Pottery of the Roman period: chronology

243 Pages·1959·47.678 MB·English

by  Robinson, Henry Schroder

Potteryof theRomanPeriod:Chronology
HenryS.Robinson
TheAthenianAgora,Vol.5,PotteryoftheRomanPeriod:Chronology.(1959),pp.
iii-vii+ix-xiv+1-149.
StableURL:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=1558-8610%281959%295%3Ciii%3APOTRPC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-F
TheAthenianAgoraiscurrentlypublishedbyAmericanSchoolofClassicalStudiesatAthens.
YouruseoftheJSTORarchiveindicatesyouracceptanceofJSTOR'sTermsandConditionsofUse,availableat
http://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html.JSTOR'sTermsandConditionsofUseprovides,inpart,thatunlessyouhaveobtained
priorpermission,youmaynotdownloadanentireissueofajournalormultiplecopiesofarticles,andyoumayusecontentin
theJSTORarchiveonlyforyourpersonal,non-commercialuse.
Pleasecontactthepublisherregardinganyfurtheruseofthiswork.Publishercontactinformationmaybeobtainedat
http://www.jstor.org/journals/ascsa.html.
EachcopyofanypartofaJSTORtransmissionmustcontainthesamecopyrightnoticethatappearsonthescreenorprinted
pageofsuchtransmission.
TheJSTORArchiveisatrusteddigitalrepositoryprovidingforlong-termpreservationandaccesstoleadingacademic
journalsandscholarlyliteraturefromaroundtheworld.TheArchiveissupportedbylibraries,scholarlysocieties,publishers,
andfoundations.ItisaninitiativeofJSTOR,anot-for-profitorganizationwithamissiontohelpthescholarlycommunitytake
advantageofadvancesintechnology.FormoreinformationregardingJSTOR,[email protected].
http://www.jstor.org
SatJan501:31:212008
T H E A T H E N I A N A G O R A

RESULTS OF EXCAVATIONS

CONDUCTED BY

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL STUDIES AT ATHENS
VOLUME V
POTTERY

OF THE ROMAN PERIOD

CHRONOLOGY
BY

HENRY S. ROBINSON

THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL STUDIES AT ATHENS

PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
PUBLISHED WITH THE AID OF A GRANT FROM MR. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, JR.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PRINTED IN GERMANY at J.J.AUGUSTIN GLUCKSTADT
PREFACE

S
ome twenty seasons of excavation in the Athenian Agora have brought to light vast
quantities of pots and potsherds of Roman times, derived in part from occupation levels and
destruction debris, in part from more than one hundred distinct deposits, such as wells, cisterns,
graves, building fills, etc.l Of this mass of pottery, over five thousand vessels and fragments of
vessels have been entered in the excavation inventory; a still larger quantity has been stored
in tins and wooden trays for future study and for the control of current studies. In preparing the
publication of this material it has been necessary to recognize two facts: the very abundance of
the pottery from this one site necessitates a highly selective treatment; and the Agora pottery
itself must serve as the basis for establishing the chronological and typological sequence of most
of the ceramic output of the eastern Mediterranean in Roman times. The present volume deals
with some 850 specimens from eight major deposits and attempts by means of them to establish
both a relative and an absolute chronology for the Roman wares of Athens. A subsequent
volume, subtitled Typology, will contain detailed analyses of the various local and imported
wares as well as a typological catalogue of coarse household and storage vessels. No attempt will
be made to catalogue all the inventoried pottery of Roman date.
The Roman pottery of the Agora excavations was first investigated by Frederick 0.Waag6
and the late Arthur Parsons, to both of whom the author is greatly indebted for personal
communications and for the use of important notes. The study of the fine early Roman wares
(Pergamene, Samian and Arretine), which will form a portion of the second volume, was
entrusted to the writer in 1939 by the late Professor T. Leslie Shear, at that time Director of
the Athenian Agora Excavations. The material for the present volume was gathered in 1951-1953
and in the summer of 1955; during tlhese periods the writer held a Fulbright Research Grant at
the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (1951-1952)) membership in the Institute
for Advanced Study, Princeton (1952-1953)) and two grants-in-aid from the Penrose Fund of
the American Philosophical Society; assistance was also received from the Faculty Research
Committee of the University of Oklahoma. To these organizations the writer is deeply indebted,
as also to the many colleagues without whose encouragement, advice and practical guidance the
work could never have been completed. Particular gratitude is due to the Directors of the
American School of Classical Studies and of the Athenian Agora Excavations, Professors
John L. Caskey and Homer A. Thompson; to Miss Lucy Talcott, for her excellent counsel at
every stage of the investigations; to Miss Alison Frantz, who undertook so successfully the
often painful task of photography; to Miss Mabel Lang, for many fruitful discussions of the
storage vessels and for the reading and interpretation of the graffiti and dipinti ;to Miss Judith
Perlzmeig, whose knowledge of the lamps of the Roman period has been invaluable; to Mrs.
Aliki Halepa Bikaki, to whose sure hand are due the majority of the drawings (the author is
See Index of Roman Deposits, pp. 123-127.
vi THE ATHENIAN AGORA: POTTERY OF THE ROMAN PERIOD
responsible for the drawings of graffiti and dipinti, executed, for the most part, before Miss
Lang's examination and reading of the originals) ;to Mrs. Mary Williamson Eliot and Frederick
R. Matson for technical advice on pottery-making; to Miss Margaret Crosby, Miss Virginia
Grace, Miss Frances F. Jones, Miss ClairAve Grandjouan, Mrs. Elizabeth Lyding Will, Howard
Comfort, Eugene Vanderpool, G. Roger Edwards, Richard Howland, Loukas A. Benachi and
many others at excavation sites and museums throughout the Near East and Europe.
It is regrettable that J. W. Crowfoot, G. M. Crowfoot, Kathleen M. Kenyon and others,
Sumaria-Sebeste, Reports of the Work of the Joint Expedition in 1931-1933 and of the
British Expedition in 1935, No. 3, The Objects from Sumaria, London, Palestine Exploration
Fund, 1957 appeared too hte for consultation.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF PLATES

