Argon Sigillata

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Terra Sigillata, which was produced in workshops in the Argonne from the second half of the 3rd century to around the end of the 5th century, is called Argonne sigillata , Argonne ware or wheel sigillata . The argon sigillata experienced their export peak in the first half of the 4th century.

The argon sigillata replaces the previously usual relief-decorated model goods - the usual decoration technique is now the so-called scroll wheel decoration. Most of the Terra sigillata is still undecorated.

The main shape of this time is the Chenet 320 / Alzey 1 bowl, which has the shape of Drag. 37 displaced - among the fragments decorated with the scroll wheel, it accounts for about 95%.

topography

The Argonne are a forested mountain area in north-eastern France. They lie between the rivers Maas (French: Meuse) and Aisne , northeast of Paris . The cities of Reims and Verdun are nearby .

In ancient times the Argonne were in the province of Gallia Belgica. They were connected to several major traffic routes: via the north-south road that runs through the Argonne, and the like. a. to the Roman road from Reims via Verdun to Metz and the connection from Reims via Chesne, Mouzon, Carignan and Arlon to Trier. The Argonnen offer ideal conditions for pottery. There is a natural sandstone deposit that provides a refractory building material for the kilns. The vast forests provide firewood and there are many springs. A green or gray-bluish tone occurs in the Argonne. They are close enough to the sales area, but far enough away from the Rhine border, which was repeatedly plundered by Germanic tribes at the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th century. Due to the proximity to the roads and the rivers Aisne and Maas, export is also possible to more distant areas.

Research history

In 1919, the wheel-decorated Argon Sigillata was first published in summary by Wilhelm Unverzagt . Its material came mainly from accidental finds made in the Argonne during World War I. However, he was able to differentiate between around 220 different roller stamps. In 1941, Georges Chenet added about 130 newly discovered stamps to this collection. He also published all the vessel shapes known from the Argonne up to that point - including the smooth and the rest of the terra sigillata not decorated with the scroll wheel. Chenet had carried out prospecting in the Argonne, uncovering individual garbage pits and pottery kilns. In 1968 Wolfgang Hübener tried to divide the roller stamp decors into groups and to sort them in relative and absolute chronological order. This order has since been further refined by Lothar Bakker , but only published in numerous individual articles on different sites (including Echternach , Worms , Cologne Cathedral excavation ). A “Corpus of the Late Roman Argon Sigillata”, in which all known roller stamps with their possible dates and the vessel shapes are to be presented, is in preparation. It should be noted that so far only individual ovens have been uncovered in the Argonne - a large-scale excavation of the pottery has not taken place.

Production period

The argon pottery already started production in the 2nd half of the 1st century. In the early days, so-called "Belgian goods" were produced. T. scroll wheel decor carries. From around 125 Terra sigillata is produced there, u. a. also vessels decorated in relief. Production runs until the beginning of the 3rd century, since exports from the end of the 2nd century are noticeably weakened by the competition between the companies in Rheinzabern and Trier, which are closer to the sales area. However, with the loss of the Limes area 260, the two rival companies lose their crucial export areas and are too close to the uncertain Rhine border. From the 2nd half of the 3rd century, the conveniently located argon pottery therefore experienced a renewed boom and took over the dominant position on the market. New operations are being built at the old production sites. This development is favored by the peacetime under Probus (276–282) and the consolidation of the empire at the time of Diocletian's tetrarchy. The argon pottery under Constantine and his sons experienced their export peak in the 1st half of the 4th century. While Chenet does not assume that the factories have survived the 406/7 unrest, Undaunted suspects that production continued until around the middle of the 5th century - after that, terra sigillata tableware went out of fashion due to Germanization. Bakker describes the late antique Terra sigillata from the Argonne as a " key fossil of late Roman sites of the 4th to 6th centuries AD ", since it was also found at sites of the 6th century BC. a. in graves, still shows up. However, it can be assumed that these are old pieces that were produced much earlier, but continued to be used by the owners for a long time.

