The study of pottery collections from the settlement site of seglamen 2010 field season

ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND HERITAGE MANAGEMENT

The Study of Pottery Collections from the Settlement Site of Seglamen:
2010 Field Season

By: Friyat Angesom

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
June, 2017


The Study of Pottery Collections from the Settlement Site of Seglamen:
2010 Field Season

By: Friyat Angesom

Advisor: Tekle Hagos (Ass.Professor)
Co-Advisor: Luisa Sernicola(PhD)

A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Addis Ababa University, in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Art in Archaeology.

June, 2017


Addis Ababa University
School of Graduate studies
This is to certify that the thesis presented by Friyat Angesom entitled: The Study of Pottery
Collections from the Settlement Site of Seglamen: 2010 Field Season submitted in partial
fulfillment for the degree of Masters of Art in Archaeology complies with the regulation of

University and meets the accepted standard with respect to originality and quality.

Signed by Board of Examiners
___________________________________
Examiner
___________________________________
Examiner
____________________________________
Supervisor

_____________________
Signature
_____________________
Signature
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Signature


DECLARATION
I, the undersigned, declare that this thesis is my own work; it has not previously been
published or presented for a degree in any other university and that all sources of materials
used for the thesis have been cited and duly acknowledged.

Name: Friyat Angesom
Signature: __________
Date: _____________


Acknowledgments
Most of all, I would like to express my heartfelt gratefulness and respect to the Almighty God for

giving me the courage, power, and mercy to finish my study. “God and St. Marry thank you so
much for everything”.
Next to this, I would like extend my deepest gratitude and great fullness to Aksum and Addis Ababa
Universities respectively for sponsoring my education fully and rendering me the necessary budget
to accomplish my research. Completing my study without the support of the two universities would
have been very difficult.
Next, I would like to extend my genuine appreciation and gratitude to my principal advisor
Assistant Professor Tekle Hagos for his unrelenting supervision, tolerance, encouragement and
determined support. My advisor, I want to thank you so much for your invaluable, unchanged and
continued support. It has been a real blessing to have you.
My heartfelt appreciation, respect and gratefulness also goes to my co-advisor Dr. Luisa Sernicola
for her priceless comments and guidance, and for the complete effort she made for the completion
of this study. Besides her overall effort and determination to succeed this thesis, her role in
translating different articles and books from Italian to English was quite indispensable for me to
access important literary sources. Thank you so much my dear.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to peoples who were working with me at different times. I
want to thank Gabriella Giovannone, one of the ceramic analysts working at the site of Seglamen,
for her active support while I was doing the description and documentation part of the work in the
laboratory of Aksum’s museum. Her experience was really valuable.
I would like to express my gratitude to Ato Worku Derara for enhancing the drawings of potsherds
using Adope Photoshop.
Next I would like to thank my beloved family (Brhan, Hadush, Alula and Natnael) for everything. I
can’t imagine life without you.
Finally, I would like to say thank you to my friends, classmates and other peoples whose name is
not mentioned here.

