Cooking vessel (broken)
- Period
- Historical
- Date
- 2025-08-06
- Materials
- Clay
- Dimensions
- H-8cm, DM-13.7cm
- Site
- Godawaya Shipwreck
- Location
- Galle > Maritime Archaeology Museum > Gallery 01 > Cabinet 08
- Inventory
- SL/S/GDV/2019/011
Full Description
On November 29, 2019, a vessel sherd was discovered at the Godavaya archaeological site, from grid square S2 W7. The sherd has a height of approximately 8 cm and a rim diameter of about 13.7 cm, with a wall thickness of around 1 cm. This piece belongs to a dark reddish-brown color (5YR 4/3–4/4) and belongs to the plain ware category.
Historical Context
The ship, dated to the 2nd century BCE, contained pottery shards that are considered to belong to the 2nd–3rd centuries BCE. This has also been confirmed through analyses conducted on the pottery shards. The pottery found at the Godavaya site shows similarities to those discovered in the excavations at Tissamaharama and Anuradhapura. So far, evidence belonging to 11 ancient pottery types has been identified across the country. From the Godavaya site, pottery remnants corresponding to seven of these types have been uncovered. Accordingly, it is clear that these pottery vessels were used not only for domestic consumption but also in maritime navigation activities.
