TECHNOLOGY AND PROVENANCE OF POLISHED GRAY POTTERY OF CENTRAL BALKAN IN III AND IV CENTURY AD (225)

Cernac-Ratkovic, S. Archaeological Institute, Yugoslavia

The article deals with ceramic finds from the Roman site Horreum Margi (Cuprija). The settlement, well known from the 1st century, received a municipal status under the reign of Septimius Severus or . Its significance for the defense of Balkan's provinces in the period from 1st to 6th century, as the part of Danubian , was exceptional. Important roads were crosscutting this area, connecting the town to the east, west and south regions of the . At the same time, it was an impor- tant military and civil port. It is presumed the town was erected on the place from which, the emperor , prepared his campaigns against the Dacians. From the layer of 3rd and 4th century derives three bowl's sherds. These bowls, of so called «S» profilation, made of fine clay, with larger diameter, are of pale gray colour at inter- section. At the outer surface they are fine polished and at some parts spots of limestone are rather visible. At the lower part these bowls have darker nuance. On the inner side concentric circles of the same pale gray colour and probably of the wheel, are perfectly visible. Roman ceramic from the Empire period is product of highly developed technol- ogy, experience and that time potters skill, primarily Greeks and Romans. The radient slip was achieved by very fine clay suspension which contains peptic agent (rainwa- ter, sodium, etc.) that activates clay and enables separate concentration of materials (the smallest particles stay undeposited). The bowls are of latenoid shape, a characteristic for the pottery from 1st century BC to 1st century AD. Analogous shapes are known from the sites at the vicinity of Cuprija and from the valley of river Velika Morava. Those are the only analogous originated from the central part of of Prima, from the valleys of big rivers, while oth- ers are known from the territory of southeastern part of Roman province of . Latenoidal bowls (Celtic-Scordiscian) again increased in 3rd and first half of 4th century AD, but these time in a wider scale of shapes and modes of polishing. KEYWORDS: Balkans, Horreum Margi, Roman pottery.

SOURCES OF OBSIDIAN FROM THE POSTCLASSIC MAYA SITE OF LAGUNA DE ON, BELIZE (193)

Chaya, H. J. MX0000262 SUNY at AlbanV/ USA Department of Anthropology

This report presents the results of X-Ray Fluorescence sourcing of 18 obsidian blades from the Postclassic Maya site of Laguna de On and explores the significance of these results for understanding developments in Maya trade during this time period. De- termining the sources of obsidian from this small, rural settlement in northern Belize provides important information regarding the nature of long distance maritime trade known to have been well-developed for this time period. In this presentation, the pat- terns observed at Laguna de On are compared to those which have been previously reported for the Postclassic lowland Maya. KEYWORDS: Obsidian, Maya, Belize.