An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c16.s21: 11.21 Rouletted Ware
An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c16.s21
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11.21 Rouletted Ware
v1.c16.s21.1
The Rouletted Ware, invariably represented by the dish form with an incurved and beaked rim usually with a faceted edge, is so called as its flat interior is decorated with two or three concentric bands seemingly produced by a roulette. The dishes are carefully potted out of fine well-levigated clay treated inside and outside with a slip; subjected to inverted firing the dishes have turned black inside and show varied shades of grey, black, yellow or brown outside. The inner surface is well-burnished. The rouletted designs consist of minute triangles, diamonds, parallelograms, wedges and crescents and were incised by revolving a rouletted or toothed wheel when the clay was wet. While this practice of rouletting has been regarded as Mediterranean in origin, there is hardly anything foreign in the other details. At ARIKAMEDU it antedates and post-dates the Arretine Ware [11.20], unlike which it has a wide distribution. In the Deccan and the s. it is found at BRAHMAGIRI, CHANDRAVALLI, AMARAVATI, SALIHUNDAM, KAVERIPATTINAM, URAIYUR, NATTAMEDU, SENGAMEDU, KANCHIPURAM etc., all in contexts of the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. Further n. it has been found at SISUPALGARH and TAMLUK.
v1.c16.s21.2
Wheeler, R.E.M., 1946, in *AI*, 2, pp. 45-8 (for Arikamedu). For other sites see respective entries in vol II.—K.V RAMAN