DEPOSITS OF POTTERY IN PREHISTORIC EUROPE

By Josep Miret Pottery is the most common element found on archaeological sites since Neolithic times. Pottery is produced, it is used, it can be repaired and reused and, finally, when it breaks and no longer functions, it is thrown into a midden or waste pit. The normal way to find pottery in archaeology is in fragments, and uncovering intact pottery on an excavation is always an exceptional event. When this happens, it means that the pottery has not reached the end of its useful life and was taken out of use for a reason that we will attempt to clarify in this paper. One of the most common reasons for leaving intact pottery is for a burial deposit. Many prehistoric societies placed food in pottery vessels in tombs next to the corpse, along with other objects such as weapons (usually attributed to men) and domestic utensils such as grinders, spindle whorls, etc. (usually attributed to women). There are archaeologists who associate some burial deposits with ritual deposits, such as the burial of children under houses, but I believe that, in archaeology, it is more appropriate to prioritise the burial category than the ritual one. The ritual deposit is another very common type of deposit of pottery (see examples of ritual deposits in figures 30-42). This is the best studied type of deposit, and enables me to differentiate between five types of ritual pit: 1) Pits related to food offerings, identified by the presence of animal bones in anatomic connection, or miniature vessels. 2) Pits related to banquets and libation, identified by the appearance of matching sets of cups, bowls and plates. 3) Deposits with elements of worship (statues, perfume burners, etc.). 4) Deposits in the foundations of buildings, located in post holes, the trenches of foundations or beneath houses. 5) Finds in marshes and swamps. The definition of these categories is based on our knowledge of Greek and Roman religions and the principle applied is that ritual norms in the classic period may have antecedents in prehistory. The interpretation of prehistoric ritual pits can, therefore, be based on their similarity to ritual pits in ancient times. Ritual pits are the most frequent deposits of pottery in Europe. They have probably been best studied in the centre of Europe, where spectacular deposits with several dozens of pottery vessels have appeared. In the Mediterranean, such developed deposits of pottery do not seem to be found although there are also some interesting examples. In addition, there are deposits of pottery that could be classified as secular, as they are formed by elements related to the production, storage or elaboration of food. Firstly, there is the silo with intact pottery. Ethnographic data suggests that, when empty of grain, silos could be used to store food in storage jars and other receptacles
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made out of wood or basketwork. The most typical example are silos used during the winter to preserve grain that were used in the summer, when empty, to store other types of food in storage jars and other receptacles (see examples of silos with intact pottery in figures 3-10). Another type of pit where intact pottery receptacles can appear are underground stores with intact pottery. In prehistoric archaeology, the name underground store is given to rectangular and oval-shaped pits for storing food (fig. 12-16). Underground stores usually contained food in receptacles such as sacks, baskets, wooden boxes and storage jars. When underground stores were awaiting a new use, empty storage jars can appear upside down. It is necessary to remember that, ethnologically, there is no difference between silos with intact pottery and underground stores with intact pottery; the difference is only used in archaeology. The third category we have attempted to define is entitled pot holders. It is defined as a shallow pit of small diameter in which the base of a storage jar fits (fig. 18-19). To adjust the shape of the pit to that of the storage jar, it is often compressed with stones or the space between the storage jar and the pit is filled with sand and ash. Usually, in these cases, only the lower part of the storage jar is visible. The fourth category is similar to the previous. It involves storage jars buried to the neck. These are storage jars buried deeply where only the neck protrudes from the ground (fig. 21-23). Ethnographic research reveals that they can be used to contain oil, wine, fresh fruit, etc. The lower part of the storage jar usually appears inside a pit with a diameter slightly greater than that of the storage vessel. Buried pottery is a special category that I have found by researching old books on agronomy. Some Roman and also medieval agronomists recount that fruit and nuts can be preserved in storage jars that are well sealed and buried in pits. It should be said that, although this category is well defined in written sources, it has not been identified in excavations, possibly because when the time came to consume the product, the storage jar was removed, making the pit is difficult to identify. Other pits where intact pottery appears are cache pits (fig. 25-27). In ethnography, cache pits is a well defined category; they are usually pits purpose-built or more often reused which contain objects that are not required at that moment. We often identify a cache pit due to the presence of intact pottery with tools made from stone or bone, grinders, etc. The last secular category are pottery dumps. Pottery dumps are places where a large number of pottery vessels accumulate, usually in the absence of other elements such as animal bones or ash, which would indicate a waste pit. The best defined pottery dumps are kiln dumps, where the potter discards the defective fired products. They are not always pits, as very often the badly fired vessels are thrown into a pile near the ovens. To identify a kiln dump we must necessarily find pottery that is badly fired or deformed.

