This PhD presents a study on the Iron Age impasto and grey ware pottery from excavations conducted between 1991 and 2004 and from 2009 to 2010 by the Groningen Institute of Archaeology (GIA) on the Timpone della Motta at Francavilla...
moreThis PhD presents a study on the Iron Age impasto and grey ware pottery from excavations conducted between 1991 and 2004 and from 2009 to 2010 by the Groningen Institute of Archaeology (GIA) on the Timpone della Motta at Francavilla Marittima (northern Calabria, Italy).
The study itself was carried out between 2005 and 2011 as part of the Francavilla publication project directed by Jan Kindberg Jacobsen and Søren Handberg and financed by the Carlsberg and Ny Carlsberg Foundations (Denmark). In the near future the study on the
impasto pottery from the acropolis will appear as a monograph by the current author and Jan Kindberg Jacobsen in the Bibliotheca Archaeologica published by Edipuglia, Bari.
By the end of the 9th century BC, Timpone della Motta was turning into an important indigenous settlement, the size and importance of which increased significantly in the course of the first half of the 8th century BC. The importance of the site is reflected in the construction of large monumental hut structures with a seemingly ritual function on the
summit of the Timpone and in a rapidly expanding necropolis in the nearby area of Macchiabate. Both the finds from the summit (Area Chiesetta) and necropolis give detailed insights into the transformations of indigenous Oinotrian material culture, a gradual process of change towards more Greek oriented productions that started in the early 8th century BC under the influence of both internal and external impulses and which continued until the second quarter of the 7th century BC when a large part of indigenous material characteristics had disappeared. The recent excavations and pottery studies have revealed that, most likely
already before the middle of the 8th century BC, an area of pottery production was located in the ‘Area Rovitti’ on the southern slope of the Timpone hill. So far, but few shards from the summit or the Area Rovitti earlier than the 8th century BC were identified.
The hypothetical presence of a pottery workshop in Francavilla was recently confirmed by archaeometrical analysis undertaken by the Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra of the University of Calabria. The analyses demonstrated that the clay used for the impasto vessels
originates from a small outcrop of a few hundred meters to the east of Timpone della Motta in a location called Pietra Catania. Clay used for the production of fine ware was extracted close to present day Lauropoli at a distance of ca. 3 kilometres to the south of the ‘Area Rovitti’.
Only one of the impasto samples analysed for this dissertation appeared to be an import.The majority of the ceramics included in this study stems from excavations carried out on the summit of the Timpone della Motta, but also pottery from the trench in the Area Rovitti
has been included. All the investigated material is presented in a catalogue with a standardised description and a drawing of every item including all the impasto and grey ware found
excavations campaigns of 2009 and 2010 in the Area Rovitti.
Due to the significant amounts of impasto potsherds found in the Area Chiesetta on the summit only vessels from undisturbed contexts are included in the catalogue. These comprise both complete pots and fragments if belonging to particular shapes. Published material from
the Macchiabate necropolis and from the lower settlement plateaux is taken into consideration, but has been excluded from the catalogue.
The ceramics are organized by shapes and shapes are divided by types; decorations are listed in a separate part of the catalogue. References to comparanda in Calabria and Southern Italy serve to provide the general framework of the corpus and to point out geographical distributions and chronological developments. Particular attention has been paid to the study of the tradition of production from a cultural and a technological point of view.
In Francavilla, like in other areas of Southern Italy (Apulia, Basilicata and northern Central Calabria), the Impasto group exhibits two different productions: the first is ‘brown or coarse impasto’ made of coarse clay (unpurified and rich in inclusions). Vessels of this production often have unpolished surfaces. The second is a ‘black or fine impasto’, which is
produced with a semi-purified clay and has smooth surfaces.
Decoration is minimal with the exception of decorative grips and applications. The amount of fine impasto is low and is only used for shapes such as scodelle (bowls) with inturned rim and vasi biconici (biconical jars). Generally, pots are handmade but a few wheel-made vessels were observed. Technical features, shape and morphology of fine impasto vessels suggest a relation with the impasto of
the Villanovan culture. This impasto tradition follows the main geographical distribution of matt-painted pottery and is completely different from the typical impasto tradition of South
Calabria, Campania and Central Italy.
Grey ware is an indigenous and specialised pottery production, which owes its name to the colour of the clay that became grey probably through firing in an oxygen reduced
atmosphere. Archaeometric analysis with the purpose of determining the manufacturing location is pending. Vessel shapes, clay and general features however strongly suggest that it was a local production. Grey ware is represented by a small amount of fragments. The group is important though because of its high degree of craftsmanship showing a mixture of local traditions and external influences. The production in the Sibaritide is probably connected with the production of Bronze Age Grey ware that is well-known from Broglio and Torre Mordillo
(two settlements in Sibaritide where the group is documented between the recent and final Bronze Age). The grey ware finds from the excavations in the Area Rovitti suggest an evolution in the development of the shapes of this pottery group that runs from the late
Bronze Age into the 8th century BC.
The approach taken in this study allows to study contacts between Francavilla and the Sibaritide and other areas of Southern and Central Italy. Trade and contacts are well documented by the circulation of goods (imports and exports) and ideas (diffusion of certain
shapes and types). Apart from imports in Francavilla and the Sibaritide from the Greek and probably the Phoenician world, objects also arrived from Apulia and Campania, while indigenous Oinotrian productions spread to Central and Southern Calabria, Campania, Etruria
and maybe to Sicily. The archaeological material from the Timpone presents us with a unique selection of pottery with local, regional, interregional and Mediterranean provenances.
The morphological panorama of the impasto from Francavilla shows a high degree of diversity in terms of shapes and types. Being the most common pots, the jars, bowls and storage vessels studied in this thesis are typical expressions of indigenous material culture.
However, also the existence of pots referring to a more generic ‘Italian traditions’ is noted that is well-documented in Central and Southern Italy (dippers, mugs, askòi, specific types of bowls). Finally, a few shapes portray a strong connection to Greek models (skyphoi, kotylai).
Even though a variation of the shapes does not automatically imply a variation in function, the impasto was used for several purposes, such as eating, cooking, drinking, pouring, and storing food. Fine impasto vessels may have corresponded to more specific uses (e.g., the conservation of certain types of liquids or semi liquids). Taking a more general perspective on the ceramic productions studied, it is possible to
trace partial overlaps in shapes and function between the impasto, matt-painted and grey ware groups. Sometimes the morphology of Oinotrian Euboian pots is directly related to the impasto tradition. This overlap seems to correspond to the increase of painted wares, which partially replaced impasto ware during the Iron age.
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