Maeotian Ceramic Tiles of Starokorsunskaya Settlement No. 2

In: Stratum plus: archeologija i kulʹturnaja antropologija = Stratum plus : archaeology and cultural anthropology, Heft 4, S. 385-397

Abstract

Ceramic tiles are a mass category of finds in the Maeotian settlements in the Kuban region. Most of the tiles are found in the local territory — the Krasnodar group of settlements, outside of which the finds of tiles are quite rare. However, there is still no consensus on their purpose. The tiles were found in utility pits and layers of Roman period and date back to the 1st to the 3rd centuries AD. For the first time, the finds of the excavations of one of the largest Maeotian archaeological site, Starokorsunskaya Settlement No. 2, are published. All tiles are represented by two main groups — tiles with a stable base (standing tiles) and flat tiles (tablets). Tiles are analyzed by shape, size, by the presence or absence of signs on the surface, by the composition and firing of clay. The chronology and comparison with similar tiles originating from other Maeotian archaeological sites are offered. The existing hypotheses are analyzed and assumptions are made about the functional purpose of the tiles.