About this jug
Location:
Chlemoutsi (Kastro-Kyllini), Elis, Peloponnese
Greece
Long/Lat:
37.88911, 21.1433
Notes: Chlemoutsi Castle is situated in the village of Kastro, in the Municipality of Andravida – Kyllini, of the Ilia Regional Unit, on the westernmost cape of the Peloponnese. Chlemoutsi is built on the summit of Chelonata Hill, the region’s highest point. From its prominent, strategic position, it dominates the entire plain of Ilia, while overseeing southern Achaia, the Ionian Sea and the coast of Aitoloakarnania.
The castle was established in 1220-1223 by Geoffrey I of Villehardouin. It was considered the strongest fortress of the Frankish principality of Achaea, which flourished under the rule of the Villehardouin family. To achieve its construction, Geoffrey clashed with the catholic clergy of Achaea and used the benefices. The new castle was named after its founders, Clermont; in Greek, the name is corrupted to Chlemoutsi. In later times, it was called Castel Tornese by the Venetians because they mistakenly believed the Frankish mint that produced tornesia (the principality’s currency) was located there.
Feature description: Neck fragment of a stoneware Bartmann jug preserving a small part of a narrow, tapering neck and an almost complete anthropomorphic facemask. The exterior surface is covered with a dark brown engobe. The facial features and overall style are consistent with late 17th-century Frechen production.
Together with Jug 64, this fragment confirms the presence of late 17th-century German stoneware at Chlemoutsi. The rarity of such finds in southern European contexts likely
reflects limited scholarly attention rather than an actual absence of imported stoneware in Greece during the post-medieval period.
Skartsis, S. (2012), Chlemoutsi Castle (Clermont Castel Tornese), NW Peloponnese: Its pottery and its relations with the west (13th-early 19th centuries), BAR International Series 2391, Oxford 2012, pp. 81-82 (ware 33, nos. 242-243, plate. 148)
