Assessment of the Roman and later pottery from Nosterfield
One hundred and sixty-five sherds of pottery, representing no more than 128 vessels and weighing 1.860kg from a watching brief at Nosterfield Quarry, North Yorkshire, carried out by Field Archaeology Specialists were submitted for identification and assessment.
The pottery consists of a group of Romano-British date and a small number of medieval and later sherds. The Roman material is moderately abraded but includes several groups of sherds from the same vessel (sherd families). It is likely that the occupation which gave rise to this debris was situated on or close to the site. By contrast, the medieval and later sherds are smaller, more abraded and include no cross-fitting sherds. It is likely that these came onto the site with manure and that the settlement they originated in could be some distance from the site, although two small sherds (one broken into three post-burial) were recovered from occupation features - a well and a pit/kiln complex (Features 202 and 102 respectively).
Description
Roman
The Roman pottery fabrics were recorded according to the system employed at York (Table 1. 1993; 1997).
One hundred and forty-seven sherds of Romano-British pottery were recovered from the excavations. Ninety-five of these were greywares of various sorts (a number of which appear to have been made at York, Eboracum wares) but there were also sherds of amphora, mortaria and samian ware. In total, 22 sherds were imported, 15 came from other British provinces, 7 were of York origin and the remaining 103 were of unknown but probably northern origin.
Table 1
| cname | Narrow cname | Imported | Regional industries | Unknown British? | York | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP25 | Amphorae | 10 | 10 | |||
| B0 | Grey B. | 5 | 5 | |||
| B0? | Grey B. | 5 | 5 | |||
| B1 | BB1 | 14 | 14 | |||
| B2 | BB2 | 1 | 1 | |||
| B6 | BB2 | 68 | 68 | |||
| E1? | Ebor | 3 | 3 | |||
| G0 | Grey | 13 | 13 | |||
| G1? | Grey | 1 | 1 | |||
| M0 | Mortaria | 6 | 6 | |||
| M3-6? | Mortaria | 2 | 2 | |||
| M14 | Mortaria | 1 | 1 | |||
| O0 | Misc. oxid | 4 | 4 | |||
| P0 | 'White' | 2 | 2 | |||
| S1? | SGS | 1 | 1 | |||
| S2? | LMDV samian | 1 | 1 | |||
| S3 | CGS | 7 | 7 | |||
| S3? | CGS | 3 | 3 | |||
| W1? | Ebor white | 1 | 1 | |||
| Total | 22 | 15 | 103 | 7 | 147 |
Although a number of the imported sherds did come from sherd families, there were still 15 separate vessels represented and so this high non-local and imported pottery frequency cannot be explained as being an accident of recovery.
The amphora sherds are all of Dressel 20 type (AP25). This type was produced in southwest Spain and used mainly for the transportation of olive oil.
The black burnished wares include unidentified examples (B0), Dorset Black-Burnished ware (BB1, York B1), and Black-Burnished ware 2 (BB2, York B2 and B6). B2 is the wheelthrown BB2 fabric produced in Essex and Kent.
Only one standard Ebor ware (E1) was tentatively identified but two of the mortaria sherds (M3-6?) and one white-slipped vessel (W1?) were found. This suggests that the site relied on other, more local, sources for its coarse cooking pottery but still acquired finer vessels from York.
Fourteen sherds of unidentified greyware (G0) and one sherd of a local greyware of a type found at York (G1) was tentatively identified.
Six unidentified sherds of mortaria were recovered (M0). These should be submitted to a specialist (Kay Hartley) for identification if the material is to be published.
There were four sherds of miscellaneous oxidized wares (O0) and two sherds of whiteware (P0).
The samian wares include one example of a South Gaulish samian (S1) form Dr18/31, one extremely abraded sherd, possibly from the Les Matres de Veyre factory, 7 positively-identified sherds of a Central Gaulish samian ware decorated form Dr37 and 3 possible examples, one from a dish and two from a form Dr18/31 vessel. The samian ware should also be examined by a specialist should the material be published.
The range of vessel forms present (Table 2) indicates a wide range of functions, using in food preparation and storage (amphora, jars and mortaria) and serving (Flagons, Samian ware, dishes and beakers). The latter vessels are mainly imported and the former mainly local although examples of regionally imported jars are present. There is, however, an absence of bowls, which are normally a common element in Roman pottery assemblages throughout the Roman occupation.
