Ceramic building material from the Roman forts on the Colchis Coast: archaeology and archaeoceramological analysis
2018, 27, No. 1
Gonio-Apsarus Archaeological and Architectural Sit
Gonio-Apsarus Archaeological-Architectural Museum Reserve
Gonio-Apsaros Archaeological-Architectural Museum Reserve
Batumi Shota Rustasveli State University, Rustaveli Foundation Grant Project
Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw
Uniwersytet Warszawski, Centrum Archeologii Śródziemnomorskiej UW
University of Warsaw, Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology
Uniwersytet Warszawski, Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology
Cultural Heritage Preservation Agency of Ajara
Freie Universitat Berlin, Excellence Cluster 264 TOPOI, Małgorzata Daszkiewicz ARCHEA
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Abstract
The article collects the modest evidence available on the use (and possible production) of ceramic building material by the Roman army in Colchis, using it as a backdrop for presenting the exceptional richness, in quantity as much as diversity, of the finds from Gonio/Apsaros. The signatures on these products add to the value of this assemblage. Part 1 of the article presents documented examples of stamps on bricks, roof tiles and ceramic pipes from the Gonio/Apsaros fort and links them to the construction projects of specific Roman army units in the Cappadocia province. The results of laboratory tests conducted on samples of ceramic products and raw clay from Gonio, presented in Part 2, distinguish between two reference groups for the production of which clay from near the fort was used. However, it has not been possible to indicate the specific deposits of such raw material used by the Roman army.
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