Glastonbury: Italian wares [printed] (original) (raw)

Glastonbury Abbey Excavations 1904-1979. 8.6 Post-Roman Pottery (Printed Report)

Gilchrist, R. and Green, C. (eds). 2015. Glastonbury Abbey: Archaeological Excavations 1904 – 1979. pp. 250-278

The post-Roman pottery excavated at the abbey between 1908 and 1979 amounts to about 10,247 sherds. The collection is of great interest, since it demonstrates occupation on the site in the fifth or sixth century, includes the largest assemblage of Anglo- Saxon ceramics from the county and allows some conclusions to be drawn about the pattern of pottery consumption at the West country’s greatest monastic house. The post-Reformation ceramics provide an additional field of interest. A significant group of imported vessels includes Italian tin-glazed wares, South Netherlands maiolica, Spanish lustrewares and Seville arista tiles. Petrological study has improved our understanding of the sources for the Saxo-Norman coarse pottery. However, the greater part of the material is an unstratified and selected sample, limiting its value considerably. The assemblage has been shaped by the selective practices of curation and discard that were employed in the antiquarian excavations at Glastonbury Abbey.

A group of mid 2nd century AD pottery from a series of layers at Kingsbury House, Camlet Way, St. Albans

2012

Trial-trench and open area excavations recovered a total of 2356 sherds (31, 437g) of Roman pottery. The bulk of the Roman pottery, in a fragmented but unabraded condition, was contained in a series of layers ) that appear to represent an episode of rapid rubbish disposal between c.AD130-150. These layers, although differentiated by context, form a homogenous ceramic group that includes significant quantities of south and central Gaulish samian ware, sparse imported continental and regional fine wares, high quantities of coarse wares produced in the Verulamium environs, and sparse southern Spanish amphorae. The ceramic group from the sequence of layers forms an important addition to the corpus of dated pottery groups recorded in Roman Verulamium. Further sherds of comparable date and character were contained in ditches and pits that truncated the series of layers, while a single late Roman pit was also recorded close to the south-western edge of the excavated area.

Early Anglo-Saxon pottery in South East England: recent work and a research framework for the future

2016

Recent work on early Anglo-Saxon pottery from Kent, Surrey and Sussex (including south London) is reviewed. Some conclusions regarding the character of pottery across the region are drawn and suggestions are made for further research, focussing on themes of dating, production and imports. Anna Slowikowski was a champion of the Medieval Pottery Research Group's network of regional groups. This paper is derived from a meeting held by the south-central and London area regional groups in the autumn of 2013. We hope that it will not only provide a useful resource for researchers in our area, but will also stand as a tribute to Anna's dedication to the regional group network and inspire other groups to undertake similar work.