with the deposit and uncovers the archaeological history of the area. In doing so, it reveals several omissions in the published accounts, most notably that there was another surface immediately below the white clay plaster floor in PCC III Extension East and a deposit of pottery associated with it. The pottery from this layer, designated Level 3, was mistakenly included by French in her paper. Fifty-four decorated sherds from Level 3 were kept, seven of which were illustrated by French. Most of the sherds come from small stirrup jars; kylikes, including the Zygouries type; Group A deep bowls; and stemmed bowls. The five most popular motifs on the sherds are the flower, whorl-shell, wavy line, parallel chevrons and panelled patterns. The shapes and motifs reflect those in the main pottery deposit and indicate a date of early Late Helladic IIIB1 for the group. The conclusion emphasises the importance of using excavation notebooks in research.

A LATE HELLADIC IIIC EARLY DEPOSIT FROM KOKOTSIKA PLOT IN KASTRO/PALAIA (VOLOS)

This article presents a Late Helladic IIIC Early deposit of pottery and small finds deriving from rescue excavations at the Kokotsika plot in Kastro/Palaia, within the modern city of Volos. It is the first systematically published deposit from that site, providing data on stratigraphy, small finds, pottery typology, decoration, fabrics and use-wear patterns, supplemented with detailed statistics. A particular feature of the recovered assemblage is the comparatively high frequency of Handmade Burnished Ware, as well as the presence of Grey Ware, both seen as products of people deriving from the Italian peninsula. The presented deposit provides valuable new data both for the site of Kastro/Palaia, as well as for the region of coastal Thessaly. The revealed remains and stratigraphy might be related to the structures exposed in nearby plots by earlier excavation campaigns of D. Theocharis. The deposit documents most likely a slightly later stage of Late Helladic IIIC Early compared to what is present at the abandonment deposits at Dimini and Pefkakia. As such it provides new clues for the reconstruction of regional history, confirming earlier views that Kastro/Palaia attracted people who left other habitation sites in the area.

The first quantitative assessment of radiocarbon chronologies for initial pottery in Island Southeast Asia supports multi-directional Neolithic dispersal.

Neolithization, or the Holocene demographic expansion of farming populations, accounts for significant changes in human and animal biology, artifacts, languages, and cultures across the earth. For Island Southeast Asia, the orthodox Out of Taiwan hypothesis proposes that Neolithic expansion originated from Taiwan with populations moving south into Island Southeast Asia, while the Western Route Migration hypothesis suggests the earliest farming populations entered from Mainland Southeast Asia in the west. These hypotheses are also linked to competing explanations of the Austronesian expansion, one of the most significant population dispersals in the ancient world that influenced human and environmental diversity from Madagascar to Easter Island and Hawai'i to New Zealand. The fundamental archaeological test of the Out of Taiwan and Western Route Migration hypotheses is the geographic and chronological distribution of initial pottery assemblages, but these data have never been quantitatively analyzed. Using radiocarbon determinations from 20 archaeological sites, we present a Bayesian chronological analysis of initial pottery deposition in Island Southeast Asia and western Near Oceania. Both site-scale and island-scale Bayesian models were produced in Oxcal using radiocarbon determinations that are most confidently associated with selected target events. Our results indicate multi-directional Neolithic dispersal in Island Southeast Asia, with the earliest pottery contemporaneously deposited in western Borneo and the northern Philippines. This work supports emerging research that identifies separate processes of biological, linguistic, and material culture change in Island Southeast Asia.

Elizabeth Carter. “Parthian Pottery from Well 508 in the Ville Royale I Sounding at Susa”

The contribution presents the ceramic findings from well 508 in Ville Royale I at Susa one of the five wells of the sector close to the Achaemenid city walls where deposits of Parthian Pottery where found. The archaeological investigations in the late 70s aimed at establishing a solid relative chronology for the III millennium BC, therefore the later periods and the materials found in the wells did not get the attention they deserved at that time. Now the scholar who conducted those archaeolo...

