Individual
fabrics are listed below, 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. For
background information 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 localhistory@tedconnell.org.uk
so that we can amend our
information. Suggested reading
System of plastic boxes and trays for storing and
displaying for handling Roman sherds
By convention, Roman
Pottery is usually broken down into different types of wares. Some
that are imports from the Roman Provinces on the Continent, such as
Samian from Gaul, Colour-coats from Germany, Amphora from Spain etc.
Other wares made in Roman Britain are usually regarded as coarse-wares
from their utilitarian nature for use in the kitchen for cooking and
storage of food. As always there are exceptions to this rule in the
production of fine table wares such as Upchurch and Castor/Nene Valley
wares etc. Below you will find links to sections listing the different
wares.
The present pottery archive consists
of pottery sherds recovered from the Billingsgate dumps, and so apart
from the imported wares represents pottery traded and used in London.
The range of material has been extended by including sherds from
excavations throughout Kent, to better reflect the differing fabrics
of all dates from London and Kent