Observations sur les Importations de Céramique Attique en Thrace Pontique
Observations on the Import of Attic Ceramics in Pontic Thrace

Summary/Abstract: The paper addresses the issue of the import of Attic ceramics along the Western Black Sea coast and in the hinterland. The study covers predominantly Attic painted ceramics, as well as black burnished pottery. The author makes a cultural-historical survey of the import of Attic ceramics into Pontic Thrace between the end of the 7th and the 4th century BC. With the exception of a ceramic fragment from Histria, dated to the last quarter of the 7th century BC, the earliest imported Attic pottery is dated to the beginning of the 6th century BC. The presence of Attic pottery here raises the issue of the beginning of trade relations between Athens and the Pontic region – as a whole, and the Western Pontic coast – more specifically. On the grounds of the presence of Attic black-figured ceramics in the Pontic region, some researchers are inclined to date that beginning to the first years of the 6th century BC, associating it with the interests of Solon in that area. On the basis of the archaeological data, the increase of the import into Pontic Thrace was noted only after the mid-6th century BC. This could be explained with the imposition of the power of Athens over the Straits and the consolidation of the rule of Miltiades the Elder in the Chersonesos. The presence of Attic ceramics in the Pontic region did not mean direct contacts so much as links mediated by merchants from Miletus, Chios, Samos, etc. The author continues his historical analysis by drawing attention to the import of mass produced pottery and to the absence of luxury objects, the conquering of Propontis and of the Straits by the Persians as an unfavourable factor for trade, their subsequent liberation, the establishing of the Athenian League, the place of Apollonia in the Athenian tribute lists, the relations of dependence of the Greek cities on the Thracian dynasts, the Peloponnesian War and the loss of Athens. Those processes outline the context in which the trade in ceramic ware was conducted. The last significant ceramic painted works from the Classical Period are dated to the 4th century BC. The import of Attic pottery did not stop in the second half of the 4th century BC, but the exquisite painted works were missing. The import of ceramics was not interrupted abruptly, but there was a decline in trade. During the Hellenistic Age, Athens continued to produce decorated ceramics, but new participants also appeared on the Western Pontic markets. The author illustrates his presentation with examples from the archaeological material found.

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