In this new monthly News feature, SAS executive board members will choose a paper they have recently read which caught their interest. These reading recommendations are informal and unofficial, highlighting the personal selections of our board members. Papers may be chosen for their novel methodological or theoretical angles, clarity of argument, or engaging topic. SAS members are reminded that they can highlight their own research through our Spotlight program!

For the first installment, SAS VP for Member Communications Braden Cordivari has picked “Reappraising the Gandhāra still: implications for understanding early distillation technology through experimentation and experimental reconstruction” by Nicholas Groat, published in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 17. Groat reproduces a set of ceramic vessels found across South-Central Asia between the 2^nd century BCE and the 4^th century CE which are commonly interpreted as a still—i.e., an apparatus for distilling water or oil. Distillation was an important technology for the purification of water and the production of liquids such as alcohol and perfume, for example. In a range of experimental trials, Groat varies parameters such as the duration of heating, the hearth material, and the cooling strategy but is unable to successfully achieve distillation with the vessels due to their morphology. The size and shape of the pots lead to problems of pressurization, sealing, and cooling, which means that liquid does not condense properly. In other words, Groat’s experiments show that the vessels cannot function as a still, and archaeologists must seek other explanations for their use. This study is an interesting example of problem-based experimentation which opens up further questions and avenues for research about the function of the vessels. In addition to archaeologists of South Asia, the paper will be of relevance to those designing experimental materials-based research for its rigorous approach to interrogating different variables of the technological process of distillation.

Groat, N., 2025. Reappraising the Gandhāra still: implications for understanding early distillation technology through experimentation and experimental reconstruction. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 17, 194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-025-02301-8