IV.
CERAMIC FINDS
PRESERVATION
Despite the relatively limited thickness of the cultural
deposits at Lı̂ga, conditions of preservation vary sig-
nificantly depending on depth, the effects of which
being clearly observable on pottery. In the lowest
layers, Lı̂ga 1, the surface of the pottery shards is ce-
mented by the calcareous soils. The patination of flint
artefacts is likewise progressed. In the upper cultural
horizon of Lı̂ga 2, the calcareous environment has
created high pH values of the soil (8, according to
litmus paper). Protected only by a thin layer of hu-
mus, the pottery is further affected by moisture and
fluctuations of temperature. During the summer dry –
as observed on location in 2000 – the soil sees cracks
up to 0.5 m deep. The combined actions of physical
and chemical properties of the soil have thus resulted
in relatively poor conditions of preservation for top-
level pottery. Some shards appear with washed out or
exfoliated surfaces, in some cases to such a degree
that the original surface can hardly be recognised.
This is particularly common for areas outside the
houses where the pottery was not affected by second-
ary burning or protected by a less permeable layer of
fallen structural debris. Often the upper layer of a
shard is flaking in thin scales making recognition of
decoration and finishing a complicated task. Appar-
ently, none of the described factors had any note-
worthy impact on bones.
POTTERY: SORTING PROCEDURES
Pottery processing at Lı̂ga was dictated by realities
already presenting themselves during the excavation.
As work progressed, it became evident that the main
body of pottery was related to the Lı̂ga 2 episode at
the site. Significant amount of pottery was also col-
lected from Lı̂ga 1 layers but discrete qualitative dis-
tinctions between the two sets of pottery allowed for
an immediate separation of mixed materials. The
same was even more apparent in the case of oc-
casional occurrences of shards from later periods.
Almost all studies focused on the numerous and
better preserved remains of Lı̂ga 2, allowing for close-
up investigation of a homogeneous data set. Thus, the
methods for processing pottery were designed with
reference to the material produced by the Lı̂ga 2
settlement. First of all, the investigators were faced
with a huge amount of shards from disturbed or un-
certain contexts. Secondly, especially during the first
season, the qualitative differentiation of pottery ap-
peared to be limited to just two categories, coarse and
very coarse wares, as based on fabric and surface
treatment. All attempts at this stage to differentiate
between excavated shards did not produce categories
that could be readily and unambiguously recognised.
Recovery of whole vessels provided information on
morphological features and substantiated shape-
orientated recording. Eventually, three processing
procedures evolved, with varying degrees of com-
plexity: streamlined sorting of shards according to
tempering, coded sorting of shards according to
morphological traits and surface treatment, and, de-
tailed description of whole or reconstructable vessels
or conspicuous vessel parts. For all three processing
procedures a standardised data sheet was designed
corresponding to the entries of a pottery database.
The main excavated area of 275 m2 (excluding sur-
vey trenches) yielded almost 1,300 kg of pottery. Pot-
tery fragmentation turned up to be low with an aver-
age of 20 g per shard (excluding whole vessels or pot-
tery concentrations on house floors). The degree of
fragmentation did not appear to be fluctuating in any
pattern depending on the depth: indicating that the
excavated area had undergone limited post-depo-
sitional disturbance. In fact, it can be concluded, that
the excavated part of the settlement was the better
preserved one. When all the land of Telish became
intensively cultivated, the excavated part of the settle-
ment – separated from the arable by a road – was
not deep-ploughed. In fact, the best-preserved re-
mains were discovered under the road.
SORTING OF SHARDS: TEMPERING MATERIAL
General crudeness of the pottery created the im-
pression that it was related to the latest phase of the
Copper Age, supposedly marked by an increasing use
of organic and especially shell tempering (Georgieva
68 Acta Archaeologica
Fig. IV.1. Table of defined tempering groups, with percentage of
each in the Lı̂ga 2 material.
1993). Therefore, non-plastic inclusions became the
most significant variable in shard sorting during the
first season. In most cases, inclusions were easily dis-
tinguished by fresh breaking with tongs, only rarely a
hand lens was used. The procedure involved sorting
of shards from the same excavation unit into groups
according to tempering materials. Within each group,
shards were further subdivided according to morpho-
logical traits, decoration, and exceptional or note-
worthy features. When sorted, all shards were
counted and weighted. The total number was 12,642
shards weighting 248 kg. As a result, 15 different tem-
pering groups were established, but only 11 of these
appeared to be statistically significant (Fig. IV.1).
