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A CERAMIC DEFINITION OF LATE HELLADIC I FROM

TSOUNGIZAl

Excavations in 1981 and 1 9 8 4 - 6 on the hill of Tsoungiza have exposed, in anarea now designated EU7 (Fig.l), an architectural complex consisting of what are ineffect twin rectangular buildings, built side by side and sharing a long party wall (Fig.2:Walls 14-15) . The southwe stern building was destroyed by fire early in the LateHelladic (LH) I period and was never rebuilt. Whether its northeastern counterpart wasfirst constructed as a replacement for its neighbor or was already in existence whenthe adjoining structure fell victim to fire i s at present uncertain, but the northeasternbuilding itself endured several episodes of modification prior to its abandonment,which can be dated sometime before pits were dug into its ruins during the LH IIAperiod.

No less than nineteen whole or largely restorable vas es were found sma shedon the floors of the three rooms of the southwestern building. All were found deeply

buried under, and hence well sealed by , burnt destruction debris. F rom the back room,defined by Wa lls 5, 6, 13, and 1 4 and by the robbing trench wh ich is all that m arks the

Excava tions at Tsoung iza have been a part of the Nemea Valley Archa eological Projectsponsored by Bryn Mawr College and conducted under the auspices of the Am erican Schoo l ofClassical Studies at Athens with permission from the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sciences.The project has been funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (RO-20731, RO-21715), the Institute for Aegean Prehistory (1984-87), and the NationalGeographic Society (2971-84, 3265-86). The project is directed by James C. Wright, towhom I am very grateful for permission to present this preliminary report. My thanks are alsodue to Julia E. Pfaff for both her patience and her great success in producing a series of first-

rate illustrations of what were often highly fragmentary and heavily worn vessels. Credit forthe skillful restoration of these vessels which made the drawings possible goes to John Masemanand Sasha Trone.

The following abbreviations are used in ensuing footnotes:Blegen 1921

Davis 1979

Dickinson 1974

Graziadio 1988

Mar thar i 1982

Mylonas 1973

Nordquist 1987

Rutter 1976

Wr ight 1982

Zerner 1986

Zerner I988

C. W. Blegen, Korakou: A prehistoric Settlement near Corinth(BostonINew York 1921)J. L. Davis, "Late Helladic I Pottery from Korakou," Hesoeria 48(1979)

2 3 4 - 2 6 30. T. P. K. Dickinson, "The Definition of Late Helladic I," BSA 69(1974)1 0 9 - 12 0G. Graziadio, "The Chronology of the Graves of Circle B at M ycenae : A NewHypothesis," AJA 92(1988) 343-372M. Marthari, "Akrotiri, Kerameike Mesoelladikes Paradoses sto Strornates Heph aisteiakes Katastrophes," AE 1980 (1 982) 18 2-210G. E. Mylonas, 0 Ta~hikos vklos B ton Mvkenon (Athens 1972-73)

G. Nordquist, A Middle Helladic Villaae: Asine in the Araolid (Uppsala

1 9 8 7 )J. B. and S. H. Rutter, The Transition to Mvcenaean: A Stratified Middlej- lelladic II to Late Helladic IIA Pottery S u e n c e from Avios Stephanos inLak onia (Los Angeles 1976)J. C. Wright, "Excavations at Tsoungiza (Archaia Nemea) 1981 ,"Hespe r ia 51 1 982) 375-397C. Zerner, "Middle Helladic and Late Helladic I Pottery from Lerna,"

H v d r a 2 (1986 ) 58 -74C. Zerner, "Middle Helladic and Late Helladic I Pottery from Lerna: PartII: Shapes," H v d ra 4(1988) 1 -10

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A Ceram ic Definition of Late Helladic I from Tsoungiza (cont.) 2

position of the original northwest wall, came a two-handled cooking pot (19). In thesouthwestern annex enclosed by Walls 3, 5, 11, and 12 were found four matt-paintedvases (1 4) and five unpainted vessels, both fine (1 -11, 16) and medium coarse (6,13 ) in fabric. An additional nine unpainted vases were found in the northwestern half f

of the m ain room be tween Walls 5, 6, 13, and 15 : two one-handled cooking pots (17-18 ), two beaked jugs in the same fine fabric (1 4-IS ), a series of four two-handleddrinking vessels (5, 7-9) in medium coarse fabrics, and a fine ladle (12).

The principal purposes of this brief note are to present descriptions and linedrawings of the nineteen vessels which constitute this sealed LH I destruction depositand to outline, as m uch as possible through them, the major changes in deco ratipn,shapes, fabrics, and technology of production which distinguish the LH I pottery ofTsoungiza from that of the preceding late and final M iddle Helladic (MH) phasesrepresented on the site.' Coming from a non-funerary contex t, these nineteen vases,probably constituting the comp lete ceramic inventory of an ordinary Greek householdof ca. 1600 B.C., provide a welcome array of Mainland Greek settlement pottery from a

period which has, since the b irth of Aegean p rehistory as a discipline, been dominatedby tomb assemblages.3 Moreover, the total absence from this group of vasesdecorated in a dark-on-light style with lustrous paint, whether these be termed Minoan,Minoanizing (= Lustrous Decorated), or Mycenaean, highlights the rarity of suchpottery in the LH I period even at sites within a few hours' walk of Mycenae itself andprovides strong support for the contention that the ce ramics of this period should bedefined in terms quite different from those conventionally employed to categorize thepottery of subsequent phases of Mycenaean culture, namely Furumark Shape andFurum ark Motif numbers.4

C A T A L O G U E

INTRODUCTION

Details of shape and decoration are described verbally only when they are notimmediately apparent in the d rawings.