Plate
1-3 Group F. 1st Century B.C.
Group F. 1st Century B.C.
{Group C. 1st Century B.C. and 1st Century after Christ
5,6 Group G. 1st Century after Christ
7 Group G. 1st and Early 2nd Centuries
Group G. Late 1st and Early 2nd Centuries
{Group H. First Half of 2nd Century
9-11 Group J. 2nd to Early 3rd Century
12-15 Group I<. Middle of 3rd Century
16 Group L. 3rd and 4th Centuries
17 Group L. 4th Century
18 Group M. Middle of 1st to Early 3rd Century
19 Group M. Middle of 1st to Early 2nd Century
20 Group M. Late 1st to Early 2nd Century
21,22 Group M. Late 2nd Century
23 Group M. Late 2nd to Early 3rd Century
24,25 Group M. Middle of 3rd Century
26 Group M. Late 3rd to Early 4th Century
27 Group M. Early 4th Century
28 Group M. 4th Century
29 Group M. Late 4th Century
30 Group M. Early 5th Century
31 Group M. 5th Century
32 Group M. Early 6th Century
33 Group M. 6th Century
34 Group M. Late 6th Century and 9th and 10th Centuries
35 Group N. Early 7th Century
Stamped Ornament
S6 {M edallions -Bowls and Lamps
37 Painted Ornament. 3rd and Early 4th Centuries
38 Groups F and G and Collateral Deposits
39,40 Collateral Deposits
41 Micaceous Water Jars, Details of Necks and Feet
42 Handle Types
43 Beaker, Corinth. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Cf. H 3
Base of Beaker
Samian Bowl, Egypt. Coll. L. Benachi, Alexandria. Cf. M 31
Thymiaterion, Cyrene. American University Museum, Beirut. Cf. G 159
44 Lamps. Groups F and G
45 Lamps. Groups G-L
x THE ATHENIAN AGORA: POTTERY OF THE ROMAN PERIOD
Plate
46 Lamps. Group M
47 Lamps. Groups G, J and M
48 Terracotta Figures. Groups GM and Collateral Deposits
49 Architectural Members. Groups G, K and M and Collateral Deposits
50 Terracotta and Wood. Groups G-M
51 Buckets of Wood, Bronze and Lead. Groups J, L and M
52 Sculpture. Groups G, H and M
Stone Objects. Groups H, K, L and M

53 Bronze, Iron and Lead. Groups G, J-N

54 Glass and Stone. Groups H-N

55 Glass. Groups L and M

56 Bone and Ivory. Groups G, J, L and M

Animal and Vegetable Remains. Group M

57 Painted Mottoes. Groups K and M

Potters' Stamps. Groups F, G, H and M

58 Graffiti. Groups F, L and M

Dipinti. Groups G and M

59 Dipinti. Groups F, H, J, L and 19

60 Profiles. Pergamene Ware

61 Profiles. Pergamene Ware

Samian B Ware

Samian A Ware

62 Profiles. Samian A Ware

Western Sigillata Ware

Fine Early Roman Wares

63 Profiles. Fine Early Roman Wares

West Slope Ware

64 Profiles. Late Roman Red Ware

Group F. 1st Century B.C.

