CENTRAL ITALIAN LEAD-GLAZED WARE BEYOND THE NORTH-EASTERN BORDERS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

Krzysztof Domzalski

Two little known finds of skyphoi from northern and central Poland will serve as a starting point for presenting the long-distance distribution of lead-glazed vessels produced in Latium and/or Campania in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. The inspiration to investigate this issue was a recently published paper by A. Martin (RCRF Acta 34, 1995, 63-68), in which the so-far very incomplete knowledge on this distinctive group of pottery was studied systematically. As the above-mentioned author focused on material discovered in Italy and the Mediterranean, it seems feasible to complement this data with a look from another perspective, from the area of the north-eastern limes and the Barbaricum.

The vessels from Poland were discovered at two sites: Weklice (necropolis of the Wielbark culture), located at the outlet of the Vistula river, and Witaszewice (necropolis of the Przeworsk culture), situated between the Vistula and Warta rivers. Both sites, separated by a distance of ca. 250 km., lie within the so-called Amber Route zone, which, via Carnuntum and Aquileia, connected the mouth of the Vistula and the neighbouring areas where amber was collected, with Italia. In both cases the vessels belonged to very rich burials, the inventories of which also included terra sigillata, silver and bronze vessels, and metal ornaments. Such an abundance of finds is unusual for grave assemblages of the above-mentioned archaeological cultures. These burials can be dated quite precisely to the 170's A.D. (Weklice) or slightly later (Witaszewice). Interestingly, these lead-glazed skyphoi were accompanied by single terra sigillata vessels (form Drag. 37) made by Cinnamus in Lezoux.

A detailed presentation of the above-mentioned artifacts, which enrich the repertoire of form variants of the discussed category of pottery, will be complemented with data on other finds of such vessels (including their 1st century A.D. forerunners) made on both sides of the middle Danube limes. Moreover, the author will offer several typological observations, as well as some remarks about the techniques of ornamentation, especially a very original method of decorating the surfaces of vessels with glass inlays. This clearly indicates the connection to another specific group of vessels, produced in Latium (?), the most characteristic examples of which are the so-called toy-pigs (puerilia crepitacula). The latter named pottery group also reached the area of the middle Danube.

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