Ceramics of the Merv Oasis: recycling the city Gabriele Puschnigg CERAMICS OF THE MERV OASIS PUBLICATIONS OF THE INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON Director of the Institute: Stephen Sherman Publications Series Editor: Peter J. Ucko The Institute of Archaeology of University College London is one of the oldest, largest and most prestigious archaeology research facilities in the world. Its extensive publications programme includes the best theory, research, pedagogy and reference materials in archaeology and cognate disciplines, through publishing exemplary work of scholars worldwide. Through its publications, the Institute brings together key areas of theoretical and substantive knowledge, improves archaeological practice and brings archaeological findings to the general public, researchers and practitioners. It also publishes staff research projects, site and survey reports, and conference proceedings. The publications programme, formerly developed in-house or in conjunction with UCL Press, is now produced in partnership with Left Coast Press, Inc. The Institute can be accessed online at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology. ENCOUNTERS WITH ANCIENT EGYPT Subseries, Peter J. Ucko, (ed.) Jean-Marcel Humbert and Clifford Price (eds.), Imhotep Today (2003) David Jeffreys (ed.), Views of Ancient Egypt since Napoleon Bonaparte: Imperialism, Colonialism, and Modern Appropriations (2003) Sally MacDonald and Michael Rice (eds.), Consuming Ancient Egypt (2003) Roger Matthews and Cornelia Roemer (eds.), Ancient Perspectives on Egypt (2003) David O'Connor and Andrew Reid (eds.). Ancient Egypt in Africa (2003) John Tait (ed.), 'Never had the like occurred': Egypt's View of its Past (2003) David O'Connor and Stephen Quirke (eds.), Mysterious Lands (2003) Peter Ucko and Timothy Champion (eds.), The Wisdom of Egypt: Changing Visions Through the Ages (2003) Andrew Gardner (ed.), Agency Uncovered: Archaeological Perspectives (2004) Okasha El-Daly, Egyptology, The Missing Millennium: Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writing (2005) Ruth Mace, Clare J. Holden, and Stephen Shennan (eds.), Evolution of Cultural Diversity: A Phylogenetic Approach (2005) Arkadiusz Mareiniak, Placing Animals in the Neolithic: Social /onarcli.ieology of Prehistoric Farming Communities (2005) Robert Lay ton, Stephen Shennan, and Peter Stone (eds.), A Future for Archaeology (2006) Joost Fontein, The Silence of Great Zimbabwe: Contested Landscapes and the Power of Heritage (2006) ARCHAEOLOGY OF MEDIEVAL NOVGOROD Subseries, Mark Brisbane (ed.) CHve Or ton (ed.), Pottery from Medieval Novgorod and its Region (2006) ANCIENT MERV PROJECT Subseries, Tim Williams (ed.) Gabriele Puschnigg, Ceramics of the Merv Oasis: Recycling the City (2006) CERAMICS OF THE MERV OASIS RECYCLING THE CITY Gabriele Puschnigg I Left Coast PreSS me. Walnut Creek, California Left Coast Press "k. LEFT COAST PRESS, INC. 1630 North Main Street, #400 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 h ttp :// ww w. LCoa stPress.com Copyright © 2006 by Left Coast Press, Inc. Alt rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISBN 1-59874-225-6 hardcover 978-1 -59874-225-1 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Puschnig, Gabriele, 1966- Ceramics of the Merv Oasis : recycling the city / Gabriele Puschnigg. p. cm. - (Publications of the Institute of Archaeology, University College London) {Ancient Merv Project) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-1 3: 978-1-59874-225-1 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN- 10: 1-59874-225-6 (hardcover ; alk. paper) 1. Merv (Extinct city) - History. 2. Turkmenistan - Antiquities. 1. Title. DK939.5.M47P87 2006 939'.6-dc22 2006026628 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library- Printed in the United States of America ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permance of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39 .48-1992. 06 07 08 09 10 5 4 3 2 1 1 CONTENTS Preface xm Acknowledgements xv List of plates ^ii List offigures x [x List of tables Xxi PART I CONTEXT AND PERSPECTIVE 1 1 CERAMICS IN SASANIAN ARCHAEOLOGY 3 2 THE SETTING 17 PART II ANALYSIS 41 3 CHRONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS: THE CONVENTIONAL APPROACH 43 4 CHRONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS USING 'PIE-SLICE' 55 5 CHRONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS: ABSOLUTE DATES 111 PART III STYLISTIC EVALUATION 121 6 POTTERY FROM EARLY AND MIDDLE SASANIAN TIMES 1 23 7 POTTERY FROM LATE SASANIAN TIMES 147 8 SO WHAT HAVE WE GAINED? 