Laodikeia'da Bulunan Geç Antik Çağ Unguentariumları

Abstract

In excavations at Laodikeia since 2002, numerous fired clay vessels have been discovered including unguentaria, these form a group of about 1000 fragments and near intact examples in a variety of forms and fabrics ranging from 18 to 20 cms. h., a few of larger size 30-35 cm. h. were also found. All the Late Antique unguentaria from Laodikeia are fusiform. Their circular rims are slightly everted. The concave cylindrical short necks have a relief line near the body and perhaps they were tied here or around the neck for carrying, as both groups do not freely stand. They have been placed in two groups, those with a flat base and those with a pointed base. Both groups have an almost equal number of fragments and near intact vessels but the second group has more intact and near intact examples. Those with a flat base have a body that slightly widens at the half way point and then gently tapers down to the base. Those with a pointed base have a body that tapers sharply toward the base. The pointed base is either rounded or sharply pointed, the flat bases straight and cannot stand firmly. It is possible to date these two distinct groups.The first group with a flat base have a thin body wall. About 800 fragments of this group have been uncovered. Temple A produced the largest number, 561 fragmentary or almost-intact examples Were found in the vaulted room beneath the structure: 103 fragments are rims with part of the neck, 350 body fragments, 85 small fragments belonging to the base and body. 23 examples have been found intact or near-intact, some fragments were joined together and have been restored.The pastes have a wide colour range, from reddish brown, blackish brown, light brown, grey to light and dark red and buff. They remained in the paste colour and traces of paint from the rim down to the middle of the body show that their upper halves were painted by dipping the vessel. This method was applied to the outer surface, only one or two shades darker than the paste colour. In addition to the dip-painted examples, some carrying only a slip have been discovered.Some were excavated with the plug stopper still in their mouths and some plugs were found next to ungentaria: 76 flat, round plugs were uncovered. As the plugs were meant to close off the unguentaria to prevent leakage diameters vary, generally from 1.4 to 1.7 cm. All are the same colour as their vessels and all carry clearly visible fingerprints from pressing them toward the neck. The common feature is the flat inner face, the outer is slightly depressed. Some plugs also carry monogram-like incisions, in addition to fingerprints. It was generally thought unguentaria were closed by fired clay flat round plugs with a diameter varying according to the diameter of the mouth of the vessel (generally 1-1.5 cm); but fired clay plugs do not prevent all leakage and they were reinforced with a second plug of wood. In the excavations of the vaulted room under the naos of Temple A, many unguentaria had both fired clay and wooden plugs in situ.Those with flat bases from Temple A assist us in dating them and determining the function of the structure - built in the Antonine period, 2nd c. AD - through Late Antiquity. 164 coins were uncovered at the same level as the Late Antique unguentaria, dating them. 162 of the coins could be read and 90% dated to the 4th c., 32 coins dated to the last quarter of the 3rd c., 130 to the 4th c.. About 500 lead seals uncovered in the same room also support a 4th c. date. Outside the vaulted room, a few related to Early Christian rituals were found in the courtyard and porticoes. Late Antique unguentaria with flat bases uncovered in the vaulted room under the naos of Temple A should be dated to the second half of the 4th and the early 5th c. from the coin and lead seal evidence. This dating indicates this vaulted room was a religious archive from the reign of Constantine the Great (307-337), and Temple A had possibly lost its religious function entirely in the 4th century, becoming a place for storing important documents and public items.The second group of unguentaria have pointed bases and thick body walls. During the 2002-5 excavations more than 100 unguentaria of this group were found, mostly body and base fragments. Only two examples are almost-intact. Although the form differs from the first group, their pastes are alike. Most examples contain much mica temper, some have a lime temper. Like the first group, these have no slip, are the colour of the paste but better fired than the first group, without the colour changes caused by poor firing. This group also differs in having a shiny surface from being fired at a higher temperature. Like some of the first group, some have dip-painting in the upper half of their bodies and a few also have traces of paint rundown. Important point is their thick walls and they are ca. 20-22 cm. tall. Many of this group have a base that tapers down and terminates slightly rounded while those of the first group have a not entirely smooth flat base.Some with a pointed base have a stamped print in the lower half of the body close to the base and this second group can be divided into the stamped and the unstamped. The stamped pointed base unguentaria can be further categorised, those with figures and those with monograms. 52 of the pointed base unguentaria have stamps, from varied places: the porticoes of Temple A, in Syria Street and from surveys. The monogram stamps are on the lower half of the body, close to the base. Some have stamps in circular or rectangular fields, only one example has an elliptical field and only one example has a stamp without a frame, an incised sign made by the potter while the paste was still wet. Most stamps are monograms of shapes or letters. The letter characters and shapes are quite similar to those on lead seals and are very complicated.The stamped figurative ungentaria carry various depictions, the most interesting, a fragment of body a