III.2 Selection of Forms to be Recorded
p. 58-63
Texte intégral
1Selecting pottery forms is an orderly approach to classify large amounts of objects in “time and space” including their variations and production, and respectively the changes thereof. It contributes to the understanding of the function of the objects and therefore also contributes to the interpretation of the archaeological contexts and the evolution throughout the occupation of the site or of the region (Orton et al. 1993, pp. 57-61).
Different Types of Contextualised Collections
2During survey investigations the collection and selection of pottery depends essentially on in-field preselected diagnostic sherds from the surface of the investigated area. Archaeologists face a very deceptive and fragmentary picture which does not render the formation of a typology easy. Rims, bases, and handles (diagnostic sherds) are common, but there are hardly any complete profiles. Stratigraphic sequences are rarely available and consequently the reconstruction of an evolution of forms is challenging, unless comparisons already exist, or other well-dated material can be associated with certitude to the unknown forms.
3Test trench excavations containing a larger number of sherds present a different situation and although chances are greater for refitting and thus the evaluation of complete shapes, the fragmentation degree is also higher and, due to the restricted size of a test trench, the collection of material often results in a knowledge of certain rim shapes, but not which base certain variations might belong to.
4The selection of pottery forms from archaeological excavations, especially from graves and cemeteries, often furnishes the best-preserved material. Fragmentation of material tends to be lower making the identification of complete forms easier for archaeologists and rendering a higher percentage of refit success. Moreover, high refitting success is often found in closed contexts providing single chronological points in time. This allows for a refined chronological typology. Settlement excavations tend to be the most challenging as the quantity of material can be overwhelming. These give the possibility of finding complete vessels but also small, fragmented pottery dumps which provide a glimpse of a large variety of material.
5The amount of work depends on whether a typology of the site or the region is already known or if it still needs to be established and researched.
A Practical Guide to a Form Typology in the Field
6One of the main contributions of an archaeological excavation for the building of a chrono-typology (see Section v.1) is the provided stratigraphic sequence. This sequence allows to pinpoint certain pottery types to certain time periods and therefore to reconstruct the changes and evolutions within the ceramic morphological repertoire throughout the lifespan of the site.
7If the chrono-typology is already known for a certain site or region, the study of the material will evolve to a more comparable method whereas the assemblage is matched, for instance, to already available literature and is thus verified accordingly. Additionally, it permits to identify which vessel forms were locally produced or might be regional or imported from far away.
Step 1
8Assuming a new chrono-typology needs to be built, the challenges and strategies are complex. In this case, one must create the typology by documenting the pottery first and classifying categories of ceramic such as the field sorting pottery groups (see Section ii.2: cooking ware; fine ware; common ware; etc.); the shapes (bowls, cups, jugs, jars, etc.); and the surface treatment (slip, burnishing, glaze, etc.).
9Useful classifications and tools to start with are:
The use of the quantification categories and field sorting pottery groups (see Section iii.1)
The use of an “internal” code of detected shapes; here a few examples shall be given:
10For instance, the cooking ware from the medieval period in Apamea, Syria was classified as follows (Vezzoli 2016):
Category: Cooking Ware
Rim 1: everted rim
Rim 2: folded rim
Rim 3: grooved rim
Handle 1: grip handle
Handle 2: basket handle
Handle 3: vertical handle
Base: rounded base (B1)
11In a further stage the codes or classifications can be combined if more complete shapes are discovered during the excavation. It allows associating a rim (or a handle) to a complete form and the typology could be enriched as follows (fig. 23):
CP01: Cooking pot: Globular holed mouth cooking pot, with folded rim (Rim 2), basket handles (Handle 2), and rounded base (B1). The folded rim can be broader or smaller (variant CP01b).
CP08: Cooking pot: Globular holed mouth cooking pot with grooved rim (Rim 3), vertical (Handle 3) or basket handles (Handle 2), and rounded base (B1).
CP09: Cooking pot: Globular cooking pot with short neck and everted rim (Rim 1) with grip handles (Handle 1), and rounded base (B1).
Figure 23. Example based on the study of the ceramic assemblage from Apamea (Syria) on how to create an “internal” coding system for detected shapes (Vezzoli 2016)

Step 2
12The next step follows when the excavations stratigraphic sequence, chronological evolutions and changes can be traced further: for instance, the pot CP09 appears in Phase 3 and continues until Phase 6 (dating to late 12th-late 13th century ad); while CP01b was distributed during the entire medieval occupation of the site (Phase 3 to Phase 7, the CP01 variant is attested later, from Phase 5 to 7, the period for which it is the most representative shape (dating to 13th-14th century ad). Finally, CP08 is also attested during the same period as CP01 but is less common (fig. 24).
Figure 24. Example based on the study of the ceramic assemblage from Apamea (Syria) on how the evolvement of pottery forms throughout different time phases can be traced (Vezzoli 2016).

13Possible research questions would be: Was this evolution in shapes related to specific functional purposes or due to different suppliers, or are even other socio-economic aspects involved?
14Pottery forms do change and evolve for different reasons and the understanding and interpretation thereof is the main objective. For example, some cooking pots could have ceased to be attested on the site due to the supplying production centre having stopped their production or increased the price bringing their users to choose another workshop. Some forms may no longer be attested due to changes in culinary habits, which could reflect on the selection of the ware.
15The practical step here is to create plates from the technical drawings of the material displaying all forms associated to a specific category or type. These assists to visually detect how changes in the different stratigraphic units or archaeological phases occur and allow re-grouping or separating certain forms whilst developing the chrono-typology (fig. 25).
Figure 25. Example based on the study of the ceramic assemblage from Apamea (Syria) on how a possible display of associated forms from specific pottery type categories could be created (Vezzoli 2016)

Step 3
16When the form typology is built (or a larger majority thereof), chronological plates of the identified forms should be created (see again fig. 24). This offers a picture of how a form evolved in different time phases of the site or when it stops to be attested and when it was maybe replaced by another form, etc.
17The same methodology can be applied when creating a chrono-typology for survey or trench material (see Section v.1). However, consideration must be given to the fact that the assemblage alone would be insufficient to reconstruct such a complete repertoire, due to the above-mentioned dimensional limitations when working with sequenced material.
Auteurs
Researcher, Institut français du Proche-Orient, Beyrouth, Lebanon.
Associated member, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Berlin, Germany.

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