21 Tânia Manuel Casimiro, Carlos Boavida, Telmo Silva and Dário Neves Ceramics and cultural change in medieval (14th-15th century) Portugal The case of post-Reconquista Santarém Tânia Manuel Casimiro*, Carlos Boavida**, Telmo Silva*** and Dário Neves**** Archaeological excavations in Santarém have uncovered many domestic structures as well as dozens of storage pits, dated to the 12th-15th centuries and filled with domestic rubbish, including ceramics. Most of this material is clearly of local production and is similar to many other finds within the city and its region. This pottery was used for many different activities relating to the preparation, storage and consumption of food and drink. An examination of the morphological and decorative characteristics of this pottery indicates an Islamic tradition for the 13th-century wares, while the 14th- and 15th-century products appear to reflect a Christian identity. It is argued that this transition relates to wider cultural, social and economic changes in medieval Santarém. Introduction Excavations in Santarém, one of the most important cities in medieval Portugal, offer an opportunity to explore the ceramic evidence for cultural change brought about by the Christian Reconquista in the 12th century. The study of ceramics from two excavated silos (storage pits) allow patterns of continuity and change in ceramic form and decoration to be identified and considered within their wider social and cultural context. Between 2009 and 2014 the replacement of the sewer system and electrical cables within the central historical part of Santarém led to several archaeological excavations being undertaken. Archaeological remains dating from the Roman occupation to the 20th century were discovered (Boavida, Casimiro and Silva 2013a; 2013b). One of the most striking discoveries were the more than four dozen silos, present in several parts of the city (Fig. 1). These pits were primarily used to store cereals and other grains or beans. They were also re- used as cesspits after they ceased to be used for their original function. Such underground structures are quite common finds in Santarém (Viegas and Arruda 1999; Batata, Barradas and Sousa 2004; Boavida, Casimiro and Silva 2013a), and their construction and use date from the early Islamic period (11th century) to the Christian reoccupation (15th century). We believe that there are approximately 300 known silos in Santarém, although a lack of information makes it impossible to determine the exact figure. Storage pits are frequently found in cities south of the Mondego River where the Islamic presence was more prominent. Although found in many different urban centres, they seem to have been most abundant in cities situated in areas of productive arable agriculture. They have been found in large numbers in Beja (Martins et al. 2010), Carnide in Lisbon (Caessa and Mota 2014), Torres Novas (Costa et al. 2007), and Almada (Barros and Henriques 2003), although they are also found in other cities such as Évora, Silves and Salir (Catarino 1995). Storage pits occur in a number of different sizes, with a variety of profiles. The most common are bag shaped, with a narrowed mouth which was often covered by a circular stone. Those found during this excavation were truncated by later features, especially a large 19th-century sewer system which crossed the entire city. Consequently, the upper part of most of the pits did not survive. In spite of this destruction, the lower portions of these storage pits were preserved and were excavated during the project. * Tânia Manuel Casimiro, IAP/IHC NOVA University of Lisbon. Post-doc FCT (tmcasimiro@fcsh.unl.pt) ** Carlos Boavida, IAP NOVA University of Lisbon (cmpboavida@gmail.com) *** Telmo Silva, IAP NOVA University of Lisbon (telmoaps@gmail.com) **** Dário Neves, IAP NOVA University of Lisbon (dario.ramosneves@hotmail.com) 14724 - Medieval Ceramics - 3.indd 21 16/02/2018 10:12:04