Achaeometrical Research in Hungary II., 1988

ANALYSES - POTTERY - Erzsébet JEREM - Márta BALLA - László BALÁZS: Early celtic stamped pottery in the eastern Alpine area: workshop activity and trade

The main focus to this paper is pottery production and distribution at the site of Sopron-Krautacker (NW-Hungary), where large scale excavations were carried out between 1973 and 1988 during which over two hectares were uncovered. This multilayer riverside settlement was continuously occupied between the 6

th and 1

st centuries ВС. In addition to land cultivation and animal keeping, manufacturing activities, especially pottery making and goldsmithry played an important role in its economy (JEREM et al. 1984-1985; JEREM 1991). Five kilns, representing different types and time periods were excavated at this site (Fig.2). The degrees of their preservation varied as well (Fig.3). Sherds recovered from the firing chamber of these kilns as well as from the refuse- and working pits nearby, bear witness of significant pottery production which started in the second half of the 4th century and lasted for about 300 years. At that time, homecraft developed into industrial activity. One must also reckon with proportionally important regional trade. The site lay at the intersection of important trade routes that, among others, included the well known Amber Route, which connected the Adriatic and Baltic Seas running along the Alpine Foreland. Wheel thrown and stamp decorated ceramics occurred here from as early as the 5th century ВС. Meanwhile, these types also started appearing among the fine ware used at the settlement as well as in burials as grave goods. Naturally, the workshops also produced masses of mundane household pottery, including graphitetempered ceramics (JEREM-KARDOS 1985). Based on the results of previous pétrographie, X-ray diffraction and OES analyses (JEREM 1984; KARDOS et al. 1985), the clarification of the following problems was attempted using neutron activation analysis (BALLA-JEREM 19949: - to what extent may ware from the Sopron workshop be considered homogeneous? - what is the relationship between pottery from Kiln 199 and the rest of the Sopron ceramics? - were stamp decorated vessels, representing fine ware, made locally and are there similarities between them? - are there differences between the origins and production techniques of pottery used at the settlement and those placed into graves? - is it possible to identify export production by comparing samples of locally fired ware and sherds from nearby sites? - is there evidence of clearly distinguishable import ware at the site? 2. Sampling Some fifty samples were analysed by using neutron activation analysis. The majority of samples originated from the settlement of Sopron-Krautacker. They were composed of decorated pottery, grave ceramics and a series of samples that spanned the entire time interval between the 6th and 1st century ВС. Samples from Wien-Leopoldsberg, Pöttsching, Oggau and Hidegség were also studied to reveal potential export activities of the Sopron workshop. These settlements lay within a circle of a 25 km radius around Sopron. Pots from which samples were taken show close stylistic relationships with samples from Sopron in terms of form and decoration. Although Pilismarót-Basaharc is located much farther from Sopron than the aforementioned sites, its ceramic material also shows stylistic similarities to some of the Sopron sherds. 86