165 Appendices Appendix 1 Fabric Type Series 1 7 Appendix 2 Pottery Forms 179 Appendix 3 YuTAKE Pottery Drawings 199 Bibliography 219 Index 227 DETAILED CONTENTS Preface xttt Acknowledgements XV List of plates xvii List offigures xix List of tables xxi PART I CONTEXT AND PERSPECTIVE 1 CERAMICS IN SASANIAN ARCHAEOLOGY 3 Archaeological research in Iran and Iraq 3 Early excavations 3 The 1960s and 1970s Surveys The current situation Archaeological research at Merv Early exploration The YuTAKE Excavations techniques 12 Theoretical background 12 YuTAKE excavations at Merv I ^ Chronology 14 Archaeological interpretation 2515 Outlook 16 THE SETTING » ? Geographical setting 17 Historical setting 18 Merv in Sasanian times 20 The evidence 21 Coins 21 Buddhist texts 22 Synod ical lists 23 Historical reconstruction 24 Conclusions 2s Archaeological Setting 29 Excavations of the International Merv Project 29 Erk Kala, Area 1 (MEK1) 29 Stratigraphy 3Q Gyaur Kala, Area 5 (MGK5) 32 DETAILED CONTENTS Stratigraphy 33 Archaeological deposits 34 Pottery processing and recording methods 34 Fabric 35 Form 36 Genera! problems 37 The material 37 PART II ANALYSIS 41 APPROACH 43 Why a statistical approach? 43 Problems and objectives 43 The data set 45 The variables 47 Distribution of Wares 48 Fine wares: Distribution of firing patterns 49 Fine wares: Distribution of form 50 Distribution of context-by-form-by- firing group 51 The conventional approach: An assessment 53 CHRONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS USING 'PIE-SLICE' 55 Programme and analytical methods 55 Iwplorin^ the sequence oi MFK1 and MGK5 57 Configuration A 61 Marginal table: context-by-ware 61 Data Matrix 62 Residuals 62 Membership lists 63 Correspondence analysis 63 Marginal table: context-by-form 65 Membership lists 66 Correspondence analysis 67 Marginal table: ware-by-form 69 Membership lists 70 Correspondence analysis 70 Quasi-log-linear analysis 71 DETAILED CONTENTS Configuration B 73 Marginal table: context-by-ware 73 Membership lists 74 Correspondence analysis 75 Marginal table: context-by-form 76 Membership lists 77 Correspondence analysis 78 Marginal table: ware-by-form 80 Quasi-log-linear analysis 81 Interpretation 81 Erk Kala, Area 1 (MEK1) 82 Gya ur Kala, Area 5 (MG K5) 82 Exploring the new data set 83 Quasi-iog-linear analysis 84 Interpretation 84 Configuration C 84 Marginal table: context-by-ware 84 Membership lists 85 Correspondence analysis 85 Marginal table: context-by-form 87 Membership lists 88 Correspondence analysis 89 Marginal table: ware-by-form 92 Membership lists 92 Correspondence analysis 93 Quasi-log-linear analysis 95 Interpretation 95 Configuration D 95 Marginal table: context-by-ware 95 Membership lists 96 Correspondence analysis 97 Marginal table: context-by-form 98 Membership lists 99 Correspondence analysis 99 Marginal table: ware-by-form 101 Membership lists 102 Correspondence analysis 102 Quasi-log-linear analysis 1 03 Interpretation 103 Conclusions 1 03 IX DETAILED CONTENTS Context 104 Ware 104 Form 104 The variable 'Ware' from a petrographic perspective 105 Site formation processes and relative chronology 107 5 CHRONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS: ABSOLUTE DATES 111 Numismatic perspective ] ] 1 Archaeological perspective 112 Gyaur Kala, Area 5 (MGK5) 113 Group 1 : Room deposits 113 Group 2: Street deposits 114 Group 3: Constructional deposits 115 Erk Kala, Area 1 (MEK.1) 116 Group 1: Non-constructional deposits 116 Group 2: Constructional deposits 117 Conclusion 119 FART III STYLISTIC EVALUATION 121 6 POTTERY FROM EARLY AND MIDDLE SASANIAN TIMES 123 Objectives and methods 123 Pottery types from the early Sasanian period 126 Handled bowl 126 Trefoil-mouthed jug 129 Bowl 131 Pottery types from the middle Sasanian period 134 Double-handled jar 134 Jar with perforated neck 138 Juglet 140 Jug 142 A question of style 144 7 POTTERY FROM LATE SASANIAN TIMES 147 Problems and methodology 147 Pottery types from the late Sasanian period 148 Bowl 148 Jar 149 DETAILED CONTENTS Jar with short neck 152 Jar with perforated neck 154 Double-handled jar 155 Jug 159 Jar- 161 Towards a Sasanian style 163 8 SO WHAT HAVE WE GAINED? 165 Appendices Appendix 1 Fabric Type Series 171 Appendix 2 Pottery Forms 179 Appendix 3 YuTAKE Pottery Drawings 199 Bibliography 279 Index 227 XL PREFACE Throughout the history of archaeological research the choice of specific study areas and methodological approaches has been subject to changes of academic concepts and fashion. Utilitarian pottery has long been regarded as one of the least informative and rewarding themes. Over the years, however, the potential of pottery as an archaeological source material has been recognised the and different aspects of ceramic analysis hold a prominent position within archaeological research today. Yet little is known about the ceramic production of the Sasanian Empire. On the one hand, this was attributed to the