Rhosica vasa mandavi. On the track of the geographical source and ancient name of a major ceramic industry of the Eastern Mediterranean, ca 150 BC to AD 200: Eastern Sigillata A

The article deals with the rhosica vasa, a ceramic tableware mentioned by Cicero and other ancient sources; its Greek designation, 'Rwsiko;" kevramo", is derived from the name of Rhosos (present-day Arsuz), a Cilician coastal settlement in the bay of Iskenderun. It is argued that the rhosica vasa may correspond to a tableware class, which modern scholars refer to as "Eastern Sigillata A", the earliest and the most popular of a family of mass produced red gloss pottery, which played a dominating role in the ceramic tableware spectrum of the Eastern Mediterranean in the Late Hellenistic and Roman periods. The suggestion is based on the fact that clay analysis and distributional evidence indicate that Eastern Sigillata A was manufactured somewhere on the coast of the bay of Iskenderun. Moreover, travellers have documented the existence of ancient ceramic kilns at Arsuz and elsewhere in the region. However, even if the case for identifying Eastern Sigillata A with the rhosica vasa seems strong, it is clear that the hypothesis can only be verified through new archaeological fieldwork at Arsuz and elsewhere in Cilicia.