South-eastern Italian transfers towards the Alps during the 5th millennium BCE: Evidence of “Serra-d'Alto” ware within Square-Mouthed Pottery deposits at the Lare 2 cave (Saint-Benoit, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France)

In the framework of the reassessment of the Neolithic Square-Mouthed Pottery series from locus P8, Lare 2 cave (Saint-Benoit, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, South-eastern France), two sherds were identified as possible replicas or importations of fine painted ware (i.e. figulina) from Serra d'Alto contexts (Southern Italy). Combining geological and chemical methods (thin section analysis, microprobe, XR diffraction, XR fluorescence and Scanning Electron Microscopy), a transdisciplinary study was designed for the characterization of the archaeological ceramics and the identification of the clay resources used in their manufacture.The results allow the authors to discount production using a local clay resource. Instead, they support the hypothesis that pottery was traded over a distance of 1200 km, from southern Italy to the Alps. This new data highlights the demand for the products of the Serra d'Alto workshops, which mastered kiln production, as well as the spatial extension and the intensity of intercultural networks during the Early/Middle 5th millennium BCE, a time of increasing social complexity in Europe.

Ritual Depositions versus Garbage Pits: A Re-evaluation of Pottery Deposits and Offering Pits at the Late Bronze Age City of Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus

This paper examines the material from a number of pits and wells from suburban areas of Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus. The aim is to identify pits and wells which contain intentionally deposited material other than rubbish. The Late Bronze Age metropolis of Hala Sultan Tekke offers an excellent opportunity for this study, as a considerable number of pits and wells spanning the complete Late Cypriot Bronze Age were excavated and well-documented over the course of almost five decades of archaeological research. As we have very little evidence of ritual practice – distinct cultic structures are as yet unknown at Hala Sultan Tekke – the re-evaluation of selected pottery deposits will offer a key towards a better understanding of possible ritual activities. In addition, Hala Sultan Tekke is – so far – the only Late Cypriot site, where we can see a clear connection between offering pits containing mainly pottery deposits and tombs, as these structures are found in close proximity to each other. This situation supports the view that the material from the offering pits reflects specific rituals for the deceased. Finally, the evidence of ritual feasting at other Late Cypriot sites, such as Kouklia Evreti, Kalavasos Ayios Dhimitrios and Enkomi, will briefly be discussed in order to present a more comprehensive picture.

Rethinking Nahualac, Iztaccíhuatl, Mexico: Between Animism to Analogism in Mesoamerican Archaeoastronomy

The site of Nahualac (3890–3920 m asl) is situated on the western slopes of Iztaccihuatl, a well-known volcano in Central Mexico. It consists of a rectangular stone sanctuary located within the seasonally active small lagoon, and the distinct area where multiple deposits of ritual pottery were found. The piles of stone situated on the borders of the lagoon produce alignments towards the nearby and distant landforms offering broad vistas towards the brilliant white peaks of Iztaccihuatl in the East and restricting the visibility towards the West. The site belongs to the category of high-mountain cult places functioning during the Early and Late Post-classic periods (900–1521 CE) and is associated with the central Mexican cult of fertility, mountain, and rain. The ritual and worldview meanings of this site are taken together to discuss the ways of how the Post-classic societies in Central Mexico conceptualised their relationship with their surroundings. Using the layout of Nahualac and its astronomical alignments, I conclude that it exhibited cultural configurations that can be classified as characterising analogism rather than animism.

A Hellenistic Household Ceramic Assemblage from Tell el-Timai (Thmuis), Egypt: A Contextual View

Large deposits of domestic pottery from primary contexts in Ptolemaic Lower Egypt are uncommon and seldom presented in their entirety. This article presents four primary deposits from the destruction level of a late third/early second-century structure at Tell el-Timai in the Nile Delta (ancient Thmuis). The architectural setting for the deposits is presented, followed by presentations of each deposit in its entirety, organized by functional classifications. Analyses of the deposits are then used to suggest behavioral possibilities, with particular attention to bread baking and drinking activities. This is followed by a discussion of the nature of the total assemblage within the context of Egyptian pottery studies and an explication of how the assemblage can be understood as part of the broader region of the Levant during the Hellenistic period.