Clay and paint colors have been recorded with the aid of the Munsell Soil ColorCharts (Ba ltimore 1971). With the exception of vases used primarily for cook ing (i.e.17-19), only the co lors of po ts as they were originally fired, unaltered by subsequen tburning, have been so recorded.

The s izes of non-plas tic inclusions are characterized according to theterminology of the W entworth scale [A. 0 Shepard, Ceramics for the ArchaeologlSt(Washington D.C. 1965) 1181. No m ineralogica l identifications of these inclus ions are

suggested, but their colors are described and their approximate frequencies recordedin terms of a four-point scale ("occasional", "some", "many", "massive amounts"). Fine

2 The Middle Helladic pottery from Tsoungiza will be presented in an article soon to besubmitted to Hemeria. For a preliminary report on this material based principally on thediscoveries of the 1984 season of excavations, see J. Rutter, "Middle Helladic Pottery fromTsoungiza (Archaia Nemea): A Brief Report," Hvdra l(1985) 34-37.

3 For the most recent and thoroughgoing analysis of the pottery of this period, see Graziadio1 9 8 8 .

4 For forceful statements on the relative unimportance of dark-on-light lustrous-paintedpottery within the overall ceramic repertoire of the Greek M ainland during the LH I period, see

Davis 1979: 252-4, 259 and Graziadio 1988 : 350 and ns.29-31. For recent versions of thestandard Furumarkian approach to pottery of the LH I period, see Dickinson 1974 and P. A.Mountjoy, Mvcenaean Decorated Potterv: A Guide to Identification (Goteborg 1986) 9-16.

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A Ceramic Definition of Late Helladic I from Tsoung iza (cont.) 3

fabrics normally include no grits larger than "very coarse" (maximum dimension of 2mm s.); medium coarse fabrics include grits through the size of "granules" (maximumdimension of 4 mm s.); only fabrics with appreciable num bers of grits larger than"granules" are described as coarse. I am grateful to my colleague Pat Thomas forsugge sting use of the term "sparkling inclusions", instead of the more comm only butoften erroneously em ployed term "mica", for m ineral particles which reflect light. Noneof the vases described here were made from pastes tempered with either vegetablematter or she ll.

The term "wiped" is used to describe a finishing treatment which produces aneven but non-lustrous surface marked by groups of very fine, parallel striations. Suchstriations, usually several centimeters in length, are qu ite different from the lustrous,more pronounced troughs imparted to a surface by what is here called a "burnish".

Measurem ents are in meters unless otherwise specified. The followingabbreviations have been used:

D. diameterest. estimated (used for any dimension which is no t actually

preserved)H. heightmax. maximumpres. preserved

The doubly hyphe nated number in parentheses in the first line of eachcatalogue entry is the excava tion inventory number of the vessel in question.

PAINTED POTTERY

A. Light on Dark-slipped-and-burnished5

1. Juglet or alabastron. (1 155-2 -1 Fig. 3:1.Base and body fragment. Mended from 4 sherds. Prese rved: ca. 50% of base,25% of body, none of neck, rim, or hand le(s). Very heavily worn over allsurfaces; especially heavy wear at edge of base probably due to use; lowerbody on one side burnt.Max. pres. H. 0.040. Max. D. (est.) 0.098. D. Base (est.) 0.038.Fine fabric containing occasional fine to medium white grits. Fracture: 5 YR 616(redd ish yellow). In terior (unpainted) surface: 5 YR 6.516 (redd ish yellow). Dark

pa int: mottled, 2.5 YR 518 (red) to 5 YR 312 (dark reddish brown). Light paint: 10YR 7.513 (very pa le brown). Interior finely wiped; exterior burnished so as tomake d ark paint highly lustrous; light pa int, applied subsequent to burnishing, ismatt.Flattened base slightly convex. Handmade.

5 Also termed "White-on-Lustrous-Dark" or "Lustrous Light-on-Dark" (Davis 1979: 240

n.20, 254 and n.74), such pottery owes the luster of its solid coat of dark paint (or slip) to theburnish applied to it prior to the addition of decoration in a matt light paint. For this reason, the

word "burnish" should become part of the nomenclature applied to this distinctive ceramicclass. I am grateful to C. W. Zerner for drawing my attention to this point and convincing me ofits importance.