Another topic that has been studied in depth in this work is that of the different stages of a deposit of pottery. We assume that a silo, underground store and cache pit are unstable structures over time and experience different stages, from their excavation by former settlers to their abandonment. In the majority of pits studied in this work, it is possible to differentiate between at least three stages (fig. 43): 1) The first stage corresponds to the excavation and use or reuse of the pit for a determined function, or the combination of various functions (silo, silo with intact pottery, cache pit, etc.). 2) There may then be a period of inactivity during which the pit remains empty before its next use. If it is reused, we return to the first stage, if not, we move on to the third stage. 3) This is the stage of abandonment in which the pit fills up with sediment due to natural causes, or is filled with earth or domestic waste. In archaeology, the different stages of the use of pits are rarely documented, as it is only in exceptional circumstances that we find a silo full of grain or an underground store with food in the storage jars that contained it. This is because, under normal circumstances, the food was removed by former settlers. In archaeology, we usually find pits awaiting their next use, which did not occur, or after the structure expired and was abandoned.

TYPE Silo with intact pottery

Underground store with intact pottery Pot holder

Storage jar buried to the neck Buried pottery

Cache pit

Pottery dump

Ritual pit

Burial pit

One or several items of intact pottery, especially storage jars Basin or spherical cap with Base of a storage jar, a small diameter sometimes compressed with Clay or stone edge stones, sand or ash Cylindrical, usually with a Virtually intact storage jar; at concave base least the lower half has to be preserved Irregular pit or pit with Difficult to identify because the cavities storage jars have usually disappeared Irregular pit Intact pottery of different It may reuse other pits types, usually related to grinders, tools, etc. It can be a pit or simply a Large accumulation of pile fragments of pottery If some of the pottery is badly fired, it is a kiln dump. Various forms Associated with animal bones It may reuse other pits in anatomical connection or such as silos, wells, clay miniature vessels pits, etc. Small individual pottery, which indicates a banquet or libation Figurines, ex votos and elements of worship Foundation deposits under houses Finds in swamps Various forms Skeletons or human remains It may reuse other pits

FORM Truncated cone-shaped, egg-shaped, bottle-shaped Cylindrical may be accepted Rectangular or oval in plan

IDENTIFYING ELEMENTS One or several items of intact pottery, especially storage jars

Table of contents
Introduction ..............................................................................................................5 The life of a pottery ..................................................................................................6 The mortar of my grandmother or the case of storage jars upside down ................ 11 The neighbour who drew water from the well ........................................................ 11 The middens ........................................................................................................... 12 A key: precise definition of waste ........................................................................... 12 Silos with intact pottery .......................................................................................... 19 Underground stores with intact pottery .................................................................. 31 Pot holders ............................................................................................................. 37 Storage jars buried to the neck ............................................................................... 43 Buried potteries ...................................................................................................... 49 Cache pits ............................................................................................................... 51 Pottery dumps ........................................................................................................ 57 Ritual pits ................................................................................................................ 59 Burial pits ................................................................................................................ 77 Phases of a pit ......................................................................................................... 79 Put it limits.............................................................................................................. 81 Resumen. Los depsitos de cermica en Europa durante la prehistoria .................. 85 Rsum. Les dpts de cramique en Europe durant la prhistoire ........................ 89 Summary. Deposits of pottery in prehistoric Europe ............................................... 93 Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 97

(This document is an abstract of the book Els dipsits de ceramica a Europa durant la prehistria by Josep Miret, available on www.scribd.com).