The 2009 excavation in the area of the Potters’ Quarter of Sagalassos is anticipated to last four weeks with focus on an area of the site that was excavated in both 2004 and 2008 field seasons. The area selected for excavation this campaign is situated immediately north of the 2008 excavation area in order to encompass the full parameters of a single workshop. Initial investigations into the area were commenced in 2004 in order to test the geophysics inspections over the area. These inspections identified several magnetic anomalies in the area which were subsequently excavated to verify the anomalies as being kilns. The initial excavations in 2004 identified ceramic production activity between the 4th and 6th centuries A.D. specializing in the production of mold-made wares–specifically oinophoroi, figurines, and lamps. In the course of the 2008 excavations, it became clear that the workshop area comprised a series of smaller independent workshops situated within a large architectural complex. The workshops appeared to have abutted each other and interior and exterior spaces could be identified with differential property boundaries demarcated by restrictive access to circulation patterns. Therefore, the primary objectives of the 2008 field season were to fully excavate one of the workshops and identify functionality to workshop infrastructure, clarify the various phases of workshop activity floors, and better understand the architectural phasing in relation to the floor levels and phases of production.
With over three weeks of excavation completed, the archaeological inquiries into the area have produced several significant finds. For instance, the workshop area that had been extended appears to incorporate not only the remains of a single workshop, but additional rooms to the North which appear to connect to other workshops either to the East or West. The floors to these spaces appear to be associated with workshop activity, as lenses of Canakli clay (clay used to produce SRSW) were discovered in the area. The areas seem to extend to the North into a terrace wall–the collapsed stones of which are still present and prevent continued excavation in the North. These areas also appear to have been cut through by the later addition of a small water channel that runs over sections of walls. The bottom of the water channel is lined by U-shaped bricks which are placed within a shell of heavily mortared limestone rubble rock. It appears to travel from East to West. The extension into adjoining workshop spaces has also provided at least two additional spaces to the original 2008 workshop selected for continued excavation. The latest two floor phases of the spaces have not offered much in the way of functional analysis; however, the lack of ceramic production-related material suggests that these areas may have served a different function. The floor levels specifically related to ceramic production are currently being breached, and interpretations are yet preliminary. Built into one of the walls of these spaces a tile vault with large limestone capping stone was discovered – the function of which is yet indeterminate. In addition, the 2009 excavation in the Potters’ Quarter has produced the first evidence for the use of mudbrick at Sagalassos. Use of mud-mortar has appeared on several upper faces of rubble wall foundation stones, and a small interior wall of preserved mudbrick (30 cm. wide) has also been discovered intact.
