Islamic Ceramics and Rural Economy in the Trapani Mountains during the 11th century
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.18273Keywords:
Islamic Sicily, Trapani, pottery technology, provenanceAbstract
Located in the Trapani Mountains of North-West Sicily, the hilltop site of Pizzo Monaco has formed the focus of systematic excavation and an innovative, integrated study of the total ceramic assemblage, as part of the MEMOLA FP7 project. The date, provenance and production technology of the varied types of pottery are investigated by macroscopic, morphological and decorative analysis, in combination with petrography and scanning electron microscopy in order to assess social, technological and economic ties of this rural site and its environs with the early Islamic capital of Sicily at Palermo, the wider island and North Africa. Local production of cooking vessels is compared with glazed and plain storage pottery, serving and consumption vessels from Palermo, in a region where the new relationship between coastal centre and nearby mountain economies was being forged. Correlation of the properties of the pottery assemblage with the unusual architecture suggests the storage of a repeated ceramic set, perhaps on a household basis, in a site which may be a fortified storage facility, rather than sustaining more permanent occupation. The typological study provides new information on the range of ceramics circulating in Sicily during the mid-11th century CE, revealing the full spectrum of ceramics consumed at this time. This approach contrasts with work that privileges a view of simple transmission of glazing technologies across the Islamic Mediterranean. Indeed a comparison of production sequences in the crafting of similar glazed bowls at Palermo demonstrates the co-existence of different communities of practice and cautions against over-simplified reconstructions of the transmission of glazing technologies in the early medieval Mediterranean. The range of pottery available from a variety of sources highlights the consumption choices made by these communities in the medieval period.
References
Abbott, D. R.
“The process, location, and history of Hohokam Buff ware production: some experimental and analytical results.” Journal of Archaeological Science 35: 388–397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2007.04.002
Alaimo, R., R. Giarrusso, and G. Montana.
“Indagini mineralogicopetrografiche su materiale ceramico proveniente dal palazzo medievale della Zisa.” Mélanges de l’Ecole française de Rome. Moyen-Age 111(1): 45–50.
Anderson, G. D., C. Fenwick, S. Lamine, and M. Rosser-Owen, eds.
The Aghlabids and their Neighbors: Art and Material Culture in 9th-century North Africa. Leiden: Brill, Arts and Archaeology of the Islamic World series. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004356047
Arcifa, L.
“Palermo: scarti di fornace dell’ex monastero dei Benedettini Bianchi. Primi dati su alcune produzioni ceramiche palermitane della prima età normanna.” Mélanges de l’Ecole française de Rome. Moyen-Age 108(2): 451–477. https://doi.org/10.3406/mefr.1996.3515
“Indicatori archeologici per l’alto medioevo nella Sicilia orientale.” In Piazza Armerina. Villa del casale e la Sicilia tra tardoantico e medioevo, edited by P. Pensabene, 105–128. Roma: l’Erma di Bretschneider.
Arcifa, L. and E. Lesnes.
“Primi dati sulle produzioni ceramiche palermitane dal X al XV secolo.” In La céramique médiévale en Méditerranée, Actes du Vie Congrès de l’AECM2, Aix-en-Provence (13–18 novembre 1995), edited by G. Démians d’Archimbaud, 405–418. Aix-en-Provence: Narration.
Arcifa, L., A. Bagnera and A. Nef.
“Archeologia della Sicilia islamica: nuove proposte di riflessione.” In Histoire et Archéologie de l’Occident Musulman (VIIe-XV siècle), Al-Andalus, Maghreb, Sicile, edited by P. Sénac, 241–274. Toulouse: CNRS-Toulouse Le Mirail (Villa, 4). https://doi.org/10.4000/books.pumi.25333
Arcifa, L. and A. Bagnera.
“Islamizzazione e cultura materiale a Palermo: una riconsiderazione dei contesti ceramici di Castello-San Pietro.” In Les dynamiques de l’islamisation en Méditerranée centrale et en Sicile: nouvelles propositions et découvertes récentes, edited by F. Ardizzone, and A. Nef 2014, 165–190. Rome-Bari: École française de Rome-Edipuglia.
