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Ancient Pottery

• Message 1.Β 

  Posted by stalteriisok (U3212540) on Tuesday, 6th November 2007

  
  
  we walked across miles of farmland on a public footpath - lots of flint etc
  
  in the middle of the field were lots of bits of pottery/tiles etc
  
  how can we determine when these bits of tiles were from ??
  
  why were they there ?
  
  what shows that they were of a certain age ??
  
  
  st
  
  

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by TwinProbe (U4077936) on Tuesday, 6th November 2007

  Hi stalteriisok,
  
  I can only give you some pointers to how this problem of recognition might be attempted.
  
  1. More pottery and tile was produced in the Roman period than at any time until the 18th C. So if lots of sherds were visible this suggests Roman or post-medieval pottery.
  
  2. If we assume that the pottery and tiles were deposited together (and this need not be true) it rules out anything pre-Roman and also Saxon. So Roman, Medieval or post-medieval are possible.
  
  3. If the fabric was strong enough for it to kick around in plough soil, but still be recognizable it is probably not Neolithic, Bronze Age or early Saxon.
  
  4. Were any of the pieces glazed? Roman glazed pottery does exist but it is very rare indeed. If several pieces were glazed we are probably looking at Medieval or post-Medieval pot.
  
  5. Sherds evenly glazed on both sides are probably 17th C or later. Glazed 'white wares' with blue designs are 18th C or later, and were very common in the 19th C.
  
  Why were they there? Three possibilities occur:
  1. The Roman custom was to include broken pot with kitchen and animal wastes and spread it on the fields to improve soil texture.
  2. There may have been a habitation at this site and what you are seeing is domestic pottery and demolition debris brought to the surface by deep ploughing.
  3 Could the material have been deposited at some time for path repair, or as the foundation of some temporary structure, which has subsequently been ploughed out?
  
  What to do next? It would help to know where you were; an OS Grid Reference is very useful. I could find out where your nearest Sites & Monuments Record is kept; this might well have information about archaeological finds in the same area. An accurate description of any large piece: colour, thickness, designs etc might help.
  
  Good hunting,
  
  TP
  

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by stalteriisok (U3212540) on Wednesday, 7th November 2007

  Hi TP
  thanx for that - interesting about the broken pots used for soil texture !!
  
  the site is 300 yds uphill from Denton (prev post ) church
  
  it was strange - i took the dogs there to investigate your post about the origin of flints that may have been used for the church - and found plenty of large flints - u are probably correct there !
  
  but ! in a spot halfway up the opposite slope of the valley was a 100yd sq spot where there were hundreds of bits of pottery/tile - all flat 1/4 inch thick - - nothing with curves on it - so i presume they were tiles??
  
  we found a few bits of actual pottery which was glazed on both sides - victorian farm workers ?
  
  os map ref is tr 217465 (explorer map 138) hope this pins it down (why doesnt google maps give u the exact positition ??)
  
  time team needed here lol
  
  st
  
  
  
  
  

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