Marta, Liviu: The Late Bronze Age Settlements of Petea-Csengersima (Satu Mare, 2009)

IV. Habitation of the Lăpuş II-Gáva I Archaeological Culture

them a black or shiny-black colour on both faces of the walls. A third ceramic category fired in a particular method is represented by vessels that have a black or shiny-black colouring on one side of the wall and brick-red or grey on the other. This firing method is applied only in the case of vessels used for serving meals: cups, bowls/dishes and amphorae. Only in the case of two amphorae was bi-chrome firing used for the coarse category, other vessel forms having been made from fine and semi-fine clay. In most cases the outside of the vessel’s walls are black coloured while the interior is brown-brick red coloured. Just in the case of three bowls is the situation reversed, the inside walls having been fired in reducing atmosphere. Each of the vessels that are black on one side and brown-brick red on the other have the black side finely finished, often polished. 16,42% of vessels found in the archaeological complexes of the Lăpuş II—Gáva I had a bi-chrome firing. This percentage is significandy lower than that of the vessels from the setdement in the late phase of the Gáva culture380. The low percentage of vessels black on one side and brown-brick red on the other indicates that the process of bi-chrome firing is still in an incipient stage. The presence of light coloured stains on the black surface of some amphorae strengthens the idea that this firing method is at the beginning of its development in the case of large vessels.

Vesselforms.

IDENTI-FIED

VESSEL

FORMS

A

M

P

H

O

R

A

E

P

O

T

S

STORAGE

VESSELS

COOKING

VESSELS

BOWLS/

DISHES

C

u

p

s

T

R

A

Y

S

L

I

D

S

S

T

R

A

I

N

E

R

S

EMBER

PROTECTORS

280

46

42

5

31

91

57

1

3

3

1

So as to include as many of the pottery fragments from the setdement as possible into the statistics of vessel forms I chose a primary inclusion within broad ceramic categories. By using comprehensive categories — bowls/dishes or cups/beakers - I avoided the exclusion of pottery fragments that could not be included into more precisely defined ceramic forms. To benefit of a statistical coverage as complete as possible and to have at the same time the possibility to include fragments into more strict categories - necessary for limited categories which have chronological importance — I considered that a gradual division would be favourable, comprising several subdivisions (general forms, types, subtypes, variants). In what concerns the frequency of pottery forms, the first places are occupied by bowls/dishes, cups, amphorae and pots. The frequency of vessel forms in the Lăpuş II—Gáva I cultural horizon is mentioned at Libotin where pots, bowls/dishes and cups have the highest occurrence381.

Amphorae

380 At Grăniceşti 27,89 % of vessels had a bi-chrome firing (categories I and II). The greatest difference is found in the case of bowls (category II) which at Grăniceşti represent 17,35% (László 1994, p. 67) while within the Lăpuş II-Gáva I habitation in the Petea-Csengersima these represent 3,29 % of the total bowls/ dishes.

381 Kacsó 1990, p. 81.

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