Evidence of local workshops and material characterization of mold-made Hellenistic lamps from Ephesos: current state of evidence and future perspective (original) (raw)
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Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 14 (19) , 2021
In this pilot study, Late Hellenistic mold-made lamps from Ephesos are investigated by combining chrono-morphological and stylistic features with thin-section petrography and neutron activation analysis. Coeval wares of Ephesian production and clay samples collected around the site as well as published data from the Bonn database are considered local reference material. The results point to a network of local/regional workshops sharing facilities and/or a labor force dedicated to distinct tasks. The whole evidence is consistent with the very beginning of a nucleated workshop industry able to optimize the productivity of mold-made wares and fill the demand of an increased regional and supra-regional market. The typological and compositional variability of the latest phases could suggest a gradual transfer of potting activities towards areas providing better-suited clay sources.
In this paper the subject is mould made lamps in the Museum of Isparta, dating to the Hellenistic period. They are a part of the most important collections of the museum. These are 20 lamps in total and joined to the museum's collection by being acquiered, transferred and gathered from other museums. Keywords: Isparta Museum, terracotta lamps, mould made, Hellenistic period, Pisidia.
The Lamp Molds and Lamp Production of Tlos in the Roman Period[#1269089]-
THE LAMP MOLDS AND LAMP PRODUCTION OF TLOS IN THE ROMAN PERIOD, 2023
Many lamp molds and the lamps produced from these molds were found during excavations in the building complex of the parliament building in the Ancient City of Tlos. This material group, evidencing local lamp production, has been evaluated together with lamp molds found in other excavation areas of the city. Among the Tlos finds, three different types of molds were found: upper, lower, and handle shields. Of the numerically dominant upper molds, those with determinable form were grouped according to their profile features in a chronological index.The Broneer Type XXIV (cat. no. 1-10) and Broneer Type XXV (cat. no. 11), dated to the 1st century AD, are the most common forms of the Early Roman Imperial Period, and both of them are seen in the Tlos molds. Furthermore, the molds belonging to the Broneer Type XXVII group show the intensity of lamp production in the 2nd-3rd century AD, whereas the Broneer Type XXVIII-XXXI groups are important in terms of showing that production continued in the 4th-5th century AD. The preferred decoration patterns for these molds included mythological figures, gladiator combats, animal figures, ship descriptions, and herbal ornaments. The Tlos lamp repertoire, which includes the lamps produced in Attic and Corinth workshops, were further enriched with expressions specific to the city. The repetition of the same decoration pattern in more than one mold is important in that it indicates production capacity and popular lamp forms. The monograms consisting of Greek letters and linear characters on the back of the upper molds give us clues about the archive system used in the workshop. Only one (cat. no. 49) of the upper molds was endowed with the lamp maker’s name, and one (cat. no. 98) of the lower molds with the workshop emblem.
Unpublished master's thesis, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel, 2019
The ancient oil lamps from the Holy Land have long been a popular area of study for archaeologists, art historians and other researchers. Most archaeological studies have aimed at building chronological lamp typologies showing morphological development over time. The early stages of oil lamp morphology and chronology are beyond the scope of this research. The most significant change in the oil lamp making process occurred with the introduction of moulds, which began in Greece during the late 3 rd century BCE, and was rapidly adopted in the Syria-Palaestina region. Mould-made lamps were more efficient to produce and guaranteed ancient craftsmen a high degree of product standardization. The introduction of moulds in oil lamp production denotes an unspoken shift in the job description of the lamp maker working on a potter's wheel to a mould carver. Moulds for the production of lamps could have been made from a wide variety of raw materials. In theory, all possible materials should be durable, yet easily carved. The most common material for lamp mould production in the ancient world was plaster or clay however, limestone was most frequently used for lamp moulds in the Syria-Palaestina region during the Late Roman period (3 rd-4 th centuries CE). Oil lamp production during the Late Roman period in Syria-Palaestina was dominated by a number of regional workshops. While many of these workshops remain elusive, the Beit Nattif lamp is known from the discovery of a production site in the village of Beit Nattif, located in the Judean Shephelah. The excavations at the Beit Nattif workshop, which operated during the Late Roman and early Byzantine periods, produced a large assemblage of lamps, figurines, and lamp moulds discarded into two abandoned hewn cisterns. Since their initial characterization, study of Beit Nattif lamps has largely focused on their decorative motifs and iconography. Based on their unique style, some have concluded that the Beit Nattif lamps were all made in a single workshop. This theory is now challenged with the discovery of an additional lamp workshop at Kh. Shumeila, located north of Beit Nattif, which produced Beit Nattif lamps. Initial archaeological excavations at the site were conducted during 1997-1998 and later expanded in 2014. The excavations at Kh. Shumeila uncovered remains of a large structure divided into separate domestic and industrial areas. The industrial area of the structure functioned as a lamp workshop typified by a large collection of lamps and lamp moulds. Another lamp mould was found during 10
An Update on Ephesos-type Lamps from Corinth
A “Globalized’’ Antiquity: Imports and Local Adaptations of Mainstream Lamp Types. The International Lynchological Association, L. Chrzanovski and M. Ugarković, eds., Serta Instituti Archaeologici 16: Zagreb, 2020
This paper presents a preliminary study of Oscar Broneer's original catalogue "Type XIX lamps" published in Corinth IV.2 (1930), and expands it to include the dozens of new Ephesos-type lamps that have been discovered at the site since the 1920s. More 120 lamps form the core of this research, which were re-categorized with reference to current classification systems and organized into fabric groups. Using Bruneau's typology, this work shows that the most common lamps are Corinth are his Type II, V, and VII. While the macroscopic fabric studies have revealed at least three categories of imported Ephesos-type lamps at the site which may connected to different Asia Minor production centers, as well as an important new class of local imitations.
The 'Ephesian' terracotta oil lamps from the Agora of Nea Paphos
Ephesian terracotta oil lamps are a group of Hellenistic lamps used during the last two centuries BC and probably also in the 1st century AD. This very interesting mould-made type has very characteristic form, clay and ornamentation. Widespread across the whole Mediterranean, they were present in Cyprus and examples were discovered during the Paphos Agora Project. From certain findings it is even possible to suggest that Nea Paphos was a place where they were produced.Ephesian terracotta oil lamps are a group of Hellenistic lamps used during the last two centuries BC and probably also in the 1st century AD. This very interesting mould-made type has very characteristic form, clay and ornamentation. Widespread across the whole Mediterranean, they were present in Cyprus and examples were discovered during the Paphos Agora Project. From certain findings it is even possible to suggest that Nea Paphos was a place where they were produced.