LRCW 4 Late Roman Coarse Wares, Cooking Wares and Amphorae in the Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry

LRCW 4 Late Roman Coarse Wares, Cooking Wares and Amphorae in the Mediterranean Archaeology and archaeometry The Mediterranean: a market without frontiers Edited by Natalia Poulou-Papadimitriou, Eleni Nodarou and Vassilis Kilikoglou Volume I BAR International Series 2616 (I) 2014 Published by Archaeopress Publishers of British Archaeological Reports Gordon House 276 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7ED England [email protected] www.archaeopress.com BAR S2616 (I) LRCW 4 Late Roman Coarse Wares, Cooking Wares and Amphorae in the Mediterranean: Archaeology and archaeometry. The Mediterranean: a market without frontiers. Volume I. © Archaeopress and the individual authors 2014 Cover illustration: Early Byzantine amphora from Pseira, Crete (photo by C. Papanikolopoulos; graphic design by K. Peppas). ISBN 978 1 4073 1251 4 (complete set of two volumes) 978 1 4073 1249 1 (this volume) 978 1 4073 1250 7 (volume II) Printed in England by Information Press, Oxford All BAR titles are available from: Hadrian Books Ltd 122 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7BP England www.hadrianbooks.co.uk The current BAR catalogue with details of all titles in print, prices and means of payment is available free from Hadrian Books or may be downloaded from www.archaeopress.com LOCAL COARSE WARES FROM LATE ROMAN ITANOS (EAST CRETE) MARIA XANTHOPOULOU1, ELENI NODAROU2, NATALIA POULOU-PAPADIMITRIOU3 1University of Peloponnese, Department of History Archaeology and Cultural Resources Management, Palaio Stratopedo, Kalamata 24100, Greece; [email protected] 2INSTAP Study Center for East Crete, Pacheia Ammos, 72200 Ierapetra, Crete, Greece; [email protected] 3Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Archaeology, Thessaloniki 54006, Greece; [email protected] Recent excavations at Basilica A and the housing complex of ancient Itanos (East Crete) revealed an important assemblage of late Roman pottery ranging from the 4th to the late 7th/early 8th centuries AD. This paper addresses the question of locally produced plain and coarse wares, and presents four fabric groups of possibly local origin and their corresponding late Roman ceramic series. KEYWORDS: CRETE (EAST), ITANOS, LOCAL PRODUCTION, HANDMADE POTTERY, TABLEWARES, PETROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS disuse. The houses form two distinct groups, separated by Located near the northern tip of Crete’s east coast, a street, which was later blocked. Also reopened in 1995- between Cape Samonium and the major Greek and 1998, Basilica A counts four construction phases, all of Roman sanctuary of Diktaian Zeus at Palaikastro, Itanos which date from the 5th to the mid-7th centuries AD (for was a hub in the principal maritime thoroughfare a preliminary report on the housing complex stratigraphy connecting the Aegean, the Black Sea, and (from the 4th see Carando and Xanthopoulou 2006; for an overview of century AD) the Byzantine capital of Constantinople, late Roman/early Byzantine Itanos see Tsigonaki 2009). with Egypt. The city sprawled over and between three hills, covering an area of approximately 40 hectares Excavation at Basilica A and the late Roman houses (intra muros). The houses and, probably, the agora lay yielded vast amounts of stratified late Roman ceramic between the east and west acropoleis with their religious material, including an entire storeroom filled with monuments. The city’s fortification wall lines the brow of amphorae broken in situ, ranging from the 4th to the late the south hill, which separates the site from the Vai palm 7th/early 8th centuries AD (for preliminary reports on the grove. Its only identified cemetery lies directly to the late Roman pottery from ancient Itanos see Greco et al. north. The entire peninsula north of Palaikastro was part 1999, 527-529; Xanthopoulou 2006). The late Roman of the city’s territory, which bordered with that of the city pottery from Itanos is the only systematically excavated of Praisos and, later, Hierapytna in the south. late Roman ceramic material from East Crete. Still in the process of study, this important material is extremely The site was investigated in the late 19th and mid 20th varied as regards to wares and shapes. It includes most centuries by French archaeologists, who revealed two categories of the tablewares, amphorae, and cooking large Christian basilicas (Basilicas A and B) and a small wares that circulated in the Eastern Mediterranean from circular Christian building, several houses (Classical to the 4th to the late 7th/early 8th centuries AD, as well as late Roman), and the Hellenistic cemetery. Scant an extensive range of locally and regionally produced excavation reports dealt with epigraphic material, as the wares. This variety is expected as Crete’s location on the imposing late Roman structures were deemed main Mediterranean thoroughfares allowed for lively insignificant for archaeologists interested mainly in commercial activity well into the early 8th century Bronze Age remains. Recent excavations by the