A Unique Assemblage of Roman Handmade/Slow Wheel-Made Pottery at Tamuda (Tetouan, Morocco): Provenance, Production Technology, and Archaeological Implications

Abstract

A study of a 2nd century AD assemblage of handmade/slow wheel-made cooking wares, found at the Roman settlement of Tamuda (Tetouan, Morocco) is presented. Such ceramics are rare in Early-Middle Roman Imperial contexts of the western Mediterranean. A combined typological and archaeometric approach ―including petrographic, mineralogical, and chemical analyses― was carried out to study this assemblage, aiming to examine the hypothesis of a local or regional provenance and to shed light on its production technology. The results indicate the existence of a diversity of products, including a fabric that was likely locally manufactured, as well as other imported fabrics that point to micro-regional distribution or trade of some of these wares. This research is a significant contribution towards a better understanding of the handmade/slow wheel-made pottery that was produced and consumed in the northern Moroccan Rif in the Roman period.