Calculating ceramic vessel volume: an assessment of methods

Abstract

Calculating the volume of ceramic vessels found whole or in fragments on archaeological sites is a key analytical endeavour that can have implications for economic and social activity, including storage and feasting. Established methods for estimating volumes are mostly based on the assumption that vessel shapes approximate to a circular form in plan-view. This new study shows that such an assumption may not be warranted and that methods that assume circularity produce less accurate volumetric estimates than approaches which accept that a less regular elliptical shape may be closer to reality. Statistical analysis allows the accuracy of the different methods to be compared and evaluated.

From Traditional to Computational Archaeology. An Interdisciplinary Method and New Approach to Volume and Weight Quantification

“…The main objective of these studies has been the search for a general method for calculating the volume of ancient ceramic vessels, an issue which has for years been a priority, given extra impetus by the emergence of groups formed of researchers from the combined fields of humanities, mathematics and engineering (Rodríguez and Hastorf ). Particularly remarkable are the initiatives aimed at developing a free and universal computer program for the automatic calculation of container capacities, such as the Kotyle computer application, accessible only to registered users (see kotyle http://readthedocs.org…”