III.4 Ceramic Description
p. 64-70
Texte intégral
1After executing the first steps in ceramic management (collecting, washing, refitting, sorting, quantifying, and selecting), the ceramic material needs to be inventoried and described.
The Purpose of a Ceramic Description
2The main purpose of ceramic description is to provide a valuable dataset about the individual object itself and to contribute and enhance broader research studies, as well as to create an archival record. The objectives of the research may range from building a chrono-typology, questions concerning ancient technological approaches, to carrying out statistical analysis for certain or all aspects of the archaeological area, etc.
3The person in charge of the assemblage or a specialist of a specific period, a specific production, etc., will be able to consult this data whenever it is needed using the hard copies or by checking the database (see Section iv.3). It will be possible to exploit the data at any given time in the future, independent of location. The information gathered thanks to these descriptions is thus available for study even once the fieldwork is finished.
4Different strategies can be adopted for the selection of material to be described. As a selected approach is required by many archaeologists, not all preserved material is described in detail, for instance, undecorated body sherds do not all have a description (ID) form. The choice of what needs to be described in detailed records depends on the objectives of the study, financial restrictions, time restrictions, the type of archaeological context, and very often the overall project aims (see Section iii.2).
5Generally, a ceramic description consists of detailed observations concerning the physical aspects of the collected object, its state of preservation, administrative elements such as the provenance, recorder, drawing number etc., shape, ware—or functional group, technology of manufacture, measurements, fabric features and codes, surface treatment and decoration (see Chapter ii). Often it includes decisions for the next steps, such as the sampling for further laboratory-based analyses and possible storage location.
Archaeological missions | Code numbers (e. g.) | Code decrypt for site |
Banganarti | BA-18-1529 | Banganarti, season 2018, continuous number 1529 |
Damboya | DAM20-E-001-Cer. 054 | Damboya, season 2020, sector E, context 001, continuous number 054 |
Dongola | D20.1.1.1200 | Dongola, season 2020, sector 1, context 1, continuous number 1200 |
Early Makuria | Z4/79 | Zuma tumulus 4, continuous number 79 |
Research Project | D2/4 | El-Detti, tumulus 2, continuous number 4 |
Tnq47/15 | Tanqasi, tumulus 47, continuous number 15 | |
Gazahli | P. 14.077 | Pottery, season 2014, continuous number 077 |
Hamadab | HVU-15-0058 | Hamadab vessel unit, season 2015, continuous number 0058 |
Sedeinga | II T 165 Cd 01 | Sedeinga, sector II, Tomb 165, Ceramic descenderie number 01 |
Qasr el-Wizz | KEW 65-11-6-405 | Kasr el-Wiz, season 1965, November, date 6th, continuous number 405 |
QMPS Pyramids Meroe | QVU-16-003 | QMPS vessel unit, season 2016, continuous number 003 |
UCL/BIEA-Iron production | VU-901-MIS 3-3-14-152 | Vessel unit, continuous number 901, Meroe Iron Slag heap 3, trench 3, season 2014, context 152 |
Initials/diminutive of the archaeological site: Depending on the country specific archaeological traditions often between one and three characters relating to the archaeological site or the project name e. g. D = Dongola, Q = QMPS, HMD = Hamadab, MWS = Muweis, TNQ = Tanqasi, DAM = Damboya.
Figure 26. Examples of coding systems used at archaeological sites in the Middle Nile Valley.
The Various Steps of the Description
6Data regarding the provenance, stratigraphic unit, and year of campaign should be repeated to avoid loss. Each object described will be recorded with a consecutive ID-number (see Section iii.3). The recorded form sheet per individual ID vessel unit number should be (later) entered into a database (see Section iv.3) to enable comprehensive analysis and the remote accessibility.
7As the analysis remains influenced by the observations of the individual, it is useful to let the most specialised person fill in the description sheets. The first dataset to be added to the ceramic description form is that relating to the provenance of the object, such as the ID number; sector/area/trench; context number/stratigraphic unit/locus, etc. This first dataset provides the most essential elements of information for a chronological interpretation of the context of origin, identifying the evolution of ceramic production within the stratigraphic sequence, archiving, as well as the nature and functional use of the area under investigation.
8A section regarding preservation and vessel form comes next. These records indicate which part of the vessel was collected; whether it is the rim, the base or the handle, as well as the number of sherds belonging to each vessel unit. It allows the recording of measurements, such as the diameter of the openings, the bases, and the thickness of the individual sherd. More detailed information on specific features can also be included.
9It can be useful to make a sketch of the object which serves as a visual aid to easily sort forms when working on the typology. However, it is important to note whether a scaled drawing was made. The notes on the preserved percentage of rim and base enable statistical analyses of the whole collection and should be recorded (see Sections iii.1 and iv.2). Analogies within the same site or in published papers should also be quoted.
10The following part of the description form is dedicated to technology and use, which includes manufacturing techniques, paste features, surface treatment and decoration. All these aspects will provide further information to be incorporated into the typology, providing more detailed information on the base of wares and their features, as well as on information concerning clays and provenances, specific productions, firing conditions and possibilities, raw materials collection choices and potters’ skills.
11One of the first steps is to understand which manufacturing techniques may have been employed: hand-made or wheel-made would be the first major indicator. From there on even finer categories can be selected, such as: pinch-stretch, slabs, moulds, coils, wheel-coiling, wheel-throwing, textiles shaping such as “mat-impressed” (fig. 27), etc. (see Section ii.5). All of these techniques are often visible on the sherds themselves, as traces of joints between different coils, fingerprints for pinching or moulding (on the inside of the sherd), and/or regular concentric circles from wheel marks.
Figure 27. Traces of manufacturing techniques on the inside. Use of textiles to shape the vessel; on the left, also trace of coils

