Potsherd Pavements in Itale-Ijesa, Yorubaland

N YA ME AKUMA No. 53 June 2000 the materials associated with the pavement and to describe the functional and cultural contexts of the site (Figure 2). Unit 1 is the locus of the concentra- Potsherd pavements in Ilare-ljesa, tion of the tiles, covering an area of 1.8 by 3 m Yorubaland: A regional perspective (Figure 3). The tiles were edge-laid in herringbone pattern within a matrix of very compact, fine rcd Akinwumi Ogundiran clay (Figure 4). Only a few are decorated, and these Dept. of Archaeology and the African only have stamped motifs. The tiles were in rectan- Studies Center gular and polygonal shapes, and their size range Boston University between 5 x 2 cm and 7 x 3 cm. The excavation of Boston, Massachusetts the unit mainly consisted of surface scraping to USA, 022 15 expose the ceramic tiles without displacing or destroying them. To test whether any cultural deposits lay below the potsherd pavement. a trench of 60 x 40 cm was excavated at the southeast corner of Unit 1 (Figure 3). The trench was dug to a depth of 50 cm but no cultural material was recovered. Introduction Two strata were defined for the excavated unit. Potsherd pavements have long been a subject Stratum I (topsoil, 8-10 cm thick) is a solid light red of interest in the archaeology of West Africa (2.5YR 416) clay and stratum I1 consisted of very (Nzewunwa 1989). In Yorubaland (western Nigeria compact red clay (2.5YR 418). and parts of Benin and Togo), over thirty sites with Unit 2. The excavation of the second unit potsherd pavements have been identified (Figure 1), revealed the remains of a jar that was buried in a but the most extensive occurrence of the pavements capsized position (Figure 5). The mouth of the jar is at Ile-Ife and its satellite settlements (Eyo 1974a, rested on two slabs of granite at the depth of 3 1 cm. 1974b; Garlake 1974, 1977; Ogunfolakan 1994;. The orifice diameter of the jar is 35 cm and its max- Willett 1967, 1970). In fact, the ubiquity of pot- imum diameter is 65 cm. The lower portion of the sherd pavements in the archaeological deposits of jar was broken, possibly removed before it was formed the basis of the three-stage cultural Ife buried. The height of the excavated jar is 44 cm phases that Eyo (1974a) has proposed: Pre- although its total height could have originally been Pavement (pre- 12th century), Pavement (12" 16'" - about 60 cm. No other object was recovered from century), and Post-Pavement (post 16th century). the unit apart from the fragments of the pot and the Most of the potsherd pavements in Yoruba region two granite slabs. It was not possible to retrieve the are composed of ceramic tiles laid on the edge in pot as a single piece because of its fragmented con- herringbone design in a prepared clay floor. These dition. After all the measurements and photographs floor tiles are generally associated with were taken, the sherds, 182 body sherds and 13 rim temples/shrines, roads, and courtyard residences. Since 1988, archaeological efforts have been sherds, were removed. Twenty-five of the body stepped up to understand the regional distribution sherds and all 13 rim sherds are plain while the of potsherd pavements in Yorubaland (Agbaje- remaining 157 body sherds are decorated with clus- Williams 1995, 1998; Agbaje-Williams and tered stamped motifs. The stratigraphy of Unit 2 is Ogundiran 1990; Baptist 1989; Ogunfolakan 1994; similar to that of Unit 1. The solid light red (2.5YR Siyanbola 1988). One of the results of these efforts 416) topsoil is 6-15 cm thick and it contained the is the identification of a potsherd pavement in Ilare rootlets of palm tree. Stratum I1 consisted of very Ijesa, an early political center in central Yorubaland, compact red clay (2.5YK 4/8) sediments but it is about 50 km north of Ile-Ife (Figure 1). heavily disturbed by tree roots and a termite burrow. These disturbances are clearly seen on the north wall. Excavations The stratigraphic position of the pot is con- Two test units were excavated at the potsherd sistent with that of the potsherd pavement and both pavement site in Ilare in order to identi@ some of the pot and the ceramic tiles bear the same type of NYAME AKUMA No. 53 June 2000 Figure 1: Yorubaland, potsherd pavement sites and ethnic subgroups. stamped motifs and the same physical properties. bles and pebbles (Agbaje-Williams 1995; Garlake The pot and the ceramic tiles also poorly fired and 1974, 1977; Fagg and Willett 1962: 359; Willett have red surface color, grayish paste color, coarse 1967). This emphasis on the physical aspects of paste texture, rough surface, and gravel inclusions. potsherd pavements have shown the architectural In view of the similar physical characteristics, I will attributes shared by a wide range of cultures and