Abstract
Historically dated pottery assemblages have been widely used in the establishment of ceramic chronologies, especially those currently used for samian ware.2 The methods employed in the construction of these chronologies have hitherto been comparatively unsophisticated and the results have rarely been subjected to critical scrutiny. Further, in most of the development and use of these chronologies it has been the presence of specific types (for instance stamps or decorated sherds) that has been considered significant rather than the overall composition of the assemblages. This is despite the fundamental assumption on which the chronologies are based, that assemblages deposited at or near the same time, within the same distribution network, will be similar in composition. This assumption has itself rarely been tested to establish the limits within which other factors determining pottery supply, use and deposition, may obscure these underlying chronological structures, and render them unreliable for the precise dating upon which Roman archaeologists rely.
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