18— The islamic pottery from Senhora do Barrocal (Sátão, Central-Northern Portugal)

18— DE SOUZA et al�: The islamic pottery from Senhora do

Barrocal

18— The islamic pottery from Senhora do Barrocal

(Sátão, Central-Northern Portugal)

Gabriel DE SOUZA

João Luís VELOSO

Catarina TENTE

(IEM | NOVA FCSH)

abstRact

Located at the top of a hill of granite tors, the archaeological site of Senhora do Barrocal is probably one of the most attractive and exceptional sites for the study of the Early Middle Ages in the Beira Alta region (centre-north of Portugal). This village was occupied in two distinct phases throughout the 10th and 11th centuries. The rich collection (composed not only of ceramic materials, but also a significant botanic assemblage, lithics and metals) from these excavations has been studied in recent years, and already resulted in a number of publications.

The present text presents the Islamic production vessels, which, being exogenous to the region and of high quality, are assumed to be exceptional pieces in this context. These pieces can be regarded as social markers of local elites and may express their capacity to establish connections beyond the region where the settlement is located. Thus the pottery presented in this paper, as well as other markers of social differentiation found at Senhora do Barrocal, contribute towards an understanding of social complexity in a territory that was a frontier land between the 9th and 11th centuries.

KeywoRds

Islamic pottery productions, local pottery productions, Early Medieval, Rural Communities, local elites.

1� The archaeological site of Senhora do Barrocal

Located in the Portuguese municipality of Sátão, Viseu, the archaeological site of Senhora do Barrocal is situated on top of a great granite tor (Figure 1), near the fertile vale of the Corja Stream, an affluent of the Dão River. This location strategy seems to have been determined by the need for visual control over the territory and, at the same time, of going unnoticed in this hilly granitic landscape.

Between 2014 and 2016, the site was subject to three archaeological seasons of excavations in two sectors, under the direction of Catarina Tente and Hugo Baptista. In the first it was possible to identify two distinct occupation phases attested by the existence of a large layer of ash and charcoal separating them. The fire attested by this layer must have been a dramatic incident for the population since it must have destroyed most standing structures. This, however, does not seem to have spelled the definitive end of the settlement’s occupation. In fact, in the last archaeological season, it was made clear that the stone wall was built—or, at least, rebuilt—immediately after the fire had occurred. This was justified by the partial disassembling of the wall, which demonstrated that this structure settled on top of the fire layer. Besides that, broken ceramic vessels, undoubtedly ruined by the fire, were found inside the wall, serving as filling along with other fire debris containing seeds and charcoal.

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18— DE SOUZA et al.: The islamic pottery from Senhora do Barrocal

Figure 1: View of the site of Senhora do Barrocal.

Two radiocarbon determinations were made to set the chronology of the fire: one using a sample of broad bean ( Vicia faba) seed (Wk-40079: 1040 ± 21 BP); the other a rye ( Secale cereale) seed (Beta-46513: 1170 ± 30). After calibration using Version 3.10 of the OxCal Program 4.2 (Bronk-Ramsey 2009), based on the IntCal13 curve (Reimer et al. 2013), the dates provided respectively the following time frames: 974–1025 cal AD (95.4 % probability) and 771–965 cal AD (95.4 % probability). These results indicated that the fire occurred in the second half of the 10th century, just like other fires documented at rural sites in Beira Alta (Tente 2019).

The material culture in both occupation phases is similar to that found at coeval neighbouring settlements such as São Gens and Penedo dos Mouros, including locally-made potteries, of closed shape, numerous fragments of semi-burnt cork and some metal artefacts, such as nails, knives and needles.

A metal spur was also found, which, among other archaeological social markers, suggests that the settlement’s occupants possessed certain economic wealth and social status, which enabled them to own mounts (Tente 2016). However, the most outstanding find is a small pottery assemblage of clear Islamic tradition. It is presented in this paper.