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A Ceramic Definition of Late Helladic I from Tsoungiza (cont.) 4

Blegen 1921: 32-33, Figs.47, 4 8 :l; Mylonas 1973: 25-27 A-6, A-8, Pls .l3d, 15b-c; Rutter 1976: 39 n.28, no.295, P1.V; Davis 1979: 240 nos .13-16, Figs.3-4 ,P1.73b-c; Graziadio 1988: 371 n.18.

Teacup. (1 173 -2-1 Fig. 3:2.Com plete profile. Mended from 1 3 sherds. Preserved: all of base and handle,95% of body, 85% of rim. Heavy wear from use apparent on resting surface ofbase, top of rim, and sides of handle but surfaces otherwise moderately w c y ;fragmen ts differentially burnt after vase had been broken.H. to Rim 0.051 -0.054. D. Rim 0.076-0.089. D. Base 0.039-0.040.Fine fabric containing occasional fine to coarse, and one or two very Coarse(max. dimens ion 1.5 mm s.), white and dark grits as well as some silt-sized tovery fine sparkling inclusions. Fracture: 7.5 YR 7.514 (pink). Unpainted surfaces:

10 YR 7.514 (very pale brown). Matt paint: normally 2.5 YR 312 (dusky red), 2.5YR 314 (da rk redd ish brown) where thinned. Interior finely wiped; exteriorburnished to moderate luster before paint added.Flattened base slightly convex; everted rim hollowed on interior, sometimesbevelled and sloping down toward outside on exterior; handle of uniform widthdecorated w ith two small imitations of rivets (D. 4-5 mms.) at upper attachmentto ex terior face of rim. Handmade.Decoration of double pendent semicircles arranged in six pairs.Graziadio 1988: 366 and ns.143-144.

3. ?Miniature jar. (1 165-2 -1 Fig. 3:3.

Body fragments. Mended from 5 sherds into 3 non-joining fragments.Preserved: none of rim, hand le(s), or base, ca. 10°o or less of body. Ligh t tomod erate wear; fragments differentially burnt after vase had been broken.Max. pres. H. (com pos ite) 0.041. Max. D. (est.) 0.070.Fine fabric containing occasional fine to medium white grits and an occasionalcoa rse dark grit. Fracture: 2.5 YR 614 (light reddish brown). Unpainted surfaces:5 YR 716 (reddish yellow) on inter ior, 7.5 YR 714 (pink) on exter ior. Darker mattpaint: 5 YR 312 (dark reddish brown). Lighter matt paint (indica ted by ha tching indrawing): 2.5 YR 516 (red) where thin, 2.5 YR 4.512 (weak red) where thick.Burnished to h igh luster on exterior and to base of rim on inte rior beforeaddition of paint; interior body left unfinished after removal from wheel.Wheelmade.All painted decoration executed in dark matt paint except for wide red band,framed by thin dark lines, at base of shoulder zone.Graziadio 1988: 351-352 ns. 35-38.

4 . Four-handled jar. (1104-2-1 ) Fig. 4:4.Base , handle, and body fragments. Mended from 21 8 s herds into 87 fragm ents,the largest itself consisting of 87 sherds. ncluding both preserved handles.Preserved: ca. 30% of base, 40% of body, all of one large horizontal loophandle and one sm aller vertical loop handle but none of a second of either type,none of neck or rim. Surfaces heavily worn all over; fragments differentiallyburnt after vase had been broken.

Max. pres. H . (restored) 0.445. Max. D. (est.) 0.40. D. Base (est.) 0.075.

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Fine to medium coarse fabric containing occasional fine to coarse roundedwhite and angular black grits, rarer very coarse to granule-sized (max.dimension 4 mms.) rounded white grits exploded at the surfaces, andoccasional medium to coarse sparkling gold platelets; some of the black grits

also sparkle. Fracture: 2.5 Y 712 (light gray) at core, becoming 6.25 YR 616(reddish yellow) toward surfaces. Unpainted surfaces: 7.5 YR 714 (pink) on

interior, 5 Y 7.512 (light graylwhite) on exterior. Darker matt paint (indicated byhatching in drawing): 2.5 Y 3.512 (very dark gray). Lighter matt paint: 10 R 3.512(dusky redlweak red). Finely wiped over all surfaces, after which exterior waslightly and streakily burnished to a low, uneven luster.Flattened base slightly convex; a second example of each type of loop handle isto be restored, the vertical handles on the shoulder alternating at ninety-degreeintervals with the horizontal ones. Handmade.

All painted decoration executed in dusky to weak red except for the single blackhorizontal band at the center of each of the three triple-band groups on the

upper body.Zerner 1986: 64-66 [for fabric]; Zerner 1988: 4 no.46, Fig.16 [for shape];Mylonas 1973: 165 N-160, P1.140~;Marthari 1982: 192 no.2599, Fig.5bI P1.70d

[for comparable bichrome decoration at level of lower handles, although hereon four-handled jars having horizontal rather than vertical upper handles].

UNPAINTED POTTERY

5 . Goblet. (9-2-3) Fig. 3:5.Complete profile. Mended from 51 sherds. Complete except for a half-dozen

small chips (ca. 1%) of body. Unevenly discolored by secondary burning.