“Palermo in the ninth and early tenth century: ceramics as archaeological markers of cultural dynamics.” In The Aghlabids and their Neighbors: Art and Material Culture in 9th-century North Africa, edited by G. D. Anderson, C. Fenwick, S. Lamine, and M. Rosser-Owen, 362–381. Leiden: Brill, Arts and Archaeology of the Islamic World series. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004356047_020
Ardizzone, F.
“Le anfore recuperate sopra le volte del palazzo della Zisa e la produzione di ceramica comune a Palermo tra la fine dell’XI ed il XII secolo.” Mélanges de l’Ecole française de Rome. Moyen-Age 111(1): 7–50. https://doi.org/10.3406/mefr.1999.3678
La ceramica da fuoco altomedievale della Sicilia occidentale (secc.VIII-XI). In La ceramica altomedievale in Italia, edited by S. Patitucci Uggeri, 375–386. Firenze: all’Insegna del Giglio.
Anfore in Sicilia (VIII-XII sec. d.C.). Palermo: Torri del Vento edizioni.
Ardizzone, F. and R. M. Bonacasa Carra.
Agrigento. Dal Tardo Antico al Medioevo. Todi: Tau edizioni.
Ardizzone, F. and A. Nef, eds.
Les dynamiques de l’islamisation en Méditerranée centrale et en Sicile: nouvelles propositions et découvertes récentes. Rome-Bari: École française de Rome-Edipuglia.
Ardizzone, F., E. Pezzini and V. Sacco.
“Lo scavodella chiesa di Santa Maria degli Angeli alla Gancia: indicatori archeologici della prima età islamica a Palermo.” In Les dynamiques de l’islamisation en Méditerranée centrale et en Sicile: nouvelles propositions et découvertes récentes, edited by F. Ardizzone, and A. Nef, 197–223. Rome-Bari: École française de Rome-Edipuglia. https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.v2i2.30168
“The role of Palermo in the central Mediterranean: evolution of the harbour and circulation of ceramics (10th–11th centuries).” Journal of Islamic Archaeology 2(2): 229–257. https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.v2i2.30168
“Aghlabid Palermo : a new reading of written sources and archaeological evidence.” In The Aghlabids and their Neighbors: Art and Material Culture in 9th-century North Africa, edited by G. D. Anderson, C. Fenwick,
S. Lamine, and M. Rosser-Owen, 362–381. Leiden: Brill, Arts and Archaeology of the Islamic World series. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004356047_019
Berti, G. and L. Tongiorgi.
I bacini ceramici medievali delle chiese di Pisa. Rome: l’Erma diBretschneider.
Bonifay, M.
Études sur la céramique romaine tardive d’Afrique. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1301. Oxford: Archaeopress. https://doi.org/10.30861/9781841716510
Brooks, D., A. M. Bieber, G. Harbottle and E. V. Sayre.
“Biblical studies through activation analysis of ancient pottery.” In Archaeological Chemistry, A Symposium Sponsored by the Division of the History of Chemistry at the 165th Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Dallas, Tex., April 9–10, 1973, edited by C. Beck, 48–80. https://doi.org/10.1021/ba-1974-0138.ch005
Burke, C. T. and S. M. Spencer-Wood.
Crafting in the World: Materiality in the Making. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65088-3
Capelli, C. and F. D’Angelo.
“Analisi archeometriche e problemi riguardanti alcune ceramiche islamiche con rivestimento opaco.” Material Culture in Medieval Europe, edited by G. De Boe, 287–292. Zellik: IAP (Medieval Europe Brugge 1997).
Carver, M. O. H. and A. Molinari.
“Sicily in Transition Research Project. Investigations at Castronovo di Sicilia. Results and Prospects, 2015.” FOLD&R Italy: 352. Internet Edition: http://www.fastionline.org/docs/FOLDER-it-2016-352.pdf
Cressier, P. and E. Fentress, eds.
La céramique maghrébine du haut Moyen Age (VIIIe-Xe siècle). État des recherches, problèmes et perspectives. Rome: École française de Rome.
Cressier, P. and A. Nef, eds.
Les Fatimides et la Méditerranée centrale (Xe-XIIe siècle), Revue des Mondes Musulmans et de la Méditerranée. Série Histoire n. 139. Aix-en-Provence: Presses universitaires de Provence.
D’Angelo, F.
