Post-medieval Pottery Research Articles

Ordinary tables. Post-medieval pottery from the Ravenna countryside as an archaeological and social indicator: new evidence from the castle of Bagnara di Romagna (circa 16th-18th century).

The present study aims at providing an overall picture of the post-medieval ceramic assemblage recovered from the castle of Bagnara di Romagna (Ravenna), in the course of archaeological investigations conducted by the local Superintendency in the early 2000s. In this respect, the main purpose of the paper is to investigate matters related to pottery circulation and consumption in a rather peripheral area of the province of Ravenna, nonetheless close to important trade routes, given its vicinity to Faenza and Imola.

Post-medieval Pottery in Mazovia and Podlachia (16th–18th Century) – a Preliminary Report

The text is dedicated to the question of traditions and innovations in post-medieval pottery manufactured and used in the territory of today’s Mazovia and Podlachia in Poland. It focuses on the distribution of waregroups in the assemblages from selected sites dated to the mid-16th – late 18th centuries. The list includes both capital cities in the province (Warsaw, Płock) and local towns (Ciechanów, Płońsk, Przasnysz), as well as royal and aristocratic residences, gentry manors and villages. Among the most characteristic features worthy of note are the long lasting of early medieval manufacturing traditions, the widespreaduse of greyware, the relatively small proportion of whiteware and glazed vessels, as well as the sporadic (excluding Warsaw) occurrence of fineware (porcelain, faience). The analysis points to the specificity of Mazovian pottery in 16th–18th centuries, in relation to both other Polish lands and our notions on trends in pottery manufacture and use in the post-medieval period.

Editorial

The introduction to this year’s volume of Archaeologia Polona, subtitled Archaeology of post-medieval pottery in Poland and beyond. Tradition and innovation. It presents the content of the volume focused on early-modern ceramics found across present-day Poland and Czechia.

Submerged and reused: An archaeometric approach to the early Modern ceramics from Aveiro (Portugal)

Aveiro, a city located in northern Portugal that lies next to the Atlantic Ocean, has a long potting tradition. Indeed, during the 15th–17th centuries, this region played an important role in the maritime trade between the north of Europe, the Iberian Peninsula and the Atlantic. Historical records reflect regular trade contacts between ship-owners and masters of Aveiro with English, Irish, Flemish, Galician and Basque entrepreneurs, in Europe and overseas.The archaeological research carried out on the Ria de Aveiro A (RAVA) shipwreck collection (16th – beginning 17th centuries), revealed a large amount of ceramics as cargo, tentatively produced in Aveiro Region. That was compared to a collection from Santo António church, in Aveiro, which includes ceramics used to fill the upper choir dome, with an exact chronology (1524), also manufactured in Aveiro. Such set of pottery enabled the establishment of a typology divided in three groups, used in everyday life at that time in Aveiro (tableware, long-distance storage and transportation and sugar moulds) and combining red and black pastes and shiny and matte black finished surfaces.With a view to characterize and to assess the provenance of local or regional origin of this Post-Medieval pottery assemblage from the two sites, an archaeometric approach of 25 unglazed ceramics showing red and black pastes has been performed. In this way, chemical and mineralogical analyses have been carried out by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and microstructural analysis by Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (SEM-EDS) analytical techniques. The results show that ceramics from RAVA have a compatible chemical fingerprint with those from the church, forming the A-1 local production reference group. Moreover, the A-1 reference group has been further assessed by comparing against the main reference groups from the Iberian Peninsula.

Modern Era pottery from the archaeological site at the Ethnographic Museum of Zamora (north-western Spain): An archaeometric analysis

Zamora, located in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula, is a city of long-lasting pottery tradition. Besides, its local post-medieval pottery keeps a strong tie with late medieval Castilian ceramic tradition. In recent archaeological interventions, a large quantity of ceramics was unearthed in different archaeological sites of the city. Among them, the archaeological excavations performed below the current Ethnographic Museum of Castilla y León were of special relevance to shed more light on the Zamoran local productions. In this work, an archaeometric characterization has been carried out in 11 tin–lead glazed ceramics (decorated in green, black and blue) dated back to the 16th–18th centuries by means of a multi-analytical approach. Thus, chemical and mineralogical analyses by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD) analytical techniques have been applied. In addition, the microstructure, glaze and pigment characterization of the glaze coatings have also been studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and Raman microscopy. Additionally, 59 samples were subjected to Hierarchical Cluster Analysis and Principal Components Analysis to assess the belonging of the shards under study to any of the workshops of Zamora. The results matched with the Z-3 reference group linked to the local pottery production of Zamora, specifically to the Olivares workshop.

