Download Pottery from Pirton Test

Pottery from Pirton Test-pits (PIR09)-2
LIB: ‘Belgic’. Latest Iron Age pottery made in England, so-called because was originally
thought to have been made by refugees from Caesar’s invasion of Gaul. Wheel-thrown and
kiln fired, usually in a wide range of highly decorated vessels. 50BC – AD50.
RB: Roman Greyware. This was one of the most common types of Roman pottery, and
was made in many different places in Britain. Many different types of vessels were made,
especially cooking pots. It was most common in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, but in some
places, continued in use until the 4th century.
EMS: Early/Middle Saxon hand-built wares. Range of simple and somewhat crude
pottery made without the use of a wheel. AD450 – 850.
STAM: Stamford Ware. Made at several different sites in Stamford in Lincolnshire
between AD850 and 1150. The earliest pots were small, simple jars with white, buff or grey
fabric, or large jars with painted red stripes. By AD1000, the potters were making vessels
which were quite thin-walled and smooth, with a yellow or pale green glaze on the outside,
the first glazed pots in England. These were usually jugs with handles and a spout, but other
sorts of vessel, such as candle-sticks, bowls and water-bottles are also known. It appears to
have been much sought after because it was of such good quality, and has been found all over
Britain and Ireland.
SN: St Neots Ware. Made at a number of as-yet unknown places in southern England
between AD900-1200. The early pots are usually a purplish-black, black or grey colour, the
later ones brown or reddish. All the sherds from this site date to AD1000 or later. The clay
from which they were made contains finely crushed fossil shell, giving them a white speckled
appearance. Most pots were small jars or bowls.
EMW: Early Medieval Sandy Ware: AD1100-1400. Hard fabric with plentiful quartz
temper. Manufactured at a wide range of generally unknown sites all over eastern England.
Mostly cooking pots, but bowls and occasionally jugs also known.
MS: Medieval Shelly Ware. AD1100-1400. Made a several different places in
Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire. The clay that the potters used has a lot of small pieces
of fossil shell in it, giving the pots a speckled appearance. Sometimes, in acid soils, the shell
dissolves, giving the sherds a texture like cork. Mainly cooking pots, although bowls and jugs
were also made.
HED: Hedingham Ware: Late 12th – 14th century. Fine orange/red glazed pottery, made at
Sible Hedingham in Essex. The surfaces of the sherds have a sparkly appearance due to there
being large quantities of mica, a glassy mineral, in the clay. Pots usually glazed jugs.
HG: Hertfordshire Greyware, Late 12th – 14th century. Hard, grey sandy pottery found at
sites all over Hertfordshire. Made at a number of different places, with the most recent and
best-preserved evidence being from Hitchin. Range of simple jars, bowls and jugs.
HGW: Hertfordshire Glazed Ware. 14th – 15th century.
source, usually highly decorated.
Glazed jugs from an unknown
MP: Midland Purple ware. Made and used between AD1450-1600. Very hard, red to dark
purplish-grey in colour, usually with a dark purple to black glaze. Wide range of different
pots made such as jars, bowls and jugs.
LMT: Late medieval ware. 1400 – 1550. Hard reddish-orange pottery with sand visible in
the clay body. Pale orange and dark green glazes, wide range of everyday vessel types.
GRE: Glazed Red Earthenwares: Just about everywhere in Britain began to make and use
this type of pottery from about AD1550 onwards, and it was still being made in the 19 th
century. The clay fabric is usually very smooth, and a brick red colour. Lots of different
types of pots were made, particularly very large bowls, cooking pots and cauldrons. Almost
all of them have shiny, good-quality orange or green glaze on the inner surface, and
sometimes on the outside as well. From about AD1680, black glaze was also used.
