Internet Archaeol. 17. Willis. The social context of changing samian forms?

8.8 The social context of changing samian forms?

While some samian forms were produced over long periods, many forms manufactured in samian changed through time. There is, for instance, a development from platter-like forms in the 1st century AD, such as the Drag. 15/17, 15/17R, 18 and 18R, through to dish-like forms in the 2nd century, in the form of the familiar Drag. 18/31 and 31. Conventionally, the latter are seen as replacing the former with the same essential function(s) being performed by these vessel types, in so far as they may have been principally used for serving and/or individual servings. In part, with such changes the composition of samian groups and assemblages alters too in terms of the ratios between generic form/functional types (e.g. cups, bowls, platters, etc.). This is an area that was examined during Phase 1 of the project, revealing a series of marked trends (Willis 1997b, Section 5.2.5, figs 20-2; 1998a, 111-14) and subsequently (e.g. Chart 1) which shows the decline of the Drag. 27 cup form and the increasing importance of the form 33 cup).

That these changes in form typology occurred warrants explanation. Some pottery types of the Roman period changed more frequently than others. In the case of samian the 'turn-over' of forms is not, when compared with some contemporary pottery, noticeably rapid. It is not a function of changing places of manufacture but rather is chronological. It is sometimes suggested that there was a general trend away from the manufacture of forms that were more complicated to produce (and hence more expensive), such as the large platters and cups of form Drag. 27 with a pronounced change in wall-profile, to simpler forms such as the straight-walled Drag. 33 cup. This would be appropriate given the context of mass-production. This implies the motive for change was at the supply end. It is possible that changes in the forms being produced were in response to the nature of consumer demand, but this requires further investigation. The relationship between samian manufacturers and consumers is obscure, and it is unlikely that one was responsive to the other. In this respect it is perhaps pertinent to note that the producers of samian, even in the case of the Colchester and Aldgate-Pulborough enterprises that were physically close to their markets, followed the existing conventions for the forms of samian. Certainly changes in samian forms need to be seen in the context of wider changes in pottery fashion; for instance, there is a broad decline in the popularity of platter forms and cups in north-west Europe by the end of the 1st century AD, which is reflected in the samian forms then produced. Entwined in these questions is the suspicion that trends in form/functional types through time relate to mores in eating and drinking. If so the implication is that these may have been shared across the north-west provinces since, with some qualification, the same samian forms were exported and consumed at numerous sites across the western empire.