both in pale pink ware of possibly Central Gaulish origin. More remarkable
still is the late second-century samian bowl inscribed with a Chi Rho graffito
of a style current in the second half of the fourth century, found
unstratified in Canterbury (Day 1980, 6). These finds are exceptional, and
it is extremely difficult to ascertain the general rate of survival of
serviceable samian during the late Roman period in Britain.
The importation of Trier ‘Rhenish’ ware is thought to have
ceased in the mid-third century (Greene 1978c, 56) at a time when the
incursions of barbarian raiders wrought considerable damage to the East
Gaulish potteries (ibid., 57). Occasional survivals of
complete vessels are encountered, however; the votive beaker from
Lullingstone (Meates 1979, 36 and Plate Va and b) may be an example. The
trade in mottled-slip flagons may have survived the mid-third century. These
vessels (see Appendix 2 for description) are dated to the third century in
Germany (Gose 1950, Type 262), and occur in contexts of the mid-third
century or later in Britain (Bird 1981; Bird and Williams 1983) where
dateable. Kent and London would seem to have been the main recipients of
these vessels, including finds at Dover, Richborough (Bushe-Fox 1949, no.
379), Ospringe (Whiting et al. 1931, no. 263), Lyminge (Kelly 1962:
vessel in Maidstone Museum), Eastry (Pollard 1982, no. 12) and Canterbury
(M. Green, pers. comm.), the latter in contexts securely dateable to the
mid-fourth century A.D. (Green forthcoming). Pitchers in similar ware,
probably from the Trier area, are represented by body sherds of two vessels
from Canterbury (Bird 1982a; the forms are Gose 1950, Types 277/278/280 and
Type 272). These are forms of a late third- to fourth-century date in
Germany.
Samian of second- to early third-century date can form a large
proportion of the third-century fine wares; for example at Chalk the lowest
layer in the third century cellar (Johnston 1972, layer 8) included samian
to the sum of
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roughly one-quarter of the fine wares (Appendix 5 here). However, fine
reduced wares are consistently predominant over both Continental and
Romano-British colour-coated wares in quantitative terms. Canterbury fine
ware assemblages of late second to mid-third, and mid-third to early
fourth-century dates include between 50 per cent and 90 per cent of this
ware (by vessel rim equivalents), the lower figures reflecting the presence
of samian. The proportion of total assemblages of fine and coarse wares that
fine reduced wares comprise ranges from 12 per cent to 35 per cent. In west
Kent these wares were of less importance relative to others, rarely
totalling more than 5 per cent of a complete assemblage, or more than
around half of a fine ware assemblage (Appendix 5). This
differentiation is in part due to the presence of fine sandy burnished wares
of Cliffe peninsula or south Essex origin (Fig. 46), which included flasks
and beakers in their range of forms (4.V.2). It is argued that the Upchurch
Marshes industry declined in output during the third century, with the
Cliffe area taking a major share of the market for finely-finished products
in the area between the Darent and the Medway.
The ‘poppyhead’ beaker, including plain, rouletted
and barbotine decorated types (nos. 145, 150 and 146 here), appears to have
remained the dominant fine reduced ware form for perhaps the first
two-thirds of the century, in company with necked bulbous (nos. 152—4) and
bag-shaped beakers (cf. no. 147), flasks (nos. 170—3), everted- and
cavetto-rim beakers and jars of BB2 form and decoration, and bead-nm necked
jars and bowls (e.g. nos. 143, 174-5). Segmental bowls, often with
grooved-flange rims (cf. nos. 130 and 163) occur less frequently, but are
present both in east and west Kent. Cordoned bead-rim necked jars and bowls
became increasingly important amongst fine reduced wares at Canterbury and
possibly also in west Kent, if the evidence from late third-century deposits
at Chalk (Johnston 1972: quantification by
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