Glazed Ceramics from Karakorum

Abstract

This is a material based study aiming to supplement and extend the knowledge about daily life in the first Mongolian capital, Karakorum, during the 13th and 14th century with a focus on the city’s connections within the Mongol Empire.<br /> The materials analyzed are glazed ceramics excavated from the centre of Karakorum during summer campaigns in the years 2000–2005. The excavations are part of the Mongolian German Karakorum Expedition (MDKE) conducted by Prof. Dr. H. Roth and Dr. E. Pohl from the University of Bonn. Recorded for this study are 21164 fragments of various wares. As there is no pre-existing system of classification that can be applied to the entire assemblage of ceramics found, their distinctive features are defined according to methods of European standards for the study of medieval ceramics. Second to the definition of the criteria for the documentation of the glazed ceramics is their classification. It is worked out that most of the ceramics derive from production sites in modern day northern China. Furthermore, southern Chinese ceramics and few Central Asian wares are documented. Resulting from the classification of the glazed ceramics and their determination of origin is a chorological analysis of the routes of supply that are implied by the provenances of the wares. This is of interest as the distribution of Chinese ceramics on continental routes is a subject of discussion. Ceramics are generally listed as trade goods on the maritime Silk Road but not on the traditional continental routes. Although it is known that the Old-Mongolian capital is linked to the famous Mongolian postal relay system across Eurasia, further connections to the city and its supply throughout the political changes of the time is not fully researched yet. The nature of glazed ceramics as possible trade goods over land is analyzed through its use and distribution in Karakorum. Moreover, a comparison with the ceramics from contemporaneous sites is provided. This is Jininglu and Yanjialiang. Both of which are located in Inner Mongolia. <br /> Overall, this study provides the basis for working with glazed ceramics found in Karakorum. For the first time, these findings are correlated to a stratigraphy. Through this study continuative research on connections across China, resp. Eurasia, during the 13th to 14th century is enabled.