THANK YOU SO MUCH INDEED
I

Abstract
Archaeological investigations were conducted at the pre-Aksumite settlement site of Seglamen at different
times starting from 2010, but systematic analysis on the ceramics that were recovered in 2010 field season
from the building exposed at excavation unit SEG I has not yet been conducted. These potteries are presently
stored in the archaeological museum of Aksum. This study was conducted aiming at providing the
typological, functional and chronological classification of the pottery collection from one of the very few
undisturbed contexts excavated at SEG I, namely unit 5, the living floor of Room 1. This was done in order to
chronologically ascribe the building to one of the three major architectural phases exposed and documented
in the settlement area during 2010 up to 2014 field seasons by the Italian Archaeological Expedition at
Seglamen of the University of Naples “L’Orientale” conducted under the direction of Rodolfo Fattovich,
Andrea Manzo, and Luisa Sernicola. Additionally, it was aimed at confirming the hypothesis that Room 1 of
the building had been used as a food preparation and cooking area. To achieve this, purposive sampling
technique was employed in order to select the sample potteries from the whole pottery assemblage of SEG I.
Consequently, the data selected from the whole assemblage were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively.
Hence, the result of this analysis provides two groups of vessels with the total number of 377 sherds:276
non-diagnostic and 101 diagnostic sherds. Detailed description and analysis of the diagnostic sherds
allowed the researcher to extract seven types of vessels: bowls, cups, beakers, plates, basins, pots and jars,
and thirteen groups of fabrics. According to the types of vessels and color, and by comparing them with the
ceramics from other pre-Aksumite sites, the researcher came up with the conclusion that Room 1 of the
building was used as an area for cooking, preparing, and storing food and beverages; there serving vessels
were also kept. The room, and the building, can be chronologically dated to the pre-Aksumite period (1st half
of the 1st millennium BC). More precisely, they can be related to architectural Phase III of Seglamen, and
dated to the 6th/5th centuries BC on the basis of radiocarbon dating from other buildings belonging to the
same phase. Finally, this research has come up with different recommendations which might be imperative
for the future. Hence, the intensive investigation of the entire ceramic assemblage from the whole building,
their analysis combined with the study of related artifacts, botanical and faunal studies, as well as the
detection of undisturbed samples for radiocarbon dating will surely play a pivotal role in bringing a more
detailed knowledge about the dating and function of the building, and the economy and social organization
of the people living at Seglamen between the 6th/5th century BC.
Key words: Seglamen, Pottery, Pre-Aksumite, Northern Ethiopia.

II


Table of Contents

Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………... I
Abstract………...………………………………………………………………………… II
List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………... V
List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………. V
Table of contents …………………………………………………………………………III
CHAPTER ONE……………………………………………………………………………….1
1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………….1
1.1 Background of the Study Area………………………………………………….1
1.2 Background of the Study………………………………………………………...3
1.3 Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………..9
1.4 Objective of the Study…………………………………………………………..10
1.4.1 General Objective……………………………………………………….10
1.4.2 Specific Objectives……………………………………………………....10
1.5 Limitation of the Study………………………………………………………….10
1.6 Significance of the Study………………………………………………………...11
1.7 Research Methodologies…………………………………………………………11
1.7.1 Data Types and Source…………………………………………………..11
1.7.2 Sampling Techniques…………………………………………………….11
1.7.3 Data Collection and Analysis Procedures………………………………12
1.7.4 Ethical Considerations…………………………………………………...12
1.8 Organization of the Paper………………………………………………………..13
CHAPTER TWO………………………………………………………………………………....14
2. Review of Related Literature………………………………………………………....14
2.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………..14

2.2 Previous Research on Ethiopian Pottery………………………………………....16
2.3 Characteristics of the Aksumite Pottery from the Different Successive
Periods in Aksum…………………………………………………………………...20
CHAPTER THREE ……………………………………………………………………………......28
3. Data Presentation……………………………………………………………………….28
3.1 Overview of the Ceramics from Seglamen: The Settlement and the Cemetery...28
3.1.1 The Settlement………………………………………………………………30
3.1.2 The Cemetery………………………………………………………………..31
3.2 Documentation of the Ceramics from SEG I, Room 1, SU 5……………………..32
3.2.1 Non-Diagnostic Sherds………………………………………………….......33
3.2.2 Diagnostic Sherds…………………………………………………………....33
III