A Preliminary Report on Polish–Lebanese Excavations at the St. George’s (Mar Girgis) Church in Rachkida (Northern Lebanon)

The article discusses the results of limited fieldwork carried out in 2012 at the St. George’s (Mar Girgis) church near the village of Rachkida, about 9 km northeast of Batroun. The church, which was probably built by a local Christian community like other villages in the region, was founded on remains from the Byzantine period. As far as could be ascertained, the main body of the building is a three-aisled basilica extended to include a porch on the west side and an additional chapel with two apses at the east end. The church was used in the 12th and 13th centuries and may have kept its sacral function throughout the early Mamluk period, perhaps even later. Throughout its post-ecclesiastical history it functioned as a relatively well-preserved, freestanding roofed building. A large number of diverse finds from the Late Ottoman and French Mandate periods indicate frequent use as a shelter or even a place of temporary habitation. The medieval and post-medieval pottery from the site forms a small but nevertheless significant assemblage, offering unique insight into the local material culture of northern Lebanon. More importantly, it provides a preliminary analysis of several categories of pottery which, to date, have been absent or only cursorily mentioned in archaeological research from Lebanon.

Neighbourly ties: Characterizing local and Sicilian pottery in post-medieval Malta

The development of post-medieval archaeology has been uneven in the Mediterranean. While major advances have been made in areas, such as the Aegean and Italy, others have garnered little sustained archaeological interest. In Malta, one of the principal barriers to the development of post-medieval archaeology has been the lack of knowledge and published findings regarding one of the most important find-types: pottery. The present study presents the results of the first archaeometric (chemical and minero-petrographic) analysis of post-medieval pottery in Malta, which sheds light on the changing ceramic relationships between Malta and Sicily during the 17th to early 20th centuries. The results demonstrate that, on the one hand, locally-made Maltese pottery remained important throughout the post-medieval period, as did pottery from the Messina Straits area. While, on the other hand, pottery from the Syracuse area can be shown to be linked to the activities of the navy of the Knights of St John.

Keramičko posuđe s hidroarheološkog lokaliteta Mala Jana u blizini Glavotoka na otoku Krku

Brojno novovjekovno glazirano keramičko posuđe otkriveno je tijekom 1972. i 1973. godine na hidroarheološkom lokalitetu Mala Jana u blizini Glavotoka na otoku Krku, a ukupno 31 predmet inventiran je unutar ranonovovjekovne zbirke Pomorskog i povijesnog muzeja Hrvatskog primorja Rijeka. Osim toga, u izložbenom prostoru Frankopanskog kaštela u Krku izložen je još 21 predmet koji je izronjen godinu dana kasnije te predan Krčkoj nadbiskupiji. Iako su pojedini predmeti već bili objavljivani, nikada nisu obrađeni kao cjeloviti teret te se stoga u ovom radu analizira sveukupni korpus nalaza s lokaliteta Mala Jana, pri čemu se spomenuta građa može datirati na kraj 16. ili na početak 17. stoljeća. U radu se dodatno razmatraju potencijalne trgovačke rute kojima se takav materijal mogao transportirati.

Notes on the quantification of post-medieval pottery in the Low Countries

The quantification of material culture can make a significant contribution to the answering of social and behavioural questions. However, especially in continental Europe, this aspect of pottery studies remains understudied. In the following article, a status quaestionis of the quantification of post-medieval ceramics in the Low Countries is given. The author hopes to stimulate methodological and theoretical debate by comparing several available methods, using an 18th-century deposit from the abbey at Clairefontaine, Belgium. In so doing, some important insights are obtained into the relative merits of different quantification systems, and recommendations are made for future work.

Excavations on the site of Balmerino House, Constitution Street, Leith

The remains of the front of Balmerino House (NGR: NT 2711 7616), built in 1631, were uncovered during an archaeological excavation at St Mary's Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church, Constitution Street, Leith. The work also revealed several phases of medieval to post-medieval activity, and a small burial ground which predated the house. The earliest feature uncovered by the excavation was a well containing 13th- to 14th-century pottery. Large quantities of late to post-medieval pottery were recovered, as well as iron objects, glass and bone. The human remains comprised six adult males, although some were incomplete due to later disturbance. Of importance to the history of clay tobacco pipe manufacture in Scotland is a small assemblage of clay-pipe wasters and kiln waste dated c 1630–40.

