Locally produced northern Corsica vessels of around 1600AD: Example from the coastal tower of L’Osari (Belgodère, Haute-Corse)

Abstract

The article consists of a study of locally produced vessels discovered during the excavation of the coastal tower of L?Osari (Belgod?re, Haute-Corse) in 2015, under the direction of L. Vidal (Inrap). This monument, dedicated to maritime surveillance in the face of the constant threat of Ottoman piracy at the time, is located on a rocky coast in northern Corsica and belongs to a network of buildings (around a hundred) of the same type built along the coast of the whole island between 1530 and 1700. Excavations have brought to light numerous remains attesting to the daily life of the guards (torregiani) occupying the tower. The dishes are largely made up of imported pottery from various workshops, mostly Italian, and some locally produced. The latter is characterised by its manufacturing features: it is non-wheeled and degreased with asbestos. In this sense, it is part of a tradition dating back to the late Middle Ages or even older. The study concerns this category of vessels. It first focuses on the chaine op?ratoire and uses the results of experimental approaches to clarify certain aspects. It was, thus, possible to determine that the vases were produced from the bottom, using a method involving the superimposition of clay strips, previously flattened with a roller. A particular technical point exists in the way in which the typical basket handle was hung. The use of asbestos, a resource present nearby, as a degreasing raw material, is explained by an improvement in the mechanical and thermal solidity of the vases. This was a Corsican tradition already observed during the Iron Age and which experienced a revival between the end of the Middle Ages and the 20th century. We then present a morphometric assessment based on the opening, the bottoms, the walls and the handles, intended to provide a reference for comparison of ceramic sequences discovered in the future. This is followed by a typological analysis of the shape repertoires and a study of their relative distribution. The most frequent vases are cooking pots (pignule) with a basket handle, a form that appeared on the island two centuries earlier. Low forms (testi and tiani) are also very common. The study also reveals certain functional aspects of this coarse looking production, complementary to the use of imported pottery. This point is underlined by the absence of locally produced tableware, which can be explained by the greater importation of this category of small containers. The identification (or not) of traces of use has also shown that the use of cooking pots with handles on racks is not a certainty, in spite of historiographical considerations to this effect. The contextualisation highlights the interest of the sequence, which can be considered a reference set for the period between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century in northern Corsica. In conclusion, hypotheses are put forward on the ways in which the occupants of the tower were supplied with locally produced vases and on the culinary functioning in force in these buildings, which are characteristic of the modern period in Corsica.