Early medieval ceramic

Deruta, castello del contado perugino, riveste un grande rilievo in epoca comunale per le fiorenti attività economiche, incentrate prevalentemente sulla produzione di ceramiche, e l’importanza strategica sul piano militare. Il volume ripercorre la storia politico-istituzionale ed economica del castello dalle origini alla prima età moderna.

An early medieval rural settlement was uncovered during the salvage excavation conducted by the Hungarian
National Museum in the Nyírség region in 2011. The settlement was made up of sunken-floor houses
presumably built of logs. Although the houses contained few finds, the composition of the find material is
quite remarkable: in addition to the good-quality household pots turned on a slow wheel, the ceramic inventory
also included more coarsely made baking lids and baking pans. The finds date the settlement to the
close of the Avar period, to the 9th century.

Abstract

A. V. Plokhov, S. A. Semyonov

Cross-shaped symbols on the bottoms of pottery from settlements on the Volkhov River

During archaeological investigations at the Novgorod (Ryurik) Hillfort and Zemlyanoye Gorodishche (Earthen Hillfort) in Staraya Ladoga, were found four bases of Early Mediaeval handmade vessels with a symbol of cross finger-drawn on the inside. The tradition of representation of this symbol on ceramic pottery is deeply rooted in antiquity of different peoples. Possibly, the crosses on the inside of vessel bases from settlements of the Volkhov River region were a kind of amulets rendering special magical character to the contents of the containers as well as sanctifying the food cooked with them.

Nosov E. N. , Plokhov A. V.
Settlement-site and burial ground at Lake Syezzheye

This article summarises results of the excavations of 1975, 1976, 1979 and 1980 at archaeological sites on the bank of Lake Syezzheye in the east of Novgorod Oblast. There, four mounds with three burials in the cremation rite have been excavated in a burial ground comprising ten barrows. Still other 14 similar burials have been excavated at a flat-grave cemetery west and south-west from the barrows. At the settlement-site covering an area of about one hectare, two excavations were started (276 sq. m). At one of these, the foundations of two surface wooden dwelling houses, household pits and holes left by pillars have been investigated.
The present article considers the ceramic assemblage consisting of exclusively handmade ware including jars and poorly profiled pots as well as a few miniature vessels. Examination of the grave goods from the burials of the flat-grave cemetery suggests that it is dating from the second half of the 5th to the first half of the 6th century AD. Because of the absence of narrowly dated finds it is difficult to define the period of the functioning of the kurgan necropolis and its relation to the unmounded burials. The flat-grave burials can have been either more ancient or synchronous to the barrows. The few artefacts from the settlement date the site rather unreliably to the period of the second half of the 1st millennium AD, although there are grounds to ascribe one of the houses to the second half of the 8th century.
The landscape situation of the complex of sites at Lake Syezzheye, its location near a settlement linked with a barrow cemetery including one long barrow and a flat-grave cemetery, as well as its ceramic assemblage, indicate that it belongs to the archaeological culture of the Pskov-Novgorod long barrows. Among the antiquities of the latter there are the closest parallels to all of the finds from the locality under consideration. The presence of dwellings of different types at the site, as well as some other finds, reveals local cultural peculiarities of the residents of the settlement at Lake Syezzheye and/or their contacts with neighbouring regions.

V. M. Goryunova, A. V. Plokhov. Contacts of the Populace of the Volkhov and Ilinen Areas with Peoples of the Baltic Region in the 9th — 10th Centuries (evidence of pottery)

In the ceramic collections yielded by ancient sites at Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River, four groups of artefacts are identifiable suggesting links between this region and the territories along the Baltic Sea. These groups are constituted by Scandinavian (Fig. 1, 1—6), Baltic-Finnic (Fig. I, 7-/5; 2) and West-Slavic (Fig. 5-9) pottery, as well as by ware of the so-called Tating type (Fig. 4).
Practically all the known finds of this pottery come from the sites in North-Western Russia ranged throughout the key segments of the early mediaeval trans-European trade routes which connected people of the Baltic region with Byzantium and countries of the Arabic East (Fig. 12).
The most numerous and diverse among the early forms have been found in the cultural level of Staraya Ladoga, however, even in the latter, the number of fragments of imported ware is very small. Judging by the insignificant quantity, as well as by the supposed links of the Finnic and Tating pottery in Staraya Ladoga with «victualling-houses» of merchant artels here, this ware, similarly to the Scandinavian products, was imported or manufactured at the site by participants of trade expeditions visiting Rus — exclusively for their own needs. Only West-Slavic potters succeeded in influencing essentially the pottery-making of the Novgorod Land. That influence was favoured not only by the high technological skills of the South-Baltic artisans but also by the homogeneity of the ceramic complex among the Slavs of different regions. Using the imported West-Slavic articles, local potters first started to manufacture vessels similar to the originals, varying to some extent from exact replicas to very remote imitations. Afterwards, however, they introduced, perhaps with the participation of foreign craftsmen, two new North-Russian forms of pots (types III and V according to the Novgorod classification), which only genetically were tied with the ware of the Baltic maritime zone (Fig. 10, 11). In the late 10th and first half of the 11th century, these forms became markedly established among the ceramic complex of Novgorod and Pskov, and later, moreover, at other sites of northern Rus.
The close contacts between the populations of the Ilmen and Volkhov regions with Scandinavia are additionally confirmed by the presence of some amounts of certain handmade (Fig. 13—15) and early wheelmade (Fig. 5, 1, 7, 14, 15) pottery among antiquities from Central Sweden and the Eland islands. The provenance of this ware is related with pottery-making in Northern Rus.

