7.3.3 Trends identified in the distribution of decorated samian vessels in Phase 2 of the project: the sample and general patterning

Table 35 records the percentages of decorated vessels among samian assemblages at various site types by stratified group and dated group; the various sources of the samian are not distinguished in this exercise. Quantification in this case is via number of vessels represented. EVE data might be considered a preferable means of comparison but requisite information on EVE values per form type by period are not available within publications in any number. The present data of Table 35 build on the sample collected for Table 3 in 1998 and thus present a fuller dataset and picture. Table 35 is supplemented by two further tables, dealing with cases where the samian is not reported in publications by site phase/group, but rather by (i) fabric type (Table 37) or (ii) date of the samian (rather than the date of the phase/group, Table 39). Overall, a much larger set of site samples could be gathered during Phase 2. The total number of samples by dated group/phase amounts to 110 (cf. Table 35) supplemented by some 27 further groups where the data are recorded differently (cf. Tables 37 and 39).

Table 41: Decorated samian as a percentage within stratified samian groups: number of samples collected by site type, 1998 and 2003

Although there are now data samples of this type available for all the main types of site in some number, the total of samples available in the case of rural sites is comparatively low. Rural sites therefore are again under-represented (as with Table 3 from 1998), for the same reasons as previously (cf. above), in particular because of the small size of pottery groups which typically result from rural sites excavated under existing fieldwork briefs. Table 42 summarises the general frequency of decorated samian by site type, based on the data collected for Phase 2 of this project. In this case the percentages of decorated samian within each site sample are averaged to generate a rough guide to the general frequency of decorated samian per site type.

Table 42: Averaged percentages of decorated vessels within site samian groups from different site types in Britain, 1st to 3rd centuries AD, based on the sample collected during Phases 1 and 2 of this project; source, Table 35

(On basis of quantification by number of vessels)

The results of this exercise, as recorded in Table 42, can be compared with the like data presented in Table 34. The two sets of results are very similar, suggesting that the trends apparent within the data from 1998 are reliable and that the additional data, while more than doubling the size of the sample (41 to 110 site groups) represents a general refinement of the general pattern. The general pattern emerging from the earlier work has therefore been verified by the results of Phase 2 of the project: groups from the military sites and major civil centres have above average proportions of decorated vessels present. The small towns, roadside settlements and rural sites have below average percentages.

The averaged percentage frequency for decorated samian amongst groups from military sites is a little higher, increasing by less than 3% in the sample for Phase 2 of the project. The larger sample collected for Phase 2 of the project also enables an averaged percentage figure to be generated for extra-mural sites outside military establishments, with a higher frequency of decorated ware being registered for such locations than is the case from within forts (see below); this aspect had been flagged by the few samples available from such sites during Phase 1 (cf. above, Section 7.3.2). The average frequency figure for major civil centres is virtually unaltered at c. 27%, though the results of examining the larger sample by this approach differentiate the major civil centres and the military sites, suggesting that the latter are associated with a higher relative consumption of decorated samian. The equivalent figure for the smaller civil centres is also consistent between the 1998 sample and the enhanced sample at around 17-18%. Similarly, the relative frequency of decorated samian among samples from rural sites remains at c. 20%. These figures suggest that decorated ware may have been somewhat more common at rural sites than is the case at Small Towns, roadside settlements and other smaller centres, though the difference is not great and appears to be a function of the presence in the rural site sample of three groups with unusually high incidences of decorated ware (for rural sites), two of which come from the same site (i.e. Snettisham, Norfolk). The overall ratio figure for the frequency of decorated samian vessels, including all 110 sites, is around 1 in every 4 vessels decorated; the total number of vessels in the sample was 7414).

© Internet Archaeology URL: http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue17/1/7.3.3.html
Last updated: Mon Mar 7 2005