Six samples
This is a cream or off-white (5Y 8/1-8/2) fabric, sometimes with grey (6/0) or pale orange (7.5YR 8/6) margins or core. Surfaces vary from cream (2.5Y 8/2) to pale orange (10YR 8/4) or pale brown (5YR 7/3) unless ‘fumed’ to a darker colour. Sherds are generally hard with a smooth fracture. Although smoothed, the surfaces are slightly rough and powdery to the touch. Pentice beakers are the most well known form in Britain.
The fabric is similar to North Gaulish Reduced ware, although our particular samples are finer, composed of a clean clay matrix containing well-sorted inclusions between 0.1–0.2mm, rarely to 0.5mm. Only quartz is common, with red-brown and orange iron-rich grains sparse. In contrast to the reduced ware, some fine silver mica can be seen in this fabric.
This sample is identical to that described for North Gaulish Reduced ware, although the clay is anisotropic, allowing rare muscovite mica to be identified.
Our samples of oxidised wares, some of which come from Amiens itself, are similar in fabric to the reduced ones from north Gaul. Three potential kilns are known from antiquarian research at Amiens and it is not possible to verify the records. However, the pottery published from Amiens is too early in date to include pentice beakers (Dubois & Binet 1996, 343).
Museum of London
Museum of London
Dubois, S, & Binet, E, 1996 La céramique à Amiens (Somme) dans la deuxième moitié du 1er siècle après J.-C., d’après les fouilles du Palais des Sports, SFECAG. Actes du Congrès de Dijon, 332–52
Richardson, B, 1986 The waterfront group: coarsewares and non-samian finewares, in The Roman quay at St Magnus House, London. Excavations at New Fresh Wharf, Lower Thames Street, London 1974–1978 (L Miller, J Schofield & M Rhodes), London Middlesex Archaeol Soc Spec Pap 8, 106–38
See the related record on the Atlas of Roman Pottery on the Potsherd website