La produzione di ceramica a pareti sottili di Poggio alle Fonti a Santa Cristina in Caio. Tipologie, cronologie e quantificazioni

The excavation of a large furnace discharge and the study of the thin walled pottery of Santa Cristina in Caio has allowed to propose a typology of this kind of pottery and to identify some original forms, perhaps produced only in this settlement: likely, the production of this fine ware takes inspiration from glass products, especially during the 1st century AD. The statistical study on chronologies has allowed to identify two periods of increased activity of the furnace, which can be framed in the construction phase of the thermal implant and in a phase of restoration of the structure. The circumstance suggests that there may be a correlation between pottery production and architectural constructions. It is possible that there was a locatio-conductio contract between ceramists and the owner of production structures and raw materials. In this perspective, it is quite obvious to observe a superior income of the owner in the times of more intense production and, therefore, a bigger spending capacity. The presence of the baths and of the kiln probably had a striking impact on Santa Cristina in Caio landscape: within its topographic basin, between the end of the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century AD., it is likely that a process of deforestation took place, fostering the creation of new agricultural areas in order to support the vicus, the La Befa and Casalone villas and the farms located in the Ombrone valley