TGE: Delft ware. The first white-glazed pottery to be made in Britain. Called Delft ware
because of the fame of the potteries at Delft in Holland, which were amongst the first to make
it. Soft, cream coloured fabric with a thick white glaze, often with painted designs in blue,
purple and yellow. First made in Britain in Norwich around AD1600, and continued in use
until the 19th century. The 17th century pots were expensive table wares such as dishes or
bowls, but by the 19th century, better types of pottery was being made, and it was considered
very cheap and the main types of pot were such as chamber pots and ointment jars.
SS: Staffordshire Slipware. Made between about AD1640 and 1750. This was the first
pottery to be made in moulds in Britain since Roman times. The clay fabric is usually a pale
buff colour, and the main product was flat dishes and plates, but cups were also made. These
are usually decorated with thin brown stripes and a yellow glaze, or yellow stripes and a
brown glaze.
SMW: Staffordshire Manganese Ware, late 17th – 18th century. Made from a fine, buffcoloured clay, with the pots usually covered with a mottled purple and brown glaze. A wide
range of different types of pots were made, but mugs and chamber pots are particularly
common.
EST: English Stoneware: Very hard, grey fabric with white and/or brown surfaces. First
made in Britain at the end of the 17th century, became very common in the 18th and 19th
century, particularly for mineral water or ink bottles and beer jars.
SWSG: Staffordshire White Salt-Glazed Stoneware. Hard, white pottery with a white
glaze with a texture like orange peel. Made between 1720 and 1780, pots usually table wares
such as tea bowls, tankards and plates.
CRM: Creamware. This was the first pottery to be made which resembles modern ‘china’.
It was invented by Wedgewood, who made it famous by making a dinner service for the
Queen of Russia. Made between 1740 and 1880, it was a pale cream-coloured ware with a
clear glaze, and softer than bone china. There were lots of different types of pots which we
would still recognise today: cups, saucers, plates, soup bowls etc. In the 19 th century, it was
considered to be poor quality as better types of pottery were being made, so it was often
painted with multi-coloured designs to try and make it more popular.
VIC: ‘Victorian’. A wide range of different types of pottery, particularly the cups, plates
and bowls with blue decoration which are still used today. First made around AD1800.
RESULTS
Test Pit 1
TP
1
1
Context
3
4
EMW
No Wt
1
MS
No Wt
1
24
GRE
No Wt
1
5
SMW
No Wt
1
1
EST
No Wt
1
8
6
Date Range
1100-1750
1100-1200
This test-pit did not produce very much pottery, but the range of types present
indicates that the site was occupied from the early medieval period onwards. The
lowest layer produced just one sherd of pottery, which is early medieval, and indicates
that the layer was an undisturbed medieval horizon.
Test Pit 2
TP
2
2
2
2
2
2
Context
1
2
3
4
5
6
GRE
No Wt
2
10
17 95
18 108
7
40
3
60
1
4
TGE
No Wt
2
15
SS
No Wt
1
4
1
35
13
2
EST
No Wt
MGW
No Wt
1
1
3
16
8
2
1
1
CRM
No Wt
27
4
VIC
No Wt
4
10
81 163
20 33
4
1
Date Range
1550-1900
1550-1900
1550-1900
1550-1785
1550-1750
1550-1700
This test-pit produced a wide range of post-medieval wares, which indicate that the
site was occupied throughout the period. The 17th and 18th century pottery,
specifically the TGE and Creamware, is very lavishly painted, and would have been
expensive at the time, suggesting the household which occupied the site was a
wealthy one.
Test Pit 3
TP
3
3
3
3
3
3
Context
1
2
3
4
5
6
LIB
No Wt
1
RB
No Wt
6
3
2
57
3
SN
No Wt
1
2
3
1
1
9
15
2
EMW
No Wt
2
5
14
48
MS
No Wt
2
1
10
1
HG
No Wt
1
3
2
4
1
2
HGW
No Wt
GRE
No Wt
2
1
8
VIC
No Wt
2
2
6
9
2
2
6
This test-pit produced a very wide range of pottery types, which indicate several
periods of activity at the site. The LIB sherd is very worn, and may well be evidence
of the area being fields at the end of the Iron Age. The Roman pottery is in better
condition, and seems more likely the result of domestic activity rather than manuring.
