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Colchester itself. A series of grog-tempered jars with 'rope impressed'
decoration of the shoulder (no. 45 here), and/or lugs (nos. 44 and
46) occurring at Richborough in unstratified and late first/early
second-century contexts but only at Eastry and Birchington (both
unpublished) elsewhere in Kent may also represent production at Richborough
or importation with very limited redistribution. They are paralleled by
vessels from Vindonissa (Ettlinger 1977, fig. 5.2, nos. 8 and 13) and
by late Iron Age material from Lincolnshire (Elsdon 1975), but not by
finds in south-east Britain. The possibility that they were brought into
Richborough by military units as personal possessions or quartermasters'
stores should not be overlooked (these jars are further discussed in
6.III.2).
Other Sites in East Kent. Grog-tempered wares of
Canterbury/Richborough forms comprise the overwhelming majority of coarse
ware vessels ascribable to the period under discussion. These include 'comb-stabbed'
necked storage jars at Wye, Eastry and Highstead as well as the more
commonplace furrowed and tooled schemes. Flint-tempered wares are also
present, in very small quantities, on sites throughout north-east Kent and
in the Great Stour valley. As at Canterbury these may be predominantly
pre-Conquest in date, as the absence of such wares at Richborough suggests.
The most striking feature of the rural assemblages is the
virtual absence of sand-tempered wares other than the later Flavian
Canterbury forms (see below). Highstead is the only site known to have
received 'Reed Avenue'/St. Stephen's Road' wares, the evidence there
being confined to a single tall-necked jar rim (unpublished). This is all
the more remarkable as both Birchington and Wingham had access to the
generally rare pre-Flavian imports from Central Gaul (glazed ware at
Birchington, Lyon ware at Wingham), and Wingham also contains a variety of
Gallo-Belgic fine wares rivalled only by the Hartlip villa (see below)
amongst other rural sites in Kent. Moreover, it should be remembered
that
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Wingham lay very close to Watling Street, the road linking Canterbury and
Richborough. The absence of 'Stuppington Lane' ware is less surprising,
as this was not a particularly high quality product, and it is not found at
Richborough either. Hand-formed sandy wares are occasionally encountered,
for example at Worth where they comprise Gallo-Belgic forms and a plain-rim
jar, and at Birchington where bead-rim necked and neckless vessels occur.
Birchington also exhibits an informative example of localised pottery
production and distribution of 'Aylesford-Swarling' types. The fabric is
fine, hand-made, with sparse fine sand inclusions, buff in colour, and
comprises bead-rim and lid-seat neckless jars (including one with an appliqué
cup or lug on the shoulder), S-shape jars and bowls, necked bead-rim
jars, and a lid. Two body sherds in a similar ware have been found at
Canterbury, one in a Neronian/early Flavian context, but otherwise the ware
is confined to Birchington Minnis Bay.
Exotic coarse wares are also extremely rare outside of
Canterbury and Richborough. The Camulodunum 108 and 'rope-impressed'
vessels have been referred to above, whilst the west Kent/south Essex shelly
storage jars occur only in Highstead amongst rural sites. None of the east
Kent occurrences of this type need be earlier than late Flavian however.
Claudian 'wall-sided' mortaria have not been found away from Canterbury
and Richborough, although a flanged mortarium of Hartley's Group 1 (1977)
occurred at Eastry, and examples of her group 2 (ibid.) at Eastry,
Birchington and Wye. It is possible, therefore, that mortaria were adopted
on rural sites before mid-Flavian times, but by no means certain. A
Greco-Roman amphora of Camulodunum 184 at Folkestone may be a pre-Flavian
import, but Peacock (1971, 167) notes that this form may have been produced
in the Flavian period also. Other occurrences of
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