Aspects of Kentish Local History

Upchurch and North Kent (Roman) Pottery

A ceramic typology for northern Kent, first to third centuries A.D. By Jason Monaghan

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Pictures of Fabrics of Sand tempered fabrics - Pages 245 - 249

S1/1 - S – sand,  1 - variation,  1 - Upchurch, including Hoo and all Medway marshes


S1/1b - S – sand,  1 - variation,  /  1 - Upchurch, including Hoo and all Medway marshes,   b - burnished


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Picture of fabric of sherd of Sand Tempered Ware pictured above
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scale in millimetres)

S1/3b - S - sand,  1 - variation,  /   3 - Oakleigh Farm, Higham Kiln,,   b - burnished


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Picture of fabric of sherd of Sand Tempered Ware pictured above
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scale in millimetres)


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Picture of fabric of sherd of Sand Tempered Ware pictured above
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scale in millimetres)

S1/4 - S - sand, 1 - variation,   4 - Cliffe


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Picture of fabric of sherd of Sand Tempered Ware pictured above
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scale in millimetres)

S1/4b - S - sand, 1 - variation,    4 - Cliffe,   b - burnished


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Picture of fabric of sherd of Sand Tempered Ware pictured above
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scale in millimetres)

S1/6b - S - sand,  1 - variation,  6 - Cooling


S1/6bs - S - sand,  1 - variation,  6 - Cooling,   b - burnished   s


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Picture of fabric of sherd of Sand Tempered Ware pictured above
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scale in millimetres)

S3/1 - S - sand,  3 - variation,  1 - Upchurch (Slayhills),   b - burnished


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Picture of fabric of sherd of Sand Tempered Ware pictured above
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scale in millimetres)

S4/1b - S - sand,  4 - variation,  1 - Upchurch ,   b - burnished


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Picture of fabric of sherd of Sand Tempered Ware pictured above
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S5/4b - S - sand,  5 - variation,  4 - Cliffe,   b - burnished


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Picture of fabric of sherd of Sand Tempered Ware pictured above
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scale in millimetres)


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Picture of fabric of sherd of Sand Tempered Ware pictured above
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scale in millimetres)

S7/6b - S - sand,  7 - variation,  6 - Cooling,   ,   b - burnished


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Picture of fabric of sherd of Sand Tempered Ware pictured above
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S1/1
Colour         : Grey, occasionally brown or orange.
Section       : as surface, occasionally sandwiched shades of grey.
Texture        : rough.
Fracture      : hackley.
Hardness    : fairly hard.
Surface       : undecorated, untreated.
Decoration   : none . May have a finishing gloss near rim.
Manufacture : wheel thrown.
Inclusions    : Quartz, abundant, medium, i, SA.
                      Magnetite, sparse, medium, i, SA.
                      Ironstone, sparse, fine, i, R.
                      Greensand, occasional, medium, i, R.
                      Variations:

S1/3: As S1/1 except the fabric includes Quartz, moderate, medium, w, SA in addition to larger grains.

S1/4: As S1/1 but quartz tends to be less abundant. Also includes: 
                   Flint, occasional, coarse, i, A 
                   Shell, occasional, medium, i, F

S1/5: As S1/4 except that colour tends towards brown and buff shades of grey.

S1/6: As S1/1 except that quartz tends to be fine.

S1/4b
Colour           : black to mid grey.
Section         : lighter grey than surface, often with black core.
Texture         : smooth. 
Hardness      : fairly hard. 
Fracture        : hackley.
Surface         : burnished all over on dishes, on exterior and rim of enclosed vessels.
Decoration     : burnished zones, open or closed acute lattice, sine waves, burnished parallel lines or crosses,
                          tooled cordons and grooves.
Manufacture   : wheel thrown. Some turning on bases and on rims. 
Inclusions       : Quartz, abundant, medium, w, SA.
                         Magnetite, sparse, very fine, w, R.
                         Mica, occasional, fine, i, F.
                         Chalk, occasional, medium, i, SA.
                         Flint, occasional, coarse, i, A.
                         Shell, occasional, medium, i, F.

Variations:
"early" S1/4b: The quartz is consistently more abundant and larger than above.
S1/1b: As S1/4b except that quartz is more abundant and burnish tends to be inferior.
S1/3b: As S1/4b except that quartz is fine and abundant.
S1/5b: As S1/4b except that colour is often black-brown whilst section margins are often light green-buff shades.
S1/6b: As S1/4b except that the colour in section tends to be sandwiched with a grey core and orange margins.
              Quartz is often moderate, medium.
S1/6bs: A burnished and slipped ware identical to S1/6b, but with a grey slip applied to the shoulders of jars and
               bowls prior to burnishing. The slip remains darker than the body of the pot, but may turn red in 
               burnished areas when misfired.
S1/lbs: As S1/1b with grey slip.
S1/3bs: As S1/3b with grey slip.
S1/4bs: As S1/4b but slipped finish is burnished a very glossy black.
S1/5bs: As S1/5b with a dark or light grey slip.