Through the analysis of the exhumed materials it is easy to classify the first occupation phase as an eminently domestic one, which encompassed multifunctional spaces with no formal boundaries, allocated to different crafts, such as the preparation of meals, textile-weaving and iron-smelting. The Islamic materials described here were identified in the context of this first occupation destroyed by the fire.

2� The pottery assemblage

The present study applied some of the same processes and techniques that were used in research on other collections from the same period and region (Souza 2016; Tente 2010; Tente, Lantes and Prieto 2014).

Three main fields of analysis were defined: the study of tempering materials and technology, the form and functional analysis, and the stylistic analysis focusing on decorative styles. All these studies were performed with the minimum number of vessels (MNV) as the main unit of analysis. The MNV is defined based on the rim sherds that are at least five centimetres in size, which are separated after counting the total fragments in the collection.

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PARTE IV— Aproximaciones al estudio de la cultura material

Figure 2: Photograph of the archaeological level where the Islamic pottery was identified.

The study of tempering materials and technology was done macroscopically, aiming to identify the generic characteristics of the materials from which the pottery was made. We strived to identify the non-plastic inclusions (NPI) that are present in the fabric, as well as their firing atmosphere, type of wheel, texture, consistency and frequency.

In the form and function analysis, we sought to identify the vessels in the MNV within the known morphologies for the period, based on other pottery studies carried out in the surrounding region.

The stylistic analysis was based on the techniques and type used both for the total fragments and for the MNV (with greater details and focus on the pieces in the MNV). The decorative techniques identified in the collection were incised lines, applied strips, roller-stamping, burnishing, punctures, glazes, painting and impressed finger-tipping, both in isolation and in combinations between them.

For the first phase of occupation of the site, a total of 5007 sherds were identified. These were in a high state of fragmentation. In fact, of the 366 rim sherds found, only 63 could be individualised and accounted for in the MNV, representing only 17 % of the total of fragments.

Among the total fragments accounted for, 47 were identified as belonging to exogenous productions, among them some with possible Islamic tradition origins, which represents less than 1 % of the total.

These 47 fragments, however, contrasted ostensibly with the other fragments of a local/regional origin.

Regional productions are characterized by more inclusions in the fabric, colours in shades of light or dark brown, with granular or schist textures and the presence of micas, quartz and, on occasion, feldspars.

They usually have a frequency of NPI that is mostly medium (between 15 and 30 % of the fabric) or high (above 30 %), without glazed finishes or painted decoration, ranging from fast to slow wheel production.

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18— DE SOUZA et al.: The islamic pottery from Senhora do Barrocal

Figure 3: Islamic pottery identified at Senhora do Barrocal: A� No. 61, bowl with a green and magnesium decoration depicting a zoomorphic figure; B� No. 55, bowl with a honey-like glaze with magnesium decoration; C� No. 63, burnished piece painted in black and white; D� No. 56, bottle with a green glaze.

3� Islamic pottery

The exogenous fragments have fewer inclusions in the fabric when compared with local and regional productions. These fragments present colours such as orange or whitish tones, with homogeneous textures and with the presence of micas and feldspars in some cases, but with limestone in others, an element that does not appear in local vessels. The frequency of NPI is, in most cases, low (less than 15 %).

They display glazed finishes (in green and magnesium or in light brown/honey tones) and are painted, in white and also in black. All of these fragments were made with a fast wheel.

In the MNV, the percentage of exogenous vessels is also reduced. Of the 63 vessels identified, four were of certain Islamic production and another two of clear exogenous production, corresponding to 9.5 % of the total. All these vessels were produced in an oxidizing firing atmosphere.