Excavations on the Site of Balmerino House, Constitution Street, Leith

The remains of the front of Balmerino House, built in 1631, were uncovered during an archaeological excavation at St Mary's Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church, Constitution Street, Leith. The work also revealed several phases of medieval to post-medieval activity, and a small burial ground which predated the house. The earliest feature uncovered by the excavation was a well containing 13th- to 14th-century pottery. Large quantities of late to post-medieval pottery were recovered, as well as iron objects, glass and bone. The human remains comprised six adult males, although some were incomplete due to later disturbance. Of importance to the history of clay tobacco pipe manufacture in Scotland is a small assemblage of clay-pipe wasters and kiln waste dated c1630-40. The work was sponsored by Gregor Properties Ltd.

Buckley Sgraffito: a study of a 17th century pottery industry in North Wales, its production techniques and design influences

This article aims to establish the date of the production and range of early sgraffito wares at Buckley and to examine the derivation of the designs and illustrations on the vessels. An illustrated catalogue has been produced and a comparative study made of sgraffito wares elsewhere to place Buckley into a national and international context. The results show that early sgraffito production at Brookhill pottery, Buckley, was between 1640-1720. Of the excavated pieces, 62% were made between 1640-1680, and the number of sherds by vessel number is also greater within that date range. All the vessels are dishes. The form and designs on the remainder of the sherds, dated up to 1720, are no different from those dated to 1640-1680, which suggests a continuous period of production. The most common themes on the pots: tulips, leaves, mottoes, animals and birds: relate very closely to the designs featured on other objects made in the same period such as textiles, wallpaper, furniture and manuscripts. Some of the designs were available in pattern books for particular groups of objects, for example needlework and pastry decoration. There is an interesting sub-group of pieces with animal and bird motifs and mottoes on the rims. It is possible that the influence for these came from a resurgence of interest in the medieval bestiary texts and illustrations in the 16th and 17th centuries. The less specific designs such as circles, slashes and zigzags could have been personal expressions of the potters themselves. The sgraffito technique of decoration on pottery spread through trade from east to west, reaching Italy in the 12th and 13th centuries and filtering through to Britain via south-west France and northern Europe. Decorative styles found at Buckley occur in most production areas. These are plants, fish, birds and geometric patterns. Mottoes and inscriptions appear on pieces from four centres, including Buckley. The most common vessel forms throughout Europe are dishes and bowls. No Buckley sgraffito has been found outside Buckley itself, although Buckley black-glazed wares have been tentatively identified in the eastern states of north America and locations around the Irish Sea. The problem with ascribing this provenance is that similar wares were also produced in other areas such as Merseyside and Staffordshire. Further research is required to determine the distribution of all Buckley wares. This article will particularly interest: * Archaeologists interested in post-medieval material culture * Post-medieval pottery specialists * Design History specialists * Archaeologists working on excavations in North Wales Key points: * The first published catalogue of 17th century sgraffito wares in northern Britain * Explores the influence of 17th century designs in other materials on pottery production * Searchable image database of sgraffito sherds from Buckley

Ceramic petrology and post-medieval pottery

(2001). Ceramic petrology and post-medieval pottery. Post-Medieval Archaeology: Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 106-118.

Medieval and Post-Medieval pottery from a site in Boeotia: a case study example of Post-Classical archaeology in Greece

The study of Medieval and Post-Medieval pottery in Greece has been much neglected until quite recently. Only in the last decade or so has interest in the historical and cultural information presented by the remains and artefacts of these periods grown. In the Cambridge-Durham Boeotia Project, based on intensive field survey, much attention has been paid to deserted village sites of the Post-Roman era. In this article a selection of the Medieval and Post-Medieval surface pottery samples at one Boeotian site will be described and discussed. The ceramic data from the field survey are combined with and interpreted in the light of information obtained from Ottoman tax registers and other written sources. Also an attempt is made to explore the possibilities of formulating conjectures about the change in pottery function during the period from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century.