Table 2
| Form | Broad Class | Imported | Regional industries | Unknown British? | York |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18/31 | Samian | 1 | |||
| 37 | Samian | 6 | |||
| AP25 | Amphora | 5 | |||
| D | Dishes | 1 | 1 | ||
| DF | Dishes | 1 | |||
| F | Flagons | 1 | |||
| J | Jars | 8 | 2 | ||
| JC | Jars | 3 | 59 | ||
| K | Beakers | 1 | 1 | ||
| M | Mortaria | 1 | 4 |
The Roman pottery indicates a settlement in which food was prepared and served in the Roman manner and this probably indicates that the users were Romanised natives or perhaps members of the administration. Whether there was a difference in pottery supply or use between these two groups would require further research.
The date of the occupation is broadly-speaking late 1st to early 3nd century but there are only 19 sherds which come from contexts which do not also contain early 2nd-century or later wares. These contexts are 1084, 1138, 1199, 1239, 1298, 1349, 1365, 1554, 1698 and 1995. Only one of these contexts produced more than a single sherd (1239) and it is very likely that these contexts too date to the early to mid 2nd century but contained assemblages which are too small to contain the diagnostic, datable types.
A single sherd of Les Matres de Veyre samian ware was found. This factory was in operation c.100-120 AD but its products may have continued to be stockpiled and sold much later. The Central Gaulish samian ware dates to 120 AD or later and is present in several contexts. A number of contexts contain either BB1 or other burnished wares, assumed to be influenced by the fashion for BB1 and therefore of similar starting date. These wares first appear in northern England in the Hadrianic period. In total, the following contexts produced pottery dating to the 2nd century or later: 1122, 1128, 1133, 1139, 1148, 1149, 1309, 1367, 1399, 1513 and 1715.
The latest datable type present is a sherd of Mancetter/Hartshill mortaria, a wall-sided mortaria of early 3rd century date. There are no sherds of Dales ware, Calcite-tempered wares, Nene Valley colour-coated wares, Crambeck wares or any other types which might be expected if occupation continued into the later 3rd and 4th centuries.
Medieval
Eleven sherds of medieval pottery were found. All are small and abraded. They include sherds of wheelthrown gritty wares, tempered with fragments of Millstone Grit sandstone and its constituents, North Yorkshire whiteware, either from the Brandsby kilns or other industries using the white-firing clays which outcrop around the borders of the North Yorkshire Moors, a possible sherd of Tees Valley ware, produced somewhere on the south side of the Tees valley, and a sherd of Humber ware, made from a silty clay somewhere in the Humber wetlands. It is unlikely that any of these sherds are earlier than c.1150 whilst most are likely to be high or late medieval (i.e. later 13th to 15th centuries).
Post-medieval
Three sherds of post-medieval pottery were found. One of these, an untempered red earthenware, might be a fragment of tile rather than pottery (PMX). Another is a lead-glazed red earthenware with a white internal slip, of the type produced in northeast England in the 18th and 19th centuries (SUND). The third is a sherd of Reversed Cistercian ware. This type was a minor product of industries such as that at Wrenthorpe where small cups decorated with applied brown clay and covered internally and externally with a thick lead glaze were produced alongside the standard Cistercian ware types, which have a red-firing body and are decorated with white applied slip. The type is of 16th to early 17th-century date.
Assessment
The Roman pottery comes from a settlement of early 2nd to 3rd century date which may have its origins in the later 1st century, although this is doubtful. The range of wares and forms present suggests that the users cooked and served their food in a Roman manner and there is little evidence for the use of handmade 'native’ wares (apart from a sherd from context 1391). It is possible that occupation was present on the site before this date but that the occupants continued to use the same pottery types as they had in the Iron Age. The mould-makers stamp on the samian ware bowl is comparatively rare and the sherd should be sent to Ms B Dickinson, who is compiling a National Corpus of samian stamps. The unidentified mortaria and the decorated samian ware, however, only require specialist identification if the collection is to be published since they might aid closer dating and provide more information on pottery supply.
The medieval and later pottery from the site is small and abraded and seems to span a long period of time with no apparent chronological concentrations. This is consistent with the pottery coming onto the site with manure and six of the sherds were found in the backfill of furrows, including the Reversed Cistercian ware sherd.
Bibliography
Monaghan, Jason (1993) Roman Pottery from the Fortress: 9 Blake Street. The Archaeology of York 16/7 London, Council British Archaeol.
Monaghan, Jason (1997) Roman Pottery from York. The Archaeology of York 16/8 York, Council for British Archaeology.
