Medieval pottery and glass
The medieval pottery constitutes a significant part of the archaeological findings and the most abundant material in the excavations. By studying the stratigraphy of the medieval city excavations and analyzing the morphological features of the pottery, the following groups can be distinguished: 4th-8th century pottery and 9th-13th century pottery. The 4th-8th century pottery can be further divided into two chronological subgroups:
- 4th century: transition period from late antiquity to the early Middle Ages,
- 5th-8th centuries: pottery of the early Middle Ages
4th-century pottery is well located and dated in the antique layers of Citadel defensive walls and towers of the Fortified Quarter and the First Antique Quarter. The main mass of pottery found in the Central Quarter of the early Christian square with two churches (large and small) is from the high middle ages (9th-13th centuries), but a large number of early medieval tiles were also found.
Respectively, the 5th-8th century and 9th-13th century pottery is not found in the antique quarters, which suggests that the early medieval large church was built nearby but not on the antique layer. Some 11th-12th century pottery is also found in the Fortified Quarter.
Two cultural layers are well expressed in the Antique Quarter: late antique (1st-3rd centuries AD) and, judging by the pottery, the transition period from antique to the Middle Ages (4th-5th centuries). Typical examples of kitchen pottery from the transition period are the convex, oval-shaped gray pots. The crown of the vessel ends with a slightly outward-inclined lip. The handle is attached to the crown. The bottom is round or flat (Fig. 1). Also included in this group are gray pots with one or two small round handles and a flat bottom. The handles of these vessels are decorated with simple, fir-shaped ornaments or oblique dashes; sometimes superimposed patterns are found. Pots usually bear traces of soot.
The 5th-8th century pottery found in the area of the large church is mainly represented by large quantities of tiles that covered the roofs of early medieval churches. The tiles are a light sand color and pink, found in two types. The solen, a flat tile and the kalipter, a semi-cylindrical tile, are separate in one case and connected together in the other. The image of an early Christian encircled cross in the front corners of the solen is of interest (Fig. 2). Most likely, it is a facade tile on the roof eave.
Interesting early medieval material was uncovered during the exploratory excavations near the large church. At a depth of 1.95 m, walls of early medieval rooms were revealed, while fragments of early medieval pottery, including fragments of handles with the Armenian letter “M” scratched on the curve, were found at a depth of 3 m. Presumably these pottery fragments date back to the 7th century, as there are similar letters (master’s marks) on the stones of the 7th century church on Mount Vankasar. The predominant color of the early medieval pottery is gray, light yellowish, yellowish, or light brown. However, certain jugs and small pots from the 5th-8th centuries are typically red, dark brown or dark cherry in color.
According to its technical and technological characteristics, medieval pottery was traditionally divided into two large groups starting in the 9th century: unglazed (often with red sherd) and glazed.
In terms of usage, the pottery is categorized into the following types: containers, which encompass pots of different sizes; kitchen ware-pots, jugs, milk jugs, churns, and various small pots; and tableware-jugs, bowls, plates, trays, salt-cellars (Fig. 3), special lids, lamps, and oval vessels. All these types are represented in the medieval pottery of Tigranakert.
One of the most common household items in the medieval city was the jar. These large and medium-sized containers, with or without handles, were used for transporting and storing flowing foods and liquids. Many fragments and several complete medieval jars were found in Tigranakert. A complete jar dating from the 12th-13th century was confirmed on a floor level dating to the 12th century, intended for grain storage (Fig. 4). Fragments of the so-called “festive” jar were also found in the area of the large church (Fig. 5). This well-proportioned (profiled) jar features a wide neck and flat lip set on a convex body, with two handles and rich decoration on the upper part of the body. Medium-sized vessels include churns and big jugs (Fig. 6). The numerous jugs of Tigranakert exhibit different crown shapes: round, with an elongated spout, and zodiac. Small jugs with a round crown from the 11th-13th centuries are characterized by engobe decoration with vertical, wide red bands.
The roots of this tradition come from the antique pottery of Tigranakert. Medieval coloring with red engobe is predominantly found in the form of longitudinal red bands decorating the jugs (Fig. 7), although the edges of bowls, small jars, and lids are also colored.
The number and variety of clay pot fragments found during the excavations of the medieval layer indicate that they served as the main kitchenware for the heat treatment of food for centuries (Fig. 8).
Glazed pottery represents a unique group of Armenian medieval pottery, forming part of a broader cultural phenomenon known as the medieval glazed pottery of the East. Almost all stages of the development of this cultural branch are reflected in the glazed pottery of Armenia, so it is a good guide for the periodization of archaeological layers. According to its technological characteristics, pottery is divided into the 9th-10th centuries, the 11th century, and the 12th-13th centuries. The characteristic decoration of the 9th-10th century’s glazed bowls and plates is underglaze coloring with dark brown (manganese oxide) on plain pottery, giving the patterns a yellow-brown color. Another category consists of 9th-century early medieval glazed earthenware with bright yellow and green patterns (Fig. 9).
In the 10th-11th centuries, white engobe underglaze was widely used on plain pottery, which was then covered with a green, brown, or yellow transparent glaze. The two almost completely preserved plates found in Tigranakert belong to this group of pottery, with spiral and circular ornaments made with white engobe on plain pottery under a transparent green glaze (Fig. 10).
In decoration from the 11th century, white engobe is used as a background for other colors, which greatly enlivens the entire palette of glazed pottery. The main technical issue of this period was to obtain tableware with a light, white shade that would resemble expensive Chinese examples. Five colors were used for the pattern. Four of them are metal oxides: purple (manganese), yellow (ocher), green (chromium), and black (manganese and iron). The fifth color is the white background of the engobe (Fig. 11).
The 12th-13th centuries glazed plates include the plates with white backgrounds and geometric patterns, or the fragments depicting animals or birds (Fig.12) (usually garden or hunting scenes) surrounded by vegetal ornaments.
There are not many fragments of such pottery. A fragment of a plate has been preserved, on which, supposedly, is the image of a “roe deer” in a garden, and another plate fragment shows an eagle or peacock in a “paradise garden” (Fig. 13).
The medieval glass collection of Tigranakert consists of more than one and a half thousand units. Medieval glass was found during the excavations of the 5th–7th, 9th–11th, and 12th–13th century cultural layers in the Central Quarter, as well as in the Citadel, where there is a medieval cultural layer. According to their functions, glass objects can be divided into two groups: jewelry (bracelets, beads) and vessels, from which torches (lamps) can be distinguished. Unfortunately, no vessels are completely preserved, and many fragments are quite insignificant, which makes it impossible to determine the shape and significance of these vessels. The fragments of bracelets are numerous. They differ in the dimensions of the inner diameter, production technique, glass color, and cross-section of the thread.
The bracelets are mostly monochromatic, but there are also multi-colored fragments (Fig 14). Monochrome bracelets are made of black, blue, green, and rarely yellow transparent glass.
Fragments of glass vessels are numerous. Most of them consist of fragments of homogeneous, thick green glass. These are mainly the fragments of the bottom of torches (Fig. 15). They were intended to be placed in the ring-shaped metal stand of the crown torch for illuminating the church.
