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The Roman Pottery of Kent by Dr
Richard J. Pollard
- Chapter 4 page 126
Doctoral thesis completed in 1982, published 1988
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The termination in the trade with Baetica in amphorae carrying
olive oil, possibly a result of Severus' confiscations following his
victory over Albinus (Callender 1965, xxix; but cf. Todd 1981, 168 and 191),
brought an end to large-scale importation of amphorae to Britain. However,
Peacock (1977d, e) has recently demonstrated that some late Roman amphorae
do occur in Britain, including Tunisian vessels and Mediterranean vessels of
uncertain origin. Sherds of the latter have been recorded by Peacock from
the Chalk 'cellar' (1977d). The tumulus burial at Holborough, Snodland
(Jessup et al. 1954) included five amphorae, one of which may
be of South Spanish origin (Callender 1965, 47-8); the pottery from the
burial included late second-to fourth- and mid to late fourth-century dishes
in BB1 (Jessup et al., 1954, fig. 14, nos. 2, 4 and 7) and
glass vessel fragments also of a possible third-century date. It is to be
hoped that the amphorae will be subjected to petrological analysis in an
effort to shed some light on their origins (see Peacock 1977e).
3. The Coarse Wares of East Kent
The study of pottery of the mid- to late third century in east Kent
leans heavily on the evidence from Canterbury. The Saxon Shore forts at
Reculver, Dover and Port Lympne, other occupation sites, and earlier phases
at the first three sites have so far produced very little in the way of
published third-century assemblages, although a large body of third-century
pottery is undoubtedly incorporated in the Richborough reports in
unstratified or disturbed deposits (for example, the fills of the mid
third-century triple-ditched fortlet - Bushe Fox 1929; 1932). Other sites
are dateable solely by parallels with Canterbury or with reference to the
widest possible date-ranges of imported wares; of these sites, a
third-century group may be recognised at Wingham,
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and wells including material of this date from Birchington (Wells 2 and 15,
unpublished). The following survey is effectively one of the pottery from
Canterbury, with some reference being made to material from other sites.
The bulk of the pottery from the middle years of the century
shows little change from that in use in the first two decades (4.III.3). The
main developments comprise the introduction of the bead-and-flange dish in
BB2, and the increasing use of BB1, probably from Dorset, in a volume
suggestive of a regular trade rather than the occasional importation that
took place in late second to early third century. Some change in the supply
of mortaria is also discernible, involving the cessation of importation of
Colchester and possibly also 'Surrey-Sussex' wares, and the acquisition
of Nene Valley and Oxfordshire vessels from perhaps the third quarter of the
century, supplementing the probably indigenous oxidised
flint-trituration-gritted ware. Towards the end of the third century a
hand-made, grog-tempered ware begins to appear which is in all probability
the product of local, scattered household industries (cf. 6.I). A second
indigenous ware of this kind of production unit may be represented by a BB1
fabric that first appears in the very late third or early fourth century,
and is visually distinguishable from designated Dorset (Wareham/Poole
Harbour) ware. Dorset-type BB1 continued to be imported, however, and
represents the only cooking ware for which a non-Kent derivation is certain
that is present in mid- to late third-century deposits in Canterbury. 'Swan's
neck' pendant-bead-rim jars occur very rarely, and may be imports from
north-west Kent or Essex. The high-fired grog- and grog-and-sand tempered
'Native Coarse Ware' may have declined in usage during the second half
of the century, but sherds are found in many fourth-century assemblages
suggesting that production did not entirely cease.
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