Profiles. Groups F and G. 1st Century B.C. and 1st Century after Christ

Profiles. Group G. 1st Century after Christ

Profiles. Group G. 1st and Early 2nd Centuries

Profiles. Group H. First Half of 2nd Century

Group J. 2nd to Early 3rd Century

Group K. Middle of 3rd Century

Profiles. Group K. Middle of 3rd Century

Profiles. Group L. Late 3rd to Early 5th Century

Group M. 1st to 3rd Century

Profiles. Group M. 4th to 6th Century

Profiles. Utility Vessels.

Profiles. Details of Feet, Bases, Lips

Miscellaneous Objects
Section and Plan of Group F Deposit

Section and Plan of Group K Deposit

Section and Plan of Group G Deposit

Actual State Plan of the Athenian Agora
ABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
The principal works cited in this volume and the abbreviated titles by which they are mentioned are listed
below:
Alexandria Rudolf Pagenstecher, Expedition Ernst von Sieglin, Ausgrabungen in Alexandria,
Band 1193, Die Gefiisse in Stein und Ton, Knochenschnitzereie7t, Leipzig, 1913.
A. J.A. Anzerican Journal of Archaeology.
Antioch, I Antioch on-the-Orontes, I, The Excavations of 1932, ed. George W. Elderkin, Prin-
ceton, 1934.
Antioch, IV, 1 Antioch on-the-Orontes, IV, 1,Ceramics and Islancic Coins, ed. Frederick 0.Waag6,
Princeton, 1948.
A. S.0.R. Suppl. Studies American School of Oriental Research, Supplementary Studies.
Athenian Agora The Athenian Agora, Results of Excavations conducted by the Americun School of
Classical Studies at Athens.
vol. I. Evelyn B. Harrison, Portrait Sculpture, Princeton, 1953. (See below,
Harrison, Sculpture).
vol. 11. Margaret Thompson, Coins from the Romn through the Venetian Period,
Princeton, 1954. (See below, Thompson, Coins).
vol. IV. Richard H. Howland, Greek Lamps and their Suwivals, Princeton, 1958.
(See below, Howland, Lamps).
vol. VI. Clairkve Grandjouan, Tewawttas of the R m n P eriod, in preparation.
(See below, Grandjouan, Terracottas).
vol. VII. Judith Perlzweig and Clairhve Grandjouan, Lamps of the Roman Period,
in preparation. (See below, Perlzweig, Lamps and Perbweig-Grand-
jouan, Lamps).
Ath. Mitt. Mitleilungen des Deutschen archiiologischen Instituts, Athenische Abteibung.
B. C. H. Bulletin de correspondance hellknique.

Beth-Shun Gerald M. Fitzgerald, Beth-Shun Excavations 1921-1923, The Arab and Byzantine

Levels, Philadelphia, 1931. (See also below, Comfort-Waag6, B-8.).
Bonn. Jahrb. Bonw Jahrbucher.
Broneer, Lamps Corinth, vol. IV, ii.
B. S.A. Annual of the British School at Athens.

Charleston, Rom. Pot. R(obert) J. Charleston, Roman Pottery, London, Faber and Faber, 1955.

Chase, Bosh George H. Chase, Catalogue of Arretine Pottery (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston),

Boston, 1916.
Chase, Loeb George H. Chase, The Loeb Collection of Awetine Pottery, New York, 1908.
C. I.L. Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum.
Comfort, Arret. Howard Comfort, "De Collectione .. vasculorum arretinorum ..," Mentoirs of the
American Academy in Rome, VII, 1929, pp. 177-219.
Comfort, Mintumzae Howard Comfort, "Terra Sigillata from Minturnae," A. J. A., XLVII, 1943, pp.
313-390.
Comfort, Signatures Howard Comfort, "Arretine Signatures found in the Excavations in the Theater
District of Corinth," A. J. A., XXXIII, 1929, pp. 484-501.
Comfort, Suppl. Sigs. Howard Comfort, Supplementary Sigillata Signatures in the Near East," Jouml
"
of the American Oriental Society, LVIII, 1988, pp. 30-60.
xii THE ATHENIAN AGORA: POTTERY OF THE ROMAN PERIOD
Comfort, T. S. Howard Comfort, art. "Terra Sigillata," in Pauly-Wissowa, R. E., suppl. VII

(1940), cols. 1295-1352.