H. to Rim 0.1 535-0.161. D. Rim 0.1 62-0.1 785. D. Foot 0.093-0.095.Medium coarse fabric containing many fine to granule-sized (max. dimension

2.5 mms.) yellowish red angular grits, some fine to granule-sized rounded whitegrits, and occasional silt-sized to very fine sparkling inclusions. Fracture: 6.25

YR 716 (reddish yellow). Surfaces: 8.75 YR 716 (reddish yellowlyellow).Burnished to moderate luster all over exterior except for underside of foot, whichhas been simply smoothed; interior burnished less carefully than exterior, and

top of foot on exterior likewise patchily burnished.Handmade.Previously published: Wright 1982: 387 P7l6, Pls.91a, 92.

Graziadio 1988: 354-355 and ns.57-63.

6 . Goblet. (1155-2-2) Fig. 3:6.Rim, lug, foot, and body fragments. Mended from 36 sherds into 12 non-joiningfragments. Preserved: ca. 55% of foot, 20% of body, 10% of rim, all of onecrescentic lug and ca. 25% of second, none of either vertical strap handle.Extremely worn over all surfaces; fragments differentially burnt after vase had

been broken.H. (restored) 0.18. D. Rim (est.) 0.22. D. Base 0.1 10.Medium coarse fabric containing many fine to granule-sized (max. dimension3.5 mms.) angular and rounded black, dark red, yellowish red, and gray grits aswell as occasional fine to very coarse rounded white grits. Fracture: variable;

where thick-walled, 5 YR 614 (light reddish brown) at core, becoming 7.5 YR 714(pink) near surfaces. Surfaces: 10 YR 813 (very pale brown). Burnished to

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moderate luster on exterior, and probably on interior too, although none oforiginal interior surface has survived.Single low rib at junction of foot and body ; the two preserved crescentic lugsprobab ly alternated at ninety-degree intervals with two vertical strap handles of

the type occurring on 5 above. Handmade.Mylonas 1973: 66 Gamm a-51 196 0-2 09 , Pls.51c:2, 174a, 21 4, 21 6.

Kan t haros. (9-2 -4) Fig. 5:7.Com plete profile. Mended from 14 sherds. Comp lete except for ca. 1 0% of rimand a couple of sm all chips in foot. Unevenly discolored by secondary burning.H. to Rim 0.084. D. Rim 0.089-0.1 07. D. Foot 0.047-0.048.Medium co arse fabric identical to that of 5. Frac ture: 7.5 YR 716 (reddish yellow).Surfaces: 8.75 YR 716 (reddish yellow lyellow). Burnished to m oderate andoccasionally rather patchy luster all over exterior except for foot, both top andbottom, which has been simply smoo thed; interior less carefully burnished.

Handmade.Previously pub lished: Wright 1982: 387 P722, Pls.91 a, 92.Graziadio 1988: 364 and ns.127-128.

Kant haros. (1 2-1 Fig. 5:8.Rim, handle, and body fragment. M ended from 18 sherds. Preserve d: none ofbase, ca. 50% of body, 70% of rim, all of one handle and 60% of second.Heavily worn over all surfaces, but especially so on interior, at rim, and on sidesof handles, in all cases probably due to use. Unevenly discolored by secondaryburning.Max. pres. H. to Rim 0.072. D. Rim 0.1 14-0.128.

Medium coarse fabric containing many fine to granule-sized angular dark red,gray, and black grits as well as rounded white grits of the sam e sizes. Frac ture:7.5 YR 610 (grayllight gray) at core, becoming 2.5 YR 514 (reddish brown) towardsurfaces and 5 YR 6.516 (redd ish yellow) just beneath them . Surfaces: mottled,7.5 YR 6-714 (light brow n to pink ) where preserved. Well-prese rved originalsurfaces bu rnished to high luster.Handles pinched in markedly at apices and broadly flaring in width toward bothupper and lower points of attachment. Handmade.Graziadio 1988: 364 and ns.127-128. I

Kantharos. (9-2 -2) Fig. 5:9.Complete profile. M ended from 42 sherds. Com plete except for some tiny chipsfrom rim, foot, hand les, and body. Unevenly discolored by secondary burning.H. to Rim 0.1 0.75-0.1 15 . D. Rim 0.121 5-0.1 61. D. Foot 0 .0695-0.070.Medium coarse fabric iden tical to that of 5. Fracture: 5 YR 7/6 (reddish yellow).Surfaces : 7.5 YR 714 (p ink). Burnished to moderate luster all over exteriorexcept for top of foot, which has been simply sm oothed; handles and interiormore summarily burnished.Handmade.Previously pub lished: Wright 1982: 387 k7 0 8 , PIS. 91 a, 92.Graziadio 1988: 364 and ns. 127-128.

Miniature kantharos. (1155 -2-3) Fig. 5:lO.

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Rim, hand le, and body fragments. Mended from 4 sherds into 3 non -joiningfragments. P reserved: ca. 25% of body, 50% of rim , all of one handle, none ofsecond. Extremely worn ove r all surfaces.Max. pres. H. to Rim 0.022. D. Rim 0.057.