Archaic pottery and terracottas from the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia

The excavation season of 2009 in the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia brought to light a deposit of Archaic pottery and associated metal and other objects in conjunction with a long terrace wall (Wall 49) southeast of the Temple of Poseidon. The deposit in question is the largest accumulation of Archaic material recovered from the entire sanctuary thus far. The fine-decorated, black-glazed and coarse pottery together with the terracotta figurines are discussed in detail in this article. Furthermore, the results of the quantitative analysis of the pottery are presented. The study of the deposit provides an overview of the ceramic vessels and other terracotta objects originally dedicated to the deity or used in the sanctuary during the Archaic period. Moreover, based on the chronology of its deposition, it seems possible to incorporate it into a narrative of the development of the sanctuary over time. The significance of the deposit as a whole will be more fully discussed in the forthcoming final publication of the Kalaureia Research Program. The context and the condition of the deposited pottery and terracottas allows for associating it with a period of important redefinition of the sanctuary’s sacred space, which took place towards the end of the 6th or the early 5th century BC.

JUNTANDO CACOS: UMA REFLEXÃO SOBRE A CLASSIFICAÇÃO DA FASE KORIABO NO AMAPÁ

Ao ampliar a pesquisa arqueológica no Amapá, emergiram contextos inéditos, exigindo reflexão sobre como classificar o material. A discussão que realizo aqui tem início com uma investigação sobre a forma como a fase Koriabo tem sido utilizada em outras áreas do Escudo Guianense. Os usos que têm sido feitos, na maior parte dos casos, do termo Koriabo na arqueologia da região, como busco demonstrar, têm um caráter generalizador. Como decorrência, as semelhanças são ressaltadas e as diferenças negligenciadas, com uma forte tendência à homogeneização. No entanto, escavações recentes na Guiana Francesa e no Amapá apontam para contextos diversos de deposição desta cerâmica característica. A partir daí, volto-me ao contexto no Amapá, salientando o quanto escavações amplas com informações detalhadas oferecem novas bases para refletirmos sobre as classificações, já que enriquecem nosso conhecimento sobre os contextos arqueológicos de deposição. A partir da reflexão que apresento aqui, sugiro que, no contexto da arqueologia das Guianas, é necessário ampliar o foco em contextos particulares antes de nos voltarmos às classificações generalistas, a fim de refinar dados e nossas interpretações. Palavras-chave: fase Koriabo, arqueologia das Guianas, classificação.

A Deposit of Late Helladic IIIB1 Pottery from Tsoungiza

A Deposit of Late Helladic IIIB1 Pottery from Tsoungiza

A Deposit of Late Helladic IIIB1 Pottery from Tsoungiza

A Deposit of Late Helladic IIIB1 Pottery from Tsoungiza

Bâtiment, enclos cultuel ou structure funéraire? Un petit enclos carré de La Tène C2 à Soupir "Le Parc" (Aisne)

This article describes the results of a trial excavation in 1989 on a protohistoric site discovered in the course of a long-term programme of field survey undertaken by the University of Durham in the Aisne valley between 1988-1992. The principal feature uncovered was a small square ditched enclosure which yielded pottery deposits dating to La Tène C2. The function of the enclosure is discussed.

Hellenistic and Roman pottery deposits from the ‘Saranda Kolones’ castle site at Paphos

The Crusader castle (now called ‘Saranda Kolones’) on the ancient site of Paphos was built and occupied c. AD 1192–1222. It overlies and partly truncates a series of ancient features (tombs, cisterns, wells, church remains, etc.). The layers associated with these, excavated at various times between 1957 and 1985, contain rich deposits spanning a period from the 4th century BC to the 8th/9th centuries AD.Some 410 pottery items from the pre-Castle phases are presented here, mostly in a series of 16 selected deposits arranged in chronological order. These range from early tomb-groups to stratified well fills and an important destruction deposit of c. AD 650. The final ancient occupation (8th–9th centuries) is marked by the appearance of some lead-glazed wares and some imports from the Umayyad orbit.Individual items of interest from other layers are appended. Some Hellenistic and Roman imports from Phoenicia and elsewhere are here documented in Cyprus for the first time. The later (Medieval) pottery from the site is reserved for publication in the main report on the castle (forthcoming).

