Local Pottery in the Lower Bug Region at the Early Stages of Urbanization

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the development of pottery in the Lower Bug region and its role in urbanization processes on the basis of historiographical, archaeological and paleogeographical data at the 6th century BCE. Scientific novelty. For the first time the ceramic production are comprehensively considered into account the raw material base of the pottery of the ancient settlement on the example of Borysthenes. The relationship between social and natural factors in the development of pottery has been established. The role of this craft in the context of urbanization processes in the North-Western Black Sea region is determined. The early production of ceramics in Lower Bug is considered, covering different categories of sources. A method of studying the local pottery making in the ancient centres of the region is proposed. Methodology. The study was based on a comprehensive analysis of historiographical and archaeological data and paleogeographical methods. The field stage of the research included the survey of sites with unsoddy deposits of various geological periods as potential pottery raw materials. A stratigraphic dissection of deposits, their macromorphological description and samples were taken from each sites for further laboratory research. The laboratory research included a micromorphological analysis of ceramic products to compare its characteristics with potential raw materials, as well as a granulometric analysis of the selected samples to determine their physicochemical properties. Conclusions. Pottery as an independent type of craft was distinguished in Hellenic culture quite early and came to the centres of the Northern Black Sea region as an already formed occupation. Spatially, workshops were situated at the large cities, where the manufactured products not only satisfied local demand, but also served as goods for sale. As archaeological materials showed, the earliest evidence of local pottery production was discovered on Berezan island and date from the middle of the 6th century BCE. The active development of the settlement, i.e. the intensification of the urbanization of the space, belongs around the same period. Therefore, the development of crafts, in particular pottery, is a component of this multifaceted process. Paleopedological studies, micromorphological and granulometric analyzes of potential pottery raw materials with the micromorphological features of ceramics allow us to talk about local production. It was found that craftsmen could use local raw materials to create the moulding mass, which was obviously multi-component. The materials mainly of the first half of the 6th century BCE from site “T” of Berezan settlement confirmed the assumption about the predominance of grey ceramics (“greyware”) in the local pottery making at that time. Probably, the tradition of its production existed for a long time.