CODED SORTING OF SHARDS: MORPHOLOGICAL
CHARACTERISTICS & SURFACE TREATMENT
This sorting procedure was applied when significant
evidence was collected on pottery shapes and surface
treatment as based on finds of whole or nearly whole
vessels. It was constructed in two steps. Firstly, all
shards from the same excavation unit were sorted into
rims, shoulders, handles/lugs/bosses, bases, body
shards and fragments of ‘‘standard forms’’ (that is,
pottery types, varying in size but repetitive in terms of
shape, like pot-stands, milk strainers, or biconic cups).
Then, each group was subdivided into plain speci-
mens and specimens with decoration or a particular
surface treatment. Shards within each subgroup were
counted, weighted and coded according to definitions
on the data entry sheet. Shards of other periods than
the Lı̂ga 2 settlement were separated and treated ac-
cordingly. When possible, a note was made on vessel
size (big or small). In cases of rims, the rim diameter,
thickness of wall and vessel type (open/closed vessel)
were noted as well. Comments and drawings were
made of rare and exceptional features of shape and
decoration. The data entry sheet allowed one to re-
flect on relations between several shards or shards
with several morphological attributes.
Acknowledging that different vessel types have dif-
ferent life-spans and varying patterns of fragmen-
tation (Rice 1987, Table 9.4; Orton et al. 1993), this
sorting procedure was considered meaningful in es-
tablishing a general profile of the pottery production
during the Lı̂ga 2 settlement. As noted, the sorting
procedure did not include whole vessels or shard con-
centrations observed on house floors. Furthermore,
the initial sorting procedure based on non-plastic in-
clusions demonstrated, as just mentioned, that the de-
gree of fragmentation was the same throughout the
layers (again with exception of the pottery discovered
on house floors), pointing towards related post-depo-
sitional histories. Albeit the numbers are not con-
sidered absolute, the frequency of appearance of for-
mal attributes or surface treatment techniques was
considered to be diagnostic, exhibiting general ideas
on pottery production. Information was entered into
a database stemming from 230 bags or 575 kg of ce-
ramic shards.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VESSELS AND SHARD
CONCENTRATIONS
Pottery recovered in closed and undisturbed contexts
(in situ) was treated with special attention. This in-
cluded whole vessels as well as shard concentrations
and single diagnostic or otherwise informative shards.
Thorough recording was undertaken both inside and
outside the buildings, in places of waste deposition
and in areas of particular outdoor activities. Field re-
cording procedures included 3D measurement of in-
dividual pottery scatters as polygons or points
mapped with Total Station (TS) (Pl. 4.A), graphic rep-
resentation of contextual information (drawing Pl.
4.B), photo documentation and immediate descrip-
 Lı̂ga
tion of vessel types, states of preservation, directions
of fall, positions (rim/bottom position in relation to
each other), etc. Such description was further ex-
panded when shards/vessels were collected and
bagged, and assigned individual numbers of Total
Station measurement. Soil from the vessels was also
sampled. The post-excavation procedures included
careful cleaning, mending and partial restoration, if
needed, drawing, and metrical, morphological, and
technological description. Almost 300 whole or recon-
structable vessels were discovered from primary con-
texts (and 100, predominantly smaller cups and
bowls, recovered from uncertain ones). However,
1/3rd of the 300 vessels was only graphically recon-
structed in part, since their reconstruction, due too
high fragmentation or/and fragility, would be too
time-consuming.
POTTERY RAW MATERIALS AND FABRICS
Initial information on raw materials used in pottery
production at Lı̂ga was gained through burned pieces
of daub. Besides intentionally added aplastics, the
daub contained bigger lumps of calcareous inclusions
and ochre, indicating that these were occurring nat-
urally in the clay deposits in question. Therefore, any
modest occurrence of calcareous inclusions or ochre
in pottery was considered natural. A rich deposit of
sedimentary clays (likely 6–8 m in thickness) was dis-
covered at the foot of the plateau where the site is
situated. The clay is light grey in colour and contains
very fine plant material. Other impurities, as oc-
casionally lenses of sand or iron rich flakes, tend to
lump in separate layers. The low level of impurities
was appreciated by Late Antiquity potters settled in
the area: these did not need levigation to refine the
clays for high quality products. The Copper Age pot-
ters, by contrast, had to make proper choices of tem-
pering material to achieve a balanced composition of
paste suitable for prehistoric firing conditions.