Appendix One
| Context | Period | Nosh | NoV | Weight | cname | Broad cname | Broad source | Narrow cname | Form | description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | LMED | 1 | 1 | 10 | HUM | JUG/JAR | GLAZED;BH JOIN | |||
| 1001 | MED | ZDATE | POSTRO | |||||||
| 1074 | MED | 1 | 1 | 5 | NORTHERN GRITTY | JUG | BS GLAZED | |||
| 1074 | MED | ZDATE | POSTRO | |||||||
| 1084 | EROM | ZDATE | CP1B-2 | |||||||
| 1084 | EROM | 1 | 1 | 2 | E1? | EBOR | York | Ebor | K | BS;INDENTED? |
| 1122 | ROM | ZDATE | CP1B-2 | |||||||
| 1122 | ROM | ZDATE | CP2A-2B | |||||||
| 1122 | ROM | ZZZ | SAM FAB AS REST 37 | |||||||
| 1122 | ROM | ZZZ | SHOW MORT K HARTLEY | |||||||
| 1122 | ROM | 3 | 2 | 222 | AP25 | AMPH | Imported | Amphorae | AP25 | BSS; EFAB |
| 1122 | ROM | 2 | 1 | 23 | B6 | BURNISHED | Unknown British? | BB2 | DG1 | RIM GIRTH BASAL BS |
| 1122 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 31 | M0 | MORTARIA | Unknown British? | Mortaria | M | BS; WHT FAB MIX QZITE TRITS |
| 1122 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 103 | M0 | MORTARIA | Unknown British? | Mortaria | ME | RIM UPPER WALL;Q? TRITS;AS |
| 1122 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 18 | M0 | MORTARIA | Unknown British? | Mortaria | ME | RIM;Q? TRITS;AS |
| 1122 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 2 | O0 | OXID | Unknown British? | Misc. oxid | FRAG | |
| 1122 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 19 | S3 | SAMIAN | Imported | CGS | 37 | BS OVOLO |
| 1122 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 12 | S3 | SAMIAN | Imported | CGS | 37 | BS SAME FAB;DIFF OVOLO |
| 1122 | ROM | 2 | 1 | 9 | S3? | SAMIAN | Imported | CGS | 18/31? | RIMS UPPER WALL |
| 1122 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 5 | S3? | SAMIAN | Imported | CGS | D | BS |
| 1128 | ROM | ZDATE | CP2A-2B | |||||||
| 1128 | ROM | ZZZ | SAM FAB AS REST 37 | |||||||
| 1128 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 22 | AP25 | AMPH | Imported | Amphorae | AP25 | BS |
| 1128 | ROM | 1 | 1 | S3 | SAMIAN | Imported | CGS | 37 | BS; BODY NAME STAMP | |
| 1133 | ROM | ZDATE | CP2A-2B | |||||||
| 1133 | ROM | ZZZ | SAM FAB AS REST 37 | |||||||
| 1133 | ROM | 3 | 1 | 13 | AP25 | AMPH | Imported | Amphorae | AP25 | BSS FRAGS |
| 1133 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 2 | E1? | EBOR | York | Ebor | J OR K | BS |
| 1133 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 2 | S2? | SAMIAN | Imported | LMDV samian | FRAG SURFS NR LOST | |
| 1133 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 15 | S3 | SAMIAN | Imported | CGS | 37 | BS OVOLO |
| 1138 | EROM | ZDATE | CP1B-2 | |||||||
| 1138 | EROM | ZDATE | CP2 | |||||||
| 1138 | EROM | 1 | 1 | 40 | G0 | GREY | Unknown British? | Grey | DF | RIM LWR WALL;SOOT/TAR EXT |
| 1138 | EROM | 1 | 1 | 6 | G0 | GREY | Unknown British? | Grey | J | BASE CF G1 YORK; THIN |
| 1138 | EROM | 2 | 2 | 9 | G0 | GREY | Unknown British? | Grey | J | BS CF G1 YORK; THIN |
| 1138 | EROM | 1 | 1 | 42 | G0 | GREY | Unknown British? | Grey | J | BS LARGE JAR; CF G1 YORK |