Fine fabric containing an occasional medium to gran ule-sized (max . dimension2.5 mm s.) white g rit, usually explode d at the surface. Frac ture: 8.75 YR 614 (lightbrow nllight yellowish brow n). Surfaces: 10 YR 713 (very pale brow n). To judgefrom the small surviving patch of the original surface, burnished to moderate orhigh luster over all surfaces.Rounded bottom lacks a well-defined base; shallow groove in horizontallybevelled, thickened upper surface of rim; handle of uniform width d ecorated atupper attachment to rim with single im itation rivet (D. 7.5 mms.). Handmade.Graziadio 1988: 364 and ns.129-131.

11. Dipper. (1 181 -2-2 ) Fig. 5:11.

Rim, handle, and body fragments. Mended from 13 sherds into 2 non-joiningfragm ents. P reserved : ca. 40% of body, 25% of rim, 40% of handle. Heav ilyworn over all surfaces; fragmen ts differentially burnt after vase had be enbroken.H. to Rim 0.056. D. Rim (es t.) 0.090.Fine fabric containing many fine to medium, and occasional coarse to verycoarse, dark red, black, yellow ish red, and white grits. F racture: 5 Y 7.512 (lightgray lwhite). Surfaces: 5 Y 812 (white). Burnished to moderate luster on ex terior;probably treated sim ilarly on interior, although none of original surface survives.Rounded bottom. Handmade.Blegen 1921: 19, Fig.26; D avis 1979: 247 no.191, P1 .75~ misnumbered 192).

12. Dipper. (9-2-1 Fig. 5:12.Com plete profile. Mended from 14 sherds. Complete except for sm all chip inhandle. Unevenly discolored by secondary burning.H. to Rim 0.0525-0.062. D. R im 0.091 -0.1 05. D. Base 0.038-0.040.Fine fabric containing many fine to very coarse (max. dimension 1.5 mm s.)yellowish red angular grits and occasional rounded white grits of the sam esizes. F rac ture : 6.25 YR 714 (p ink) . Surfaces: 7.5 YR 714 (p ink) . Bu rnished tomoderate luster over all surfaces.Handmade.Previous ly published : Wright 1982: 387 P685, P1.91a.

Blegen 1921:

19, Fig.26; Davis 1979: 247 no.191, P 1.75~ misnumbered 192).

Krater. . . (1 181 2-1 ) Fig. 6:13.Com plete profile. Mended from 56 sherds. P reserved: ca. 75 % of foot, 65% ofbody, 98% of rim, 90% of one handle and 50% of second. M oderate wear overmuch of vase , but heavy wear at rim and bottom of interior as well as onhandles and resting surface of foot probably due to use; fragments differentiallyburnt after vase had been broken.H. 0.219-0.229. D. Rim 0.245-0.257. D. Foot 0.117-0.118.Medium coarse fabric con taining many fine to granu le-sized (max. dimension 3mms.) dark red, gray, b lack, and white grits. Fracture: variable, often 10 YR 6.511(light gray) at core a nd 7.5 YR 714 (p ink) near surfaces. S urfaces: 10 YR 814(very pale brow n). Burnished to high luster all over exterior body and to base ofrim on inte rior; foot (bo th top a nd bottom) and interior body finely wiped.

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Low pedestal foot attached to body in form of disc with large ho le at center;shallow horizontal groove in vertically bevelled, lowermost portion of foot'sexterior profile and low rib on sloping surface just above . Handmade.Graziadio 1988: 356-357 and n.77.

1 4. Jug with cutaway neck. (9-2 -5) Fig. 6:14.Complete profile. Mended from 52 sherds. Complete except for half of very topof spout. Unevenly discolored by secondary burning.H. 0.163. Max. D. 0.112. D. Base 0.047. .Fine fabric containing some fine to medium black grits. Fracture: 5 Y 712 (lightgray). Surfaces: 5 Y 7.512 (light graylwhite). Neck pa red vertically; exterior bodyburnished to m oderate luster.Flattened base slightly convex ; vertical strap handle, attached at bottom bymeans of roughly cylindrical plug (D. 7.5 mms.) inserted through vessel wall,decorated on back by two parallel vertical incisions beginning just below top of

handle and ending just above bottom. Handm ade.Prev iously published: Wright 1982: 387 P724, P1.91a.Graziadio 1988: 367 and ns.155-157.

15. Jug with cutaway neck. (18-2-1 Fig. 6:15.Complete profile. Mended from 77 sherds. Complete except for ca. 60% of rimat front of spout as well as several chips in body (less than 5%). Unevenlydiscolored by secondary burning.H. 0.1 89. Max. D. 0.1 60. D. Base 0.046-0.050.Fine fabric identical to that of 14. Fracture : 5 Y 7.512 (light graylwhite). Surfaces:5 Y 7.513 (pale yellow). Neck pared vertically, then cursorily burnished

horizontally; exterior body burnished to moderate luster.Flattened base slightly convex; low central rib running down center of back ofvertical strap handle. Handmade.Prev iously published: Wright 1982: 387 P723, P1.91a.Graziadio 1988: 367 and ns.155-157.