Knossos 1902, 1905: The Prepalatial and Protopalatial deposits from the Room of the Jars in the Royal Pottery Stores

This article examines the Prepalatial and Protopalatial pottery deposits excavated by Evans and Mackenzie in the Room of the Jars of the Royal Pottery Stores at Knossos in 1902 and 1905. These deposits yielded abundant and unusual ceramic finds, illustrating aspects of storage and ceremonial activities in those periods. They also provide good stratigraphic evidence for the EM III, MM I A, and MM I B pottery sequence at Knossos.

A Late Bronze Age Landscape at South Hornchurch, Essex

A 2.5 ha open area excavation at South Hornchurch, Essex (London Borough of Havering) has revealed an extensive Late Bronze Age settlement on the Thames terrace gravels. The site is particularly significant because of the association of a circular ditched enclosure or ringwork with a contemporary field system, as well as clusters of enclosed and unenclosed circular structures. Two enclosures were formed by rings of pits or large post-holes. Placed pottery deposits and unurned cremation burials were found, mostly associated with structures and entranceways. Other finds include both plain and decorated Post Deverel-Rinibury pottery, burnt flint, spindle whorls, possible loomweights, perforated clay slabs, and a bivalve clay sword mould. The entire site was subsequently sealed by a buried colluvial ploughsoil which almost certainly represents the final phase of Late Bronze Age activity. The site's spatial structure, environmental context, and regional significance are discussed.

Knossos 1951–61: Classical and Hellenistic pottery from the town

The excavation of M. S. F. Hood in the area of the Minoan Royal Road at Knossos produced stratified deposits of Greek pottery ranging in date from Protogeometric to Hellenistic. This article, the last in a series of three, concentrates on the local and imported pottery of the Classical and Hellenistic periods. For the Classical sequence, a late-fourth century house deposit is supplemented by three earlier well fills from the area of the Vcnizeleion Hospital. There follows five stratified groups of Hellenistic pottery, the last two being from second-century floor deposits. Also included here are many pieces from less well stratified contexts, but of intrinsic interest.

Assessing a Polity in Protopalatial Crete: The Malia-Lasithi State

This paper is an attempt to elucidate the regional character of the Malia-Lasithi state, one of the early states of Minoan Crete. The center of this state, the palace of Malia, was constructed, as also at Knossos, Phaistos, and perhaps Zakros, during the Middle Minoan 1 period (ca. 1900 B. C.). The territorial extent of the Malia-Lasithi polity has hitherto been hypothesized on the basis of the regional distribution of artifact styles, most notably in pottery; however, this process of placing dots on a map provides limited information. Of the various sites that are thus identified as possibly falling within the territory of Malia, the relatively distant site of Myrtos Pyrgos stands out by virtue of its abundant deposits of pottery, showing very strong stylistic similarities with Maliote pottery. In this study detailed comparisons of the MM IIB pottery from Myrtos Pyrgos and Malia (Quartier Mu) are presented, integrating typological, stylistic, technological, and compositional data. It emerges that indeed much of the fine tableware is so close as to be practically identical; it is, nevertheless, made locally at each of the two sites. Storage and transport vessels suggest substantial trade throughout the region but rarely between Malia and Myrtos Pyrgos. Production of other coarse wares and cooking ware is quite different at the two sites. The ceramic and other evidence suggest that Malia may not have been at the head of a centralized state, exercising economic and political control over Myrtos Pyrgos, as previously believed. Rather, any power it held at the regional level may have been based more upon ideology than economy, and the Malia-Lasithi state may be better characterized as a decentralized state.