1. Introduction

Excavations in several sites in Boeotia, especially in the city of Thebes, which from the 1980s focus on the Byzantine layers in a more systematic way, have brought to light many ceramic objects; these can be used as a rich source of information on production, consumption, trade and economy, but also on everyday activities.

Apart from the excavations, the archaeological intensive field surveys, conducted in the 1980s and 1990s by Dutch and British universities, also contribute to the study of medieval ceramics in Boeotia. During these field surveys, a total of 74 sites with medieval ceramic finds have been identified. This large figure shows that in the hinterland of Boeotia there was a constant demand for products and therefore clay utensils. These utensils were usually produced in the countryside, as is the case of cooking pots and beehives, however, the effective road network and the ports of Boeotia also facilitated the transportation of goods.

2. Pottery of the Early Byzantine period (10th-end of 11th century)

In the early pottery of this period belong the objects of the so-called transitional years (7^th-8^th centuries), which have been found, in small quantities, in Thebes and the hill of St Constantine, southwest of ancient Tanagra.

In the 9^th century, Byzantine officials from Constantinople settled in Boeotia, such as the imperial kandidatos Basil, who built the church of St Gregory Theologos in Thebes in 871/2, and the protospatharios Leo, who founded the church of Panagia Skripou in Orchomenos a year later. Already from this period we find in Thebes white wares, which are certainly products of Constantinopolitan workshops. Some of the best preserved examples are three glazed dishes with a tall foot with incised eagle decorations, which resemble bowls from Constantinople, conventionally called “fruit stands”, as well as a pot with lid, called saltsario (chafing dish) or garario. This is a complex vessel: the fire was placed at the bottom and it warmed up the sauce placed in the shallow dish that formed the top part. This sauce consisted of the intestines of a fish called garos. The use of such utensils was limited, as they were luxury items; they were also used for a limited amount of time from the 9^th to the 11^th century. From the 10^th century onwards, an amphora type from Puglia appears in Thebes, known as the amphora of Otranto, as it was first found there. It is well known that from the 9^th century Otranto became the most important port connecting the Byzantine Empire to southern Italy. Apart from Thebes, this amphora type has been found in at least five other areas in Boeotia.

3. Pottery of the Middle Byzantine period (end of 11th – 13th century)

From the late 11^th century onwards, when the saltsario, a vessel meant for collective use, ceased to appear, we find cups, dishes and goblets meant for individual use. These are monochrome, polychrome or incised with the sgraffito technique. The latter usually appear after the mid-12^th century, and their decoration shows not only abstract themes but also images, such as human forms, birds, fish, animals, and so forth. People’s diet during that period includes vegetables, fruit and olive oil.

From the late 12^th – early 13^th century, fine sgraffito wares and champlevé wares abound in Boeotia. The latter are very similar to those found in Corinth. Less popular are the high-quality Zeuxippus wares, a type first identified and studied in the excavation finds of the Zeuxippus Baths in Constaninople. However, apart from the imported ones there are also local imitations of the that type. From the early 13^th century, with the shrinking of the Empire due to the Latin conquest, glazed pottery workshops in the Byzantine world were much more decentralized. An important role in the production seems to have been played by a new way of baking glazed pottery using ceramic stilts: without the fear of sticking together during the baking process, the wears were placed in stacks and not one by one as before, which increased production. The recent discovery of ceramic stilts in Thebes provides the first tangible evidence of such a workshop in the area, but also helps to identify the wares from the wasters, which were thrown out before completing the baking process.

Common products of the local workshops are the cooking pots, found in remarkably large numbers compared to pans, used by the Byzantines to make the sfoungato, a kind of omelette with vegetables, mainly onions. Other common products were the flasks or askodavles, personal containers for carrying drinking water or wine. There was also a large number and variety of glazed lamps, placed directly on a flat surface or lamp stand. Each house also had a chamber pot and a clay bank (piggy bank); their shape was similar to the corresponding vessels of modern times. Beehives were constructed in the countryside, although fragments have also been found in Thebes. From the area of Akraiphnio comes a rather rare container for milking goats, called amourgi or armeos.

4. Frankish period

4.1. Imported glazed pottery (13th – 15th century)

The introduction of new products from the West, like the maiolica ware (pottery with porous fabric and painted decoration on glaze), comes as a consequence of the Frankish conquest of 1204, as well as the arrival of other social groups that have occupied Boeotia, such as the Catalans on 1311 and the Florentine Acciajuoli in 1380. Very popular, during the 13^th century, were the dishes and bowls with grit-iron patterns, probably constructed in Puglia.

Another container found in Thebes also belongs to the 13^th-14^th centuries. It is called albarello, from the Persian work “el barrani”, meaning spice container. After its arrival to Europe, through Venice and Spain, its use spread to many countries, especially for medicine and perfumes, while in some cases it was also used as a sacred vessel; this was probably its use in our case, as it was found near the Panagia Lontzia, the Frankish cathedral.

From Spain, Malaga in particular, comes a large decorative pot with wing-like handles, probably one of its kind in Greece. It belongs to the so-called “Alhambra vases”, the most famous of which dates to the second half of the 14^th century and can be found in the Alhambra Palace in Granada. There are two more in the palace of Palermo and in the Museum of Sevres. Therefore, there is an evident connection between this pot and the Catalan presence in Thebes. In Thebes, we have also found pottery from Egypt, dated to the 14^th – 15^th centuries that so far had only been found in Rhodes. There is evidence for the export of silk from Thebes to Egypt during the 14^th century, which proves the communication between the two areas. Some vessels also come from Syria. A small pitcher with blue and black decorations, covered in tin glaze, is similar to ceramics displayed at several French museums and collections and dated to the 13^th – 14^th centuries. Another dish fragment depicts the “Bella Donna”, one of the most popular themes of the late 15^th century from the Faenza workshop in Tuscany. Finally, the name Gualterius at the mouth of a jug or the presence of a heraldic shield on the inner part of a cup leave us no doubt that these two wares came to Thebes along with the house wares of their western owner.

The western diet, as well as the economic conditions during the Frankish period, have all contributed to the changes in the shape of ceramic vessels: they became smaller and deeper, suitable for soups and pulses. At that time, people’s diet included more fat, based on the consumption of greater quantities of meat, while jugs and a variety of utensils for personal use made their appearance. This situation continued until the 16^th century.

5. Pottery of the Early Ottoman period

The prosperity of the early Ottoman period was due to political security, economic wealth, low taxation and lenient government. This prosperity was reflected on the variety of both local and imported ceramics from the East, mainly Iznic ware and Kütahya ware, and from the West, mostly Italy (monochrome incised wares and later maiolica).

This period marks the return of collective eating, probably introduced by a new elite, coming from the East, and based on Islamic traditions about food consumption. As far as diet is concerned, it was mainly based on soups, rice and butter, while trachanas (bulgur soup) appears to be the most common food in the Ottoman Empire.

The Empire’s decline, beginning in the late 17^th century, is also evident in the low quality thin-glazed pottery that is easily worn out and limited to only one colour.