16. Alabastron. (1 173 -2-2 ) Fig. 6:16.Complete profile. Mended from 22 sherds. Complete except for two smallfragments m issing from body and one from neck. No significant wear. U nevenlydiscolored by secondary burning.H. 0.110. D. R im 0.086. Max. D. 0.127. D. Base 0.0485.Fine fabric containing some fine to coarse dark red, gray, black, yellowish red,and white grits. Fracture : 7.5 YR 714 (pink). Surfaces: m ottled, 7.5 YR 7.514(pink) through .2.5 Y 6.512 (light brown ish gray/light g ray) to 2.5 Y 812 (white).Burnished to high luster all over exterior; interior below hollow in rim finelywiped.Flattened base slightly convex; two vestigial crescentic horizontal lugs areunperforated, although neck directly above them is pierced by two circularperforations (D. 7.5 mms.), presumably designed to accomm odate the strings,wires, or thongs with which a lid would have been secured. H andmade.For the origin of the shape , occasionally found in the Light on Dark-slipped-and-burnished class in LH I deposits at Tsoungiza, see D ickinson 1974: 114.

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A Ceram ic Definition of Late Helladic I from Tsoungiza (cont.)

COOKING P OTTE RY

. 17. Cooking pot with single vertica l loop handle. (9-2-9 ) Fig. 6:17.

Complete profile. Mended from 78 sherds. Prese rved: all of foot except for onesmall chip, ca. 65% of body, all of rim except for one or two chips , all of handle.Unevenly discolored, presum ably as much from use as by the fire whichdestroyed the building in which it was found.H. 0.281 -0.293. D. Rim 0.204-0.2075. Max. D. 0.250. D. Base 0.076-0.077.Medium coarse fabric containing many fine to granule-sized (ma x. dimension2.5 mm s.), angular white, gray, and sparkling black grits as well as some coarseto very coarse sparkling gold platelets. Frac ture: very dark gray to black at core ,becom ing 3.75 YR 516 (red lyellowish red) near surfaces. Surfaces: extensive lymottled, 2.5 YR 516 (red) through 6.2 5Y R 616 (redd ish yellow) and 10 YR 513(brown) to black. Finely wiped over all surfaces.

Although parallel horizontal striations at rim and concen tric striations onunderside of base at time s resemble wheelmarks, vessel unm istakablyhandmade.Previously published: Wright 1 982: 387 P741.My lonas 19 73: 195 0-2 05 , P1.172b; Davis 1979: 252 nos.240-254, Fig.11;Zerner 1986: 64-66; Nordquist 1987: 52, Fig.50:8; Zerner 1988: 5 nos.18-20,Fig.23.

18. Cooking pot with single vertical strap handle. (9-2-8) Fig. 7:18.Com plete profile. Mended from 59 sherds. P reserved: all of base and handle,95% of body and rim. M oderate to heavy wear over all surfaces; unevenly

discolored, presumably as much from use as by the fire which destroyed thebuilding in which it was found.H. 0.257-0.270. D. R im 0.1 95-0.1 96. Max. D. 0.242. D. Base 0.052;0.0545.Coarse fabric containing massive amounts of fine to pebble-sized (max.dimension 7 mms.) yellowish red, black, gray, and dark red angular grits andoccasion al fine to gra nule-s ized white rounded grits. F racture : 2.5 YR 310 (verydark gray) at core, mottled 2.5 YR 5.516 (redllight red) to black near surfaces.Surfaces: slipped ins ide and ou t, 10 YR 713.5 (very pa le brow n). Interior for themost part crude ly burnished to low luster, exterior roughly wiped, but the twotreatments overlap over much of the vessel.Sides of vertical strap handle pinched in at handle's m idpoint, flaring towardboth upper and lower points of attachment. Hand made,Direc tly opposite handle, at junction of shoulder and flaring rim, vertical ridge ofclay crude ly defining a thin vertical lug ca. 0.055 long,Previously published: Wright 1982: 387 P740, PI.91 a.

19. Cooking pot with two horizontal loop handles. (1 116-2 -1 Fig. 7:19.Complete profile. Mended from ca. 75 sherds. Preserved: all of foot, ca. 90% ofbody, 98% of rim, all of bo th handles. Moderately to heav ily worn over allsurfaces, but noticeably heavier wear at rim and on handles probably due touse; unevenly discolored, presumably as much from use as by the fire wh ichdestroyed the building in which it was found.H. 0.347. D . R im 0.234-0.246. Max. D. 0.275-0.283. D. Base 0.061 -0.068.Coarse fabric identical to that of 18 but containing grits with a m aximumdimens ion of up to 10 mm s. Fracture: 5 YR 311 (very dark gray) at core,

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A Ceramic D efinit ion of L ate Helladic I from Tsoungiza (cont.) 10

becoming 2.5 YR 514 (reddish brow n) near surfaces. Surfaces: slipped ins ideand out, mottled from 10 YR 713 (very pale b row n) to 8.75 YR 714 (pinklve ry palebrown). Interior partly burnished, partly wiped, sometimes slightly lustrous;exterior roughly wiped and normally not lustrous.

