2006 STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECT: COARSEWARE Professor Ann Steiner, Franklin and Marshall College Students: Kelli Briscoe, Southern Methodist University Chris Didizian, Franklin and Marshall College Sarah Evans, Franklin and Marshall College Alexandra Jenal, Franklin and Marshall College Lab Assistant: Aaron Bartels, University of Texas Left to right: Kelli Briscoe, Chris Didizian, Sarah Evans, Nicole Beraqtesqui, Alexandra Jenal, and Prof. Ann Steiner discuss coarsware from the Podere Funghi. Coarse Ware Pottery at the Podere Funghi Project Statement by Professor Ann Steiner: Poggio Colla and the Podere Funghi offer a host of intriguing possibilities for pottery study; the sites have remarkable promise for filling in our understanding of local pottery production as well as the dissemination of pottery throughout North Etruria. Previous pottery-focused research projects made significant progress on understanding the black-glaze pottery (2002-3) and the locally-made fine ware (2004-5) at Poggio Colla and the Podere Funghi. Our goal for 2006 was to learn an equal amount about the coarse ware pottery. Coarse ware encompasses a wide range of ceramic types. It may be wheel made or hand built, and it has visible inclusions such as small grains of sand or even tiny pebbles. Sometimes temper, such as straw, grass, or grog (ground up pottery) is visible. The vessels made in coarse fabrics include those used for cooking and storage; at the Podere Funghi we also have what are apparently "special occasion" vessels . Aaron Bartels guides the coarseware research group in documentation. Our first goal was to establish the range of coarse ware fabrics and shapes at the site. We began with a survey of the inventoried pottery, those fragments deemed potentially diagnostic by trench supervisors in previous seasons. The draftsman prepared professional profile drawings of these examples as part of our documentation, and we used those drawings to establish our typology. Next, we undertook the monumental task of sorting through the context pottery, presently stored in our museum basement. The context pottery includes every piece of ceramic material excavated at the Podere Funghi since 1998 that trench supervisors did not identify for the inventory; because so little was known about the coarse ware, it is very likely that significant fragments were overlooked. We will then integrated this new material into the inventory and amended our typology where necessary. Our primary goal was to produce a typology of the coarse ware fabrics and shapes from the Podere Funghi dating from the 7th century to c. 175 B.C. In addition, we used what we had learned about the pottery to understand better the function of the architecture at the Podere Funghi. The members of our group are Sarah Evans, F&M '07; Chris Didizian, F&M '07; Alexandra Jenal, F&M '08; Kelly Briscoe, SMU Graduate School of History. Sarah Evans, Alexandra Jenal, Chris Didizian, Nicole Beratesqui, Ann Steiner, and Aaron Bartels.   Alexandra Jenal and Sarah Evans organizing coarseware documents. Research Projects