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PARTE IV— Aproximaciones al estudio de la cultura material

Six vessels are clearly of Islamic origin: a bowl with green and magnesium decoration depicting a zoomorphic figure (Figure 3, A); a bottle with a green glaze (Figure 3, D); a bowl with a honey-like glaze and magnesium decoration (Figure 3, B), a burnished piece painted in black and white (Figure 3, C); and two jars with beige/orange coloured fabric and a good surface finishing, one of them with white painted decoration. Four types of fabric can be identified in these pieces. The first, which includes bottle No. 56

and bowl No. 61, has a whitish paste, with feldspar and limestone inclusions, a homogeneous texture fabric and low frequency of NPI. Both vessels have glazed decoration in green and magnesium, with a small mouth-diameter for the jar (just 4 cm) and a larger one for the bowl (24 cm). The second type of fabric is unique to the bowl No. 55: an orange/red-coloured fabric, homogeneous texture, low frequency of NPI (with limestone among the few NPI) and a mouth-diameter of 18 cm. It has glazed decoration, in shades of light brown and black. These are high quality vessels, made by professionals and certainly of great value to the owner, particularly in this context. The third type of fabric is seen in the burnished piece, No. 63, with a dark brown-coloured fabric, homogeneous texture, and a low frequency of NPI (with micas and quartz). The painting in black and white on the vessel is unique in this archaeological context1. The fourth and final type of fabric is seen in the other two jars: a beige/orange-coloured fabric, with a granular texture and a low/medium frequency of NPI (with micas and quartz in one of the vessels and micas, quartz and feldspars in the other). These jars have a small mouth-diameter (5.5 cm) and one of them displays white painting and was burnished, a type of decoration that also stands out in the context.

At the current point in the investigation, without chemical analyses of the fabrics, it is difficult to safely identify the point of origin of these vessels. It can be speculated that bottle No. 56 and bowl No. 61 could have come from areas further south in the Iberian Peninsula, due to the limestone in their fabrics. The two jars of beige/orange-coloured fabric, on the other hand, could have a closer origin in geographic terms, due to the characteristics of the fabric and the identified NPI, with similarities to vessels found in the Coimbra area, for example. However, we will only be sure after carrying out chemical analyses, which are currently taking place.

4� Discussion

The six vessels described above as Islamic productions are exceptional finds, and are clearly (stratigraphic relations) related with the first phase of occupation—i.e. before the fire—and therefore datable to the transition from the 10th to the 11th centuries. These pieces are so far unknown in any other coeval site excavated in the region. In Portugal these types of vessels are found mostly in urban contexts under Islamic rule.

Other considerations must be made. First, these pieces contrast with the local/regional productions, in the depuration of their clay and their surface treatment, not to mention the exogeneity of the vessels’

forms themselves. Secondly, this set of vessels constitutes a clear minority in relation to the total ensemble, and this can be seen as an argument in favour of these specimens’ special character. These Islamic vessels are, without any doubt, exceptional pieces, not only in this specific northern context, but also in any Islamic rural site, a fact that allows them to be classed as prestige goods. In order to obtain a better understanding of the meaning of these vessels in this rural context, and to unravel the processes that led to their appearance in this site, provenance analyses are being carried out to identify potential production centres. Moreover, the rather small percentage of Islamic pieces does seem to discredit the possibility of these items being the result of loot obtained as some sort of spoils of war. The most likely hypothesis in this context is to relate Islamic pottery, such as the vessels found at Senhora do Barrocal, 1 A very similar piece to this was found in the excavation of the atrium of Zamora Cathedral, where the piece was dated to the 12th century (Turina 1994: 73).

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18— DE SOUZA et al.: The islamic pottery from Senhora do Barrocal with the sealing of agreements with Islamic powers, a practice acknowledged in the establishment of pacts and political relations (Davies 2012).

In addition to the Islamic pottery pieces, other elements at Senhora do Barrocal distinguish this site from its neighbours: namely a church (in this particular case it is documented by an architectonic/

epigraphic piece), roof tiles and an iron spur. This indicates that Senhora do Barrocal was inhabited by a differentiated community whose socio-political sphere of relationships allowed them to reproduce models of representation of the power usually restricted to the most prominent supra-local elites (Tente 2016). The daily lives of its inhabitants would probably not differ greatly from that of their fellow, coeval neighbours, but it is beyond any reasonable doubt that this was a rather distinct community that used a large spectrum of social markers to express power. It is unquestionable that the inhabitants of Senhora do Barrocal were operating on differentiated social levels, namely with Islamic powers, and these relations can explain the presence of these exceptional finds.

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