3.3 Description of the Diagnostic Sherds from SEG I, Room 1, SU 5……………….34
3.3.1 Rims………………………………………………………………………….36
3.3.2 Handles………………………………………………………………………37
3.3.3 Bases…………………………………………………………………………39
3.3.4 Neck/Shoulders……………………………………………………………...40
3.3.5 Decorated Sherds……………………………………………………………41
3.4 The Fabrics…………………………………………………………………………..45
3.5 From Diagnostics to Shapes………………………………………………………...48
3.5.1 Bowls…………………………………………………………………………48
3.5.1.1 Large Bowls……………………………………………………………...48
3.5.1.2 Medium Bowls…………………………………………………………...48
3.5.1.3 Small Bowls………………………………………………………………49
3.5.2 Cups…………………………………………………………………………..49
3.5.3 Plates………………………………………………………………………….50
3.5.4 Pots……………………………………………………………………………51
3.5.5 Basins…………………………………………………………………………52

3.5.6 Beakers………………………………………………………………………..52
3.5.7 Jars……………………………………………………………………………53
CHAPTER FOUR…………………………………………………………………………………...56
4. Discussion…………………………………………………………………………………56
4.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..56
4.2 An Interpretation on the Function of the Vessels from SEG I, Room 1, SU 5…...57
4.2.1 Bowls………………………………………………………………………….58
4.2.2 Cups…………………………………………………………………………...58
4.2.3 Plates…………………………………………………………………………..58
4.2.4 Pots…………………………………………………………………………….58
4.2.5 Basins………………………………………………………………………….59
4.2.6 Beakers………………………………………………………………………..59
4.2.7 Jars……………………………………………………………………………59
4.3 An Interpretation on the Chronological Classification of the Pottery Collection
and the Building............................................................................................................61
4.4 Conclusions andRecommendations……………………...…………………………..65
BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………………….....68
APPENDIX 1………………………………………………………………………………………..VII
APPENDIX 2……………………………………………………………………………………….VIII

IV


List of Tables
Table 1: Tabulated list of the diagnostic sherds from SEG I, Room 1, SU 5…………………....35
Table 2: Tabulated list of the decoration patterns from SEG I, Room 1, SU 5……………….….42
Table 3: Tabulated list of the fabrics from SEG I, Room 1, SU5………………………………...46
Table 4. Tabulated list of the vessels identified at SEG I, Room 1, SU 5………………………...54
List of Figures
Fig. 1: Map showing the location of Seglamen with respect to Aksum………………………. ….1

Fig. 2: Photo of the May Haselo/Nigus river valley from the site…………………. ….………….2
Fig. 3: Plan of the three major architectural phases exposed at the site…………………...……….5
Fig. 4: Photo and plan of the building of Phase I……………………………………………….…6
Fig. 5: Photo and plan of the structures of Phase II……………………………………………….6
Fig. 6: Photo and plan of the structures of Phase III……………………………………………....7
Fig. 7: Photos and plan of the building exposed at SEG I: below right and left, stone slabs and
stone blocks with traces of fire in Room 1………………………………………………………...8
Fig. 8: Map showing major pre-Aksumite and Aksumite archaeological sites of the Tigrean
highland…………………………………………………………………………………………...19
Fig. 9: Typical pre-Aksumite ceramics from Seglamen and Yeha……………………….……....22
Fig. 10: Typical Proto-Aksumite ceramics from Bieta Giyorgis………....……………………...23
Fig. 11: Typological sequence of the Aksumite ceramics (after Bard et al. 2014).……………...25
Fig. 12: Photos and drawings showing different Akumite ceramics shapes and decorations……26
Fig. 13: Map showing the location of the settlement and of the cemetery at the site of Seglamen.29
Fig. 14: Map showing the Excavation Units from 2010 to 2013………………….……………...29
Fig. 15: Graph showing the amount of non-diagnostic and diagnostic sherds……….…………...32