Examination of the paste raised the known prob-
lem of when presence of aplastics in clays should be
regarded as natural, or, intentional. The focus is on
fabric types containing quartz inclusions. The upper
layers of the clay deposits at the site contain fine-
grained sand, and the decision was thus made to treat
any considerable amount of quartz inclusions as
69
proper tempering material, based on the assumption
that it reflects a technological choice. Of course, it is
also possible that another source of clay with such
constituents was mined, e.g., at the stream, where sea-
sonal re-deposition of clays was taking place. Finally,
a small part of all shards (among these a few frag-
ments of Late Antiquity pottery) contained very fine
mica, indicating that at least one other source of clay
has been in use.
The sorting of pottery shards according to non-
plastic inclusions occurring in the fabric produced the
above list of 15 different combinations, termed tem-
pering groups. Four groups are represented by very
small numbers and might in fact reflect experiments
or foreign origins. Organic matter was the most com-
mon. Such may be fresh plant material (from very
fine grasses leaving linear voids in a section to crude
straws with corresponding somewhat angular voids),
or animal dung. The second and third in importance
is quartz and chamotte (grog), of almost equal import-
ance. Quartz/sand is found in a range of sizes,
though most frequently in grains between 1–2 mm.
Fine pottery may contain quartz particles of only 0.5
mm. The inclusions are mostly rounded, but angular
ones are also occurring, usually in quite high frequen-
cies. Several grainy sandstones, one reaching 22 cm
in length, discovered on the site were severely burned
and brittle, easily crumbling into separate grains. The
angular form and size of these grains correlate with
the quartz inclusions found in the fabric of part of the
shards, allowing the assumption that such stones
could indeed have served as a source for quartz tem-
pering. Chamotte (or grog) is appearing in great
abundance. It can be coarsely (2–4 mm) or finely
crushed (0.5–1.0 mm); when it appears in combi-
nation with other tempering materials, it usually
dominates. Like the other tempering materials, cham-
otte was used for production of both coarse and fine
wares, in both Lı̂ga 1 and 2. In the case of coarse
wares, it was almost always present. The main part
of the chamotte originate from crushed pottery but
fired clays are also noted (distinguished by a more
pulverulent state). Evidently, the basic technological
prescriptions involved clay mixed with organic matter
and strengthened with one or both of the hard-core
elements – quartz/sand and chamotte.
The use of calcareous inclusions was also import-
70 Acta Archaeologica
ant. At least 1⁄4th of all shards contained some
amount of calcium carbonates (lime or calcite, but
never shells), in fired state, these appeared as white or
yellowish soft inclusions, easily scratched with a nail.
The amount of these non-plastic constituents was
moderate in frequency and only when evenly distrib-
uted considered as intentionally added.
Among the curiosities were several coarse pottery
shards richly tempered with crushed flint (3–4 mm)
and quartz/sand. Such tempering practice was at-
tested on a handful of shards only, representing big,
thick-walled and relatively well-fired vessels (at least
two), the function of which has not been established.
Pottery found in the Lı̂ga 2 settlement differs from
the pottery of Lı̂ga 1 not only in quality, but also in
composition of the tempering constituents. Whereas
Tempering Groups IV and IX (cf. Fig. IV.1) make up
the preferred composition in both Copper Age settle-
ments, the occurrence of Groups I and II is much
higher in Lı̂ga 1 than in Lı̂ga 2. Group III occurs in
both settlements, but with a slightly higher percentage
in Lı̂ga 2. Lı̂ga 1 potters also produced pottery with
tempering materials of Group V but were less in fa-
vour of calcareous clays than the potters of Lı̂ga 2.
Remarkably, virtually no pottery with organic con-
stituents alone has been attributed to the Lı̂ga 1 settle-
ment, which sees only six tempering groups.
The size of inclusions is the other variable that dif-
ferentiates Lı̂ga 1 pottery from that of Lı̂ga 2.
Whereas the greatest proportion of non-organic in-
clusions in Lı̂ga 2 pottery fall within the size interval
1–2 mm, the most frequent inclusion size lies around
0.5 mm in the case of Lı̂ga 1.
Generally, the pottery of Lı̂ga 1 is represented by
fine wares made of well-sorted fabrics with moderate
amounts of inclusions, homogenous in size and with
colours ranging from grey to black (Munsell Colour
Chart, 10YR-3/1, 10YR-4/1, 10YR-5/2). Evenly
burnished, lustrous, and often extremely shiny sur-
faces add a further dimension to these ceramics, in
contrast with the coarse brown coloured pottery of
Lı̂ga 2 (see below).
