Handmade Pottery of Roman Time from the Kartal Hillfort Excavations

One of the largest collections obtained during the excavations of Kartal is handmade pottery (HMP). The collection can be divided into two main groups. The first group consists of forms that are usually called Thracian. The second group of HMP we call the “Steppe” group. It consists of several different complexes of the Northwestern Black Sea region, which belonged to several ethno-cultural groups. Among them are bearers of the so-called Late Scythian culture, the tribes of the Etulian group in Budjak, and the Sarmatians. The presence of mixed residential complexes HMP suggests that ceramics of different cultural traditions were used simultaneously and probably within the same households, suggesting the physical presence of representatives of different ethnic groups. Even in some funerary contexts, as if on purpose, the belonging of vessels to various cultural traditions is emphasized. With all this barbaric flavor, the fort's garrison consisted of soldiers of regular units of the Roman army, which is reliably confirmed by the massive finds of tiles with the stamps of the Legions. The barbarians could perform the functions of federates or auxiliary troops, perform economic duties related, in particular, to the supply of the garrison, and engage in auxiliary military-technical tasks. The family's existence as an institution is not questioned, including interethnic marriages.