Sides of handles roughly flattened so that their sections are m ore rectangularthan circular. Handmade.Evenly spaced between handles, at junction of body and flaring rim, two crudelyexecuted lugs, one much like that on 1 8 but the second (see drawing) soroughly shaped as to resemble a lumpy knob m ore than a vertical ridge.

DISCUSSION

Aside from the floor deposit of the southwest building in EU 7 described above,the recent excavations at Tsoungiza have resu lted in the recovery of two large, closelycontemporary dumps of LH I sherd m aterial in area EU8 and several sma ller ceram ic

groups of comparable date from areas EU2, EU7, and EU10. Study of this material hasadvanced far enough to allow the principal features to be enumerated whereby thismaterial can be distinguished from that of the preceding M H period on the site.6

Decorat ionDesp ite the fac t that the overwhelming majority of the pa inted pottery from LH I

strata at Tsoungiza continues to be decorated with the matt paint characteristic of theMH ceram ic tradition, a small amount is now for the first time since the end of the EarlyBronze Age e ither coated solidly or o rname nted with dark-on-light patterns in an iron-based paint. The color of this paint varies from red through brown to black dependingon firing cond itions and the degree of its luster depends on the treatments applied tothe surface both before and after the add ition of the paint. At Tsoung iza during the LH Iperiod , such paint is normally dull when applied as a solid coating to goblets (e.g.Davis 1979: 241 ns.23-24), highly lustrous when used as a background for light matt- -

painted patterns on juglets, alabastra, and teacups of the Light on D ark-slipped-and-burnished class ( I ) , and anywhe re from slightly to highly lustrous when applied in adark-on-light style to the earliest "Mycenaean" p attern-painted vases. These last,which allow the deposits in which, and hence the associated pottery with which, theywere found to be termed "LH I", account for much less than 1% of the total pottery,whether measured by sherd count or by weight. By far the commonest type within this a

ceramic catego ry is the wheelmade teacup, usua lly burnished on the ex terior andunfinished on the interior.

As elsewhere in central and southern Greece, the LH I pottery at Tsoungiza ischaracterized by a dram atic rise in the popularity of bichrome painted ornament.Decoration of this kind is a ltogether unknow n at the site in th,e later MH period, but inLH I a number of different combinations of paints appear, each one possiblyrepresenting a different production center. The combination of pa tterns in matt whiteon a lustrous; dark, solidly painted and bu rnished ground (1) has already beenmentioned. Closely related to this in terms of the paints employed, but seem inglydifferent in the clay body of the vessels and certa inly distinct stylistically is the add itionof matt white lines and dots to the lustrous dark-on-light decoration of the earliest"Mycenaean" teacups. Qu ite different is the application of red and black matt paints

The account which follows, reflecting as it does the finds of both the 1985 and 1986 seasonsat Tsoungiza, renders out of date preliminary comments based on the finds of the 1984 seasonalone and published in l(1985)34-37, esp. 36 n.3.

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over a burnished pink to reddish yellow c lay ground (3) in a style usually categorizedas Ma inland Polychrom e Ma tt-painted (Davis 1979: 241 -243, 256-258; G raziadio1988: 351 352). Vases decorated in this style are clearly imports at Tsoungiza. Arelated form of b ichrome m att-painted decoration applied to a burnished g round with a

better claim to b eing a local product substitutes a paler-firing clay ground and areddish yellow paint for the red of M ainland Polychrome but is otherw ise similar. Yetanother class of bichrome matt-painted decor, app lied to large water jars with a varietyof distinct handle arrangements (4) as well as to kraters and an occasional bridge-spouted jar (Marthari 1982 : 187-189 no.3699, Figs.2b, 5c, P1.70a) - that is, exclusivelyto large vessels - is restricted to vases with a highly distinctive fabric containing,among other inclusions, gold platelets which have been identified as biotite (Zerner1986: 64). Such vases are considered, on the basis of several convincing strands ofargument, to be Aeginetan products (Davis 1979: 241, 258-259; Zerner 1986: 64-66;Zerner 1988: 2-4; Graziadio 1988: 357 n.78).

ShapesAlthough one or two of them make a rare appearance at Tsoungiza in depo sits

dating to the very end of the M H period, the teacup (2 ) (Graziadio 1988: 355-356 andns.64-65, 366 and ns.143-144), Vapheio or Keftiu cup (Graziadio 1988: 366 andns.139-142), and panel cup (Graziadio 1988: 356 and ns.66-76) do not appear withany significant frequency before LH I.The teacup is a comm on shape in LH I in a ll theceram ic classes in which it was produced [i.e. M ycenaean lustrous painted, fine Ma tt-painted, Gray Minyan , fine unpainted (= "Yellow Minyan ")], although the quantities ofMycenaean lustrous painted and Gray Minyan pottery in LH I deposits at Tsoungizaare themselves very sm all. The Vapheio cup is considerably rarer at Tsoungiza beforethe LH IIA pe riod, but appears sporadically in M ycenaean lustrous painted, fine Matt-

painted, and G ray M inyan. The panel cup, on the other hand, is quite common duringLH I but at Tsoungiza is seemingly restricted to the fine Ma tt-painted class and is theonly one of this novel triad of Aegean cup shapes to disappear after LH I.

