Ceramic paste variation within medieval ceramics from the Lalibela region of Ethiopia and its potential cultural meaning

• First detailed scientific study of the composition and technology of Medieval ceramics from the Ethiopian Highlands area. • Good correspondence between thin section petrography and non-destructive geochemistry. • Occurrence of several distinct paste recipes manufactured from specific volcanic raw material types. • Use of a single recipe to manufacture ceramics at several different sites, indicating shared technological know-how. • Ceramics of multiple recipes at single churches indicating transport of ceramics from several sites due to religious activity. This study examines the nature of ceramic paste variability within 86 pottery sherds collected from five Medieval churches and other sites in the Lalibela region of the Ethiopian Highlands and explores its potential cultural meaning. Samples have been analysed macroscopically, petrographically and geochemically, and integrated with 21 previously analysed ceramics to define several distinct compositional groups that are characterised by the use of specific raw materials and technology. The distribution of these groups at the five sites as well as their relationship to the volcanic geology of the study region is used to interpret their production locations, the movement of ceramics, as well as the relative importance of the various sites. The products of multiple distinct workshops appear to be present in the dataset and several of these occur at single sites, perhaps due to the use of the churches by different individuals. The possible use of a single recipe to manufacture ceramics at several sites has also been detected, which may indicate shared technological know-how and potentially the manufacture of ceramics for a special, perhaps ritual purpose.