Pottery Workshop Research Articles

Stone tools, techniques, and spaces for the pottery chaîne opératoire. The case of the pottery workshop of Gird-i Bazar (c. 1200–800 BC) in the Autonomous region of Kurdistan, Iraq

Although the chaîne opératoire approach was introduced more than half a century ago, it has seldom been employed to reconstruct the techniques and tools involved in the production of Iron Age pottery (c. 1200–600 BC) from Iraqi Kurdistan. One of the reasons why this method is so seldomly applied is that only rarely can archaeologists rely on enough contextual information to allow the reconstruction of the specific steps of the pottery production and make inferences about the involvement of specific tools during these stages. In this paper, we present the case study of Gird-i Bazar, an Iron Age site located in Iraqi Kurdistan, where a pottery workshop yielding fixed installations and associated portable stone tools was recently discovered. We will combine context description and macro/microscopic observations on both stone tools and pottery sherds in order to show how the former were used in some of the steps of the pottery chaîne opératoire, and identify the spaces where specific stages of the pottery production possibly occurred. The results from this work will provide comparative material for the technological study of Iron Age pottery from Iraqi Kurdistan and its neighbouring regions in both lowland Mesopotamia and the western Iranian highlands.

Ceram­ics of the Medieval Bilhorod: Excavation Materials of 1969, 1971

In the focus of the study is pottery together with its archaeological context from the excavations of Bilhorod (Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Odesa Oblast, Ukraine), led by S. D. Kryzhytskyi in 1969 and 1971. These are 17 items, 15 of which are stored in the Scientific Repository of the Institute of Archaeology of the NAS of Ukraine. They were found in a section of the medieval site north-east of the fortress walls in the area of one of the pottery workshops, set up on the ruins of a round antique tower. The previous researchers of medieval Bilhorod (S. Kryzhytskyi, A. Kravchenko, H. Bohuslavskyi and others) associated a thick medieval horizon outside the fortress, as well as on the area investigated in 1969 and 1971, with the “Golden Horde” stage in the history of the city, dating back to the turn of the 13th-14th – the 1370s. They identified three construction periods in its structure, correlated the earliest one with the functioning of the pottery kilns, and dated back not later than the beginning of the 14th century. However, a careful study of the excavated material allowed us determining stove tiles of Central European morphological types by the second half of the 15th century, among the main products of this pottery workshop. Therefore, firstly, the activities of the workshop cannot be dated earlier than the middle or second half of the 15th century. Secondly, this type of pottery was not inherent in the “Golden Horde” cultural tradition at all, and therefore cannot be associated with it. The dwellings and other objects on the ruins of the kilns were built even later. Thus, the remains of ceramic production, as well as subsequent construction, can be correlated only with the late stages of the “Moldavian” period of Bilhorod’s history, which lasted in general from the end of the 1370s to 1485, but not with the Golden Horde. Related ceramic finds, studied in the Scientific Funds of the Institute of Archaeology of the NAS of Ukraine, also refer mainly to the 15th century or to the last quarter of the 15th-16th centuries. The latter most likely marks the time of the destruction of buildings. At the same time, several finds from excavations in 1969 and 1971 (Dzhuchid coins, fragments of amphorae, and glazed pottery) indicate some anthropogenic activity at the site in the 14th century as well. However, they mostly do not have a clear context. Therefore, it is quite difficult to localize the stratified archaeological objects of this time through the data from the reports.

Sidi Zahruni, una alfarería en el ager de Neapolis (Túnez): aglomeración o vicus circa villam ?

Sidi Zahruni, in the Neapolis ager (Tunisia), was known as a pottery workshop with an important production of late antique amphorae as well as a minor production of coarse ware and African Red Slip ware. An intra site survey, undertaken in 2012, allowed us to document a major extension of the site, evidence of a rich residential part and a monumental building. Evaluation of the data in contrast to others in the context of Tunisia has led us to think that it could be an agglomeration or a villa contemporary with the pottery. Therefore, it may be opportune to think of a vicus circa villam – classification from a well-known Aegennius Urbicus quotation.

