The Manufacture of Eastern Sigillata C and Late Roman C at Çandarlı, Ancient Pitane

Results of the Intensive Survey (2019–2021)

Abstract

This article presents the results of an intensive archaeological survey at modern Çandarlı (ancient Pitane), which since 1911 is well-known as a place of manufacture for terra sigillata during the first three centuries A.D. Within the framework of the TransPergMicro Project, the archaeological zone in the centre of the Çandarlı Peninsula was systematically fieldwalked in 2019 and 2020 in order to investigate and document local pottery manufacture as part of broader artisanal and economic developments within the Pergamon micro-region during the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods. The survey yielded an abundant and rich collection of artefacts – fully studied in 2021 – which provides a clearer picture of the typological repertoire as well as technological aspects of the actual manufacture and firing. One of the more interesting results was finding archaeological evidence for the local production of Late Roman C, which signifies that tableware manufacture at Pitane continued into Late Antiquity.