II.1.1 376. Incertum (commercial?), ca. 460 B.C.E.
Monument
Type
Foot fragment.
Material
Clay.
Dimensions (cm)
H., W., Th., Diam.6.6 (inv).
Additional description
Attica, stemmed dish, type 982 (Agora XII), ca. 460 B.C.E. Foot on ring base. Glossed interior. Foot glossed outside. Sloping interior of the foot is glossed, but reserved in the flat small circle at the centre and on the resting surface.
Find place
Berezan.
Find context
Unknown.
Find circumstances
Found in 1900-1901, excavations of G.L. Skadovsky.
Modern location
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation.
Institution and inventory
The State Hermitage Museum, Б.95.
Autopsy
August 2016.
Epigraphic field
Position
Foot, underside, funnel centre. Reserved central circle in the interior of the foot.
Lettering
Graffito.
Letterheights (cm)
0.5
Text
Category
Incertum (commercial?)
Date
Ca. 460 B.C.E.
Dating criteria
Ceramic date.
<div type="edition" xml:lang="grc">
<ab>
<lb n="1"/>Α
</ab>
</div>Apparatus criticus
Translation
Commentary
A tiny alpha(?) would have been difficult to inscribe in the severly constricted space of the funnel interior of the foot. This could be a trader's mark. The choice of the writing surface must have to do with the desire not to damage the glossy exterior of the vessel. This care suggests a desire to hide rather than expose notation, which is typical of commercial marks on fine pottery.
Images
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