Rhosica vasa mandavi (CIC., Att. 6.1.13). Towards the Identification of a major ceramic tableware Industry of the eastern Mediterranean: eastern Sigillata A
In: Archeologia Classica: 57, 2007
Permalink: http://digital.casalini.it/2634457
The article deals with the
rhosica vasa,
a ceramic tableware mentioned by Cicero and other
ancient sources; its Greek designation, Ρωσικὸς κέραμος, is derived from the name of Rhosos
(present-day Arsuz), a Cilician coastal settlement in the bay of Iskenderun. It is argued that the
rhosica vasa
may correspond to a tableware class, which modern scholars refer to as "Eastern
Sigillata A", the earliest and the most popular of a family of mass produced red gloss pottery,
which played a dominating role in the ceramic tableware spectrum of the Eastern Mediterranean
in the Late Hellenistic and Roman periods.
The suggestion is based on the fact that clay analysis
and distributional evidence indicate that Eastern Sigillata A was manufactured somewhere on the
coast of the bay of Iskenderun. Moreover, travellers have documented the existence of ancient
ceramic kilns at Arsuz and elsewhere in the region. However, even
if
the case for identifying
Eastern Sigillata A with the
rhosica vasa
seems strong, it is clear that the hypothesis can only be
verified through new archaeological fieldwork at Arsuz and elsewhere in Cilicia.