Vessels with the handle above the opening from Lower Pannonia and Upper Moesia

Abstract

In this paper, we will try to determine the function of the specific vessels that have a handle above the opening. Such containers are found in several sites on limes, e.g. Teutoburgium and Viminacium, and in urban and rural sites. During the research of Viminacium, pots with handles that cross the upper side of the rim are found at several locations. In addition to the settlement layers, they are most numerous in the amphitheatre. We distinguish three types of such pots. All are made of medium refined clay in grey or red color. Their outer surface is polished, in the case of grey specimens, and in the case of red ones, it is coated with tones of red slip. Two vessels are found in a well of a rural site (Liskovac near Cibalae). The context of the finds in Viminacium date to 2/3 of the 3rd century, while the context from Liskovac is dated to the end of 1st CE to the beginning of the 2nd CE. The origin of the form can be found in the prehistoric and Hellenistic world, but its function is jet to be established.. The most interesting thing about them is that a great number of them were found in wells, which could mean to us that they could be used to extract water. Using the experiment, data from the excavations, literary sources and ethnographic data, we are going to try to propose the function of those vessels