Islamic ancient Termez: An active and long-established ceramic manufacturing centre along the silk road

This paper presents the most recent comprehensive archaeological investigation at ancient Termez, a large site located in southern Uzbekistan along the Amu Darya river. The Joint Uzbek-Spanish team has worked there since 2006. After a first phase of investigation up to 2012, the campaigns restarted in 2018. The paper concentrates on the pottery manufacturing centres related to the Islamic period, located outside the rabad (suburbs) to the north-west and in the shahristan (lower town). Besides accurately investigating the structures and the stratigraphy of each context, ceramic vessels have been collected during surveys and excavations and a selection of them is presented in this paper to give a broad overview of the wares produced and circulating at Termez. First of all, the finding of several pottery workshops unquestionably proves that the city was a very active manufacturing centre for a long period of time. Moreover, the study demonstrates that a large variety of glazed and unglazed items were locally produced, such as fine tableware, storage and kitchen vessels, but also sphero-conical vessels. Their forms and decorations largely conform to the Central Asian Islamic ceramic horizon. The ceramics collected have been dated between the 8th/9th and the 16th/17th century CE.

Pottery of the steppe piedmonts of the Bactro-Sogdian Borderlands: The case of Iskandar Tepa (mid-2nd–1st c. BC)

Iskandar Tepa is a recently excavated rural settlement site in the steppe piedmonts of the Kugitang, the westernmost foothills of the Pamir-Alay Mountain range in south Uzbekistan. Archaeological and numismatic investigation suggests that the site might have belonged to the system of outposts or watch-posts serving the strategic needs of the last Greco-Bactrian rulers to control the Sogdian-Bactrian borderlands and especially to control the communication routes leading through this region. This phase was followed by the occupation of the site by newly arrived (semi)nomadic people who took control of northern Bactria's territory during the second half of the 2nd century BCE. A quantitative and typological examination was performed on the pottery recovered at the site aiming to provide a preliminary overview of the ceramic repertoire and complementary chronological data for accurate dating. Different wares of all functional categories were identified with a predominance of closed shapes of the table and common wares, and the pithoi or large storage jars. We established typological analogies with the ceramic prototypes found in other coeval and nearby settlements and also recognized variations among the sites. Complementary to the previous archaeometric studies on ceramics from northern Bactria, we also present the characterization of a small ceramic assemblage to investigate their provenance and technology using a combination of analytical methods (WD-XRF, XRD, and OM). Archaeometric results reveal various paste recipes associated with specific chronologies and functional purposes, whose provenance can be located in several pottery workshops within the Amu/Sherabad/Surkhan rivers floodplain. The study demonstrates that ceramic prototypes and exchanges evolved during the period of occupation of the site, which has been preliminarily fixed between the 2nd century BCE and the 1st century CE.

A Playful Coroplast? A New Look at the Terracotta Group of the Early Roman Board-Game Players NAM 4200 and Related Finds

Abstract The paper aims to offer a new look on the published early Roman terracotta group of the National Archaeological Museum inv. no. 4200, which is comprised of a male and female couple of board-game players in the company of a dwarf, by reanalysing its figures, board-game type and presenting some of its hitherto unknown details in the form of impressed images made by the coroplast on the back of the two player figures. These impressed images, if intentional, meaningful and not random, together with parallel finds, are examined in the light of information they can offer regarding the board-game type represented in the terracotta group, the possible winner of the game or gaming attitudes related to the gestures of the figures. An overview of relevant Roman and earlier literary sources and comparisons with related finds are included. Instances of ceramic, terracotta, metal or other finds with -random or intentional- impressed signs and symbols made in coroplastic or pottery workshops, as well as examples of post-manufacture graffiti by a possible user are presented and investigated, leading to possible interpretations of ludic concepts represented by the figural synthesis of the terracotta group NAM 4200.

Glaze characterization of the glazed pottery from the medieval workshop of Vega (Burgos, Spain)

AbstractSixteen glazes on medieval (14th–16th century AD) pottery fragments from Vega pottery workshop (Burgos, Spain) were characterized to investigate the production technology. To this end, Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (SEM‐EDX) were used. The studied glaze samples correspond to fragments of high‐quality glazed ware used by the wealthiest society in the city of Burgos. The most representative types of glazes, corresponding to honey‐marble, honey‐yellow, bright light green, and dark green types, were analysed. Raman spectroscopy shows lead was used as a fluxing agent in glaze production. SEM‐EDX analysis confirms the use of lead oxide and evidences that most of the samples underwent at least two firing processes. No Raman signals of crystalline phases were detected on either glaze surfaces or glaze thin‐sections. The exception is the single firing of dark green glazes, which show pseudobrookite and rutile at the clay body/glaze interface measured in thin section. No colouring crystalline phases were identified by Raman spectroscopy either. However, SEM‐EDX shows iron was the most‐used colouring agent whereas copper was used for bright light green glazes. The polymerization index (Ip) values were used to estimate the firing temperatures. The polymerization index values are typically low for lead glazes and indicate firing temperatures below 700°C.

