EARLY ROMAN POTTERY (2ND –3RD CENTURIES AD) DISCOVERED IN A BUILDING WITHIN A RURAL SETTLEMENT IN THE TERRITORY OF TOMIS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14795/jaha.13.2.2026.1585Keywords:
Early Roman pottery, rural settlement, Tomis territory, building, 2nd –3rd centuries AD, Pontic Grey Slip Ware, hand-made pottery – Getae traditionAbstract
As a result of the construction of the Constanța bypass (A4 motorway), carried out between 2010 and 2011, a large rural Roman settlement was identified between kilometers 8+400 and 9+500. The site is broadly dated to the 2nd–4th centuries AD and includes several phases and sub-phases of occupation. Within the investigated area, a residential building conventionally designated House 1 – CC was identified in Lot no. 2. The building has a rectangular ground plan and is subdivided into two rooms and a porch. The present study focuses on the ceramic assemblage recovered from the porch area. It is most likely that, at the end of the occupation phase, the ceramic material was discarded in this space. The assemblage is dated to the 2nd and first half of the 3rd centuries AD and includes several ceramic categories: tablewares, cooking wares, lightning equipment, transport vessels, and building materials. Each category is analyzed according to the criteria of functionality, chronology, and provenance. The assemblage shows a clear preference for products that were most probably manufactured within the province of Moesia Inferior. Imported wares are limited in quantity and include vessels from Aegean and Pontic production centers. Statistical analysis highlights the predominance of cooking wares—both wheel-made and hand-made products (non–Roman pottery, influenced by the local Getae tradition)—which together account for nearly half of the pottery recovered.
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