Spanish coarseware olive jars are some of the largest ceramic vessels found at Jamestown. Over 1300 individual fragments have been identified and almost half of those fragments are mended to show that there are at least 15 to 18 vessels of different shapes and sizes. Most of these vessels arrived in the earliest years of the colony and likely contained different types of goods brought to Jamestown.
Coarse earthenware ceramic botijas or olive jars developed in Spain beginning in the early 16th century and later in Central and South America and the Caribbean as an inexpensive alternative to wooden barrels. Their shape may look familiar because it is similar to the Roman amphora, but with two noticeable differences — the Spanish vessels are more rounded and lack handles. Olive jars were made quickly to store and transport various materials in the hulls of ships, and protruding handles could easily break off while arranging and storing them in the curving cargo hold. The term olive jar is misleading because these vessels were shipped containing more than just olive-related products. They held dry goods like bullets, beans, chick peas, and capers and liquids like olives in brine, olive oil, lard, tar, honey, and wine.
Olive jars were made in three different size and shape variations — the largest is oblong, and two smaller sized vessels are either rounded/globular, or carrot-shaped. These sizes correspond to Spanish units of measurement for liquid and dry goods called arrobas. One arroba is about 16 liters or 4.25 gallons of liquid and about 11.5kg or 25lbs of dry goods (with some regional variation). The larger, oblong olive jar held about 1 arroba, the smaller, globular-shaped vessel contained a half arroba, and the smaller, carrot-shaped olive jar held a third or fourth arroba. The larger vessel would have held goods such as wine, olives, vinegar, almonds, and hazelnuts, while the smaller vessels would have held products like olive oil, honey, and syrup. Vessels intended to store liquids would be lead glazed on the inside to make them watertight.
Of the 15 to 18 vessels identified in the Jamestown collection, five can be confidently identified as the large oblong shaped variety, and five as the smaller globular shape. No vessels of the small carrot shape have been identified in the Jamestown assemblage. Two of the small rounded vessels are glazed on the interiors, therefore they likely contained liquids. This suggests that different types of goods in differing amounts were imported to Virginia in the vessels in the early 17th century. Though no specific records of the ceramic type at Jamestown have been found, in June 1623, colonist Robert Bennett received a shipment from Spain of “750 jarse of oylle”, most likely transported in olive jars. According to ceramic historian Taft Kiser, the oil in Bennett’s shipment may have totaled from 1,237 to 2,482 gallons. If, as John Smith wrote, “1 gallon of oyle” was part of the “Victuall for a whole yeare for a man,” then the Bennett shipment in 1623 represented at least a year’s supply for the entire colony.
Spanish coarseware olive jars changed throughout the 16th-18th centuries with the most notable differences in the opening or rim. When production began in the 16th century, olive jars had a wide, thin, open-mouthed rim. This opening proved to be a weak point that often broke, so over time, potters made thicker rims. By the time of Jamestown’s founding, olive jar rims were a doughnut-shaped (or collar-shaped) rim (see image below). The thicker rim was harder to break, and also allowed the vessel to have rope wrapped underneath the rim for carrying or hanging storage. Of the four complete rims and 16 rim fragments in the Jamestown assemblage, the majority align with this 17th century style doughnut-shape. The distinct shapes of olive jars and their rims allow archaeologists to use this ceramic type as a temporal marker on archeological sites. The thinner, wider rim is characteristic of the 16th century and the thicker, doughnut-shaped rim became the norm for the 17th century. An 18th century thickened rim form was also produced that tends to be even more pronounced.
Perhaps the two most complete large, oblong unglazed olive jars with doughnut-shaped rims identified to date in the Jamestown collection were recovered from the Factory. One of these vessels is notable because it has an incuse circle stamped on the rim (see image below). These marks were commonly used on olive jars to denote the owner of the container. This mark matches one found on an olive jar from an unknown Spanish shipwreck found off the Dry Tortugas dated to 1622. The vessels found in the Factory could have been reused by the colonists to hold water for some of the metallurgical activities that took place in this structure. Fragments of other olive jars were found in other early fort period features including, the First and Second Wells, the Blacksmith Shop/Bakery, Pit 5 and the Soldier Pits, and also in later 17th century features such as the Nicholson Cellar.
related images
Large, oblong shaped olive jar with doughnut or collar-shaped rim with fragments found in the Factory (01291-JR)
Doughnut-shaped rim of olive jar 03560-JR with a stamped circle owner’s mark
Globular shaped olive jar missing the rim (00427-JR)
The interior surface of 00427-JR is covered in what appears to be a gray, crusty substance, which is actually a green, lead glaze.
The base of 00427-JR showing the swirls from wheel thrown production
Small olive jar base with a lead glaze on the interior surface that appears almost black but is actually dark green when it is closely examined (05190-JR).
references
Avery, George E. Pots as Packaging: the Spanish Olive Jar and Andalusian Transatlantic CommercialActivity, 16th-18th Centuries. (1997) Doctoral Dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida. University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, MI.
Deagan, Kathleen Artifacts of the Spanish Colonies of Florida and the Caribbean 1500-1800, Vol. I: Ceramics, Glassware, and Beads. (1987) Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press
Goggin, John, The Spanish Olive Jar: An Introductory Study. (1960) In Papers in Caribbean Anthropology, Yale University Publications in Anthropology, no. 62. New Haven: Yale University Press
Peacock, Caroline From Olive This: A Characterization of the Spanish Olive Jar in Mid-16th Century New Spain (2023) Master’s Thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL
