Pots in a corner. Ceramics and glasses from a closed medieval context in Bustan Nassif (Baalbek)

This article presents an archaeological context from the excavation area of Bustan Nassif in Baalbek with an inventory of unusually well preserved glass and pottery vessels. The archaeological material dates to the 13th – 14th c. AD and provides a good case study for the contribution of these important find categories to the chronological and functional analysis of the archaeological remains in the area of Bustan Nassif. In addition, the study of the pottery serves to build a preliminary typology of ceramic productions documented in Baalbek for the Islamic period. New research in Baalbek started in 2001 as a joint project of the Orient-Department of the German Archaeological Institute Berlin and the Department for History of Architecture of the BTU Cottbus in cooperation with the Directorate Générale of Antiquities du Libanon1. The interdisciplinary research project is focused on the urban development of Baalbek from the beginning of the settlement in 8th Millennium BC until modern times with the aim to understand social and cultural breaks and related transformation processes of the city and its rural hinterland (van Ess 2003; van Ess –Rheidt 2005; Daiber 2006; van Ess 2008).