Ancient ceramics from the Northern Black Sea region are characterized by a variety of vessels and a high level of craftsmanship. The pottery was used in everyday life and included household utensils, containers for transporting, storing, and serving liquids, as well as oil, incense and ointment bottles. It was also used in trade, with jugs and amphorae serving to store olive oil, wine, and other products. Ceramic products were also used for ritual purposes, including vases for sacrifices, vessels for marriage and funeral ceremonies, and Panathenaic amphorae that contained the olive oil given as a prize in the Panathenaic Games. Along with local pottery, the Greeks also used imported ceramics.

The exhibition features a light-colored clay louterium from the Sinop region. This artifact is glued together from fragments, stands on a solid base, and has a clear groove and several finger indentations along the outer edge of the rim. It does not have any decorative painting. The louterium was discovered at the Kulchuk settlement. The settlement is located on the southern coast of the Tarkhankut Peninsula in the Northwestern Crimea, about 2.5 kilometers south of the Gromovo village in the Okunevsky Village Council of the Republic of Crimea.

There has been a long debate about the purpose of these vessels, which is reflected in their various names given by researchers. The term “mortarium” suggests the use of these vessels as mortar bowls, where it was possible to grind not only grains but also boiled vegetables and beans. To facilitate this process, the inner surfaces of the vessels were roughened by covering them with coarse-grained sand or quartz pieces during molding. Additionally, dough could be kneaded in these vessels. Many studies emphasize the convenience of using louteria for making cottage cheese, as a large amount of milk could be poured into them, and a wide, flat drain made it easier to remove the whey. This led to the term “pelvis” being used for these vessels. Most modern researchers agree on the idea of the versatile use of these dishes: those with a rough inner surface were used for grinding vegetables, while those without it — for making cottage cheese.