Multidisciplinary Approaches to Food and Foodways in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean Edited by Sylvie Yona Waksman (Archéologies 4). Lyon: Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée 2020. Pp. 508. €65. ISBN 978-2-35668-070-9 (paper).

<i>Multidisciplinary Approaches to Food and Foodways in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean</i> Edited by Sylvie Yona Waksman (Archéologies 4). Lyon: Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée 2020. Pp. 508. €65. ISBN 978-2-35668-070-9 (paper).

Late Sarmatian pottery workshop in Nagymágocs–Paptanya

In this study, we present the results of the first scientific analysis of the micaceous-pebbly ceramic material uncovered from the late Sarmatian settlement in Nagymágocs–Paptanya, Hungary. It is noteworthy that 810 micaceous-pebbly ceramic fragments were found in the settlement. In this respect the settlement has outstanding importance among the late Sarmatian sites of the Southern Great Plain. Evidenced by the excavated pottery workshop, the associated pottery kiln, the clay-extracting pits and the ceramic slags and clay pieces found in the objects, there were Sarmatian age pottery activities at Nagymágocs–Paptanya. However, it was debatable, whether the micaceous-pebbly ceramics were produced locally or the finished products were transported to the settlement. The origin of the temper used in the ceramics also raises questions, as the micaceous rock type found in the ceramics is not accessible in the immediate geological environment of the site. 15 sherds were selected for examination both by the conventional typological methods and petrographic microscopic analysis. The ceramic analyses were also supplemented by the petrographic analysis of a gneiss fragment, which was found in the side wall of the pottery workshop. Based on our results, the vessels proved to be the products of the same manufacturing tradition which applied freshly crushed micaceous gneiss tempering (providing both the denominating mica and pebble grains of ceramics). In one case, additional grog tempering was also detected. Exact petrographic relations could not be drawn of the gneiss temper in ceramics and the gneiss fragment found at the workshop. Homogeneity of the micaceous-pebbly pottery at Nagymágocs and the ideal conditions of pottery production at the settlement can indicate that this ceramic type was made locally and the tempering material was transported to the settlement.

Ceramic complexes of the mouth of Wadi el-Hawad: Features of Meroitic pottery under king Natakamani (morphology and archaeometry)

The urban and temple centers of the ancient Sudanese kingdom of Meroe – Hamadab, Awlib and Abu Erteila are located to the south of capital, at the mouth of the seasonal watercourse Wadi el-Hawad, and flourished under the King Natakamani in the 1st century A.D. The study of the pottery shape features makes it possible to identify the morphological evolution of Meroitic ceramics, its functions, and local characteristics. Archaeometric analysis of pottery helps to differentiate the methods of its manufacture and belonging to production centers. As a result, we can say that each of the settlements could have own pottery workshops, which provided, first of all, their needs. Trade in ceramics was weak, and ordinary types of utensils were used in the exchange of their contents. The location of the pottery workshops identified in Hamadab and Muweis demonstrates the development of a planning system for their settlements according to a single model, clearly divided into residential and craft areas, being a characteristic feature of the production infrastructure of the capital region of the Meroitic Kingdom. Although the image of material culture of Meroe shows a high degree of centralization, clearly expressed in the unity of the temple and administrative architecture, and the style of household and cult items (primarily ceramics), we can conclude that the handicraft production and exchange of goods between Meroitic settlements were less centralized, which led to the creation and active functioning of their own pottery workshops both in large urban centers and small administrative and temple complexes.

Pottery workshops, slavery, and the dynamics of production, circulation, and consumption of ceramic vessels in Campos dos Goytacazes in the 19th century

RESUMO O presente estudo tem por objetivo analisar o trânsito da cultura material de Campos dos Goytacazes Oitocentista, a partir do cotejamento de duas fontes de áreas do conhecimento distintas: os vestígios arqueológicos e as manuscritas. Assim, partiremos das pesquisas arqueológicas feitas na Fazenda do Colégio entre 2012 e 2016, considerando o material cerâmico (louças importadas e cerâmicas locais) presente nos espaços do solar e das senzalas. Há claras diferenças entre os dois espaços, que nos permitem entender que o consumo de louças e cerâmicas estava diretamente relacionado à posição econômica e social dos agentes responsáveis pela formação desses depósitos. Posteriormente, nos debruçaremos sobre os anúncios e notícias presentes no periódico Monitor Campista, entre 1834 e 1887, período da escravidão na região. Nessa documentação, será possível averiguar informações relativas ao fabrico, circulação e consumo de cerâmicas utilitárias feitas tanto em âmbito local quanto também regional, assim como as louças importadas. De modo igualmente caro à pesquisa, serão examinadas as entradas sobre olarias e oleiros, na tentativa de tentar desvendar minimamente as técnicas e os trânsitos culturais existentes em Campos dos Goytacazes no período em tela. Desse percurso metodológico, serão confrontadas as fontes historiográficas (Monitor Campista) e a materialidade (vestígios arqueológicos) a fim de entender com o entrelaçamento entre as duas o consumo de cerâmicas utilitárias de grupos livres da elite, sobretudo, e os escravizados; e as circulações materiais e imateriais que orbitavam as louças e cerâmicas da região.

The Bowl with Painting from the Russian Excavations in the Fayum Oasis (Egypt)

The paper focuses on a painted bowl discovered during archaeological excavations of the Centre of Egyptological Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (CES RAS) on the territory of Deir el-Banat in the Fayum oasis (Egypt). The site is located on the south-eastern edge of the oasis. The excavation on the site yields necropolis, “nunnery”, paleolithic sites. The bowl was found on the territory of the “Southern necropolis”. It has wide, horizontal, everted rim, and high-footed ring base. There are two holes on its base, and there is a rope which had been inserted through them. Inner surface is covered with white slip and painted with black-and-red ornament. There are two bands on the rim, the space between them is filled with black-and-red wavy lines and drop-shaped elements. The black motifs are painted over the red one. The palm tree, triangle with hatching inside, and rectangular constructions with hatching and circles inside. The parallels of the bowl have been discovered on several Egyptian sites. They are dated to the 1st quarter of the 6th c. AD — 8th c. AD. A bulk of them (as well as a bowl from Deir el-Banat) were manufactured in Aswan region pottery workshops, which is indicated by kaolin clays found in said region. The morphological features and clay of the bowl from Deir el-Banat allow to establish the date of its production — between the 3rd quarter of the 6th century and the 1st quarter of the 7th century AD. Possibly, it is a product of Aswan region pottery workshops, brought in the Fayum oasis. This date correlates to the date of the pottery from Deir el-Banat (the Ptolemaic period — the Abbasid dynasty). Two holes and the rope on its base suggest its decorative function.

Images of Fishes on the Glazed Ware from Sougdaia from the Second Half of Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries

The article supplies the information on the glazed pottery showing the images of fishes obtained during all the years of excavations at mediaeval Sougdaia and collected for the first time. According to the scholars who have analysed the zoomorphic scenes on the glazed pottery from Sougdaia dating to the Byzantine and Golden Horde Periods, there was almost complete predominance of images of birds, with a minimum number of those of animals. The images of fishes are more than four times less common than birds. In total, the collection of pottery originating from the excavations at the ancient town of Sougdaia comprises ten specimens, four of which were imported from Byzantium and the rest were locally made. This is one of the most representative collections of the kind in the Crimean Peninsula. It does not include the plates depicting fishes and belonging to the Italian group graffita arcaica tirennica from Savona, which were uncovered by the underwater researches in the bay of the modern settlement of Novyi Svet. So far, this type of plates does not occur in the ancient town of Sougdaia. In the collection in question, there is one fragment combining the images of a bird and a fish. Archaeological contexts of finds in questions vary from closed assemblages from the second half of the twelfth century to closed assemblages and stratigraphical horizons from the second half of the fourteenth century. Among the local ware, there are three groups showing specific scenes. The origins of the images of fishes on them are most likely associated with the Byzantine pottery group Fine Sgraffito Ware produced by pottery workshops of Halkis.

Rätische Ware und Verwandtes aus Carnuntum und seinem Suburbium. Funde aus dem Altbestand und den Grabungen in der Zivilstadt

Ca. 274 vessels of Raetian Ware, coming from excavations of the civilian town of Carnuntum and its suburbium as well as from the Collection of the Lower Austrian State Department, were examined and classified in two major groups based on their (presumed) provenance: Group I.1–8 – of Raetian origin, Group II.1–6 – of Pannonian origin. The Raetian group I mostly consists of products from pottery workshops situated in the Westraetian region like Faimingen, Aschberg and Günzburg. In the Pannonian group, the majority of the materials are apparently products from Savarian workshop/s (Group II.1). For 25 fragments, mineralogical and/or X-ray fluorescence analyses were carried out by Roman Sauer and Małgorzata Daszkiewicz with Gerwulf Schneider.

