The post-Iron Age pottery was assessed, in the course of which it was recorded with reference to the fabric-type series held at the Service (for fabric descriptions see Hurst and Rees 1992, and Worcestershire On-line Ceramic Database).
Table 15: Quantification of Roman and later pottery by period.
| Results | ||
|---|---|---|
| type | total | weight (g) |
| Roman | 37 | 500 |
| medieval | 4 | 90 |
| post-medieval | 197 | 3297 |
| modern | 178 | 467 |
There was a total of 416 sherds weighing 4.354kg (though archive records indicated that some material of similar type is now missing), which ranged in date from Roman to modern (Tables 15 and 16). Medieval material was little represented and the majority of later finds were of post-medieval and modern date, especially from the 18th century onwards. It was all from the ploughsoil or from the top layers of features, wherever the latter were recorded separately. This did not prejudice the integrity of any of the relevant features, as the layers were separately excavated and recorded; hence it is clear from the records that such later material is only from where there had been some superficial disturbance or contamination by later activity.
The Roman pottery could represent small-scale deposition in surface deposits throughout the Roman period, as a single sherd of samian was dated to the 2nd century (from pit fill 0080.1; referenced in archive), whereas other sherds from the ploughsoil tended to be 3rd to early 4th century.
Despite the small sample it was tempting to see the late medieval and early post-medieval pottery as a significant group in that it contained a relatively high proportion of regional (north Devon ware) and imported wares (German stoneware). These would most likely have been brought into the Midlands along the River Severn, therefore constituting direct archaeological evidence for the significance of the river for trade in the region, as indicated by historical evidence from the medieval period onwards. The main mechanism for creating this scatter of post-Iron Age pottery was probably the manuring of fields with domestic waste; the low quantities perhaps indicating how infrequently these fields were ploughed.
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Last updated: Wed July 21 2010