Making dolia and dolium makers

Figures & data

Figure 1. David Drake, 1857, made for Lewis J. Miles Pottery, large alkaline glazed stoneware vessel, with couplet ‘I made this jar for cash/though it is called lucre trash’. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 1997.10. Harriet Otis Cruft Fund and Otis Norcross Fund. Photograph by Garth Clark.

Figure 2. Dolia at Ostia Antica. Photograph by AlMare. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ostia_Antica_Dolia.jpg

Figure 3. Gina Tibbott with a mid-sized dolium at the House of Stabianus (I.22) in Pompeii. Courtesy of the Ministry of Culture—Archaeological Park of Pompeii. Reproduction or duplication by any means is forbidden.

Figure 4. Stamps on dolium rim (III.14.3 no. 1, Ostia): PYRAMI ENCOLPI/AVG DISP°ARCARI (left-hand side) and AMPLIATVS°VIC°F (right-hand side). Courtesy of the Photographic Archive of the Archaeological Park of Ostia Antica.

Figure 5. Production and repair of dolia; (1)–(3) show evidence of producing dolia (coil building); (4)–(7) show evidence of dolium repair: (4) lead fills, (5) double dovetail tenons, (6) staples, and (7) hybrid repairs. Illustrated by Gina Tibbott.

Table 1. Dolium production sites in central Italy (Bergamini 2007; Olcese 2012; Tol and Borgers 2016).

Region	Province	Site	Context	Date	Indication of production	Other opus doliare products
Toscana	Arezzo	Ossaia	Villa	100 BCE–5th c. CE; 2nd–3rd c. CE (dolium production)	Structures (kilns, paved areas, vats, channels); instruments (molds); discard	Bricks, tiles, lamps, coarseware
Toscana	Arezzo	Pain di Scò	Settlement	1st c. BCE to early 1st c. CE	Three kilns; wasters; discard	Amphorae, coarseware
Toscana	Firenze	Scandicci – Vingone	Productive area	20 BCE–20 CE	Kilns; discard	Bricks, tiles, coarseware, other heavy terracotta objects, fineware
Toscana	Firenze	Scarperia – Monte Calvi, Fonte Laterina	Not defined	2nd–3rd c. CE	Discard; misfired; wasters	Bricks, tiles, coarseware, other heavy terracotta objects
Toscana	Livorno	Cecina – Podere Canciana	Farm	2nd c. BCE–5th c. CE	Spacers; discard; wasters; misfired	Bricks, tikes, amphorae, coarseware
Toscana	Livorno	Cecina – Podere del Pozzo	Settlement	1st–2nd c. CE	Spacers; discard	Bricks, tiles, amphorae, coarseware
Toscana	Livorno	Quercianella, Gorgo	Not defined	NA	Discard	Bricks, tiles, amphorae, coarseware
Toscana	Livorno	Rosignano Marittimo – Galafone	Farm	Augustan–4th c. CE	Spacers; discard; misfired	Bricks, tiles, amphorae, coarseware
Toscana	Livorno	Rosignano Marittimo – Poggio Fiori	Settlement	End of 1st c. BCE–2nd/3rd c. CE	Kilns; discard; spacers; misfired	Bricks, tiles, amphorae, coarseware
Toscana	Pisa	Pontedera – Fossa Nuova	Not defined	Republicanperiod – late antiquity	Discard; misfired; wasters	Amphorae, coarseware
Toscana	Pistoia	Larciano – Case Belriposo	Settlement	NA	Discard	Bricks, tiles, amphorae
Toscana	Pistoia	Larciano – Poggio Bagnolo, Brugnana	Not defined	Imperial period	Discard	Bricks, tiles
Toscana	Siena	Castellina in Chianti – S. Iacopo	Farm	2nd c. CE	Kiln; discard	Bricks, tiles, amphorae, coarseware
Toscana	Siena	Castelnuovo Berardenga – Gaggiola	Farm	End of 1st–2nd c. CE	Kiln; discard	Bricks, tiles, amphorae, coarseware
Toscana	Siena	Murlo – Vescovado	Settlement	End of 7th – mid-3rd c. BCE	Discard	Coarseware
Toscana	Siena	Poggibonsi – Castelluccio	Not defined	2nd–1st c. BCE	Discard; wasters; misfired	Bricks, tiles
Lazio	Roma	Allumiere – Macchia di Freddara	Villa	3rd c. BCE – early imperial	Structures (kilns, tettoia/canopies); waste	Bricks, tiles, coarseware, other heavy terracotta objects, fineware
Lazio	Roma	Guidonia	Not defined	Late Republican – imperial period	Discard; wasters	Bricks, tiles, other heavy terracotta objects, fineware
Lazio	Viterbo	Bolsena – Poggio Moscini, cistern 5	Urban	End of 2nd c. BCE – first half of 1st c. CE	Spacers; discard; kilns	Amphorae, lamps, coarseware, other heavy terracotta objects, fineware
Lazio	Viterbo	Bomarzo	Productive area	Trajanic – Caracalla	Discard; wasters	Bricks, tiles, other heavy terracotta objects
Lazio	Viterbo	Mugnano in Teverina	Productive area	Imperial period	Discard; wasters	Other heavy terracotta objects
Lazio	Viterbo	Mugnano in Teverina	Productive area	Imperial period	Discard; wasters	Bricks, tiles
Lazio	Vitbero	Mugnano in Teverina – Rota Rio	Productive area	Beginning of 1st c. CE – Commodus	Structures (kilns, rooms, walls); discard; wasters	Bricks, tiles, other heavy terracotta objects
Lazio	Viterbo	Mugnano in Teverina – S. Liberato	Productive area	From reign of Caligula to Diocletian	Structures (kilns?); discard; wasters	Bricks, tiles, other heavy terracotta objects
Lazio		Pontine Plain	Rural site
Lazio		Pontine Plain	Rural site
Campania	Naples	Pompeii – Casa dei Fiori (VI.5.9–19, 10)	Urban	3rd c. BCE	Misfirings	Tiles
Campania	Naples	Sorrento – Massa Lubrense, Arorella	Villa	Roman	Wasters; discard	Bricks, tiles
Campania	Naples	Sorrento – Piano di Sorrento, Trinità S. Massimo	Urban	3rd–1st c. BCE	Kilns	Bricks, tiles, fineware
Campania	Caserta	Ruviano – S. Martino	Settlement	Roman		Bricks, tiles, coarseware
Campania	Avellino	Lioni – Gasdotto	Not defined	Late Republic–2nd c. CE		Tiles
Umbria		Scoppieto				Amphorae, other heavy terracotta objects

Table 2. Opus doliare workshops producing dolia and other terracotta (Lazzeretti and Pallecchi 2005).

Opus doliare products	Attested figlinae
Construction material and dolia	Fabianae, Naevianae, Publilianae
Construction material and mortaria	Ab Appollini, Caepionianae, Genianae, Terentianae
Construction material, dolia, and mortaria	Caninianae/Portus Licini, Camillianae, Sulpicianae, Tempesinae, Viccianae
Construction material, dolia, mortaria, other heavy terracotta objects	Castricianae, Marcianae, Oceanae

Figure 6. A funerary altar for a doliarius. Illustrated by Gina Tibbott after Zimmer (1982).

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