.png){kind=spacer}
Description
Begho Ware pottery consists of sherds that exhibit plain surfaces, red-slipped burnished or unburnished surfaces, or a combination of these features. The term "plain" refers to surfaces that range in color from light to dark brown and may be either decorated or undecorated. Plain surfaces are predominantly associated with body sherds and represent the most common surface treatment in the Begho Ware assemblages recovered from the B2, B1, K1, and D1 sites (Crossland 1989: 84). In contrast, red-slipped, burnished, and unburnished surfaces are less prevalent, with the burnished variety being the most dominant. This type is frequently confined to the rims and necks of vessels but, in some cases, extends across the entire surfaces of bowls. The primary decorative techniques identified on Begho Ware include twisted cord rouletting, carved rouletting, grooving, grooving over cord rouletting, incision, stamping, comb stamping, wavy line stamping, and helical snail shell-end stamping (Crossland 1989: 85). Among these, twisted cord rouletting is the most commonly observed decorative motif.
Typology
Begho Ware
Chronology
Begho Ware pottery shows close affinity to both Ngre Phase (1250ΓÇô1500 AD) and Kuulo Phase (1400ΓÇô1650 AD) pottery traditions from Banda (Stahl 1999; Stahl 2001; Stahl and Logan 2014; Stahl 2016: 187).
Comments
This pottery tradition was named by Crossland, who conducted analysis from the B2 site of Begho in the early 1970s (Crossland 1973). Though the emphasis was on the pottery from B2, Mr. Leonard Crossland, however, compared the B2 site pottery tradition to other Begho sites such as B1, K1, and D1 in his analysis (Crossland 1989). Under the Begho Area Archaeological Project (BAAP) the Begho ware pottery (n=4,071) were distributed from level 1 to level 7. The highest number of potsherds (n=1,873) which constituted 46% of the total pottery was recovered from Level 5. Also, 654 potsherds which constituted 16% were retrieved from level 3, whiles 564 potsherds which constitute 14% were identified at level 2. Furthermore, level 4 produced 484 Begho ware potsherds which constitutes 12%. Level 6 produced a total of 323 potsherds which constitute 8 percent of the pottery. The least number of Begho ware potsherds were recovered from level 7 (n=143) and level 1 (n=30) which represent 3% and 1% of the total potsherds. In all, eleven (11) vessel forms were identified in the Begho ware assemblage. Eight bowl forms and three jar forms were found.
Provenience (context)
No Provenience available.
Project Context
Project Name: Begho Area Archaeological Project (BAAP)
Project Description: None
Research Year: 2018
Researcher(s): Daniel Kumah
Publications: No publications available
Excavations
Site: Begho-Hani
Subsite: Brong Quarter (B2)
Excavation Date: Jan. 6, 2020
Excavation Duration: 20
GPS Coordinates: N 7┬░50┬┤36.4", W 02┬░27┬┤32.2"
Excavation Procedure: A courtyard mound measuring 21m by 26m with a height of approximately 2.72m was selected for excavation. A trench measuring 2m by 10m, oriented in the south-north direction, was dug across the mound, extending from its crest to its depression. Excavation began at arbitrary levels of 20cm. All deposits were excavated by hand using trowels or small handpicks for compact materials. A 20mm mesh sieve was used to ensure optimal recovery of artifacts and fragmentary materials. Special and fragile finds were bagged in clear zip-lock bags, while ceramics, which comprised the majority, were bagged in black polythene bags. The excavation revealed four main cultural layers and a fifth layer that did not contain any cultural material. There were clear traces of collapsed wall material and a wall stump (W 01) constructed into the natural laterite platform, extending 0.90m deep and stretching from the north-western to the north-eastern part of the trench. To verify if the trench had reached sterile soil, a 1m x 1m unit was excavated in the middle part of the trench. This test-pit, excavated to a depth of 18cm (from 260cm to 278cm), revealed no cultural materials, only a reddish laterite natural layer.
Artifacts Recovered: Ceramics, smoking pipes, faunal remains, metal objects (iron and copper), beads, crucibles, and flakes.