Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Society, Practice, Innovation: A Case Study from Noricum

Project description

Pottery-making practices in Roman Noricum

From 100 BC onwards, the appearance of wheel-thrown pottery in the Eastern Alps marks a significant change, coinciding with the foundation of the Roman province Noricum. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the SPIN project aims to identify the learning trajectories of ancient craft communities and understand why some communities adopted wheel-throwing, while others continued to hand-make pottery following older traditions. Combining archaeological science (OM, XRF, XRPD, isotope analysis, SEM) with SANS analysis and Digital Humanities (GIS, SNA), the project will distinguish between continuous and divergent learning traditions of ancient pottery-making communities. This will shed light on the traditions of technological knowledge transfer, allowing for ground-breaking insights into the social interactions among craft communities and between them and other communities in Noricum.

Objective

The aim of the SPIN project is to assess the emergence of pottery wheel-throwing and potters’ skill in 100 BC – 400 AD Eastern Alps, that would become the Roman province Noricum. Adopting a novel method to identify continuous and divergent learning trajectories, the transmission of technological knowledge will be elucidated, while also considering Roman expansion that had an impact on the scale and organisation of pottery production. As an important hub for trade networks, Noricum is an excellent case study to understand how and why wheel-throwing can be differently adopted by craft communities and how important social interactions are in the assimilation of the new technique. The earliest stratigraphic contexts in Noricum comprise both handmade and wheel-thrown pottery, yet the implications of such co-existing divergent technological traditions remain poorly understood. Why did some communities adopt the wheel-throwing technique, and why did others reject it?

The SPIN project combines archaeological approaches with aspects of social anthropology relating to potters’ skill, together with a host of archaeological science techniques, including OM, XRF, XRPD, isotope analysis and SEM. It also incorporates, in an innovative manner, SANS analysis, experimental replication, as well as Digital Humanities (e.g. GIS and SNA), to gain insight in the scale and output of production and to assess the impact of expanding Roman culture on workshop location and organisation. By distinguishing distinct learning traditions, the project holds the key to understanding the norms and traditions that regulated ancient craft communities. This permits ground-breaking insights that challenge apparent generalisations about the adoption of pottery wheel-throwing, particularly regarding underlying social networks among craft communities, and it will highlight social interactions between them and other communities in Noricum.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 188 590,08
Address
VIA 8 FEBBRAIO 2
35122 PADOVA
Italy

See on map

Region
Nord-Est Veneto Padova
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data

Partners (2)

My booklet 0 0