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dAf 26

LAUBENHEIMER Fanette

Sallèles-d'Aude

Un complexe de potiers gallo-romain : le quartier artisanal

Since 1976 the Sallèles d'Aude site has been the scene of extensive excavations in the context of research on the production of amphorae in Roman Gaul. Prospection and excavations, which are still under way have uncovered a pottery complex including a dwelling area and a workplace, which is the subject of this book, showing all phases of pottery production over a period lasting from the Ist to the IIIrd century A.D. The stratigraphy and the architecture of the workshops, the spatial organization and the production are all examined in turn. A study of the production provides references on origins and chronology for a wide range of ceramic products destined for building, cooking, food storage and the packing of foodstuffs for sale. This work, essential for those specialising in pottery workshops and the crafts and economy of Southern Gaul, goes beyond this framemork, and is of interest to all specialists in the Roman world.

Abstract

Abstract

Introduction

In the context of research into the production of amphorae in Gaul, excavations of the pottery production centre in SaIlèles-d'Aude have been considerably extended, serving as a point of reference in a domain as yet virtually unknown. This has led to a wider-scale investigation whose two main lines of inquiry are the diversity of a production linked to everyday needs and the demands of speculative agriculture, and the organization of production within a veritable complex which suggests the emergence of a new model, a unit which may have. been autonomous, serving a wide clientèle.

1. Landscape and layout of the Sallèles complex

Updating of the sites and monuments record has revealed just how rich has been the occupation of the site on which the production centre was built. Understanding the site as it appears to us now; at the end of the XXth century implies tracing its history back to Antiquity through the archives marking the different stages in the development of this rural area. The work of excavation is organized around surface prospections (electric and magnetic surveys and mapping of visible objects) for which conditions here are excellent and which provide from the outset an overall view of the architecture of the site : a large workshop area (25 hectares), clearly structured, including and associating a settlement, a workshop (11 kilns) and a claypit. This first volume concentrates on a study of the production complex.

2. Stratigraphy of the workshop site

A detailed stratigraphic analysis of the different buildings and courtyards leads to an overall synthesis of the evolution of the workshop from roughly the beginning of the era until the llIrd century.

3. Work shop architecture and spatial organization

During a period of more than two centuries, the production centre underwent various changes, some of them radical. These concerned spatial organization and the architecture of the entire unit, as well as that of the kilns, and their production capacity. A detailed study is made both of the buildings and of the kilns, which are exceptionally varied and well-preserved. Conclusions are summed up in tabular form, and show an overall evolution tending towards larger and larger constructions: buildings, sills, puddling pits and kilns, in association with types and volumes of production.

4. Variety of products produced

Production corresponded to a twofold demand, on one hand for building materials, of which 18 different types were produced, and cookery and food storage utensils and domestic wares (37 types) and recipients for transporting food : Gallic 4 type amphorae were made by the thousand. Balances, designed for use in weaving, were less numerous. Each category of object is classified according to its technological characteristics, its dimensions, and where appropriate its weight and capacity. Simple statistical analysis demonstrates the presence of series and modules, and indicates evolutions in time. The range of common ceramics is mostly hollow ware, whose functions can sometimes be determined. In most cases the capacity corresponds to a unit of volume in common use. for everyday purposes. The rich and varied ceramics of Sallèles-d'Aude constitute as of now a reference for the study of origins and chronology in generally little-known material. The creation of the Gallic 4 type amphora, a striking aspect of the Narbonne economy, bears witness to increased wine-growing activity destined for an export trade with other regions and countries.

Conclusion

At Sallèles, a production unit comprising a whole habitat-workplace complex has been uncovered. All the stages in pottery production, from clay digging on site to firing and storage of finished products as well as an area given over to dwellings for the potters are present. The history of this pottery, which was constantly in production from the time of Augustus until the IIIrd century, is characterized by an increase in firing capacity, and a diversification of products and thus of clientèle. This development, however, seems to have been anything but linear, with spasmodic periods of intense activity followed by relative calm

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