From Apamea, Syria (Vezzoli 2016, pl. 40, nos. 14-15).
12When possible, data regarding the type of firing—which can be determined based on the colour of the surfaces, the section, and the compactness of the fabric—should be recorded: 1) oxidisation, where there is circulation of oxygen during firing, or 2) reduction, with a low presence of oxygen during firing or semi-oxidizing or semi-reducing (see Section ii.3). It could be interesting to note whether the object appears to have been evenly or unevenly fired, by observing the homogeneity of the surface colour, as well as if they had a secondary fire/heat exposure. The latter could provide important information on the use of the object. Additional observations of the residues on the sherd and sampling thereof for further analyses also prove to be particularly useful.
13Regarding the description of paste, a specific series of information is required. Fabric observations can be made by using a microscope, magnifying glass, or the naked eye (see Section ii.3). Colour characteristics must be recorded for inner and outer parts of the cross section. Archaeologists often employ the “Munsell Soil Colour Charts” to ensure comparability when identifying colours, but a well-defined simple colour notation system can also be effective (such as: R= red, Br= brown, Bl= black or rBr= reddish brown, etc.) as long as it is consistent. Developing fabric codes are advised and will ease the process. Most ceramic specialists even prefer a much more detailed description of the section’s inclusions within the matrix, their nature (vegetal/organic or mineral/non-organic), dimensions, colour, and frequency (fig. 28) for the individual object. A general interpretation of the fabric’s quality (fine, semi-fine, medium, medium-coarse, or coarse) will produce an additional layer of detail in the classification of wares (see Section ii.3 and Fabric description form).
Figure 28. Section of a common ware body sherd from Apamea, Syria (AP.04. IV.46.26) (Vezzoli 2016)

14Very often an additional treatment of the surface of a vessel performed by the potter to make it smoother or to decorate the pottery can be observed. This varies from plain surfaces to burnished ones (e.g. stripe burnished with a stone tool to seal the surface), polished (the more elaborated “fancy” type of smoothing using stone tools or textile cloth so the surface is sealed completely and is shiny), to a thin layer of wash (with use of clay and maybe pigments and water, making it “see through”), or a slip coat, using clay and pigments (so it is “not see through” but rather a thick layer of “paint”). A further treatment can be a layer of transparent or opaque coloured glaze which also serves the function of rendering a vessel waterproof. These types of treatment could have been applied to cover all or only parts of the surface and can be located on the inside, outside and/or around the rim, depending on the shape, function, and use of the vessel (i.e., open, or closed vessel, or respectively the use as a bowl or a jug). Surface treatments are often related to decoration but also served a functional use such as its waterproofing capacity or aiding heat distribution (e.g. water jars or cooking pots).
15A vast variety of decorations and decorative techniques can be recorded on the external surface, internal surface, and rim of vessels (figs. 29-30): incisions, excisions, grooves, combed patterns, stamps, and applications with the use of a large quantity and variation of different tools. These can be organised into patterns, applied as relief (applied or moulded), or stamped. Slip painting can be applied to the entire surface or can create specific designs and schemes, a glaze can cover the whole surface or only parts of it and can be applied above a layer of slip (which brings out the colour of the glaze or creates underglaze patterns). The glaze can also be opaque and then decorated with pigments.
Figure 29. Plate with different examples of glazed surfacing

Nos. 1-9: slip painted decoration under transparent coloured glaze; no. 11: monochrome glaze; no. 13: incised decoration under coloured transparent glaze; n. 15: lustre decoration on opaque white glaze. From Apamea, Syria (Vezzoli 2016, pl. 5).
Figure 30. Plate with different examples of surface decoration

Nos. 1-7, 18-19: painted decoration; nos. 14-15: moulded decoration. From Apamea, Syria (Vezzoli 2016, pl. 6).
16When possible, the person in charge of the pottery should aim to provide a chrono-typology or preliminary chrono-typology of the described objects. This enables speedier determination of the specific type of object recovered. However, body sherds of all sorts, and especially undecorated common wares, can be challenging in terms of quantity and type determination.
17Finally, it is important to keep track of everything studied (see Section i.2), such as if an object has undergone special restorations or if it has been sampled for further analyses, and where it is currently stored.
Ceramic description form

Persistent identifier: https://doi.org/10.34847/nkl.48cae94l.
Download (pdf/356 kb): https://api.nakala.fr/data/10.34847/nkl.48cae94l/60704225498659ec27ce676b7d03a1394b177a66
Auteurs
Researcher, Institut français du Proche-Orient, Beyrouth, Lebanon.
Associated member, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Berlin, Germany.

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