Another distinctive new form at Tsoungiza in the LH I period, common in bothmatt-painted and unpainted versions, is the krater with horizontal handles (13 ).Among bichrom e matt-painted examples, the Aeginetan type is the most common, butboth "Aeginetan" and "Mainland Polychrome" rim types are well attested am ongunpainted specimens (Davis 1979: 247 n.56).

Perhap s the comm onest unpainted open shape is the goblet. In contrast to lateMH goblets, those of the LH I period at Tsoung iza have much lower pedestal feet (5-6)and what rema ins of a s tem lacks the pronounced ribbing or incisions which

characterize late MH examples (Graziadio 1988: 354-355 , 363-364). The crescenticlugs serving as supplementary handles on some goblets ( 6 )are an exclusively LH Ifeature.

Indicative of the influence of metallic prototypes on ceram ic forms andunattested at Tsoungiza before LH I is the app lication of pellets imitating rive ts at thejunction of handles and rims (2, 7). S ignificantly, this feature occu rs both on painted(2) and plain (7 )vases, whether they have Aegean [2; ultimately M inoan, but perhapsfiltered through the Cyclades (Graziadio 1988: 366 )] or purely Ma inland Greek (7)ancestries.

A new and extremely common type of cooking pot with a vertical loop handleattached on the shoulder, a sharply offset rim often markedly ho llowed on the interior,and a sp laying flattened b ase (17) is clearly imported on the basis of its fabric (seebelow). This particular shape differs in several minor respects from locally producedtypes of cooking pots(1 8-19 ). The equally distinctive and clearly related fabric of

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numerous large storage jars (4) likewise reveals them to be imports (see below ),although in terms of their shapes these may differ even less from their locally madefunctional equivalents.

Fabr icsAt least two fabric groups appear for the first time in LH I deposits at Tsoungiza.

The first is the fired p roduct of a very coarse paste containing dark angular inclusionswith maximum dimensions in the 6-12 mms. range, no readily detectable sparklinggrits, and relatively little in the way of rounded white grits. Utilized exclusively forcooking pots, this fabric is sometimes, although not invariably, coated with a paler-firing slip (18-1 9). The two distinct shapes so far identified in this fabric, which isassumed to b e local and probably does not survive beyond the LH I period, havesimilar foot and body profiles and often exhibit vertical lugs at the junction of shoulderand rim but vary in the number and type of their handles, one featuring a single b roadstrap from shoulder to rim (18) and the other two horizontal loops set high on the

shoulder (19).The com mon feature which connects the two visually distinct fabrics making upthe second new fabric category at Tsoungiza during the LH I period is the p resence ofsparkling black angu lar grits a nd gold platelets. These constitute the most striking andreadily identifiable constituents of fabrics which in contemporary and earlier contextselsewhere have been claimed to fingerprint products of the island of Aegina (Zerner1986: 64-66). At Tsoungiza, such inclusions occur in a fine to medium coarse, pale-firing, and porous fabric employed for the p roduction of large water jars (4 ) and also ina strictly med ium coarse, dark-firing, and seemingly rather denser fabric used forcooking pots (17). As at Lerna and a large number of other sites, such vessels, as wellas the distinctively profiled kraters produced in the paler-firing fabric, often bear

"potters' m arks" (Davis 1979: 252 nos.250-252, 254, Fig.11; Zerner 1986:65; Zerner1988: Figs.16:47, 23:18-20). At Tsoung iza, these d istinctive "gold m ica" fabricsaccount for between 9% and 12% of the total amount of pottery found in LH I deposits,whether measured by total numbers of sherds or by weight.

Technology of ProductionTwo items are worthy of mention under this heading. First, although all the

pottery produced at Tsoungiza was probably handm ade in both the MH and LH Iperiods, a few whee lmade vessels produced elsewhere appear for the first time asimports in LH I deposits at the site (3).Such vases are without exception small in size,the single m ost comm on type be ing the teacup decorated with pa tterns in lustrous dark

paint. Second, LH I vases tend to be produced in much more finely levigated pastesthan their late MH predecessors. Thus although beaked jugs such as 1 4-1 5 and -

dippers like 11-1 2 existed as forms in the latest MH ceramic repe rtoire, they werebeing produced only in medium coarse fabrics at that time. Large shapes such askraters, water jars, and cooking pots continue to be produced in m edium coarsefabrics during the LH I period, but virtually all of the sm aller vases, especially if theyare painted, are made from fine pastes.

Jeremy B. RutterDepartment of ClassicsDartmouth CollegeHanover, New H ampshire 03755, U.S.A.

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