Comfort-W aage, B-S. Howard Comfort and Frederick 0.Waage, "Selected Pottery from Beth-Shan,"

Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement, 1936, pp. 221-224. (See also above,

Beth-Shun).

Corinth Corinth, Results of Excavations conducted by the American School of Classical Studies
at Athens.
vol. IV, ii. Oscar Broneer, Terracotta Lamps, Cambridge, Mass., 1934. (See
above, Broneer, Lamps).
vol. XII. Gladys R. Davidson, The Minor Objects, Princeton, 1952. (See below,
Davidson, Minor Objects).
Davidson, M i wO bjects Corinth, vol. XII.

Day, Ec. Hist. John Day, An Economic History of Athens under Roman Domination, New York,

1942.

Dragendorff, T. 5'. Hans Dragendorff, "Terra Sigillata," Bonner Jahrbiicher, XCVI-XCVII, 1895,

pp. 18-155.

Dura, IV, 1, 2 Dorothy H. Cox, The Excavations at Dura-Europos, Final Report IV, Part 1, fasc.

2, The Greek and Roman Pottery, New Haven, 1949.

Forschungen in Ephesos veroffentlichtv om Osterreichischen archaeologischen Institute,

Band I, Wien, 1906.

Grandjouan, Terracottas Athenian Agora, vol. VI.

Haltern, I Siegfried Loeschcke, "Keramische Funde in Haltern," Alterturns-KommissuMz fiir

Westfalen, Mittheilungen, V, 1909, pp. 101-322.

Karl HBhnle, "Ausgrabungen bei Haltern," Altertunts-1i;o.mmission fur Westfalen,
Mittheilungen, VI, 1912, pp. 33-100.

Harald Ingholt, Rapport prdliminaire sur la premi2re canzpagne des fouilles de Hama

(Kgl. Danske Videnskcbbernes Selskab, archaeo1.-kunsthist. Meddelelser, I, 3),

Copenhagen, 1934.

Hama, II Harald Ingholt, Rapport prdliminaire sur sept campagnes de fouilles4, Hama en Syrie,

1932-1938 (Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, archaeo1.-kunsthist. Meddelelser,

111, I), Copenhagen, 1940.

Harrison, Sculpture Athenian Agora, vol. I.

Hofheim Emil Ritterling, Das friihromische Lager bei Hofheim im Taunus (Annalen des

Vereins fur nassauische Altertumskunde, XL), Wiesbaden, 1913.

Holwerda, Leiden J. H. Holwerda, Het laat-grieksche en romeinsche gebruiksaardezoerk uit het middel-
landsche-xeegebied in het rijksmuseum van oudheden te Leiden, '8-Gravenhage, 1936.
Howland, Lamps Athenian Agora, vol. IV.

I.G. 112 Inscriptiones Graecae, Vols. 11-111 (editio minor, Berlin, 1913-1940), Insoriptiones

Atticae Euclidis anno posteriores, ed. Johannes Kirchner.

Ihrn, Arret. Topf. M(aximi1ian) Ihm, "Die arretinischen Topfereien," Bonner Jahrbucher, CII, 1898,

pp. 106-126.

Iliffe, Shmps, I J. H. Iliffe, "Sigillata Wares in the Near East, a List of Potters' Stamps," Q.D.A.P.,

VI, 1936, pp. 4-53.

Iliffe, Stamps, II J. H. Iliffe, "Sigillata Wares in the Near East, 11, More Potters' Stamps," Q.D.A.P.,

IX, 1939, pp. 31-76.

Jahrb. Jahrbuch des Deutschen aschtiologischen Instituts.

Jahresh. Jahreshefte des Osterreichischen archtiologischen Institutes in Wien.

J.H. S. Journal of Hellenic Studies.

J.R. S.
Journal of Roman Studies.

Kiibler, Kerameikos
Karl Kubler, "Zum Formwandel in der spatantiken attischen Tonplastik," Jahr-

buch des Deutschen archaologischen I,nstituts, LXVII, 1952, pp. 99-145.