Pottery import from Central Ciscaucasia at Tanais in the middle of the 3rd century ad (based on mineralogical and petrographic studies)

This paper presents the results of the mineralogical and petrographic analysis of non-classical wheel-thrown grey ware of the early 1st millennium AD from Tanais and Alanian settlements of Central Ciscaucasia. The examined 28 samples were divided into three series. The control series includes fragments of coarse-clay vessels of the most typical early Alanian shapes from Tanais structures destroyed in the mid-third century disaster. Standard series I contains pottery fragments from the same structures of Tanais manufactured in Maeotian technique either in the city proper or in its vicinity while standard series II embraced pottery fragments recovered from the early Alanian settlements of Brut and Zilgi in Northern Ossetia. The investigation involved preparations made by means of a special technique enabling one to observe the objects under study by reflected normal or polarized light under great magnification. To obtain reliable results mineralo-graphic investigations were carried out in conjunction with other methods of the study of the same materials, i...