Byzantine Roof Tiles from Chersonesos (Crimea, Ukraine): A techno-morphological approach

The present paper provides an overview of the building ceramic material used during the functioning of a Byzantine Christian complex with a five-apse church and of a dwelling housein Chersonesos. The aim of this work is to broaden our knowledge of Byzantine ceramic construction material based on an in-depth analysis of items discovered during the excavation of block LV in the western part of Chersonesos using the techno-morphological method. Our investigation was carried out to clarify the origin and dating of some subgroups and variants of flanged tiles. This work makes a significant contribution to the study of Byzantine building ceramics, constituting the first attempt to construct a relative chronology of building periods in the history of the important Byzantine provincial town of Chersonesos in Crimea. It is based on a comprehensive and comparative analysis of building ceramics found during the excavation of blocks XLV and LV. Earlier similar analyses of roof tiles did not yield significant results due to the inaccurate dating of the material. The present study is expected to contribute to our understanding of the technological specifics of tile production in the Byzantine provinces and its chronology. The research provides a relevant insight into the specific shapes, context distribution and the associated chronology of Byzantine tiles.