V


Fig. 16: Graph showing the amount of the types of diagnostics……………………………........35
Fig. 17: Photos showing samples of rims from SEG I, SU 5……………………….…………….36
Fig. 18: Drawings showing samples of rims from SEG I, SU 5………………………….……….37
Fig. 19: Drawings and photos showing samples of handles from Seglamen………………….….38
Fig. 20: Photos showing samples of bases from Seglamen……………………………………….39
Fig. 21: Drawings showing samples of bases from Seglamen…………………....……………….40
Fig. 22: Photos and drawing showing samples of shoulders from Seglamen……………………...40
Fig. 23: Drawings showing samples of decorations from Seglamen……………………………....43
Fig. 24: Photos showing samples of decorations from Seglamen…....…………………………….44
Fig. 25: Graph showing the percentage of the different types of decoration...…………………….45

Fig. 26: Graph showing the percentage of fabrics…………...…………………………………….47
Fig. 27: Drawings of types of bowls from Seglamen………………………………………...…....49
Fig. 28: Drawing of types of a cup from Seglamen…………………………………......………...50
Fig. 29: Drawing of a plate from Seglamen……………………………………………………….50
Fig. 30: Drawings and photos of types of pots from D-site at Kidane Mehret, Aksum…………...51
Fig. 31: Drawing of a large basin from D-site at Kidane Mehret, Aksum……………...…………52
Fig. 32: Drawings of types of beakers from Seglamen….………..…………..……………….......53
Fig. 33: Drawings of types of small jars from Seglamen………………………………………….54
Fig. 34: Graph showing the percentage of types of vessels based on shape………….………...….55

VI


CHAPTER ONE
1. Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study Area
The modern village of Seglamen is located about 12 km to the southwest of Aksum along the
Aksum-Adet road, in Lae’lay Maychew wereda, Central Tigray, Ethiopia. (Fattovich et al.,
2012). Surface survey conducted at the site proved that the pre-Aksumite site of Seglamen
extends over an area of about 7 hectares, at the edge of the western cliff of the Nigus river gorge,
and is bounded by the May Negus/Haselo river gorge on the north and north-east, the Shetambo
hill on the south, the Ferasit and Gerat Gabara hills on the south-west, Teenti hill on the west and
Kesaad Addi Kerni hill on the north-west (Fattovich et al., 2012; Sernicola, 2014, 2015;
Sernicola et al., 2013; Sernicola et al., 2016).

Fig. 1: Map showing the location of Seglamen with respect to Aksum (courtesy of the archive of the Italian Archaeological
Expedition at Seglamen).

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The site of Seglamen is located in a conducive environment where there is a fertile soil and a
regular rainfall. Although much of the terrace surrounding the archaeological site is now heavily
eroded, in some places down to bare rock, elsewhere the soil remains deep and apparently fertile.
The well-watered valley bottom provides lush pasturage and is also cultivated. The land is
currently under traditional plough cultivation and there are traditional rural houses nearby
(Phillipson L., 2012).
According to Sernicola and Phillipson (2011), cited in Phillipson L. (2013) the site’s prosperity
may have been due to its location in a well-watered and fertile area and to its strategic position
on a main route leading in one direction to the Tekeze River and thence into central and southern
Ethiopia, and in the other direction joining a major route that extends from the Red Sea coast
westwards into Shire.

Fig. 2: Photo of the May Haselo/Nigus river valley from the site
(courtesy of the photographic archive of the Italian Archaeological Expedition at Seglamen).

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The site encompasses the areas of Amda Tsion and Mogareb, in the eastern sector of the present
village, where the settlement and the related cemetery are respectively located (Fattovich et al.,
2012).
The definitive location of the pre-Aksumite settlement was identified during the survey
conducted in 2006 in the framework of the World Bank Ethiopian Cultural Heritage Project
(Fattovich and Tekle Hagos, 2006) and was confirmed in 2009 during a visit to the site by
members of the Italian expedition and representatives of the Aksum University (Fattovich et al.,
2012).
Starting from 2010, the Italian Archaeological Expedition at Seglamen of the University of
Naples “L'Orientale”, under the direction of Rodolfo Fattovich, Andrea Manzo, and Luisa
Sernicola1, is conducting systematic archaeological investigations at the site with the aim of

reconstructing the cultural and environmental history of this area and to provide a detailed
archaeological map for the cultural heritage management of Central Tigray (Fattovich et al.,
2012; Sernicola, 2014, 2015; Sernicola et al., 2013; Sernicola et al., 2016). Significant
information has been collected so far and remarkable new ideas have also emerged.