The site then appears to have been abandoned until the later part of the late Saxon
Date Range
1200-1900
1100-1650
50BC-1900
100-1400
100-1200
900-1100
period, and was then occupied until around the time of the Black Death. It was then
abandoned again, and seems to have been largely marginal until the present day.
Test Pit 4
TP
4
4
4
4
4
Context
1
2
3
4
5
SN
No Wt
1
7
1
15
EMW
No Wt
5
6
1
12
21
7
HG
No Wt
1
1
2
6
9
6
GRE
No Wt
2
2
1
14
7
29
MGW
No Wt
1
1
VIC
No Wt
6
14
13 59
1
1
Date Range
1800-1900
1200-1900
900-1900
1000-1650
1100-1200
This test-pit produced pottery which indicates that the site was occupied from the late
Saxon period until around the time of the Black Death. It was then abandoned, and
may have been fields until the Victorian era.
Test Pit 5
TP
5
5
5
5
5
5
Cntxt
1
2
3
4
5
6
RB
No Wt
EMS
No Wt
1
2
11
5
SN
No Wt
1
1
1
1
2
4
EMW
No Wt
1
3
1
14
1
4
60
1
MS
No Wt
HG
No Wt
HED
No Wt
1
14
1
1
GS
No Wt
1
SS
No Wt
5
2
4
1
40
2
VIC
No Wt
4
5
9
18
1
10
3
This test-pit produced a very wide range of pottery types, which indicate several
periods of activity at the site. The Roman pottery is in reasonable condition, and
seems more likely the result of domestic activity rather than manuring. The single
sherd of Anglo-Saxon hand-built pottery is an unusual find in Pirton, and may
indicate a continuation of activity from the Roman to Saxon periods, although it is
difficult to say this with certainty. The site then appears to have been abandoned until
the later part of the late Saxon period, and occupied from then until around the time of
the Black Death. It was then abandoned again, and seems to have been largely
marginal until the Victorian era.
Date Range
1100-1900
1200-1900
1100-1900
450-1400
100-1200
1000-1100
Test Pit 6
TP
6
6
6
6
6
6
Context
1
2
3
4
6
20
EMW
No Wt
1
4
1
2
13
3
HED
No Wt
GRE
No Wt
2
1
1
1
2
4
VIC
No Wt
2
4
2
7
1
1
2
5
1
3
Date Range
1800-1900
1550-1900
1100-1900
1100-1300
1100-1300
1800-1900
The pottery from this test-pit indicates that there are undisturbed deposits of early
medieval date at the site. This appears to have been the main period of activity there,
for these is very little pottery from around the time of the Black Death until the
present day.
Test Pit 7
TP
7
7
7
7
7
Cntxt
1
2
3
4
5
EMW
No Wt
1
HG
No Wt
HGW
No Wt
LMT
No Wt
2
3
2
1
22
7
1
233
9
GRE
No Wt
2
26
4
57
2
15
10
76
18 169
TGE
No Wt
1
7
SS
No
Wt
1
7
1
13
EST
No Wt
1
1
1
SMW
No Wt
SWSG
No Wt
27
6
6
1
10
1
1
VIC
No Wt
7
18
16
31
9
This test-pit produced a range of pottery which indicated that there was more or less
unbroken activity at the site from around 1100 onwards. The sherd of HGW is very
significant. It is from a dripping dish, a shallow pan-like vessel used for catching the
fat from spit-roasting meat, which was used for sauces and medicines. Such pots are
very rare finds in the countryside, and are almost always signs of high-status sites,
such as manors, as the ordinary peasants rarely ate meat in such quantity. HGW
dripping dishes are also very well-dated; in London, large numbers of them were
found at the Trig Lane waterfront site, in contexts dated by coins and tree-rings to
between 1340 and 1450.
