Christopher St John Breen - Medieval Pottery Identification

Dartford District Archaeological Group (DDAG)
The Christopher St John Breen Medieval Pottery Archive
An aid to identifying sherds from excavations

   Individual fabrics are listed below, in roughly date order, with the codes used by the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) Pottery Specialists at the London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre (LAARC). Click on each link to see pictures of sherds of individual fabrics. See Introduction to Pottery Archive.
   The majority of these sherds were typed over twenty years ago, and since then knowledge of the fabrics and their dating may have been modified, so please if you feel that any description is incorrect, please let us know at research@kentarchaeology.org.uk so that we can amended our information. Suggested reading
   System of plastic boxes and trays for storing and displaying for handling Medieval sherds
   We are now extending (2012) the range of material by including pictures of sherds from excavations throughout Kent, particularly from the Canterbury Archaeological Trust to better reflect the differing fabrics of all dates from London and Kent

LSS-CP
STAM-PTCH
ESUR
REDP-BKR
EMFL
EMSS-CP
EMCH-CP
EMSH-CP
BLGR-CP
ANDE-PTCH
NORM-J

EM1
EM2
EM2A
EM3A
EM32
EM35
EM35A
EM35B
EM35C
EM46
EM48
EM31
EM36
EM36A
EM36B
EM36C
EM4
EM.M5
EM21
EM22
EM28
EM29
M38
M38A
M38A1
M38A2
M38A3
M38B
M38C

SSW-CP
LCOAR-J
SHER-CP
ROUE
ROUL
LOND
NBYC
NFM
SCAR
KING-CP
KING-PIP
MG-J
SAIN-J
SAIN-PEGAU
SAIPG-J
SIEG
CBW-CP
CBW-J
CBW-BL
CBW-LCUP
LCGR-J
LANG-SJ
DUTR-CAUL

Late Saxon Shelly ware Cooking Pot
STAMford Ware – PiTCHer
Early SURrey Ware
RED Painted Ware - BeaKeR
Early Medieval Flint-Tempered
Early Medieval Sand Shell-Tempered - Cooking Pot
Early Medieval CHalk-Tempered Cooking Pot
Early Medieval Shelly - Cooking Pot
BLue GRey Ware - Cooking Pot
ANDEnne Ware, French - PiTCHer
NORMandy Gritty Ware - Jug

Canterbury Archaeological Trust Fabrics
Canterbury sandy ware
Fine shelly ware
Shell-filled with iron oxide inclusions
Miscellaneous Shelly-Sandy Ware
Coarse flint and shell with sparse quartz ware
N.W. Kent shell-tempered (=EMSH)
N.W. Kent shell-tempered
N.W. Kent shell-tempered
N.W. Kent shell-tempered
Sandy ware with sparse/moderate quartz and flint, no shell
N.W. Kent shell-tempered, fine sandy ware
?Kentish coarse sandy ware with moderate shell
N.W. Kent shelly-sandy ware
N.W. Kent shelly-sandy ware, sparse/moderate sand, abundant shell)
N.W. Kent shelly-sandy ware, moderate/abundant shell, moderate medium sand
N.W. Kent shelly-sandy ware, abundant coarse sand
West Kent fine sandy ware
Ashford Potter's Corner sandy ware with fossil shell
West Kent fine sandy with shell and sparse grits
N.W. Kent fine sandy with sparse shell and sparse grits
Kentish sandy ware with shell and sparse flint
Kentish sandy ware with flint and sparse shell
N.W. Kent greyware
N.W. Kent sandy ware (mainly reduced, abundant fine sand)
N.W. Kent sandy ware (abundant fine sand, sometimes sparse shell; can be handmade)
N.W. Kent sandy ware (moderate medium sand)
N.W. Kent sandy ware (highly fired, as CM38C?)
N.W. Kent fine-moderate sandy ware (Dartford 'rilled' ware)
N.W. Kent hard-fired fine sandy ware

Shelly-Sandy Ware - Cooking Pot
COARse London Type Ware - Jug
South HERts Ware - Cooking Pot
ROUEn ware-Jug - Early
ROULn ware-Jug - Late
LONDon Type ware
NewBurY group C
North French Monochrome - Jug
SCARborough Ware
KINGston Ware - Cooking Pot
KINGston Ware - PIPkin
Mill Green ware - Jug
SAINtonge Ware - Jug
SAINtonge Ware - PEGAU
SAIntonge Ware - Polychrome - Jug
SIEGburg Stoneware - Drinking Jug
Coarse Border Ware - Cooking Pot
Coarse Border Ware - Jug
Coarse Border Ware - BowL
Coarse Border Ware - Lobed CUP
Low Countries GRey Ware - Jug 1 BS
LANGerwehe Stone ware - Storage Jar
DUTch Red earthenware - CAULdron

900–1150
900–1050
950–1150
950–1250
1000–1100
1000–1150
1050–1150
1050–1150
1000–1200
1050–1200
1050–1250

1050-1225
1050-1225
1050-1225
850-1225
1050-1225
1050-1225
1050-1225
1050-1225
1050-1225
1050-1250
1050-1250
1100-1200
1100-1250
1100-1250
1100-1250
1100-1250
1125-1250
1125-1250
1125-1250
1125-1225
1175-1350
1125-1250
1125-1400
1125-1400
1125-1250
1170-1350
1300-1400
1225-1400
1325-1400

1140–1220
1150–1200
1170–1350
1170–1300
1250–1350
1180–1350
1150–1350
1170–1300
1200–1350
1230–1350
1230–1350
1270–1350
1250–1500
1250–1500
1280–1500
1300–1500
1350–1500
1350–1500
1350–1500
1380–1500
1350–1500
1350–1500
1300–1500

Post – Medieval
FREC
BORD-BL

FREChen Ware
BORDer Ware - BowL

1550–1700
1550–1750

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This website is constructed by enthusiastic amateurs. Any errors noticed by other researchers will be to gratefully received so that we can amend our pages to give as accurate a record as possible. Please send details to research@kentarchaeology.org.uk