Romano-british pottery Amber Kreiensieck CLCV 340 March 30, 2017

POTTERY AND ARCHAEOLOGY It’s a dateable material Super tough and doesn’t decay (as much) Can use it to form connections between regions Trade and cultural

VOCABULARY KILN GROUP Kiln groups provide fixed points where pottery was made in Britain. Determines the domestic production assemblage (the range of forms and fabrics).

KILN GROUPS AND CONTEXT: PAUL TYERS Geographical location: fixed point to relate to marketing centers and supply routes Date of deposition: monitoring change in supply over time Function: The shapes produced reflect the activities of the site Social factors: differences in social/economic standings result in differing supply

VOCABULARY AMPHORA Vessel used for the storage and transport of (primarily) liquids such as olive oil, wine, and fish sauce

IMPORTATION OF AMPHORAE Pretty much all luxury items, like wine and olive oil Imported from Gaul, Italy, Spain, and more! Virtually stopped in the 3rd century Advertisements/labels were sometimes impressed into the amphora “Lucius Tettius Africanus’ excellent fish-sauce from Antipolis” (RIB, II, 6, 2492.24) In the 1st century BC, British exports are archaeologically invisible Strabo is our source that Britain was exporting

IMPORTED CERAMICS 100 BC-43 AD 43 AD-100 AD 100 AD-180AD 180 AD-250AD

BRITISH POTTERY Native pottery tended to have no or minimal decoration Coarse ware No figural decoration However, interactions with the continent heavily influenced production Pot from Ipplepen, likely from 3rd-5th c. AD

TERRA SIGILLATA (AKA SAMIAN WARE) VOCABULARY TERRA SIGILLATA (AKA SAMIAN WARE) Ceramics from continental Europe (particularly Gaul). Very hard and glossy orange; Britain imported this fabric and tried to emulate it in some workshops.

ROMANO-BRITISH POTTERY Tried to imitate terra sigillata; but not very successful Wide range of forms Adopted Roman and Western Mediterranean forms by the 1st c. AD Adaption to the military market & specialization in the economy

ROMAN EFFECT ON BRITISH POTTERY Higher proportion were wheel-spun and fired in specialized kilns Coarse wares were more consistently gray in color Before Roman occupation, irregular firing much more common Increased use of finer clays for a creamier color Used for higher quality Roman vessels such as mortaria (mixing bowls) Mortarium from Verulamium, 1st c. AD

MORTARIA STAMPS Primarily in the 1st & 2nd century AD, potters in Britain stamped their name into mortaria Freedmen citizens Romano-British family(?) business Albinus Matugenus

DISCUSSION Why do you think that fine wares continued to be imported into Britain, even as Romano-British potters developed techniques to produce higher quality pottery? What does the presence of Romano-British “family” run kilns indicate about civilian, rather than military, enculturation during Roman occupation?

SOURCES Davey, John. “Reconstructed Romano-British Pot.” Ipplepen Archaeological Project. Wordpress, 22 November 2016. Web. 30 March 2017. http://ipplepen.exeter.ac.uk/2016/11/reconstructed-romano-british-pot/ Fulford, Michael. “Economic Structures.” A Companion to Roman Britain. Malcolm Todd. Malden: Blackwell, 2007. 309-326. Print. Ireland, Stanley. Roman Britain: A Sourcebook, 3rd Edition. London: Routledge, 2008. Print. Mattingly, David. An Imperial Possession: Britain in the Roman Empire. London: Penguin, 2006. Print. McKeown, James. “The Romano-British Amphora Trade to 43 A.D.” Roman History. McKeown, 1999. Web. 30 March 2017. http://www.romanhistory.20m.com/project1c.htm Mortarium. Digital image. British Museum. British Museum, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2017. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1365467&partId=1 “Romano-British Gallery.” Under the Uplands. Digventures, 2017. Web. 30 March 2017. https://digventures.com/under-the-uplands/gallery-romano-british/ “Samian Ware.” Pottery in the Roman Period. University College London, 2002. Web. 30 March 2017. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/pottery/samian.html Tyers, Paul. Roman Pottery in Britain. London: Routledge, 1996. Print. Tyers, Paul. “Romano-British Pottery Production Sites.” Potsherd. 2014. Web. 30 March 2017. http://potsherd.net/mapping/rbkilns Ward, John. “Pottery.” Roman Era in Britain. London: Methuen, 1911. University of Chicago. Web. 30 March 2017. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Great_Britain/_Periods/Roman/_Texts/WARREB/9*.html