Sector 17-O: Medieval Period

The buildings represented in the final phase of the use of Sector 17-O, roughly the ninth through the thirteenth centuries, follow the general disposition in relation the streets leading to Antioch’s main street, as in the earlier centuries. There was, however, a decrease in room size and an increase in structures impinging on these streets, suggesting an increasingly crowded habitation. A pervasive aspect of the sector in this period, as earlier, is an extensive network of clay piping, indicating that the supply of water to the area from the springs of Daphne above Antioch continued through the medieval period, as did the removal of waste water to the river below.

One of the buildings in the sector in this period was clearly used for ceramic manufacture, evidenced by the presence of a kiln with traces of green glaze, also present on support shafts and wasters. Among the objects found at this level were a glass coin weight of the Fatimid era, the base of a celadon vase manufactured in China, and three lead seals probably dating to the period of Byzantine re-occupation in the late tenth and eleventh century. In addition to taking on manufacturing functions in its last phase, sector 17-O thus shows evidence of having continued to be a center of trade and importance in the medieval period.

The account of this level is based on the analysis of structures by Nikitas J. Tampakis ’14, and of objects by Jai Kannan ’17, with information on the seals supplied by Randolph C. Wilson, GS History.