Excavation of a grain-drying kiln and mill lade at Kettlestoun Mains, Linlithgow, West Lothian

SummaryThe Centre for Field Archaeology is contracted to undertake archaeological monitoring of a six year gravel extraction programme at Kettlestoun Mains, Linlithgow. In the first year of this project, the remains of a grain-drying kiln, containing charred oat seeds and chaff, and a mill lade were excavated. Both of these structures contained post-medieval pottery and represent parts of a wider post-medieval landscape revealed by analysis of documentary evidence.

Excavations at Llanmaes, near Llantwit Major, South Glamorgan

Rescue excavations in the small village of Llanmaes investigated an area of earthworks indicating the presence of several buildings. Medieval evidence was largely confined to finds. Three late 17th-century properties were examined; it is possible that they represent a planned development on the east side of the village green in response to population expansion in the Vale of Glamorgan. The buildings are of simple two-roomed plan, and would appear to be tenements of low status. One of the buildings produced evidence of smithying. A large group of metal finds of agricultural and domestic use was found, as was a closely-dated assemblage of wine bottles; a large midden deposit on the north edge of the site contained a very large group of post-medieval pottery. The buildings were abandoned by the end of the 18th century, presumably following rationalization of the local settlement morphology and farming. Thus the site represents a short-lived expansion in low-status rural housing at the time of the ‘Great Rebuilding’.

Post-medieval pottery In Wales: an archaeological survey

SUMMARY: Data jrom a survey oj all medieval and post-medieval pottery assemblages in Wales enables a preliminary outline oj the organization oj the post-medieval pottery industry in Wales to be put jorward. Distribution maps chart the growth and decline oj regional industries) and allow the relative importance oj imports jrom England and the Continent to be assessed. Evidence jor continuing regionalism and conservatism is outlined) and suggestions jor jurther research areas are presented.

Balneaves: Post-Medieval Pottery

Bodysherd of pottery from Pit 15This sherd of pottery is of a thin red brown fabric with small quartz inclusions. Its internal surface has a thin white slip which gives it the impression of being very well made. It does not fît into any medieval fabric type known by the writer. On balance it seems likely that this sherd is from a vessel of eighteenth or nineteenth century date suggesting a fairly modern date for the feature concerned.

A Plank Tank from Nantwich

A Plank Tank from Nantwich. Robina McNeil and A.F. Roberts write: In July 1985 Mr and Mrs Piggin of St Anne's Lane, Nantwich were digging foundations for a bungalow (SJ 648523) and uncovered a wooden structure. They collected the finds and contacted Archaeological Services, Liverpool University. On examination the structure was found to be a plank-built tank, or box, which was sunk into a tailor-made pit. The tank consisted of two courses of edge-set planks. Of the lower course the four interlocking radials, split slightly wedge-shaped, had identical dimensions (I.58m x o.32m x o.o4-o.o8 m), with a tenon at either end on one edge only. The planks interlocked with one tenon resting on the shoulder of the next plank, to form a square tank with internal measurements of i.44m (4ft 9ins). This method of construction needs no pegs or nails to tie the members together. The varying width of the planks meant that in some instances the tenon protruded for up to o.o4m beyond the outside edge of the tank. A square tapering stake and a large wooden chock were rammed against the exterior to prevent the sides of the container from collapsing outwards. This type of jointing is favoured in the construction of square or rectangular boxes, as for instance the Saxon well at Portchester Castle67 and Well IV at Colchester,6 which have similar bracing timbers, and was developed periodically in conjunction with saddle joints, in the top tiers of the Skeldergate Well, York.69 The higher planks rested directly on the base wall planks. The west plank and presumably its eastern counterpart had a tenon under which the north and south planks were held in positions. These upper planks appear to have been set in front of the base wall planks. This position is probably the result of slumping and the correct position is either directly above the lower planks or set behind them. The wood of the superstructure was less well preserved than the lower planks, so, although the timbers appear ill-fitting, they may originally have been more substantial and designed to repeat the jointing of the lower timbers. The tank has no floor. Immediately above the natural sand was a dense organic mat which has been identified as cess. The majority of the finds were found by the landowner whilst digging out the foundations. They came as far as it was possible to ascertain from the deposits immediately above the tank. A few more sherds were found later in the spoil heap. No finds were recovered from the tank or from its surrounding pit; except for two or three sherds of post-medieval pottery, the pottery was of Roman date and is discussed below.

The Iron Age, Roman-British and post-medieval pottery

The Iron Age, Roman-British and post-medieval pottery