By far the most common archaeological
finds consist of potsherds. Although the study of ceramics started at
an early date, discrepancies and lacunae are rife in this area of
archaeological research. For the Roman period the so-called fine wares
have always attracted more interest than the more utilitarian ceramics.
Although this situation has been rectified to a large extent in the
Roman west, the eastern part of the empire remains by and large terra
incognita, with most of the effort going into the study of fine wares.
A second discrepancy exists between the coastal areas, which are rather
well known, and the inland sites, specifically in Asia Minor. This book
is one of the first attempts to rectify at least in part the existing
situation by studying the common wares of the Roman town of Sagalassos
in Pisidia from the first to the middle of the seventh century. The
research on a previously unknown pottery manufacturing centre is placed
within the wider framework of pottery research in the eastern
Mediterranean, but contrary to most of the extant studies, the chosen
approach is not limited to typology and chronology. Also included are a
full mineralogical/chemical analysis of the different fabrics, both
local and imported, while the full typological spectrum of wares and
types is described, quantified and illustrated. As such it represents a
major addition to the ceramics research concerning the eastern Roman
empire.