A cherished material. Terra sigillata from the province of Groningen (original) (raw)
2024, Roman Pottery in the Low Countries Past Research, Current State, Future Directions Edited by Roderick C.A. Geerts & Philip Bes
https://doi.org/10.59641/2sz49tvu
This paper presents the results of an inventory of the terra sigillata (TS) finds in the province of Groningen, which includes all red or reddish pottery of Roman origin such as Arretine ware, Late Argonne ware, Oxfordshire red/brown-slipped ware, and African Red Slip Ware. A total of 585 fragments were recorded, belonging to a Minimum Number of 458 vessels. Most finds come from terps in the former salt marsh region along the coast. The southern part of the province was overgrown with peat during the Roman period and largely uninhabitable. The distribution of the 575 fragments over the terps is not representative of their occurrence during the Roman period, but rather of the activities of A.E. van Giffen. Three phases can be distinguished in this material: Phase 1, dated between 12 BC and AD 47 when the Northern Netherlands were formally part of the Roman Empire, is represented by only a few fragments. Most TS finds belong to Phase 2, the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Phase 3, the 4th and 5th centuries, is characterised by Late Argonne ware and African Red Slip ware, which is virtually absent elsewhere in the Netherlands. Nearly all the finds from this phase are from Ezinge, one of the few inhabited terps in the Northern Netherlands during the 4th century. Approximately 80% of the TS from Phases 1 and 2 shows traces of a particular form of secondary use. This use must be related to a symbolic meaning ascribed to this material, probably because of its colour. The paper discusses the meaning of this secondary use of TS.
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With thousands of finds, Roman terra sigillata (TS) is a common find category in terp settlements of the Northern Netherlands. It is traditionally interpreted as luxury tableware of the local elites, who acquired it through their contacts with Romans, or who were able to buy it from traders who came to this area with their merchandise. This paper questions that interpretation. The reason is that the far majority of TS is found as sherds, which, despite their good recognisability, only rarely fit other sherds. Moreover, many of these sherds are worked or used in some way. They were made into pendants, spindle whorls and playing counters, or show traces of deliberate breakage and of use for unknown purposes. Such traces are found on 70–80% of the sherds. The meaning of TS hence seems to have been symbolic rather than functional. Rather than as luxury tableware, TS may have been valued for the sake of the material itself, and may have been imported as sherds rather than as complete vessels. A symbolic value also shows from its long-term use. Used or worked TS sherds from the 2nd and 3rd century AD are often found in finds assemblages that may be interpreted as ritual deposits, not only from the Roman Period but also from the early Middle Ages. There are striking parallels for such use in early modern colonial contexts. TS sherds may have been part of the diplomatic gifts by which the Romans attempted to keep peace north of the limes, or may even have been payments for local products. These sherds might thus be comparable to the trade beads of early-modern European colonial traders.
The Roman Pottery Kiln at Halder, North-Brabant (the Netherlands), Revisited
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The Roman site at Halder was explored by archaeologists at the Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek (ROB) around fifty years ago; this revealed a Roman pottery kiln, several wells and clay pits. Willem Willems examined the kiln and associated finds in detail, and published his results. Having developed a typo-chronology of the pottery wasters, he found that the kiln was in operation during the Flavian period, i.e. between 65 and 80 AD. Taken all the evidence for pottery production at the site into account, Willems believed that one of the clay pits comprised the raw materials used for potting activities. As a result, he concluded that the excavations represented only a small part of what would have been a fairly extensive pottery industry. Following on from this, the authors of this article re-examined the pottery assemblage, which is currently stored at the Oudheidkundig Museum Sint-Michielsgestel. Using a detailed compositional approach to ceramics, which combines thin section petrography and geochemistry, it is suggested that three more types of vessels can be assigned to Willems’ typo-chronological study. In addition, it was found that the clay from the clay pit did not match the clay used for Roman potting activities.
2000
The English edition of my PhD thesis (originally in Dutch, 1995) on the South Gaulish terra sigillata with potters' stamps from the site of the Roman fort at Bunnik-Vechten. In its final building phase from the late 2nd and 3rd centuries AD the fort measured c. 2.6 ha and presumably accommodated ala I Thracum. The fort(s) of the 1st and early 2nd centuries - when the South Gaulish terra sigillata arrived - may have been larger. The site has produced one of the largest collections of terra sigillata in the Northwest, as demonstrated by the 4797 stamped South Gaulish vessels discussed in this thesis. In a collection of this size chronological trends and other patterns may be distinguished which remain invisible in smaller samples. The study includes an extensive discussion of the evolution of the stamped forms and of the organization of their production. The stamp catalogue differs in three respects from the more recent corpus of Hartley and Dickinson (2008-2012): 1) all variants are discussed individually; 2) illiterate and otherwise unidentified stamps have been included; 3) the stamps are illustrated by photos (identified stamps) or rubbings (unidentified stamps) instead of drawings.
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