5. At the Border of the Ottoman Empire: From Town to Village?
The Archaeology of Stari Bar - The Evolution, Dissolution and Reinvention of an Adriatic Town - Sauro Gelichi
Sauro Gelichi [+ ]
University Ca' Foscari
Since 2005, Sauro Gelichi has been full professor at the University of Ca' Foscari, Venice. A founding member of the Society of Italian Medieval Archaeologists, he served as its secretary until 2000 and held the presidency between 2000-04. He is currently President of the Association Internationale por l'Etude des Ceramiques Medievales Mediterraneeanes and since 201, of the academic body 'Consulta delle Archeologie Postclassiche as well as serving on the editorial board of a number of academic journals and book series. His research interests centre on the archaeology and history of medieval settlement (urban and rural) and medieval material culture, with particular reference to the production of pottery. He has been director of many archaeological excavations in Italy and of archaeological missions in Syria (1999-2002), Turkey (20020, and has been the director of the archaeological mission in Montenegro (Stari Bar) since 2004.
Description
This chapter marks the conquest of Antivari by the Turks, a further notable point of urban transition and following which the city seems to lose part of its original functions, almost closing in on itself, with a level of ruralisaton evident such as in the introduction of oil presses within many house interiors. The Ottoman period enables us to see the slow processes by which Balkan-style forms and customs are adopted; we also note during this period how the urban community once more gained an international outlook (the fruit of early globalisation) in the second half of the 19th century.