The early medieval settlement in Banská Bystrica (Slovakia) was discovered in 2009 during an archaeological rescue research along the route of the northern bypass of R1 expressway on the site of Senica. As for the extent of the uncovered area (approx. 0.087 ha), it ranks among smaller settlements. At the site were 35 features complexly examined. There was a high proportion of charcoals included in the anthropogenic backfill of pits. Material culture was represented by fragments of vessels and daub, also spindle whorls were present, fragments of iron items and, rarely, cinder. Animal bones were seldom recorded. The objective of the article is mainly analysis and evaluation of ceramic material (1420 specimens) from the settlement. The fact that the material included visibly older pottery shapes dated to the 7th century is important. On the basis of analogies, the pottery from Banská Bystrica – Senica was classified mainly in the horizon of early medieval pottery of the 8th century. The settlement, however, could have been used intermittently already from the 7th century on or, alternatively, the archaic shapes were preserved in this environment until the 8th century. The collection of finds is complemented with less frequently represented ceramic fragments from the 9th – 10th centuries.

Technologie und Rohstoffe verwendet bei der Herstellung
der fruhmittelalterlichen Keramik von der Fundplatz nr. 4 in Klenica im Lichte von petrographischen Untersuchungen

Zusammenfasung
Seit mehreren Jahrzehnten werden bei den Keramik-
Untersuchungen spezielle Methoden der Geologie angewendet.
Zu diesen Methoden gehört die mikroskopische petrographische Analyse von dünnen Platten im durchdringenden Licht, die man allgemein in der Petrologie benutzt. Dank dieser Methode ist es möglich, Mineralien aufgrund deren optischer Eigenschaften festzulegen und die einzelnen felsenbildenden Elemente qualitativ und quantitativ zu untersuchen. Mit den Ergebnissen von  petrographischen Untersuchungen ist es oft einfacher, die Arbeit der Töpfer in Hinsicht auf die verwendeten Rohstoffe und Technologien zu untersuchen. Aufgrund der Untersuchung der einzelnen Scherbenteile mit der mikroskopischen Methode
des durchdringenden Lichts kann man unterschiedliche
Angaben gewinnen, u. a. zu: mineralischer Zusammensetzung,
Herkunft und Gewinnung sowie Verarbeitung des magernden Stoffes, Techniken der Färbung von Keramik oder Vorbereitung der Brennung von Gebrauchsgefäßen. Unten wurden erste Ergebnisse von petrographischen Untersuchungen der Keramik aus der Vorburg in Klenica (Fundstelle Nr. 3) dargelegt, die auf die Mitte des 9., Anfang des 10. Jahrhunderts datiert wird. Bei der
Arbeit wurden Versuche unternommen, unplastische Elemente
der Keramik zu identifizieren (Schotter und Sand) sowie eine qualitative und eine quantitative Untersuchung vorzunehmen, um die Vorlieben in Bezug auf die damaligen Rohstoffe in Erfahrung zu bringen. Es wurden auch Schlussfolgerungen aus den mikroskopischen Beobachtungen zur Töpfermasse, zur Technik der Leimung von Töpfen und der Verbrennungsmethoden dargelegt. Es scheint, die Forschungsergebnisse sollen einen
wichtigen Beitrag zur Kenntnis der frühmittelalterlichen
Technologie und der Rohstoffe für die Töpferei leisten,
und damit der Entwicklung des Standes der Technik
und des geologischen Wissens der damaligen Schöpfer
von Gebrauchsgefäßen.

Plokhov A.V. On the relations between Baltic Finns and the population of the uppe reaches of the Volkhov River in the last quarter of the I millennium (on the basis of pottery).

Among thousands of finds from the assemblages collected during the excavations of early medieval sites on the upper reaches of the Volkov River there are a few pottery fragments for which parallels are found from the sites of the Baltic Finns. The earliest objects of this type (Fig.1: 1-3), dated to the 8th century, come from the settlement site of Prost'. Fragments of eleven round-bottomed bowls found during the investigations of the Ryurik Gorodishche (Fig.2: 1-11) are of a slightly later period dating from the 10th century, as well as a fragmentary vessel from Kholopiy Gorodok (Fig.2: 12).
It seems that the appearance of Baltic-Finnic pottery on the sites on the Upper Volkhov was connected with the functioning of the early medieval trans-European communications. The pottery fragments mentioned above, as well as some other finds from Ryurik Gorodishche typical to the sites in the eastern Baltic region, suggest that, along with the Scandinavians, there can have been representatives of Baltic Finns among the participants of military and merchant expeditions visiting the riverhead of the Volkhov. It is also quite possible that the single-type ornamented bowls found Gorodishche were actually manufactured in Rus by a foreign Finnic potter.