S2/1
Colour             : grey but frequently orange.
Section           : light grey or as surface.
Texture           : rough.
Hardness        : fairly hard.
Fracture          : hackley.
Surface            : untreated.
Decoration       : cordons and stabbing.
Manufacture     : wheel thrown.
Inclusions         : Quartz, sparse, medium and coarse, i, R.
                          Greensand, sparse, medium, i, R.
                          Magnetite, occasional, medium, i, R.
                          Flint, occasional, medium, i, SA.
                          Vegetable charcoal, occasional, medium, i, I.
Note :
Probably a coarse aberration of S1/1 with larger, less frequent inclusions. Other sites produce a few equivalent fabrics, but only S2/6 is noticeable in any quantity.


S3/1hb
Colour           : black or shades of brown, grey or orange.
Section          : as surface.
Texture          : smooth.
Hardness       : fairly hard.
Fracture        : hackley,
Surface         : usually burnished overall or in parts, occasionally wet burnished, giving the appearance of a slip.
Decoration    : vertical combing or burnishing in zones.
Manufacture :  hand built. Some rims may be wheel finished. Some pot bodies and bases are knife-trimmed.
Inclusions       : Quartz, moderate- abundant, medium & coarse, i, SA.
                        Greensand, occasional, medium, i, R.
                        Vegetable charcoal, occasional, medium, i, I.
                        Flint, occasional, coarse, i, A.

Variations :
S3/1h: Unburnished variant of above. Texture is rough, surface untreated.
S3/1: Wheelmade version of above. Intermediate between S3/1h and fabric S1/1.
S3/4h: Almost insignificant in quantity as S1/4 fulfils same role. A variant of S1/4 with more, coarser sand.


S3/6h
Colour            : orange or grey.
Section          : orange or grey.
Texture          : rough,
Hardness       : soft.
Fracture         : hackley.
Surface          : untreated.
Decoration     : horizontal combing, cordons, grooves.
Manufacture   : handmade.
Inclusions       : Quartz, abundant, coarse, i, SA.
                         Magnetite: sparse, medium, i, A.
                         Shell, sparse, medium, i, F.
                         Ironstone, sparse, fine, i, SA.
                         Flint (pink), occasional, coarse, i, A.

Variations :
S3/6hb: As above except burnishing is used to produce a smooth texture on the surface or is employed in zones as decoration.
S4/6: Wheelmade version which includes sparse, coarse, vegetable charcoal producing a softer fabric.
S41lb: As S1/1b with the notable exceptions that the colour tends to be brown shades of grey. Moderate, coarse vegetable charcoal pieces discolour the section and make the fabric soft.


S5/4b
Colour            : matt black or dark grey.
Section          : pale grey.
Texture          : smooth.
Hardness       : fairly hard.
Fracture         : fine irregular.
Surface          : burnished, but with a matt finish.
Decoration     : latticing, burnished lines or sine waves.
Manufacture   : wheel made.
Inclusions       : Quartz, moderate, fine-very fine, w, SA.
                         Quartz, sparse, medium, i, R.
                         Magnetite, occasional, medium, i, R.
                         Vegetable charcoal, occasional, medium, i, I.

Note :
Less glossy, less robust and distinctly finer version of S1/4b, normally confined to dishes.
Variations :
S5/1b: As S5/4b but with: Flint, occasional, medium, i, F.

Fabric definitions - Fabrics are listed according to temper. Where fabrics from different production sites are very similar, only the most typical is described in full. The remainder are listed in numerical order. Only Upchurch and Thameside fabrics are described, those of Thameside Essex and West Kent being beyond the scope of this work. The philosophy of the chosen system is outlined in chapter 4.

Temper Codes   C - chaff,   F - flint,   G - grog,   H - shell,   I - no temper,   S - sand

Production Area    1 - Upchurch, including Hoo and all Medway marshes.   2 -Isle of Grain.
     Codes              3 - Higham and the High ground above the Thames.       4 -Cliffe parish.   
                              5 - Shorne parish and marshes to the east of Chalk.       6 -Cooling and Halstow marshes.

Technical Variations   b - burnished.      h -hand made body (rim may be wheel finished),
                                    p -pitch-painted,  s -slipped.

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