Patterns of regional production and distribution of red slip pottery in the Ararat Plain and Sevan Lake basin during the Urartian and post-Urartian periods (8th–6th centuries BCE)

Abstract Red slip pottery represents one of the most technologically and morphologically distinctive ceramic traditions of the South Caucasus. Its appearance and initial phase of development, known as Urartian Red Burnished Ware, are closely linked with the existence of the Urartian Kingdom during the Middle Iron Age. This study examines patterns of production and distribution of red slip pottery in the northeastern provinces of the Urartian Kingdom, covering the area between the Ararat Plain and Lake Sevan. The analysis is based on a technological and provenance study of 87 potsherds from ten archaeological sites dated to the 8th–6th centuries BCE. The analytical framework combines thin-section petrography, ICP-MS geochemical analyses of ceramic fabrics, and SEM-EDS investigations of the microstructure and chemical composition of the red slip. The results point to the existence of at least four production centers within the region, characterised by a broadly standardised slip technology and more variable recipes of the ceramic bodies. These findings indicate that the availability of suitable raw materials for red slip production likely played a major role in constraining both the scale of manufacture and the spatial distribution of red- slip pottery. Moreover, access to this pottery appears to have been influenced by the position of individual settlements within the regional economic system, particularly their administrative, political, or economic significance within the Urartian Kingdom.