Pots, Capacities and People in the Mediterranean Bronze Age
A Key Approach to Understanding Society, Economy and Culture through Ceramic Studies
Edited by
Cydrisse Cateloy [+–]
ERC ‘ComPAS’ project
Cydrisse Cateloy completed her PhD at the University Paris 1-Panthéon Sorbonne in 2022. She specialised in Levantine amphorae and maritime trade in the Mediterranean Bronze Age. Her doctoral research led to the examination of complete Levantine amphorae across the Eastern Mediterranean (the Levant, the Aegean, Cyprus, Egypt and Turkey), including hands-on study of hundreds of amphorae from approximately 50 different sites. She has also taken part in the study of the material from the Uluburun shipwreck, under the supervision of Cemal Pulak. Since July 2023, she is a postdoctoral researcher in the ERC ‘ComPAS’ project, for which she is conducting a comprehensive capacity study on Maritime Transport Containers in Cyprus, including imported Levantine and Egyptian amphorae as well as Aegean Transport Stirrup jars. As a keen scuba diver, she has also participated in several underwater excavations and surveys. Her academic interests primarily revolve around Near Eastern Archaeology, with a specific focus on the Middle and Late Bronze periods, long-distance trade, and international networks in the Eastern Mediterranean, alongside underwater archaeology.
Maia Pomadère [+–]
University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
Maia Pomadère is an Associate Professor of Aegean archaeology at the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. She conducted research on children in Aegean Prehistory as part of her PhD dissertation, which resulted in publications focusing on child-specific vessels and funerary practices. Since 2005, she has been directing the archaeological excavations in Area Pi at the Minoan site of Malia in Crete. This project, for which she conducted the architectural study, has now reached completion and is in the publication process. Additionally, she has led a research program on the paleoenvironment of Malia and is currently preparing a new field project to explore the ‘Minoan harbor’ of the site (2025-2026). Her research interests primarily focus on housing, urbanism, and the relationships between town and country during the Aegean Bronze Age. She has organized and published conferences, as well as several papers on these subjects.
Russell Webb [+–]
PhD Candidate, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
Russell Webb holds an MA degree in Prehistoric Archaeology (2018) from the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Since 2019, his research focuses on food storage in Mycenaean Greece, as part of a PhD dissertation under completion. Over the last years he has participated in several field research and study projects in France and Greece. His current work includes the study and publication of pithoi and clay bins from the Mycenaean citadel at Gla in Boeotia (collaboration with Dr. Elena Kountouri, Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports) and the Late Mycenaean settlement of Aigeira in Achaia (collaboration with Dr. Walter Gauss, Austrian Academy of Sciences).
This volume deals with capacity studies of archaeological pots with a focus on the Middle and Late Bronze Ages in the Aegean, Cyprus, the Levant and Egypt. Through case studies encompassing a variety of functional categories of pots, it showcases the wide range of insights that can be obtained by examining capacities, which are still largely ignored in pottery studies and classifications. Such data offer valuable information relevant to the production and functions of pots, as well as shedding light on various aspects such as exchange logistics, metrological systems, storage strategies or cooking/consumption practices. Additionally, the book provides a review of the methodologies and tools used for measuring the capacities of archaeological pots.
