An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v2.c45.374

v2.c45.374

The ceramic contents of this Pd are characteristic of the Sātavāhana sites of comparable times. The principal ceramics include the Black-and-red Ware [11.15.3], Rouletted Ware [11.21], Russet-coated Painted Ware [11.22], kaolin, Red Polished Ware [11.23] and chocolate-slipped wares, besides the usual slipped and unslipped red and black wares. There are at least two varieties of the Black-and-red Ware—burnished and unburnished—the former noted for its bright shiny surface. It is represented largely by the dish and bowl and in some instances betray affinities with the Megalithic Black-and-red Ware of the region. Sometimes the pots are externally black and internally red and there are a few specimens where the outer and inner surfaces of the bottom are black while the rim and sides are red. A few sherds of the dish in the Rouletted Ware bear concentric circular painted bands in white pigment instead of roulettes. The Russet-coated Painted Ware is very negligible in the total assemblage, the types represented being the bowl and dish. The pottery is painted with criss-cross, lattice, radiating dots, vertical lines alternating with dots and groups of oblique lines. Kaolin ware is scantily represented, the most noteworthy shape being the sprinkler so common in the Red Polished Ware. The Red Polished Ware is represented by 3·4% of the total collection. The incidence of chocolate-slipped ware is throughout uniform, with a good number of large-sized basins and troughs. The slipped variety of the red ware is the most prolific and accounts for 30·72% of the total ceramics. Among the types mention may be made of the storage jar bearing designs and decorations in numerous patterns including traditional symbols like the *tri-ratna*, besides the dish, bowl, basin, trough and vase, the decorations being incised stamped or applied. The unslipped and undecorated red ware comprises 22·86% of the collection and has mainly two types—the deep bowl and dish. The black ware of the slipped variety is represented mainly by the bowl and dish, the types however having analogues in the red ware and Black-and-red Ware. The unslipped variety of the black ware presents a large assortment of types, viz. the carinated *hāṇḍī*, lid-*cum*-bowl, wide mouthed-heavy rimmed jar and *loṭā*.