“Le produzioni di ceramiche invetriate dipinte in Sicilia nei secoli X-XII.” Medieval Sophia. Studi e ricerche sui saperi medievali. E-review semestrale dell’Officina di Studi Medievali 8 (luglio-dicembre 2010): 108–140.
Day, P. M.
“Marriage and Mobility: traditions and the dynamics of the pottery system in twentieth century East Crete.” In Pseira VIII. The Archaeological Survey of Pseira Island Part 1. Prehistory Monographs 11, edited by P. P. Betancourt, C. Davaras, and R. Hope Simpson, 105–142. Philadelphia: INSTAP Academic Press.
Egli, M, L. Gristina, G. Weisenberg, J. M. Martín Civantos, A. Rotolo, A. Novara, D. Brandova and S. Raimondi.
“From pedologic indications to archaeological reconstruction: deciphering land use in the Islamic period in the Baida district (north-western Sicily).” Journal of Archaeological Science 40: 2670–2685. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2013.02.001
García Porras, A.
“Cerámica nazarí tardía y cristiana de ‘El Castillejo’ (Los Guájares, Granada).”Arqueología y Territorio Medieval 2: 243–257. https://doi.org/10.17561/aytm.v2i0.1616
Giarrusso, R. and A. Mulone.
“Caratterizzazione mineralogico-petrografica di campioni ceramici provenienti da Castello-S. Pietro, dalla chiesa della Gancia (Palermo) e da Castello della Pietra (Castelvetrano).” In Les dynamiques de l’islamisation en Méditerranée centrale et en Sicile: nouvelles propositions et découvertes récentes, edited by F. Ardizzone and A. Nef, 191–195. Rome-Bari: École française de Rome-Edipuglia.
Goldberg, J.
Trade and institution in the Medieval Mediterranean. The Geniza merchants and their Business World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511794209
Gorogianni, E., N. Abell and J. Hilditch.
“Reconsidering Technological Transmission: The Introduction of the Potter’s Wheel at AyiaIrini, Kea, Greece.” American Journal of Archaeology 120(2): 195–220. https://doi.org/10.3764/aja.120.2.0195
Gosselain, O.
“Social and technical identity in a clay crystal ball.” In The Archaeology of Social Boundaries, edited by
M. Stark, 78–106. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Gragueb, S. and T. Khechine.
“Contribution à l’étude de la ville de Kairouan au haut Moyen-Âge: d’après les données d’une fouille archéologique (Sondage dans l’endroit dit « Jardin de Cordoue »).” Revue tunisienne d’archéologie 3 (Tunis): 107–179.
Gragueb, S., V. Sacco and C. Touhiri.
“Le mobilier céramique en Ifriqiya et en Sicile de la fin du IXe jusqu’au XIe siècle: essai de comparaison.” In VIIe colloque International de Kairouan: Villes et archéologie urbaine au Maghreb et en Méditerranée (Monastir).
Hisler, H. P.
“Monte Iato: campagnes cavi.”Sicilia Archeologica. Rassegne di notizie, documentazioni e studiarcheologici 39(104): 5–32.
“Monte Iato: campagnes cavi.”Sicilia Archeologica. Rassegne di notizie, documentazioni e studiarcheologici 40(105): 35–56.
Howie, L.
Ceramic change and the Maya collapse: A Study of pottery technology, manufacture and consumption at Lamanai, Belize. British Archaeological Reports International Series 2373. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports. https://doi.org/10.30861/9781407309637
Isler, H. P.
Der Tempel der Aphrodite. La ceramica proveniente dall’insediamento medievale: cenni e osservazioni preliminari. Studia Ietina II. Zurich: E. Rentsch.
Joyner, L.
“Cooking pots as indicators of cultural change: A petrographic study of Byzantine and Frankish cooking wares from Corinth.” Hesperia 76(1): 183–227. https://doi.org/10.2972/hesp.76.1.183
Klemptner, L. J. and P. F. Johnson.
“An analytical approach to the technological development of Mississippian pottery.” In Ceramics and Civilization: Technology and Style, vol. II, edited by W. D. Kingery, 101–112. Columbus, OH: The American Ceramic Society.
Lesnes, E.
“La recente ricerca archeologica nel Museo.” Quaderni del Museo Archeologico “A. Salinas” 3: 17–61.
Louichi, A.
