The emergence of lead-glazed pottery in the Late Hellenistic and Roman Mediterranean: new investigations at Mytilene, Athens, and Ostia

Liard, F.; Versluys, M.J.; Ben Amara, A. (2024)

Article / Letter to editor

The circumstances and chronology of the emergence of lead-glazed pottery in the Late Hellenistic and Roman Mediterranean remain heavily debated. This article presents a multidisciplinary discussion of pottery provenance and glazing technology based on the analysis of 94 samples from three sites: Mytilene, Athens, and Ostia. Through a critical review of published data and comparisons with other glazed ceramics, we discuss the emergence of lead-glazed pottery against the background of a highly interconnected, “global” world. We argue that mainland Greece played an important but hitherto unrecognized role in this development.

• All authors: Liard, F.; Versluys, M.J.; Ben Amara, A.
• Date: 2024
• Journal: Hesperia
• Volume: 93
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 439 - 503
• DOI: doi:10.2972/hes.2024.a937555
• Link: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/937555
• Sponsorship: NWO
• Grant number: 277-61-001