Abstract
The article presents two dishes of the group recently identifi ed as the Late Roman Pontic Burnished Ware (LRPB). The vessels have been found in Chersonesos in the cistern fi lled up most likely at the very beginning of the second quarter of the 6th century. All characteristics of the presented vessels completely coincide with those of the main body of the group for the exception of fabric color. They are grey-colored whilst all the rest are beige of different tints. Their high-quality even fi ring excludes mistakes in the course of manufacturing. This allows suggesting the origin of LRPBW from grey-clayed ceramics with burnished surface widely spread on the Northern Black Sea Region where it was produced through the whole antique period and frequently imitated the shapes of imported vessels. Appearance of the light-clay burnished ware is likely to have been a common trend in the late antique period. For example, «yellow vessels» emerged in the late group of burnished ware on the Western Black Sea coast. Deposit that contained the dishes presented is the earliest one among those with LRPBW that permits to regard them as the initial phase of the group and thus to reconsider thesis about its purely «red-slipped» origin supported by many researchers.
Keywords
Northern Black Sea Region, Early Byzantine Period, Late Roman Pontic Burnished Ware (LRPB)
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