Provenances and production techniques of the so‐called ‘Port Saint Symeon ware’ (13th–early 14th centuries ce) from Kinet Höyük (Cilicia, Turkey): Witnessing interactions in the medieval north‐eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

One of the most widely distributed ceramics in the North‐eastern Mediterranean during the 13th century ce was the ceramic commonly called ‘Port Saint Symeon ware’, whose iconography reflects multicultural influences and traditions. Samples coming mainly from the archaeological site of Kinet Höyük (Cilicia, Turkey), as well as from several sites in the Mediterranean, enabled us to define the output of two production centres of Port Saint Symeon ware based on archaeological data and wavelength‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry (WD‐XRF) analyses of the ceramic bodies. The materials and recipes used for their decoration—glazes, slips and colorants—were investigated by scanning electron microscopy with energy‐dispersive spectroscopy (SEM‐EDS). The results show that the two production centres had very different scales of diffusion, but shared similar decoration techniques that might be considered as standardized. They consisted of the application of a transparent high‐Pb glaze on a ‘hybrid’ vitrified clayey slip, rich in angular siliceous inclusions, whose features suggest technical influences of the Islamic tradition. The potters of the Port Saint Symeon ware seem to have selected inclusions and K‐rich clays in order to obtain off‐white slips which are visually and technically close to synthetic ones.