Coarse ware jugs in funerary context: technical and functional observations on the pottery from the cemeteries at Alburnus Maior

Abstract

This study analyses a specific category of Roman ceramic vessels identified in the funerary inventories from Alburnus Maior: 26 coarse ware jugs present in the graves from the cemeteries at Tăul Corna, Tăul Găuri – Hop, Tăul Secuilor/Pârâul Porcului and in the area of the circular funerary monument. They all share specific morphological and technological characteristics, and at least a part of them are imitations in ceramic of bronze vessels. From a functional point of view they can be framed in the category of cooking ware and were produced from coarse fabrics. The vessels were produced locally, during the 4th – 6th/7th? decades of the 2nd century AD and all of them were used for boiling water. Their presence in the graves might be regarded as an identity marker of a group who used them in everyday life and, as part of the funerary ritual, could show a predilection for consuming hot drinks during the funerary banquet.