1.2 Background of the Study
In Ethiopia, pottery making has been practiced for a long period of time in the past and is still
present in some part of the country, including the northern regions (Phillipson D.W., 2000, 2012)
although, it is rapidly disappearing as traditional clay pots are nowadays progressively replaced
by plastic and metal containers. Even though, the beginning of pottery making in Ethiopia is still
an outstanding problem, archaeological evidence suggests that it was already practiced during
the 3rd-2nd millennium BC; evidence from pre-Aksumite sites such as Yeha, Hawelti/Malazo,
Matara, Kidane Mehret (D-site), Gulo Makeda, and Seglamen, proves that the use of ceramic
pots and containers was fully established and widespread on the Tigrean highlands by the late 2nd
millennium/early 1st millennium BC (Phillipson D.W., 2000, 2012).

1

Fattovich from 2010 to 2013, Manzo and Sernicola from 2014 onwards.

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Among these, the pre-Aksumite site of Seglamen is conceived as a place where the tradition of
pottery making was practiced on the basis of the occurrence of a set of lithic and ceramic tools
which, according to Laurel Phillipson, were used to refine and decorate pots (Phillpson L.,
2013).
Traces of the possible occurrence in the area of an archaeological site dating back to the 1 st half
of the 1st millennium BC emerged in the early Seventies of the last century, when a royal
inscription in monumental South-Arabic, attributable to the so-called pre-Aksumite period and

commemorating the re-erection or restoration of a temple dedicated to the god HBS, was found
by local farmers at Amda Tsion, in the southeastern sector of the modern village (Fattovich et al,
2012). Preliminary excavations at Seglamen were carried out in 1974 by the Università di Roma
“La Sapienza,” Rome, under the direction of Lanfranco Ricci (Ricci and Fattovich, 1987). These
excavations brought to the light a large Post-Aksumite rural house, which was apparently built
on earlier foundations (Ricci and Fattovich, 1987).
Archaeological excavations conducted between 2010 and 2014 in the area of the settlement
distinguished three major occupational phases, all ascribable to the pre-Aksumite period (1st half
of the 1st millennium BC) on the basis of the ceramics, other materials as well as radiocarbon
dating, which have been classified as Phase I, II, and III from the bottom to the top of the
sequence (Fattovich et al., 2012; Sernicola, 2014, 2015, in press; Sernicola et al., 2013; Sernicola
et al., 2016).

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Phase I: red
Phase II: light blue
Phase III: green

Fig. 3: Plan of the three major architectural phases exposed at the site
(courtesy of the archive of the Italian Archaeological Expedition at Seglamen).

According to Sernicola (2015), the earliest phase (Phase I) is represented by walls directly
constructed on the bedrock and is characterized by a rectangular structure SW/NE oriented with
four rooms, a back-yard and a possible front-yard; to the west of the building, outside of the
structure, a hearth associated to a cluster of ashy soil has been recovered. Radio carbon dating
suggests a date for this building at very beginning of 1st millennium BC (ca. 940-810 BC).

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Fig. 4: Photo and plan of the building of Phase I
(courtesy of the archive of the Italian Archaeological Expedition at Seglamen).

The intermediate phase (Phase II) is characterized by the remains of three open-air hearths and
by the remains of a circular dwelling. This is the first positive evidence of the tradition of
building circular houses in this region during the first half of the 1st millennium BC, so far
suggested only by few clay models found at Hawelti.

Fig. 5: Photo and plan of the structures of Phase II (courtesy of the archive of the Italian Archaeological Expedition at Seglamen).