| 1139 | ROM | ZDATE | CP2A-2B | |||||||
| 1139 | ROM | ZZZ | SAM FAB AS REST 37 | |||||||
| 1139 | ROM | ZZZ | SHOW MORT K HARTLEY | |||||||
| 1139 | ROM | 2 | 1 | 6 | B0 | BURNISHED | Unknown British? | Grey B. | JC | BSS |
| 1139 | ROM | 4 | 1 | 22 | B1 | BURNISHED | Regional industries | BB1 | DFL | RIM BSS BURNT OXID |
| 1139 | ROM | 7 | 1 | 31 | B1 | BURNISHED | Regional industries | BB1 | JC | RIM BSS |
| 1139 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 4 | B2 | BURNISHED | Regional industries | BB2 | D | BS |
| 1139 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 16 | M0 | MORTARIA | Unknown British? | Mortaria | M | BS; WHT FAB MIX QZITE TRITS |
| 1139 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 15 | S3 | SAMIAN | Imported | CGS | 37 | BS OVOLO |
| 1139 | STONE | 1 | 1 | 1 | STONE | FLAKE; WORKED? | ||||
| 1147 | MED | 1 | 1 | 2 | NORTHERN GRITTY | JAR | ID? | |||
| 1147 | MED | ZDATE | POSTRO | |||||||
| 1148 | ROM | ZDATE | CP2A-2B | |||||||
| 1148 | ROM | ZZZ | SAM FAB AS REST 37 | |||||||
| 1148 | ROM | ZZZ | SHOW MORT K HARTLEY | |||||||
| 1148 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 3 | B6 | BURNISHED | Unknown British? | BB2 | JC | RIM FRAG |
| 1148 | ROM | 11 | 1 | 122 | B6 | BURNISHED | Unknown British? | BB2 | JC | RIMS BSS |
| 1148 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 18 | M0 | MORTARIA | Unknown British? | Mortaria | M | BS MIX R Q TRITS |
| 1148 | ROM | 2 | 1 | 7 | S3 | SAMIAN | Imported | CGS | 37 | RIMS SAME FAB AS REST 37'S AS |
| 1149 | ROM | ZDATE | CP2-3 | |||||||
| 1149 | ROM | ZZZ | FLOT RES;CREMATION | |||||||
| 1149 | ROM | 2 | 1 | 18 | B0 | BURNISHED | Unknown British? | Grey B. | DD? | BASES |
| 1199 | LIA/EROM | ZDATE | PREH? -RO | |||||||
| 1199 | LIA/EROM | 1 | 1 | 3 | G0 | GREY | Unknown British? | Grey | J | BASE FINE SILTY; LIGHT WEIGHT |
| 1199 | LIA/EROM | 1 | 1 | 1 | O0 | OXID | Unknown British? | Misc. oxid | FLAKE; TILE? | |
| 1199 | STONE | 1 | 1 | 12 | STONE? | FRAG PUMICE?; POSS PREH POT | ||||
| 1239 | EROM | ZDATE | CP1B-2 | |||||||
| 1239 | EROM | ZZZ | SHOW MORT K HARTLEY | |||||||
| 1239 | EROM | 1 | 1 | 91 | M0 | MORTARIA | Unknown British? | Mortaria | M | BASE; QUARZITE TRITS |
| 1239 | EROM | 1 | 1 | 25 | M3-6? | MORTARIA | York | Mortaria | ME | RIM; EBOR? SAME FAB AS |
| 1239 | EROM | 1 | 1 | 11 | O0 | OXID | Unknown British? | Misc. oxid | F | BS DK GREY CORE FRIABLE |
| 1245 | MED | 1 | 1 | 4 | NORTHERN GRITTY | JUG | BS ROULETTED/COMB | |||
| 1245 | MED | ZDATE | POSTRO | |||||||
| 1298 | EROM | ZDATE | CP1-2 | |||||||
| 1298 | EROM | ZZZ | DR20 ONLY | |||||||
| 1298 | EROM | 3 | 1 | 177 | AP25 | AMPH | Imported | Amphorae | AP25 | BSS FRAG;EFAB |
| 1309 | ROM | ZDATE | CP2 | |||||||
| 1309 | ROM | 2 | 1 | 2 | B1 | BURNISHED | Regional industries | BB1 | JC | BSS FRAG;EFAB |
| 1341 | PMED | 1 | 1 | 5 | SUND | BOWL | WHITE SLIPPED INT; MOTTLED BROWN GLAZE;LATE 18TH/19TH C | |||
| 1341 | PMED | ZDATE | POSTRO | |||||||
| 1349 | EROM | ZDATE | CP1B-2 | |||||||
