Late Roman pottery standardization: Hayes 85 as a case study

This paper aims to determine the degree of standardization within certain Late Roman pottery productions. We selected a form well represented in the ceramic contexts identified in the excavations of the Late Antique port-canal of Classe, the Hayes 85 small bowl. The presence of many fragments and whole pieces of these forms at the port of Classe provided us with sufficient cases for statistical analyses and conclusive data. This vessel was considered a rare form in Hayes’ monumental book. Discoveries of the last ten years show us how much we still have to understand the characteristics of Late Roman production, trade, and distribution. With this in mind, we used a new statistical method to analyze the main changes in the profile of this type and its variants.