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Finally, the latest phase (Phase III) is represented by a quadrangular building (12m x 12m) with
massive walls about 1.20m thick. Ten rooms with diversified sizes were detected: in Room 1,
located in the north-eastern corner, a quadrangular stone feature 1.40m x 1.40m erected on a
massive wall in the center of the room, was most likely used as a base for a pillar which
supported an upper storey (Sernicola, 2015).

Fig. 6: Photo and plan of the building of Phase III
(courtesy of the archive of the Italian Archaeological Expedition at Seglamen)

Furthermore, excavations in 2010, conducted in the southernmost sector of the settlement,
brought to light the heavily disturbed remains of an architectural unit, most likely a rectangular
building, covered by a very thin layer of plowed top-soil (ca. 10 cm). The walls were directly
built on the bed-roc. On the basis of the fragmentary evidence of the walls, it has been
hypothesized that the original building might have had three rooms: two smaller ones in the
north and a larger one to the south. In one of the two smaller rooms, that located in the northwestern sector and designed as Room 1, which measures 4.30 m × 4.70 m in area, an

arrangement of three large stones with evidence of ashes associated with a great quantity of
potsherds, bones, and grinding stones were found on the preserved living floor (SU 5),
suggesting this was an area devoted to food preparation and cooking (Fattovich et al., 2012).

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Fig. 7: Photos and plan of the building exposed at SEG I: below right and left, stone slabs and stone blocks with
traces of fire in Room 1 (courtesy of the archive of the Italian Archaeological Expedition at Seglamen).

The excavation at SEG I was conducted as a field-school for 3rd year BA students of archaeology
and heritage management of the Aksum University under the supervision of Dr. Hiluf Berhe. The
field-school was organized in the framework of an affiliation program established in 2008
between University of Naples “L'Orientale” and Aksum University to provide students with
practical training in archaeological field procedures.
However, at the moment, although the materials collected can be ascribed to the pre-Aksumite
period, a detailed attribution of the recorded building at one of the three major architectural
phases, and its functional classification are not yet possible as the ceramics associated to the
structure have not yet been systematically analyzed. Therefore, undertaking a systematic study of

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the ceramics may help to provide important indications for a more precise chronological and
functional classification of this structure.

1.3 Statement of the Problem
Ceramics from the different contexts excavated at Seglamen have been systematically studied by
Dr Michela Gaudiello, who focused on the ceramics from Excavation Units II, V, VI, VIII, IX,
X, XII, and XIII from the settlement, and by Dr Luisa Sernicola and Mrs Gabriella Giovannone,

who dealt with the ceramics coming from the cemetery (Fattovich et al., 2012; Sernicola, 2014,
2015; Sernicola et al., 2013; Sernicola et al., 2016). The ceramics have been described and
classified in conformity with the typology Fattovich (1980) suggested in the mid-1970s for the
classification of the “Pre-Aksumite” pottery (Fattovich et al., 2012). As stated before, so far, no
systematic study has been conducted on the ceramics from Excavation Unit SEG I excavated in
2010.
The systematic scrutiny of all field reports from 2010 to 2014 (Fattovich et al., 2012; Sernicola,
2014, 2015; Sernicola et al., 2013; Sernicola et al., 2016) motivated the researcher to undertake a
systematic study of the pottery collections of the building exposed at SEG I, with a special focus
on the ceramics assemblage from SU 5 which represents one of the few living floors still
preserved within that very disturbed archaeological deposit. Preliminary field observation
suggested the occurrence of typical pre-Aksumite specimens, nevertheless the exact attribution
of the building to one of the three architectural phases recorded at the settlement is not yet
defined. Sernicola added that, forthcoming analysis on collected materials would provide more
detailed information not only with respect to the chronological attribution of the building, but
also for a more detailed reconstruction of its function and the internal organization of space
(Fattovich, et al., 2012; Sernicola in press). Therefore, these field reports led the researcher to dig
out what has been considered as a missing and poorly understood part of the research project at
Seglamen.
The concern of the researcher was to critically study the ceramics assemblage from SU 5, Room
1, of the building excavated at SEG I. By conducting the systematic analysis of the ceramics
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from this unit, and by comparing the ceramics from this unit with those coming from the
buildings of the three different architectural phases, the researcher attempted to (a) provide the
chronological classification of the structure, and (b) confirm the hypothesis of Room 1 as an area
of food preparation and area of cooking.

