Pottery from Roman Malta

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Pottery from Roman Malta Cover Much of what is known about Malta’s ancient material culture has come to light as a result of antiquarian research or early archaeological work – a time where little attention Anastasi MALTA ARCHAEOLOGICAL REVIEW SUPPLEMENT 1 was paid to stratigraphic context. This situation has in part contributed to the problem of reliably sourcing and dating Maltese Roman-period pottery, particularly locally produced forms common on nearly all ancient Maltese sites. Pottery from Roman Malta presents a comprehensive study of Maltese pottery forms from key stratified deposits spanning the first century BC to mid-fourth century AD. Ceramic material from three Maltese sites was analysed and quantified in a bid to understand Maltese pottery production during the Roman period, and trace the type and volume of ceramic-borne goods that were circulating the central Mediterranean during the period. A short review of the islands’ recent literature on Roman pottery is discussed, followed by a detailed Pottery from Roman Malta contextual summary of the archaeological contexts presented in this study. The work is supplemented by a detailed illustrated catalogue of all the forms identified within the assemblages, presenting the wide range of locally produced and imported pottery types typical of the Maltese Roman period. Maxine Anastasi is a Lecturer at the Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta. She was awarded a DPhil in Archaeology from the University of Oxford for her dissertation on small-island economies in the Central Mediterranean. Her research primarily focuses on Roman pottery in the central Mediterranean, with a particular Malta from Roman Pottery emphasis on Maltese assemblages. She has participated in a number of the University of Malta’s past excavation projects in Malta and Gozo, including the Tas-Silġ Excavation Project and the Għar ix-Xih Excavation Project, and supervises the University’s current training excavations at the Żejtun Roman villa and the Tas-Silġ sanctuary. She is currently studying a number of pottery assemblages from Malta and from recent archaeological projects in Utica (Tunisia) and Pantelleria. Maxine Anastasi Archaeopress www.archaeopress.com Anastasi cover.indd 1 26/09/2019 14:44:39 MALTA ARCHAEOLOGICAL REVIEW SUPPLEMENT 1 Pottery from Roman Malta Maxine Anastasi with contributions by David Cardona and Nathaniel Cutajar Archaeopress Publishing Ltd Summertown Pavilion 18-24 Middle Way Summertown Oxford OX2 7LG www.archaeopress.com ISBN 978-1-78969-329-4 ISBN 978-1-78969-330-0 (e-Pdf) © Maxine Anastasi and Archaeopress 2019 Cover illustration © Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Printed in England by Severn, Gloucester This book is available direct from Archaeopress or from our website www.archaeopress.com Contents List of figures ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ii List of tables ................................................................................................................................................................................. iii Foreword ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������v Acknowledgements ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� vii Introduction ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������1 Past ceramic research ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������1 Methodology ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������2 Quantification �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������2 Chronology ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������3 Classification criteria ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������4 The sites and their assemblages ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������5 Bulebel, Malta (compiled together with N� Cutajar) ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������5 The pottery assemblage from Bulebel ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������5 Foreman Street, Rabat, Gozo (compiled together with N� Cutajar) ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������9 The pottery assemblage from Foreman Street, Gozo �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������9 Melita Esplanade, Rabat, Malta (compiled together with D� Cardona) ������������������������������������������������������������������������12 Stratigraphic report for Melita Esplanade �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������13 The pottery from the Melita Esplanade ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������19 Local Maltese potteries ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������21 Chronology and a discussion of the import trends ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������24 Early Roman period ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������24 Mid-Roman period ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������25 Later Roman period �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������27 General conclusion �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������30 Local Maltese fabrics ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������32 Geology of the Maltese Islands �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������32 A Classification of Maltese fabrics��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������34 Local Fabric 1 ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������35 Local Fabric 2 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������35 Local Fabric 3 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������37 Local Fabric 4 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������37 Local Fabric 5 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������37 Local Fabric 6 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������39 Local Fabric 7 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������39 Catalogue of pottery�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������40 Catalogue structure ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������40 Amphorae (A1-A24) ..............................................................................................................................................................40 Punic-period amphora forms (A1) �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������40
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