392 Biccone
the phenomena of fusion or the profound deformities that would make them
immediately distinguishable.15 The first joint studies by archaeologists and
petrologists in the region have nonetheless led to interesting results. For in-
stance, finds from Largo Monache Cappuccine in Sassari and excavations of
fourteenth-century ceramic vessels from Geridu and Monteleone Rocca Doria
demonstrated uniformity in their petrologic characteristics and in their in-
compatibility with the geology of their sites of discovery.16 A probable area
of production has been identified around Castelsardo, thanks to the presence
of ignimbrite fragments with pumice and shards derived from alterations in
tertiary vulcanite. Two hypotheses have arisen from this data: there may have
been a long-standing (from the late tenth to the fourteenth centuries) center of
specialized manufacture, whose products were sold on a micro-regional level;
or, there was a unique supply of refractory clay suitable for firing, which was
15 A discussion of preparations for research appears in Marco Milanese, “La ceramica grezza
in Sardegna,” in La ceramica da fuoco e da dispensa nel basso medioevo e nella prima età
moderna (secoli XI–XVI ) (Albisola, 2006), pp. 307–318.
16 For samples from Largo Monache Cappuccine, see Biccone, “Relazioni economiche”; for
those of Geridu and Monteleone Rocca Doria, see Milanese, “La ceramica grezza.”
Figure 15.2 Local Coarse ware pot from the excavation of the well in via Sebastiano
Satta, Sassari.