| 1349 | EROM | ZZZ | SHOW K HARTLEY | |||||||
| 1349 | EROM | 1 | 1 | 111 | M3-6? | MORTARIA | York | Mortaria | ME | SPOUT; EBOR? SAME FAB AS |
| 1365 | EROM | ZDATE | CP1B - 2B | |||||||
| 1365 | EROM | 1 | 1 | 20 | E1? | EBOR | York | Ebor | J | BASE FAB ID EBOR;PROB CP1 |
| 1367 | ROM | 1 | ZDATE | CP2A | ||||||
| 1367 | ROM | ZZZ | SMASHED VESSEL | |||||||
| 1367 | ROM | 54 | 54 | 252 | B6 | BURNISHED | Unknown British? | BB2 | JC | RIMS BSS; EXT ABRADED |
| 1367 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 11 | G0 | GREY | Unknown British? | Grey | J | BS CF G1 YORK; THIN |
| 1391 | LIA/EROM | ZDATE | I AGE - CP1 | |||||||
| 1391 | LIA/EROM | 1 | 1 | 5 | G0 | GREY | Unknown British? | Grey | B OR D | BS SMOOTH INT |
| 1391 | LIA/EROM | 2 | 1 | 25 | G0 | GREY | Unknown British? | Grey | J | BSS HANDMADE |
| 1399 | LIA/EROM | ZDATE | CP2A-2B | |||||||
| 1399 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 34 | B0 | BURNISHED | Unknown British? | Grey B. | JC | BS SURFS LOST |
| 1399 | ROM | 5 | 1 | 26 | B0? | BURNISHED | Unknown British? | Grey B. | JC | BSS SURFS LOST |
| 1399 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 23 | G0 | GREY | Unknown British? | Grey | DG1 | RIM LWR WALL;SOOT/TAR EXT |
| 1399 | ROM | 2 | 1 | 12 | G0 | GREY | Unknown British? | Grey | J | BSS |
| 1513 | ROM | ZDATE | CP2 | |||||||
| 1513 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 6 | B1 | BURNISHED | Regional industries | BB1 | JC | BS;SHLDR |
| 1554 | EROM | ZDATE | CP1B-2A | |||||||
| 1554 | EROM | ZZZ | SAM ONLY | |||||||
| 1554 | EROM | 1 | 1 | 10 | S1? | SAMIAN | Imported | SGS | 18/31 | RIM BASE |
| 1641 | LIA/EROM | 1 | 1 | 3 | FCLAY | FRAG QUARTZITE? | ||||
| 1641 | LIA/EROM | ZDATE | PREHIST? | |||||||
| 1670 | MED | 3 | 1 | 0 | MEDLOC | JUG | ||||
| 1691 | MED | 1 | 1 | 0 | MEDLOC | JUG | ||||
| 1694 | MED | 1 | 1 | 0 | MEDLOC | JUG | ||||
| 1698 | EROM | ZDATE | CP2+ | |||||||
| 1698 | EROM | 1 | 1 | 8 | G1? | GREY | York | Grey | J | BS SHLDR GROOVE CF EBOR |
| 1705 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 30 | M14 | Regional industries | Mancetter Hartshill | MW | RIM GIRTH;BLK TRITS | |
| 1715 | ROM | ZDATE | CP1-2 | |||||||
| 1715 | ROM | ZDATE | CP2 | |||||||
| 1715 | ROM | ZZZ | FAB EBORISH; W1 | |||||||
| 1715 | ROM | 2 | 1 | 1 | P0 | 'WHITE' | Unknown British? | 'White' | K | BSS |
| 1715 | ROM | 1 | 1 | 33 | W1? | EBOR | York | Ebor white | F1 | BASE;WHT SLIP UNDER BASE |
| 1725 | MED | 1 | 1 | 0 | TVW? | JUG | ||||
| 1725 | PMED | 1 | 1 | 0 | REVERSED CSTN | CUP | APPLIED BROWN CIRCULAR PAD | |||
| 1764 | MED | 1 | 1 | 0 | MEDLOC | JUG | SLIGHTLY SAGGING BASE;INTERMITTENT THUMBING | |||
| 1995 | EROM | ZDATE | CP2+ | |||||||
| 1995 | EROM | 1 | 1 | 10 | O0 | OXID | Unknown British? | Misc. oxid | J OR K | BS FINE SILTY FAB NOT EBOR |
| US | MED | 1 | 1 | 27 | NYWW | JUG | PLAIN BASE | |||
| US | PMED | 1 | 1 | 23 | PMX | ? | MIGHT BE A FLAT ROOF TILE OR BASE OF A LARGE JAR?;FABRIC LOOKS POST-MED |
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