Seminars and Events 2023
Petrie Oration 2023
Searching for the potters behind the pots:
the Tell Ahmar Neo-Assyrian ceramic assemblage
Associate Professor Andrew S. Jamieson FSA
University of Melbourne
The Subject: Ceramic studies have been crucial to the development of archaeology. In the words of Flinders Petrie, ‘Once settle the pottery of a country, and the key is in our hands for all future explorations.’ The presentation is concerned with the pottery, and the potters, of Tell Ahmar (ancient Til Barsib), Syria. It will focus on the ceramics from the Australian excavations in the Middle City, Area C, and the 7th-century BCE Neo-Assyrian Stratum 2. There were 17 ware types, which reflect different production systems: locally hand-made; large-scale, centralized pottery industries; and different surface treatments related to specific uses of the pots. The technology of preparing, forming, decorating, and firing these ceramic vessels casts light on the circumstances of their manufacture and on the potters of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
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The Speaker: Ceramic studies have been crucial to the development of archaeology. In the words of Flinders Petrie, ‘Once settle the pottery of a country, and the key is in our hands for all future explorations.’ The presentation is concerned with the pottery, and the potters, of Tell Ahmar (ancient Til Barsib), Syria. It will focus on the ceramics from the Australian excavations in the Middle City, Area C, and the 7th-century BCE Neo-Assyrian Stratum 2. There were 17 ware types, which reflect different production systems: locally hand-made; large-scale, centralized pottery industries; and different surface treatments related to specific uses of the pots. The technology of preparing, forming, decorating, and firing these ceramic vessels casts light on the circumstances of their manufacture and on the potters of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
When: 6.00 pm Thursday 26 October, 2023
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In Person: Australian Institute of Archaeology, Terrace Way, Macleod
La Trobe University, Building TER 11 (Melways 873-4)
Please book with: Christopher Davey 0421 595 966
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