The differences between the production of the 2nd and 3rd centuries and that of the 4th century are so remarkable that Chenet divides them into a “ Première Période ” and a “ Seconde Période ”. In his opinion, production stood still for a while between the two periods, but was later resumed in the same locations. The differences are of course v. a. in the different vessel shapes produced, but also in the color and shine of the engobe. If it was previously more coral red, it is now changing to a partially pale red-orange to brown. The decoration of the vessels also changes. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, relief was the predominant technique of decoration. In the 4th century, however, one remembers the decoration of the so-called “Belgian goods” and the terra sigillata is often decorated with the scroll wheel. Techniques such as barbotine or notch cutting are used in both periods. At the same time as the relief ware is being removed, the pottery stamps will also disappear from the terra sigillata. Apparently there was no longer any need to identify the manufacturer. It is unclear why the potters or the companies no longer labeled their goods.

Production sites

Production in the Argonne was spread across numerous individual pottery shops that are 2 to 18 km apart. The production facilities can therefore " on the one hand be viewed as clearly separated from one another due to the relatively large distance (...), but on the other hand, due to the assignment to a single river system (the Aire and its tributary, the Buante), they can be thought of as belonging more closely together (...) " .

Since large-scale excavations have not yet been carried out in the Argonne, but the findings so far have been based on chance finds, prospecting and smaller excavations of individual kilns, it can be assumed that not all pottery kilns are known yet. In the forest areas in particular, there may still have been workshops on previously cleared areas. The production sites in Lavoye, Aubréville, Avocourt, Pont-des-quatre-enfants, Les Allieux-Vauquois, Vauquois, La Verdunaise and Châtel-Chéhéry are known so far.

The pottery site in Lavoye extends over an area of ​​more than 35 hectares. Pottery kilns from the 1st to 4th centuries have been discovered. The two ovens E and Z date from late antiquity. Oven E was built at a location where ovens were already in use in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Numerous sherds from the 2nd to 4th centuries were found in the area. Only the base of furnace Z remained. Shards from the 4th century were discovered nearby. The find of the so-called " Sépulture A ", which is dated after 360 due to coin finds, is remarkable . In the grave there were numerous metal and glass objects and argon sigillata from the 4th century, but no human bones. Chenet therefore interprets the “ Sépulture A ” as “ un lieu à offrandes, peut-être en rapport tout de même avec quelque cérémonie funéraire ”. “ Le puits du champ 790 ” contains fragments of argon sigillata, but also complete vessels, most of which come from false fires . The backfilling dates to the period after 375 through coins. It is noticeable that the vessel shape and decoration hardly have anything in common with the finds in " Sépulture A ", which means that two different production stages or operations can be proven here.

In Aubréville there were kiln aids and crockery with wheel decorations from the 4th century (all from Schüssel Chenet 320), but no kiln as yet.

Avocourt produced ceramics from the 1st to the 4th century. Ovens A and B were discovered at Pré des Blanches and oven C at a distance of about 100 m. There were large amounts of 4th century pottery waste and broken pieces of many Chenet 320 bowls nearby.

The pottery at Pont-des-quatre-enfants in the Bois de Cheppy has so far been the least material that can be clearly assigned. An oven and large amounts of pottery waste were discovered. According to Chenet, “ une sorte de lourdeur impliquant, avec le manque d'élégance de galbe, une épaisseur inusitée de la paroi ” stands out with the dishes made from Pont-des-quatre-enfants . Chenet suggests that the sturdier tableware may have been intended for military canteens, or that this workshop may have been worked more negligently out of inability. Despite the carelessness of the vessel shapes, the scroll wheel decoration is very carefully executed. This could be due to the fact that the roller stamps were exchanged between the workshops or that the pottery workshops did not make them themselves, but bought them.

The pottery in the area of ​​Les Allieux-Vauquois was already producing in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, but also in the 4th century. A distinction is made between " Les Allieux-Clairière (A) " and " Les Allieux B (Atelier de la forêt) ". Remains of kilns, pottery waste, v. a. False fires and firing aids discovered. Among the fragments of Terra sigillata, the bowls 320 (about 50 pieces) and 324 were represented the most numerous.

At Vauquois, due to the discovery of broken pieces from the 4th century and kiln aids, another furnace is suspected, but has not yet been discovered. It is the same with La Verdunaise. There are similar finds here, suggesting a nearby pottery, which, however, has not yet been located.

Late antique terra sigillata was also discovered near Châtel-Chéhéry, but no pottery kiln. It is interesting, however, that ceramic fragments decorated with Christian scroll wheels were often found here. Apparently all (or at least most of the) vessels with Christian motifs were made in this pottery.

