Several chibouk bowls were found in house fills towards the south, suggesting that tobacco was also enjoyed at the Agora in private settings. A remarkable concentration is observable in the northern sections, which may tentatively reflect the consumption of tobacco in a more public context.

 

Several of the clay bowls bear pipe maker’s marks. Although it is likely that pipes were manufactured in Athens, historical records published so far only make mention of workshops in Yiannitsa, Macedonia, and Thebes, which was known for its fine meerschaums. Additionally, the Tophane district of Istanbul, and nine other towns in present-day Turkey. Pipe-making is further recorded from Jerusalem, Jaffa and Nazareth in the 19th century, as well as Sofia and Rusçuk in Bulgaria, Baghdad and Mosul in Iraq, and Asyut and Qena in Egypt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Athenian Agora: distribution of Kütahya Ware coffee cup fragments (left); distribution of chibouk bowl fragments (right) (www.agora.ascsa.net)