27
158
68
Date Range
1550-1900
1100-1750
1400-1900
1180-1900
1100-1900
Test Pit 8
RB
STAM
No
Wt
EMW
HG
HED
TP
Cntxt
No
Wt
8
1
2
10
No
Wt
No
Wt
1
2
1
3
8
2
8
3
8
4
1
3
8
5
1
3
No
HGW
Wt
LMT
No
MP
Wt
No
Wt
1
1
5
1
1
GS
No
GRE
Wt
12
4
2
1
2
1
6
SMW
No
VIC
No
Wt
No
Wt
1
5
20
25
100-1900
3
9
83
121
1450-1900
3
10
36
57
1200-1900
2
22
71
154
1200-1900
5
21
83
216
1200-1900
1550-1900
1
Wt
6
8
6a
1
1
13
27
8
6b
3
13
10
21
8
7b
8
8
1
1
39
Date Range
1550-1900
1170 - 1400
1
1000-1200
This test-pit produced a wide range of pottery types, and shows that there was activity
at the site from around the time of the Norman Conquest until after then end of the
medieval period. There was not a wide range of post-medieval pottery however, so
the inhabitants at that time were either quite poor, or the site was abandoned for while
during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Test Pit 9
TP
9
9
9
9
Cntxt
1
2
6
7
SN
No Wt
EMW
No Wt
MS
No Wt
1
4
HG
No Wt
1
1
2
1
1
GRE
No Wt
1
3
SMW
No Wt
13
VIC
No Wt
1
4
4
1
2
4
Date Range
1100-1700
1200-1900
900-1750
1100-1200
This test-pit did not produce much pottery; but that which was present shows that
there was activity here from around the time of the Norman Conquest until the 13th or
14th century. Very little pottery dates to after that time, so it is likely the site was
probably fields from then on.
Test Pit 10
TP
10
10
10
10
10
Cntxt
1
2
3
4
5
RB
No Wt
1
1
STAM
No Wt
1
2
SN
No Wt
1
5
1
3
2
12
1
9
EMW
No Wt
3
7
1
2
2
5
1
7
1
20
MS
No Wt
3
8
1
4
HG
No Wt
1
2
2
4
5
15
3
14
2
15
HED
No Wt
1
2
HGW
No Wt
1
1
2
LMT
No Wt
VIC
No Wt
4
10
2
2
1
5
6
This test-pit produced a lot of late Saxon pottery, and it seems certain that people
were living here at that time, probably during the 10th century. Medieval pottery is
also very common, so it appears that this occupation continued right through until the
15th century, after which time the site was abandoned.
Date Range
1100-1900
900-1500
900-1500
900-1500
900-1350
Test Pit 11
TP
11
11
11
11
11
11
Cntxt
2
4
5
6
7
8
RB
No Wt
1
SN
No Wt
2
1
1
2
7
16
1
EMW
No Wt
1
3
2
2
11
12
5
39
HG
No Wt
4
7
2
12
42
4
HGW
No Wt
GRE
No Wt
1
1
1
3
2
SS
No Wt
SWSG
No Wt
VIC
No Wt
10 56
134
1
1
1
9
The pottery from this test-pit suggests that there was activity at the site from around
the time of the Norman Conquest until the mid-late 14th century, after which time it
was largely unused.
Test Pit 12
TP
12
12
Context
3
4
HG
No Wt
1
10
VIC
No Wt
5
6
Date Range
1800-1900
1200-1350
This test-pit produced very little pottery, but a fairly large sherd of medieval material
was found. It is in very good condition and does not appear to have been damaged by
ploughing, so there is likely to be medieval settlement nearby.
Date Range
1800-1900
100-1700
900-1750
1100-1450
100-400
100-1150