A completely intact pitcher was found during excavations in the pre-Christian cemetery of the early medieval emporium of Ribe in 2015. Through typological comparisons, the pitcher was identified as a Kleeblattkanne (trefoil-mouthed jug), probably manufactured in Mayen or its region in the 8th century. Further analysis of the pitcher's contents revealed that it had been used as an urn for the deposition of the cremated remains of a small child, probably less than two years old. The remains were accompanied by glass beads, as well as the fragments of a comb and comb case. Radiocarbon dating of the contents supports the typological dating provided by the artefacts and the pitcher to the 8th century. Cremation deposits in urns are attested by other examples in Ribe's pre-Christian cemetery, although cremated deposits in pits and inhumations in the form of simple earth graves are more common. These burial practices bear strong similarities to those documented along the Eastern an...

Studie byla publikována roku 1981 v knize ,,Praehistorica VIII, Varia Archeologica 2 (sborník k poctě 80. narozenin akademika Jana Filipa)" / The study was published in 1981 in the book "Praehistorica VIII, Varia Archeologica 2 (Acta to Honor the 80th Anniversary of Academician Jan Filip)".

The most numerous artefacts recovered during excavations were potsherds. In terms of style they refer mostly to Suków-Dziedzice group, and in single cases to undecorated pottery of Feldberg type (Kędrzyno variety).
Establishing the chronology of vessels recovered from the site at Mozów, and, accordingly, the dating of the settlement, is not an easy task. The difficulties arise from the fact that pottery from the older phases of the Early Middle Ages lacks sufficiently sensitive chronological characteristics. Until the end of the eighth century the vessel assemblages found in the Middle Odra region consisted predominantly of undecorated forms, which until approximately half of the eighth century were produced mostly without the use of a potter’s wheel. For this reason it is difficult to determine a precise chronological framework of the vessels older than the ninth century only on the basis of formal-stylistic analysis. In the case of ceramic material from Mozów, given the small percentage of decorated forms and those made with a potter’s wheel (about 2%), we can assign terminus ante quem to the end of the eighth century.
An important chronological indicator for the pottery recovered at Mozów is the lack of forms with rims modelled from the inside with deep encircling grooves. As already mentioned this trait is characteristic of the vessels dating to the developed eighth century, and in particular, the ninth century.
Taking into account the chronological clues described above, the early medieval settlement horizon at Mozów should be associated with the seventh and eighth centuries. These relatively broad chronological framework can be narrowed with the help of comparative analysis involving chronologically well-defined vessel assemblages from other sites, as well as by thermoluminescence dates obtained for over a dozen potsherds from Mozów settlement .
Numerous formal and stylistic analogies can be found in pottery assemblages from Sulechów, site 14 and the settlement from the first phase of occupation at Sulechów, site 10. In the case of site 14, the results of AMS radiocarbon dating have clarified the earlier assumptions concerning periodization based on the analysis of archaeological sources. Currently the chronological framework of this settlement is established for the period from the second half of the seventh century to the third quarter of the eighth century. The results of radiocarbon dating and dendrochronological analysis have also confirmed the chronology of the first phase of occupation at Sulechów, site 10 placing it within the period from the end of the seventh century to the end of the eighth or to the beginning of the ninth century.
The radiocarbon dates obtained for the material recovered from the discussed sites at Sulechów fully correspond with the results of thermoluminescence (further called TL) dating of 15 potsherds from the settlement at Mozów, which narrows the chronology of pottery production at the latter site to the period from the second half of the seventh century to the first decade of the eighth century. The TL analysis was performed on vessels recovered from six features located in different parts of the settlement. However, the obtained results do not provide sufficient data to define more detailed intervals (settlement phases) of the studied site. We can only assume that the results of TL analysis allow the possibility that the oldest phase of the settlement, dating to the second half of the seventh century, is represented by six potsherds recovered from features B29 and B129. The youngest of these pottery pieces can be dated to the fourth quarter of the seventh century. The latest remains of the settlement, in turn, are possibly represented by the features which contained pottery manufactured in the first decade or, more generally, in the first half of the eighth century (e.g. features B102, B182, B200). It is worth noting that pottery assemblages of both older and younger chronology do not differ in terms of style, technology, or form.

A completely intact pitcher was found during excavations in the pre-Christian cemetery of the early medieval emporium of Ribe in 2015. Through typological comparisons, the pitcher was identified as a Kleeblattkanne (trefoil-mouthed jug), probably manufactured in Mayen or its region in the 8th century. Further analysis of the pitcher's contents revealed that it had been used as an urn for the deposition of the cremated remains of a small child, probably less than two years old. The remains were accompanied by glass beads, as well as the fragments of a comb and comb case. Radiocarbon dating of the contents supports the typological dating provided by the artefacts and the pitcher to the 8th century. Cremation deposits in urns are attested by other examples in Ribe's pre-Christian cemetery, although cremated deposits in pits and inhumations in the form of simple earth graves are more common. These burial practices bear strong similarities to those documented along the Eastern an...