Ce?ramique Islamique de Tunisie. Tunis: Éditions de l’Agence de mise en valeur du Patrimoine et de Promotion culturelle.
Martín Civantos, J. M. and M. T. Bonet García.
“Mediterranean mountainous landscapes (MEMOLA), a historical approach to cultural heritage based on traditional agrosystems.” European Journal of Postclassical Archaeology 5: 347–356.
Martín Civantos, J. M., A. Rotolo and T. M. Bonet García.
“Arqueología del paisaje medieval en Trapani (Sicilia). Resultados de la primeracampañaen los municipios de Castellamare del Golfo y Buseto Palizzolo (2010-2011).” In Informes y trabajos 7. Excavaciones en el exterior 2010, Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte: 202–215.
Matson, F. R.
A Study of Temperatures Used in Firing Ancient Mesopotamian Pottery. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press.
“Technological studies of Egyptian pottery - modern and ancient.” In Recent Advances in Science and Technology of Materials, Volume 3, edited by A. Bishay, 129–139. New York: Plenum Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7233-2_8
Matthys, A. and J. De Meulemeester.
“Un grenier collectif fortifié hispano-musulman? Le Cabezo de la Cobertera (Vallée du Río Segura / Murcie). Bilan provisoire d’une approche ethnoarchéologique.” In Ethno-archéologie mediterranéenne, finalités, demarches et résultats : table ronde organisée par la Casa Velázquez, avec le concours de l’URA, 1225 du CNRS, edited by A. Bazzana, and M.-C. Delaigue, 181–196. Madrid: Casa de Velázquez.
Molinari, A.
“La produzione e la circolazione delle ceramiche siciliane nei secoli X-XIII.” In Actes du 5ème colloque sur la céramique Médiévale (Rabat 11-17 novembre 1991), edited by R. Hraiki, and E. Erbati, 191–204. Rabat: Institut national des sciences de l’archéologie et du patrimoine.
Segesta II. Il Castello e la Moschea. Trapani: Soprintendenza per I beniculturali e ambientali; Palermo: Flaccovio.
“La ceramica siciliana di età islamica tra interpretazione etnica e socio-economica.” In Piazza Armerina. Villa del Casale e la Sicilia tra tardoantico e medioevo, edited by P. Pensabene, 197–228. Rome: l’Erma di Bretschneider.
Müller, N. S., A. Hein, V. Kilikoglou, and P. M. Day.
“Bronze Age cooking pots: Thermal properties and cooking methods.” Préhistoires Méditerranéennes 4, online since 11 October 2013. Internet Edition: http://pm.revues.org/737
Navarro Palazón, J.
“El palacio de Onda: un enigma para la historia de Al-Andalus en el siglo XI.” In Le plaisir de l’Art du Moyen Âge. Commande, production et réception de l’oeuvre d’art. Mélanges enhommage à Xavier Barral i Altet, 300–312. París: Picard.
Navarro Palazón, J. and P. Jiménez Castillo.
“Estudio sobre once casas andalusíes de Siyasa.”Memorias de Arqueologia 5: 526–595.
Nef, A. and L. Arcifa.
SICILE. La Sicile et la Méditerranée entre le VIIe et le XIIe siècle :diversité interne et polycentrisme méditerranéen. École française de Rome website. Internet Edition: http://www.efrome.it/la-recherche/programmes/programmes-scientifiques-2017-2021/sicile.html
Nef, A., ed.
A Companion to Medieval Palermo. The History of a Mediterranean City from 600 to 1500. Leiden: Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004252530
Osuna, D. G.
“Excavación y rehabilitación de la Alcazaba de Almería desde la posguerra: 1940-1976.” Boletín del Museo Arqueológico Nacional 37: 185–204.
Ownby, M. and D. Griffiths.
“Issues of scum: Technical analyses of Egyptian marl C to answer technological questions.” In Ägypten und Levante / Egypt and the Levant 19: 229–239.
Parent, F., A. Djellid and F. Chalah.
“Entre Production et Consommation: Place des Martyrs à Alger (Résultats préliminaires),” In XIth congress AIECM3 on medieval and modern period Mediterranean ceramics proceedings, Vol. 2, edited by F. Yenisehirlio?lu, 311–338. Ankara: Koç Üniversitesi VEKAM.
Pezzini, E.