In an attempt to obtain comparative data, studies
were also undertaken on finds from the Hotnitsa Tell
(History Museum of Veliko Tarnovo). The upper
settlement of this tell is well investigated and dates to
the Late Copper Age (Angelov 1958; 1959; 1961),
thus parallel in time to Lı̂ga. The material, stemming
from 21 houses, is, however, attributed to the KGK
VI cultural complex. Due to the large quantity of
finds, only material from two houses was investigated,
described and photographed (1). Concerning temper-
ing materials, a great uniformity in combination exists
at Hotnitsa. Calcareous inclusions dominate, often in
combination with organic matter, seldom with cham-
otte. The use of sand is very limited, while some pot-
tery is only tempered with organic matter. The dis-
covery of a relatively high representation of organic
matters led to the recognition that organic tempering
is often overlooked in Copper Age pottery from Bul-
garia. Other comparative studies suggest that the
variation in tempering combinations during Lı̂ga 2 is
a reflection of social phenomena discussed in sections
below.
DECORATION
The frequency of decorated shards from Lı̂ga 2 (in-
cluding rims, which are more often left undecorated
than body shards) is high: 31%, in kg. This is perhaps
not surprising since the most common form of ‘‘dec-
oration’’ is surface rustication, no doubt intended to
be functional. In general, rustication of the surface is
achieved by applying a thick layer of clay to a vessel
in leather-hard state. Depending on the pattern of
distribution of the applied clay, Bulgarian scholars dif-
ferentiate between ‘‘barbotine’’ and ‘‘finger trailing’’
(other archaeologists would call both forms barbotine
surface treatment). According to the Bulgarian tra-
dition of description, barbotine is an application of
thick slip, which creates rough surfaces in no particu-
lar pattern. While finger trailing, as the name is sug-
gesting, is also a rough relief application, the slip
being distributed on the surface by trailing fingers so
that parallel ridges are raised in a certain pattern,
usually horizontal or vertical (reflecting the direction
of trailing). Although sometimes both types of rusti-
cation might be combined with other decorative ele-
ments and create a certain impression of exclusivity,
such surface treatment is mainly reserved for ‘‘dom-
1. The author is grateful to Nedko Elenski, MA, curator at the
Historical Museum of V. Tarnovo, Bulgaria for the opportunity
to study materials from Hotnitsa at first hand.
 Lı̂ga 71

estic ware’’, that is, big storage vessels, barrel shaped

vessels, and biconic ‘‘soup/soaking tureens’’ (Type
‘‘G’’, see below). The functionality of such surface
treatment can be appreciated in several ways: cre-
ating better gripping surfaces, reinforcing vessels, and
minimising abrasive impact. The proportion of rusti-
cated ware is very high in the assemblage of Lı̂ga 2.
Based on 126 kg of decorated shards, 60% was of
finger trailing and 15% of barbotine proper. The re-
maining types of decoration make up only 25%. A
horizontal band or a cordon of fingernail or/and -tip
impressions often separates the smoothed rim/neck
from the rusticated body. A combination of two (or
three – 11 cases in all) decorative elements is found
on 3% of the shards, a frequency no doubt underrep-
resented to judge from whole vessels. The most fre-
quent type of combination involves barbotine or fin-
ger trailing. Generally, decoration composed of more
than one element is rare, allowing the assumption
that pottery rustication must have been viewed as a
functional, rather than as a decorative surface treat-
ment technique.
The repertoire of more elaborate decoration tech-
niques, as can be seen from the collected fragments,
is limited to different combinations of the said fin-
gernail and fingertip impressions, often on cordons;
also shell impressions and rounded or triangular
punctates/pits, impressed with sticks, incised decor-
ation, raised bosses, flutes, scratched and brushed sur-
face decoration are seen. Excised and graphite
painted decoration is also present, but in very small
quantities.