1.4 Objectives of the Study

1.4.1. General Objective
 The general objective of this thesis is to study the pottery collections from the living floor
(SU 5), Room 1, of the building exposed at Excavation Unit SEG I in 2010.

1.4.2 Specific Objectives
The specific objective of this thesis are:

 To describe the whole pottery collection from SU 5, Room 1 at SEG I.
 To conduct a typological classification of the same ceramics on the basis of diagnostic
fragments.

 To provide a functional classification of the vessels (processing food, cooking food,
serving food, containers and storage vessels) on the basis of their shape, size and surface
treatment and by comparing with the vessels from sounding pre- Aksumite and Aksumite
sites.

 To undertake a chronological classification of the pottery collections in order to assign
the building to one of the three architectural phases recorded in the settlement.

1.5 Limitation of the Study
This thesis was confined to studying the ceramic assemblage of the living floor (SU 5) of Room
1 of the building exposed at SEG I, in the settlement of the pre-Aksumite village of Seglamen.
This would provide the reconstruction of the function of this room and a preliminary hypothesis
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of chronological classification of the structure. Final results will be obtained when the whole
assemblages from all contexts of the building is thoroughly be analyzed.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The result of this study will provide preliminary data for the chronological classification of the
structure and suggest the function of Room 1. Moreover, the study will serve as a spring board
for other researchers with an interest of conducting a related detailed studies.

1.7 Research Methodologies
1.7.1 Data Types and Sources
The study used both primary and secondary sources of data. The primary data were collected
from the pottery collections of the Seglamen Project which are stored in the Archaeological
Museum of Aksum. Additionally, the researcher made intensive interaction and communication
with the specialists and researchers working at Seglamen during the whole research period.
Furthermore, reports, documents and articles which are related to the research were employed as
major sources of secondary data throughout the research. The combination of these sources
served as a means to achieve the specific objectives stated in this research.

1.7.2 Sampling Techniques
While selecting the potteries to be studied, the researcher used a non-probability sampling
technique and specifically a purposive one. The reason behind choosing purposive sampling was
to select the potteries intentionally and thereby obtain genuine and detailed information. This
was done by taking samples deliberately from the total collections of the ceramics of the
Seglamen project. There are different pottery collections stored in the Archaeological Museum
of Aksum which are taken from the settlement site of Seglamen. Hence, out of the different
pottery collections, the researcher purposively selected and studied the pottery collections
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recorded from SEG I, SU 5. The reason for selecting the pottery collections recorded from SEG
I, and specifically from SU 5 in Room 1, was the absence of systematic investigation on these
potteries.

1.7.3 Data Collection and Analysis Procedures

The following approaches were basically used in the study of the pottery collections of the
settlement site of Seglamen. These include;
 Consulting existing literatures on pottery classification, chronology, function and other
related issues.
 Describing and illustrating the diagnostic ceramics (rim, decoration, handle and base) on
the bases of fabrics, surface treatments, shapes and decorations by using standardized
forms and sketching using the materials like (ruler, profilographer, rim chart and pencil)
and photographing with digital camera.
 Grouping, measuring and weighing the non-diagnostic body potsherds on the bases of
fabrics (color and inclusion) using the instruments like the Munsell’ Soil Charts, calliper
and scale.
 Chronologically classifying the described materials based on their typology and function
according to the typology of pre-Aksumite ceramics proposed by Fattovich and to the
updated typology of the ceramics from Seglamen provided by Gaudiello.
 Comparing the potteries from SU 5 with those from the other buildings exposed at
Seglamen, whose ceramics have been already described and classified.