“Ceramica di X secolo da un saggio di scavo in via Torremuzza a Palermo.” In La ceramica altomedievale in Italia, edited by S. Patitucci Uggeri, 355–371. Firenze: All’Insegna del Giglio.
“La Ceramica di età normanna.” In Les Bains de Cefalà (Xe – XIXe siècle), edited by A. Bagnera, and A. Nef, 374–394. Rome: École française de Rome.
Pezzini, E. and V. Sacco.
“Le produzioni da fuoco a Palermo (IX – XI secolo).” In XIth congress AIECM3 on medieval and modern period Mediterranean ceramics proceedings, volume 2, edited by F. Yenisehirlio?lu, 347–356. Ankara: Koç Üniversitesi VEKAM.
Py, M. and A. Adroher Auroux.
“Principes d’enregistrement di mobilier archéologique.” In Lattara 4. Système d’enregistrement, de gestion et d’exploitation de la documentation issue des fouilles de Lattes, edited by M. Py, 83–100. Lattes: éd. de l’association pour la recherche archéologique en Languedoc oriental.
Ragona, A.
“La ceramica della Sicilia arabonormanna.” Rassegna dell’istruzione artistica, fasc. 2: 11–26.
Rotolo, A.
“La formazione sociale islamica in Sicilia. Popolamento e paesaggio medieval nell’area dei Monti di Trapani attraverso l’archeologia.” Unpublished PhD thesis, Universidad de Granada. Internet Edition: https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/tesis?codigo=58803
Rotolo A. and J. M. Martín Civantos.
“Il territorio dei Monti di Trapani in epoca islamica. Primi risultati dall’ “Idrisi Project”-ARPATRA, in “VI Congresso Nazionale di ArcheologiaMedievale,” Atti del CongressodellaSocietàdegliArcheologiaMedievistiItaliani (L’Aquila, 12-15 settembre 2012), edited by F. Redi, and A. Forgione, 412–418. Firenze.
“Rural settlement patterns in the territory of Baida (Trapani mountains) during the Islamic period.” Post-Classical Archaeologies 3: 221–246.
Rouco Collazo, J.
“La alcazaba y la ciudad de Guadix (Granada). Perspectivas desde la arqueología de la arquitectura.” In
O Papel das pequenas cidades na construção da Europa medieval, edited by A. Millàn de Costa, A. Aguiar Andrade, and C. Tente, 177–196. Lisboa: Instituto de Estudos Medievais.
Sacco, V.
“L’islamizzazione a Palermo attraverso due contesti di Palazzo Bonagia (scavi Di Stefano)”. In Les dynamiques de l’islamisation en Méditerranée centrale et en Sicile: nouvelles propositions et découvertes récentes, edited by F. Ardizzone and A. Nef 2014, 225–231. Rome-Bari: École française de Rome-Edipuglia.
“Un contesto databile entro la prima metà del X secolo da palazzo Bonagia (Palermo)”. In Archeologi in progress: il cantiere dell’archeologia di domani, Atti del convegno (Catania 23-26 maggio 2013), edited by R. Brancato, G. Busacca, M. Massimino, 538–548. Bologna: Bradypus.
“Une fenêtre sur Palerme entre le IXe et la première moitié du XIIe siècle. Étude du matériel céramique provenant de deux fouilles archéologiques menées dans le quartier de la Kalsa.” Unpublished PhD dissertation, Université Paris IV and Università di Messina.
“Le ceramiche invetriate di età islamica a Palermo: nuovi dati dale sequenze del quartiere della Kalsa.” Archeologia Medievale 44: 337–366.
“Produzione e circolazione delle anfore palermitane tra la fine del IX e il XII secolo.” Archeologia Medievale 45: 175–191.
Salvador, C. M.
“Arcquitectura del Ribat en el Sahel Tunecino: modelo y evolucion.”Anales de Prehistoria y Arqueologia de la Universidad de Murcia 13–14: 251–269.
Testolini, V.
“Ceramic Technology and Cultural Change in Sicily from the 6th to the 11th century AD.” Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Sheffield. Internet Edition: http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/23470/
Valente, I., D. Kennet, and I. Sjostrom.
“Uno scavo urbano a Vico Infermeria, Marsala.” Archeologia Medievale 16: 613–636.
