Olpe

This container, called an olpe, survived intact. It is a ceramic piece with a red painted exterior consisting of horizontal lines and arcs fashioned with brushstrokes. This vessel would be used as part of the dinner utensils for food consumption, and would carry liquids like water or wine.

This type of product is known as a “ceramic object of indigenous tradition”. In form it imitates pitchers of the Roman era and it was made at the time of the Roman empire, but the finish is characteristic of Iberian ceramics, as well as the decorative design. However, since it was made in the Roman era, the design completely lacks the symbolic content of the Iberian world.

The olpe is a ceramic form that appears in the high imperial Roman era in the Alicante-Elche-Santa Pola area in Spain, is characteristic of this area. It is probable that the potter’s workshops were also located in this area, but they have not yet been discovered.

C.S.: 2616

BELDA, J., 1945
LAFUENTE, J., 1959
LLOBREGAT, E., 1967 y 1969
FIGUERAS, F., 1971
ABASCAL, J. M., 1986