1.7.4 Ethical Considerations
The researcher placed a due care in collecting and analyzing data as a means of assuring the
accuracy of results. Moreover, the researcher did not misrepresent ideas and disseminate a faulty
conclusion.

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1.8 Organization of the Paper
The study incorporates four chapters. Chapter One includes the background of the study area and
background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, limitation of the
study, significance of the study, research methodology and ethical considerations. Chapter Two
is about review of related literature focusing on ideas, concepts, arguments and research findings

of other scholars related to this topic. Chapter Three gives emphasis to data presentation and
analysis. Finally, Chapter Four encompasses the discussion part, some concluding statements and
recommendations.

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CHAPTER TWO
2. Review of Related Literature
2.1 Introduction
Potteries are made from clay and hardened by firing. They are one of the most abundant material
remains found in archaeological sites (Shrotriya, 2007). Pottery has traditionally been seen as a
product of ancient cultures. But it is still in use throughout the world by different societies.
Therefore, it contains a great potential for ethnoarchaeological studies for the reconstruction of
the history of past humans. In protohistorical times it was primarily used to transport, cook and
store wide ranges of foods and other supplies. But as societies became more and more complex;
pottery also assumed other specialized functions, including ritual uses, burial urns and incense
burners (Shrotriya, 2007).
Together with other artifacts, pottery is a significant source of information to reconstruct human
behavior in archaeological studies (Shrotriya, 2007) as it provides information on social
boundaries, subsistence, trades and exchange, social networks, kinship systems, disease, and
demography (Livingood, 2009). Potteries help to reconstruct household size, economic
differentiation, craft specialization and social structures (Kramer, 1985). Furthermore, according
to Glassie (2010) potsherds are not only useful to know about shape, size, raw material and
production techniques. But they also reflect potters taste and idea towards beauty and
significance.
Pottery also provides information about chronology. Beginning from the mid-19th century,
archaeologists started to recognize that artifacts evolve through time and that these changes can
be used as indicators of specific time-periods and cultures (Renfrew and Bahn, 2000). The ideas
of typology and typological seriation have been applied since the beginning of their

establishment to the study of ceramics assemblages with extremely useful results (see e.g. the
case of Sir William Flinders Petrie and the dating of more than 2000 Pre-Dynastic Egyptian
tombs based on ceramics seriation) (Renfrew and Bahn, 2000). Hence, as different types of
potteries reflect specific time periods and places, it is assumed that the minute study of potsherd

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offers considerable promise in achieving an understanding of site chronology (Sutton and Yohe
(2003). Thus, in archaeological studies pottery is generally used to identify style of cultural
zones, explain migration of communities, interactions of populations (Shrotriya, 2007).
The art of pottery making emerged about 12,000 years ago in the Old World and about 5,000
years ago in the New World (Fagan, 1996). These early dates of pottery from different areas
advocate that pottery was independently invented in Africa, probably as early as 10,000 BP.
According to Haaland (1995), pottery production first emerged alongside the southern edge of
the Sahara and stretched pretty rapidly east-west across a 3,000 km belt of the continent.
In most cases, pottery manufacturing was accompanied by a transition to increased sedentism in
the early Holocene (Fagan, 2003). According to Fagan (2003), the first clay vessels were used
for domestic purposes: food processing, preparation and consumption, as well as for carrying and
storing water.
Early pottery always appeared to occur in association with grinders and with the exploitation of
aquatic resources. According to present evidence it was used 2,000 years before the beginning of
agriculture and people used pots to exploit aquatic and plant resources and for the boiling of food
like porridge. According to Haaland (1995), first ceramic vessels in Africa were part of a parcel
of a soup, porridge, and fish stew revolution.

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