suggest that the jar was made of the same clay societies from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, materials as the ceramic tiles. and from the 1 lth century B.C. to the 19th century A.D. (Nzewunwa 1989). An important aspect of potsherd pavements that has, until recently, been Discussion documented only in Ile-Ife is their association with Archaeological studies of pre-lYb century buried jars and flasks. The regional context of pot- potsherd pavements have largely focused on the sherd pavements associated with buried pots, espe- material components and layout patterns. Hence, cially within 60 km radius of Ile-Ife, is only begin- ceramic tiles are often discussed in terms of ning to be understood. The archaeological survey whether they are flat-laid or edge-laid; in herring- by Ogunfolakan (1994) has led to the documenta- bone or basket-work pattern; and whether the tiles tion of pot-pavement associations in the southern consist only of ceramics or are combined with cob- Igbomina and Osun area of Yorubaland, especially in Ila-Orangun. Ogunfolakan (1994) has reported NYA ME AKUMA No. 53 June 2tMO Figure 2: Ilare potsherd pavement site, contours and excavation units. Figure 3: Potsherd pavement tiles and excavation unit 1. NYAME AKUMA No. 53 June 20(UI Figure 4: Potsherd pavement tiles. that the ceramic tiles at Awogbemi grove in Ila- thus as receptacles for libations" (Garlake Orangun, were arranged in a circular form around a 1974:143). The open-ended pots and pot-necks buried pot. The recent excavation in Ilare is, how- would then have served as a metaphorical 'routes' ever, the only such association so far excavated out- that connected the Yoruba earthly world with the side Ile-Ife. Although most parts of the potsherd underworld where, according to the Yoruba reli- pavements in Ilare were already eroded before the gious philosophy, all the ancestors and deities excavations, one can deduce from the examples at reside. Sacrificial libation to the Earth (A'&), one of Ife and Osunlsouthern Igbomina areas that the pot- the deities in the Yoruba pantheon, is a common sherd pavement in Ilare was constructed around the religious and ritual practice in Yorubaland. Earth, capsized pot. the life-giving deity, is considered as the link and The evidence at Ife sites and Ilare indicate between the Yoruba earthly world (Ayk) the (ajci-il;). that the pots may be buried in upright or capsized underworld It is therefore plausible to position with the lips of the pots at the same level as consider the pot-pavement associations in Ife, Ilare, the pavement surface. The bases of the pots were Ila-Orangun, as altar receptacles for religious wor- also often removed before burial and the ceramic ship. Hence, I will suggest that making distinctions tiles were laid to radiate from the buried pots (Eyo between pavements with buried pots and those 1974a, 1974b; Garlake 1974, 1977; Willett without buried pots provides a usehl way to under- 1967: 105, 1970320). Ethnographic information stand the cultural contexts of potsherd pavement and archaeological contexts indicate that the buried construction in Yoruba region. pots within potsherd pavement matrices at Ife, Ilare, All the calibrated radiocarbon dates that are and Ila Orangun can be interpreted as "symbolic associated with the excavated potsherd pavement channels connecting the pavements to the earth and sites in Ife are in the range of 12'h-15"'centuries: NYAME AKUMA No. 53 June 2000 Figure 5: Views of the capsmd jar and the associated two slabs, Un~t2. I Granite Slabs Ita Yemoo, 12"'-14"' centuries (Willett 1967); Odo- period in the culture history of lfe (Willett 1967). Ogbe, 12Ihcentury (Eyo 1974); Woye Asiri, 12"'- 15#' And, like the terracotta and bronze sculptures, pot- centuries; and Obalara site, 14"' century (Garlake sherd pavements formed part of the n~aterialensem- 1974, 1977). These dates belong to the 'Classical' bles of cultural efflorescence and elaborate NYAME AKUMA No. 53 June 2090 sociopolitical institutions in Ile-Ife between the 11'" identification of the type (jar, bowl, flask) and posi- and 16"' centuries (Eyo 1974: 162). tioning (capsized or upright) of the buried pot(s). The other information should include the spatial Outside Ife, the other radiocarbon dates asso- relationships, physical characteristics (decorations, ciated with potsherd pavements in Yorubaland and paste, and color); and the artifacts associated with the adjacent Edo region have come from Old Oyo, the buried pot(s) and the pavement. These descrip- Benin, and Itagunmodi. Three successive levels of tions will help to differentiate potsherd pavements potsherd pavements, consisting of flatly laid sherds, that served utilitarian domestic architectural pur- have been uncovered at Old Oyo (Soper 1975).

Load more