In late antiquity, all known potteries produce almost simultaneously - they start at the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th century and will probably stop production again in the 5th century. There is no evidence that the potters have taken over from one another.

Vessel shapes

The clay of the Terra sigillata from the Argonne can be described as follows: “ The very fine aging sometimes contains glittering components when exposed to light (but no larger“ mica ”flakes). The color of the clay, found on fresh breaks, is mainly pale orange, but light brown tones also occur. “The engobe is usually light orange to dark brown - some vessels are also black. The partly stained engobe indicates that some of the pieces are of poor quality. The turning grooves are not always completely smoothed either. Regarding the manufacturing technique, it can be said that, in contrast to the relief bowls of the previous century, the base was not added later, but rather turned out of the initially very thick vessel wall. The floor and wall are therefore made from one piece.

Scroll wheel decor

The technique of the scroll wheel decoration is comparatively simple. A disc-shaped wheel with the decoration in the negative on its edge is moistened and held against the wall of the leather-hard vessel. The vessel is rotated until it is decorated with an even spiral by the unwinding stamp. The length of the pattern is between 5.5 and 11 cm, which corresponds to about seven to ten pattern sections. This technique was extremely suitable for decorating mass-produced goods, as 20 to 30 vessels could be decorated in one hour.

Scroll wheel decor appears on only eight of the 55 types of vessels described by Chenet for the 4th century (bowl 304, plate 313, bowls 314 and 316, cups 317 and 319, bowls 320 and 324, grater bowl 330). Among the vessels decorated with the scroll wheel, the Chenet 320 / Alzey 1 bowl is the most common at all sites with a share of 95%. It solves the drag bowl, which was so popular in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. 37 from. Together with the Chenet 313 / Alzey 12 plate and the Chenet 314 / Alzey 13 cup, it forms a wheel-decorated service, according to Unverzagt.

Sales area

The argon potteries seem to have exported their goods very far - fragments of argon sigillata can be found in southern Britain, in France, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, in the Roman regions of Germany, in Austria and northern Italy. The location of the Argon pottery is ideal for export: All potteries in Reims, Trier, Strasbourg, Mainz, Koblenz, Senon, Bavay and Langres can be reached by road. The goods could also be widely distributed via the great waterways: Châlons was reached via the Marne, Vienne-la-Ville and Voncq were supplied via the Aisne, Verdun and Mouzon via the Maas, Toul, Metz and Trier via the Moselle Rhine Strasbourg, Mainz, Koblenz, Bonn and Cologne. Apparently they also exported via the Channel, because in Britain Argon sigillata were found in Colchester, London, York and other places in the southern part of the island. Bakker assumes that " the entire sales area of ​​the Argonnen-TS has not yet been comprehensively registered ". New excavations may reveal an even wider distribution than previously assumed. What is certain is that the Argonne did not produce for regional needs, but supplied a huge sales market. This raises the question of whether the comparatively few potteries discovered so far were really able to produce goods in such large numbers or whether it must not be assumed that a larger number of ovens has not yet been discovered.