École despite the Arab threat (Arab sources speak of the first Française d’Athènes and the Institute of Mediterranean Arab attack on Crete in 654, see Tsougarakis 1988, 22- Studies (1995-1998) focused on the structures already 23). excavated but left unpublished (Greco et al. 1995; 1996; 1997; 1998). Excavations and coring in the late Roman/ At an early stage in the study of this ceramic material, we early Byzantine residential district located at the foot of attempted a first series of petrographic analyses focusing the ‘East Acropolis’ (Fig. 1), first revealed in 1950 and on the late Roman coarse wares. Over one hundred reopened/extended in 1995-1998, provided evidence for samples were thus selected and analyzed as part of the five main occupation phases dating from the Geometric Pythagoras II Research Project entitled “Transport Jars period to the late 7th century AD. An archaeological and and Maritime Commercial Routes in the Aegean in the topographical hiatus in the occupation pattern occurred 5th-9th Centuries AD”. Funded by the EU and the after the 3rd century AD (as suggested by a coin of Research Committee of the Aristotle University of Gordian III of AD 240). Two houses dating from the 5th Thessaloniki, and directed by Professor Natalia Poulou- to the 7th centuries AD belong to the settlement’s last Papadimitriou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), the occupation phase. These were built over abandoned project placed particular focus on the petrographic structures and encroach on a street that had fallen into analysis of ceramic material from the Cretan sites of 811 LRCW4 Itanos, Pseira, Gortyn, and Eleutherna. The analyses were side-by-side inside a small room. Fragments of at least carried out by Dr. Eleni Nodarou at the W. A. McDonald three other similar vessels were found in the fill over the Laboratory (INSTAP Study Centre for East Crete) and room’s floor level. The context is dated to the late 6th – provided the core of the first ever data base of late early 7th century on the basis of the fine pottery (PRS Roman fabrics from Crete. 10A/C; imitation ARS 87/109 similar to Bonifay 2004, 186, fig. 99, n. 6). The selection analyzed came from the partially excavated housing complex located at the foot of the ‘East Acropolis’. It consisted primarily of amphorae, including The small, highly homogenous Fabric Group B (Fig. 2c) several easily identifiable international types (LRA1, is very close to Fabric Group A. It is a semi-coarse, non- LRA2, LRA4, Cretan), but also domestic shapes such as calcareous, red-firing fabric with frequent fine to large jugs, basins, cooking vessels, and pithoid vessels. Our inclusions and a fine, light brown slip. Under aim was to identify imported wares and local pottery petrographic microscope the colour of the matrix is red- groups particularly among the domestic shapes and brown and optically inactive. The non-plastic inclusions storage jars. Eight preliminary groups were thus consist of quartz, quartzite, chert, and sandstone. In terms established according to the mineralogical composition of composition this group seems to represent an alluvial and the texture of the examined samples. However, only raw material. There is nothing to suggest a non-local a small part of the selection was attributed to these provenance. The vessels represented are jugs and basins. groups, the non-grouped material consisting primarily of loners. Petrographic analysis identified four highly homogeneous, possibly local fabric groups. The geology Fabric Group C (Fig. 2d) is a fine calcareous fabric that of the area consists of an alluvial plain, as well as outcrops of the Phyllite-Quartzite series (I.G.M.E. 1959). is possibly over-fired, hence the macroscopically Sandstones, conglomerate, and remnants of igneous rocks distinctive almond green to apple green hue. Macroscopically it contains numerous fine to medium- occur within the phyllite series. The alluvium seems to be receiving materials from the phyllites as well as the sized black and white inclusions. Observation under Miocene marls. The local component is best represented petrographic microscope shows that the matrix has a green colour and is optically inactive. Non-plastic by Fabric Groups A and B. inclusions include quartz, dark siltstone, micrite, chert, quartzite, and rare plagioclase feldspar. This rock and mineral suite is compatible with a local provenance. A Fabric Group A (Fig. 2a-b) is a semi-coarse, non- similar but coarser fabric has been encountered in the calcareous, red-firing fabric. The matrix colour is orange assemblage from Pseira. to red brown, and is optically active. There are few non- plastic components, such as quartz, quartzite, rounded The vessels represented are tablewares, mainly jugs and fragments of micrite, sandstone, and rare phyllite and basins. The former have a finer, rather soft fabric and are mica schist. The rock and mineral suite is compatible thin-walled with a thin, flaky slip. One features groups of with a red alluvial deposit, possibly the one close to the finely incised wavy lines on the shoulder (Fig. 5).

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