Pottery from the 4ᵗʰ and 3ʳᵈ centuries B.C., excavated in Asia Minor, represents a highly significant category of finds in several respects. However, they have only been studied to a limited extent thus far. For this reason, the Late Classical and Early Hellenistic finds from Priene, which was founded in the middle of the 4ᵗʰ century B.C., are an important reference group for future research in the region. The pottery, which has been catalogued in terms of both typology and chronology, is examined not only from the perspective of ceramic research in the narrower sense, but also with regard to various cultural and economic-historical aspects. The results are based, among other things, on scientific investigative methods (portable ED-XRF and petrography) carried out on a representative selection of sherds. Pottery is, alongside other elements of material culture, of central importance in terms of the trade connections that can be deduced from it in the eastern Mediterranean region. The proportion of imports in relation to local and regional production is here particularly relevant. Of further note, considerable differences exist between different types of pottery; the high proportion of imported cooking pottery in early Priene is particularly striking. Aspects of material and ideal value are also addressed. Imported Attic vessels are particularly informative in this regard as they would have been at least 25 years old when deposited, suggesting they were brought by their owners when they moved to the new city. Further areas of investigation include the potential of the ceramic finds to help determine the date of the city's foundation, as well as evidence of ancient waste management.
Published
May 30, 2025Series
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