Fikellura Amphorae and Amphoriskoi from Miletus. A Vase Warehouse on Kalabaktepe?

Abstract

The excavations at Miletus in the last 20 years have brought to light an unprecedented abundance of mainly fragmentary Fikellura amphorae and amphoriskoi. By far the greatest concentration of finds was in the area of two Archaic courtyard houses at the south-west gate on Kalabaktepe hill. There, landfills of ceramic debris connected with the resettlement of the district after the Persian conquest of Miletus were found to contain approx. 180 Fikellura amphorae and amphoriskoi from various workshops primarily from the period after 530 B.C. The large quantity of vessels reused as fill indicates that a warehouse was located in the vicinity, where vases from a number of local potter’s workshops were stored.