RECREATING A ROMAN HEAD POT : WITH POTTED HISTORY
PERIOD: 2 - 3RD CENTURY AD LOCATION: LINCOLNSHIRE, UK MATERIAL: CLAY
One of the most impressive sherds to come out of the plough soil.
It’s incredibly important to keep an eye out for more than just those multi frequency tones when on a dig, especially if you wish to learn more about the archaeology of your particular site. Pottery sherds can help to provide this important insight as they build up the wider context of your location and provide evidence for dating a location as well as what trade, living and production activities existed here.
Stumbling across a deep and boulderous winter plough in one of our Roman Fields we are keeping an eye out. For in between the failed potato crop abandoned down the mountainous plough ridges are evidence of a much older activity within this same field. Roman greyware glinting up at us in the dirt. The abundance of greyware in this field is what makes it one of the more favoured locations across our permission.
But Ellie is the lucky one today pulling out possibly one of the largest sherds yet, a stunning Romano British Greyware type rim piece with incredible rotary decoration around its double lipped edge. For months we were uncertain what type of vessel this large sherd came from but invited to the incredible Northumberland studio of Potted History all of our questions were about to get answered.
For in between the failed potato crop abandoned down the mountainous plough ridges are evidence of a much older activity within this same field.
But first why do we find such a vast quantity of Roman pottery lost to British soil? Well of course local pottery did exist prior to the Roman invasion in 43 AD, but it was made on a local scale with the few exceptions of certain coastal regions that exported to the continent. With the Roman Invasion came the Roman Military, a vast organisation that consumed an incredible number of goods and resources on their exploits and one of those resources required was pottery. Within a Roman settlement the existing Iron Age potteries would simply be expanded, Roman type vessels would be introduced and if a contract was obtained to supply to the military frontline? Well then the pottery would be pushed from local to an industrial organisation.
There’s also a huge variety of Roman pottery to be found. As most major Roman settlements would have possessed a local pottery to supply the flourishing civilian markets and economy, pottery was being made in overtime. And quite interestingly the items produced from settlement to settlement would have different variations depending upon the original local iron age traditions that came before them.
Roman Head Pots are a striking type of Roman Vessel that were used widely throughout Roman Britain and are believed to be a bit of a specialty developed between the Romano - British Potters. It is thought that they were first introduced by the Roman Army and represent a fairly unusual working method for the Romans as they possess caricature-like features that are individually moulded onto wheel - thrown jars. Nobody is quite certain what their function and significance was, several have been found in burial sites, but the largest quantity have come from settlement sites suggesting that these jars were used in a domestic setting. But surely the fine craftsmanship involved in creating their delicate facial features seems far too much for a simple food storage jar?
It is thought that they were first introduced by the Roman Army and represent a fairly unusual working method for the Romans as they possess caricature-like features that are individually moulded onto wheel - thrown jars.
Guided by decades developing his hands on research into ancient pottery Graham soon quickly transforms the lump of clay upon his potter's wheel into a high sided vessel that’s billowing out into the portly shape of a large Roman Jar. Judging everything by eye and feel he recreates down to almost the exact mm the scale and size of what would have been a vast jar that Ellie’s sherd came from. Carefully moulding the double lipped rim with his fingers the finished pot is revolving slowly as he delves deep into his collection of ancient tools, this box contains the prized collection that have all been carefully handmade from traditional materials to be as close to what the ancient’s used as possible. A small wheeled wooden spoked tool is removed and held firmly to the top of the jar, demonstrating exactly how the delicate rotary decoration would have been applied to the original sherd.
Wheel thrown in front of us and being able to witness the creation of how the original sherd would have been created has given us a much better understanding and appreciation for every small greyware sherd that comes out of our permission. Each one a handmade connection back to the ancient individuals and potters that used our site many millennia ago.
For the large Roman Jar that Ellie’s sherd came from, after being wheel thrown it would have been left to harden before the caricature-like decoration was moulded onto its side walls. Finally it would find itself inside a Roman kiln, sat on the vented clay or stone floor that lines the sunken furnace chamber. With the domed kiln covered over in clay or turf to enhance the firing process the fire would be lit through the stoke hole and flue and soon the pot would be surrounded by hot air and smoke and baked to a firing developing some quite beautiful oxidation qualities throughout.