literature

  • Lothar Bakker : Argonne Terra sigillata decorated with wheels from Worms and the surrounding area. In: Der Wormsgau 20, 2001, pp. 27–33.
  • Lothar Bakker: Argonne Terra sigillata decorated with wheels. In: Sebastian Ristow (Ed.): The early churches under the Cologne Cathedral. Findings and finds from the 4th century to the construction time of the old cathedral. (= Studies on Cologne Cathedral 9) Cologne 2002, pp. 109–123.
  • Lothar Bakker, Wim Dijkman, Paul van Ossel: The fine ceramics "Argonnensigillata". Guide find of late antique settlements in the provinces of Gaul, Germania and Rhaetia. In: Imperium Romanum. Romans, Christians, Alemanni. Late antiquity on the Upper Rhine. Exhibition catalog Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe 2005–2006, Theiss, Stuttgart 2005, pp. 171–176.
  • Georges Chenet : La céramique gallo-romaine d'Argonne du IVe siècle et la terre sigillée decorée à la molette. Fouilles et documents d'archéologie antique en France 1. Macon 1941.
  • Georges Chenet, Guy Gaudron: La céramique sigillée d'Argonne des IIe et IIIe siècle. Gallia préhistoire Supplément 6. Paris 1955.
  • Elvira Fölzer : The picture bowls of the East Gaulish sigillata manufactories. Roman ceramics in Trier 1. Bonn 1913, pp. 37–41.
  • Wolfgang Hübener : A study on the late Roman wheel sigillata (Argon sigillata). In: Bonner Jahrbücher 168, 1968, pp. 241–284.
  • Patrick Jung: Undecorated Terra sigillata of the 4th / 5th Century from the 2002 excavation in the area of ​​Fort Alzey. In: Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt 35, 2005, pp. 413-420.
  • Jeannot Metzler, Johny Zimmer, Lothar Bakker: Excavations in Echternach. Luxembourg 1981.
  • Wilhelm Unverzagt : The ceramics of Fort Alzei. Materials for Roman-Germanic ceramics 2. Frankfurt a. M. 1916.
  • Wilhelm Unverzagt: Terra sigillata with wheel decoration. Materials for Roman-Germanic ceramics 3. Frankfurt a. M. 1919.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bakker 2002, 110.
  2. Undaunted 1919, 4.
  3. Chenet 1941, 4.
  4. Chenet 1955, 9.
  5. Chenet 1941, 124.
  6. Undaunted 1919.
  7. Chenet 1941.
  8. Hübener 1968.
  9. Bakker 1981, Bakker 2001, Bakker 2002.
  10. ^ Edited by Lothar Bakker (Augsburg), Wim Dijkman (Maastricht) and Paul van Ossel (Paris); announced in: Bakker 2001, 27-28 and Bakker 2002, 109-110.
  11. Undaunted 1919, 10.
  12. Fölzer 1913, 40.
  13. Fölzer 1913, 40.
  14. Undaunted 1919, 11.
  15. Chenet 1941, 153.
  16. Chenet 1941, 154.
  17. Chenet assumes that the argon sigillata that appeared at later sites was produced much earlier and only passed on. Chenet 1941, 155: “ Une excellente preuve que des vases décorés à la molette ont circulé encore longtemps après l'époque de leur fabrication et même assez loin du lieu d'origine, c'est la présence de bols de ce genre dans des cimetières francs ou alamans du VIe siècle ”.
  18. Undaunted 1919, 11.
  19. Bakker 2002, 109.
  20. Undaunted 1919, 40.
  21. Chenet 1941, 153.
  22. Chenet 1941, 6.
  23. Chenet 1941, 6.
  24. Chenet 1941, 7.
  25. Chenet 1941, 7.
  26. Hübener 1968, 243.
  27. Hübener 1968, 243.
  28. Chenet 1941, 17.
  29. Chenet 1941, 17.
  30. on furnaces E and Z cf. Chenet 1941, 24.
  31. Chenet 1941, 20.
  32. Chenet 1941, 20.
  33. Chenet 1941, 23.
  34. Chenet 1941, 22.
  35. Chenet 1941, 22.
  36. on “Le puits du champ 790” cf. Chenet 1941, 25.
  37. Chenet 1941, 29.
  38. On Avocourt cf. Chenet 1941, 31-32.
  39. Hübener 1968, 252.
  40. Chenet 1941, 32.
  41. Chenet 1941, 34.
  42. Chenet 1941, 34.
  43. cf. on Les Allieux-Vauquois Chenet 1941, 35-38.
  44. Chenet 1941, 38.
  45. Chenet 1941, 38-39.
  46. cf. to Châtel-Chéhéry Chenet 1941, 39-41.
  47. Hübener 1968, 282.
  48. JUNG 2005, 413-416.
  49. JUNG 2005, 416.
  50. JUNG 2005, 416.
  51. Undaunted 1919, 17.
  52. Undaunted 1919, 17.
  53. Undaunted 1919, 18.
  54. Undaunted 1919, 17.
  55. Undaunted 1919, 17.
  56. Chenet 1941, 58-101.
  57. ^ Bakker 2002, 110.
  58. Undaunted 1919, 12.
  59. Undaunted 1916, 15.
  60. Bakker 2001, 27.
  61. Chenet 1941, 124.
  62. Chenet 1941, 124.
  63. Chenet 1941, 126.
  64. Bakker 2002, 117.