Introduction: "Roman Pottery in the Near East: Where, Whence, Whither?" Second Round Table, Amman, 2014. In memoriam S. Thomas Parker (1950–2021)

The initial idea for this kind of workshop on “Roman Pottery in the Near East” went back to the conference on Archaeology and Archaeometry in Parma and Pisa in 2008. We became very enthusiastic about the idea to initialise our own series of pottery workshops in which we would strive to connect scholars and researchers currently working on pottery from the Roman period in the Near East, mainly Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel, hoping to establish an academic network that would provide a platform for discussions for researchers of all levels that might transcend political differences. The 2014 round table in Amman focused on the large number of ceramic research projects from Transjordan and the Nabataean/Roman pottery studies from Middle and Southern Transjordan. The hottest discussion concerns established typo-chronology of Nabataean fine ware in the Petra region, an issue which is crucial for future pottery research in the Nabataean territories. The chronology is questioned by Tali-Erickson, to which Wenner provides a response. The presentation of eight papers from the round-table is dedicated to S. Thomas Parker, who supported the vision wholeheartedly and was an active participant and discussant in the workshops.

Material Methods; Considering Ceramic Raw Materials and the Spread of the Potter‘s Wheel in Early Iron Age Southern Iberia

This paper discusses the role of clay selection and preparation in the production of wheel-made pottery in Early Iron Age southern Iberia. The first systematic use of potter’s wheels in the production of Early Iron Age ceramics in southern Iberia corresponds to the establishment of pottery workshops associated with Phoenician trade colonies, dating to the period between the end of the 10th and 7th century BCE. There are still many gaps in our understanding of how technological knowledge was transmitted between the Phoenician workshops and “indigenous’ communities that adopted the potter’s wheel. This paper draws upon a growing body of archaeometric and ceramic technological research to consider clay selection strategies in these new workshops. Secondly, this paper will consider the role of ceramic raw materials in the development of new “hybrid’ ceramic forms, particularly grey-ware. It will hereby provide theoretical considerations surrounding the significance of material cultural hybridity in answering questions raised by postcolonial archaeologists about identity, cultural transmission and hybridisation in the context of the Phoenician colonial system.

Archaeological Research in the Seltpennoe Settlement 2019-2020

The article discusses the results of archaeological research in 2019-2020, conducted on the territory of the village of Selitpennoe in the Astrakhan Region, which overlaps the cultural layer of the Selitrennoe settlement. The characteristic of excavations and pits with the most expressive finds is given. The distribution of archaeological material and numismatic finds in chronological and topographical aspects is analyzed. Two previously unknown urban necropolises and a pottery workshop discovered in the course of research are localized. The dynamics of changes in the area of the medieval city in the 14th -15th centuries is presented. The analysis of the coin case shows the predominance of coins of the 1330s-1350s and the products of the Sarai al-Jedid mint. It is proved by archaeological methods that there is no cultural layer of the 13th century under the modern village. As a result of the materials obtained, the Selitrennoe settlement is identified by the author with the capital of the Ulus of Jochi, the city of Saray al-Jedid.

From Glass to Glaze in al-Andalus: Local Invention and Technological Transfer

It has long been assumed that lead glazing technology preceded glassmaking in the Western world and that the technological transfer was from glazes to glass. Here, we present new evidence for the reverse, the indigenous innovation of glassmaking and its transfer to glazes in early Islamic al-Andalus (Spain). Compositional analyses show that Islamic lead glazes from Córdoba are intimately related to a distinct type of high-lead glass, suggesting a connection between the two technologies. The archaeological remains from a pottery workshop indicate that the glazing process initially involved the production of a lead glass and is not linked to earlier Roman or other contemporary glazing technologies. The data also demonstrate that the potters not only used the same materials and techniques but borrowed stylistic and decorative models from glassmaking.

Magnetic and EMI Prospection in a Disturbed Environment: The Case of the Saint Brice/Ecouen (Val d’Oise, France) Pottery Workshop

– Detection of kilns within pottery workshops. – Comparison of EM and magnetic results. – Detection with EM disturbances.

Clay, Fire, Air, and Mostly Water: Understanding the Importance of Water Resources in Pottery Workshops in Ancient Iberia by Integrating Ethnoarchaeological, Experimental, and Archaeological Research

ABSTRACT Archaeological studies of pottery production have given little attention to the productive uses of water, building historical discourses without taking into consideration its crucial role in many chaînes opératoires. Structures related to the use of water in pottery-making, such as wells, cisterns, or settling ponds, are very rarely discussed. This article aims to remedy that situation by contributing archaeological, ethnoarchaeological, and experimental evidence of the importance of water and structures related to the use of water in large-scale pottery production in workshops in ancient and traditional Iberia. We propose recognition of the importance of water use in pottery production to develop a greater understanding of how pottery workshops have operated in diverse geographical and chronological contexts.