Looking at the distribution of decoration types
within 25% of the whole amount of fragmented dec-
orated pottery (that is, disregarding barbotine and
finger trailing), the most common type of decoration
is incised (26%). Incision is made with a sharp or Fig. IV.2. Big storage jar found in House 2 decorated with incised
pattern of spirals. Note the dots.
blunted thin stick (up to 2 mm) moved in horizontal
lines or in more complex patterns over the whole
body. Complex patterns of joint lines organised in cir-
cular, spiral or curvilinear patterns characteristic of dots (Fig. IV.2). There is a certain regularity observed
graphite painted pottery have also been executed with in a distribution of dots, implying that spiral orna-
the help of incisions. Thus, incisions might be seen as mentation was created using two sticks – bound to-
a substitute for graphite painted decoration, the latter gether with a cord (the distance between them could
raising certain demands on raw materials (graphite), be regulated by rolling the cord) – which then could
fabric and surface treatment (burnishing). Patterns be used in the same way as modern callipers.
composed of incised spirals are often associated with A common type of decoration is horizontal im-
72 Acta Archaeologica
pressions with fingernails and fingertips (25%), which
can be unidirectional, from either side, or double-di-
rectional (less common) and performed in a pinching
manner. This type of decoration can also be con-
sidered a rustication of the surface, since often the
whole vessel surface was treated in such manner. Fre-
quently, this type of decoration is used to create a
raised band intended to separate the neck from the
remaining part of the body. It might also be used to
terminate barbotine or finger trailing rustication,
which usually does not involve the neck. Related to
the type of decoration is a true relief decoration: an
applied cordon with fingernail and/or fingertip im-
pressions (20%). As the previous, this is also used to
separate (e.g., the neck from the body) or to accentu-
ate certain parts (usually the shoulders) of a vessel.
The same decoration effect as fingertip impression
could also be achieved with a stick with flattened tip.
Raised decoration was also used in a more elabor-
ate manner. Applied cordons (occasionally with
evenly spread fingertip impressions on top) could be
used to create complex patterns organized in circles
and spirals and oblique protuberances (5%). Another
type of raised decoration is small bosses organised in
a single horizontal row or covering part of the vessel
body (2%). This type of decoration has not been dis-
covered on whole vessels at Lı̂ga.
Fine-ware pottery such as biconic jars and bowls
are frequently decorated with fluting techniques (6%).
Flutes can be arranged in concentric circles or oblique
lines around the shoulder of bipartite, closed vessels.
Bowls are decorated around the lip and rim on the
inside. Seemingly, this decoration type is reserved to
more exclusive pottery types.
A relatively common type of decoration during the
Copper Age is created with the help of punctates/
shallow pits, which are produced with a small stick
with either oval, triangular, or, occasionally, narrow
rectangular tip (5%). Sometimes the stick was stuck
into the clay at an angle, the resulting pattern resem-
bling triangular fingertip/nail impressions. This type
of decoration was applied in repeated rows and some-
times covered the whole surface. Frequently, rows of
oval or narrow rectangular punctuates are horizon-
tally separated with incised lines, creating a honey-
comb pattern.
Impressions made with shells at right angles are
often found on shoulders of biconic or other bipartite
vessels (3%). Similar type of decoration can also be
created with fingernails being pressed into clay at
right angle (2%). In both cases, impressions have a
narrow crescent shape, but the ones made with shell
edges (most likely freshwater mussels of the Microcon-
dylaea Compressa species, as identified by N. Andre-
asen, Copenhagen and Cambridge universities, in
2001) are significantly broader. Ideally, this type of
ornamentation was intended to create a pattern of
vertical waves, as the orientation of impressions was
changing from row to row.
Among the rare types are excised decoration (3%)
and graphite (2%). Both types represented by a num-
ber of shards giving impression of complex patterns
consisting of multiple lines. Excised decoration is
somewhat deeper than the incised, but is similar in
groove width.
The last significantly represented decoration type
(1%) is pottery with scratched or brushed surface. Soft
clay was brushed with a bundle of coarse grass stems
or similar material. Such decoration is usually applied
on the whole vessel surface in interchanging direc-
tions; sometimes a more regular pattern was created
by brushing only selected patches of the surface.
Pottery rustication techniques have also been ap-
plied by the potters of Lı̂ga 1, but less frequently. In-
stead, painted pottery held a much greater proportion
of the sherdage, with complex graphite patterns pre-
vailing, but in combination with red, yellow and
white paints (Pl. 6). Graphite motives were usually
made in combinations of line groups (3–5 lines, 1.5–
2.0 mm broad), but other elements such as hatched
triangles or meanders are also present. Often graphite
is combined with fluting. Painted decoration was
mainly found on the upper part of vessels. Sometimes
rims were also ornamented from within, the most
elaborate patterns being found in the interior of
bowls, covering the whole surface. Incised decoration
is also common, occasionally with white or red incrus-
tation.