Posts: 6,009
Threads: 2
Joined: Mar 2017
10th November 2014, 10:12 PM
Why does pottery become scarce during the Saxon/Anglian period... discuss.
We say it so glibly, as if it is a given... and mumble when asked. why..
so come on... give us a reason... and it better be good!
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Apr 2005
10th November 2014, 11:51 PM
I don't think it is that scarce (at least in terms of typical for the Iron Age)......you would need to make comparisons with its frequency in the areas of origin of the migrants to these islands to prove whether its frequency was typical. Seems to be a fair amount of ceramic originating from Ipswich for example. the rest of East Anglia, Kent....
With peace and consolation hath dismist, And calm of mind all passion spent...
Posts: 1
Threads: 0
Joined: Apr 2010
11th November 2014, 01:30 PM
Experience oop norf is that the pot people can't tell the undecorated stuff apart from all the Iron Age and 'native character' RB stuff (and often the Early Neo stuff too - eek!), so they're hiding behind calling all H1, H2 etc based on whatever small bits of rock are in it :-(
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2011
11th November 2014, 02:05 PM
BAJR Wrote:Why does pottery become scarce during the Saxon/Anglian period... discuss.
We say it so glibly, as if it is a given... and mumble when asked. why..
so come on... give us a reason... and it better be good!
not sure anyone can give you a reason other than in some areas people stopped making pots for a while. lot of new work in this area is examining the differences between the mainland european influenced east and the british influenced west which apart from the visibility of pottery and therefore settlement manifests in distinctive conspicuous display on weird hilltops etc. lots of reading to do hosty
If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers
Posts: 8
Threads: 1
Joined: Feb 2014
11th November 2014, 05:24 PM
Its a question about supply and demand.
.....nature was dead and the past does not exist
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Jul 2013
11th November 2014, 07:56 PM
From my very limited experience and intellect I'd have thought it's a mix of: a dramatic change in the economy post-Roman influence leading to the demise of the commercial potter and the reintroduction of more 'primitive', locally made pot from a diminished skill-base, which also may have led to the seeking of alternative materials (you can boil water in any material that holds together, and holds water obviously, above 100*C...); a change in fashion; and as noted above and related to the first part, the confusion between the pot of that period and the pot made under similar circumstances in pre-Roman times. Or they had a good refuse collection service...
I reserve the right to change my mind. It's called learning.
Posts: 1
Threads: 0
Joined: Apr 2010
12th November 2014, 01:50 PM
Maybe burying-it-for-us-to-find went out of fashion, usually seems to be plenty in grub huts etc
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Sep 2011
12th November 2014, 04:08 PM
(This post was last modified: 12th November 2014, 07:41 PM by BAJR.)
Tool Wrote:From my very limited experience and intellect I'd have thought it's a mix of: a dramatic change in the economy post-Roman influence leading to the demise of the commercial potter and the reintroduction of more 'primitive', locally made pot from a diminished skill-base, which also may have led to the seeking of alternative materials (you can boil water in any material that holds together, and holds water obviously, above 100*C...);
Good answer Tool, even here in East Anglia, pot people have trouble telling the difference between Iron Age and Early/mid Saxon. Now we are told that they even started using potboilers again in the Saxon period for heating liquids. Ipswich ware is the big exception and is found in small amounts all over the region in the mid-Saxon period and is well fired and wheel thrown. Maybe it is not a coincidence that Ipswich is one of the earliest markets/ports in the region. Perhaps Ipswich ware is the reemergence of the commercial maker of domestic pottery due to money reappearing?
Posts: 0
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2011
12th November 2014, 04:31 PM
Tool Wrote:: a dramatic change in the economy post-Roman influence leading to the demise of the commercial potter and the reintroduction of more 'primitive', locally made pot from a diminished skill-base, which also may have led to the seeking of alternative materials (you can boil water in any material that holds together, and holds water obviously, above 100*C...); a change in fashion; and as noted above and related to the first part, the confusion between the pot of that period and the pot made under similar circumstances in pre-Roman times. ...
its not difficult to make a pot, people had managed for a few millennia. but its absence over vast swathes of britain for a considerable period - even where it had been made alongside the furnished grave tradition/sfb zone surely points to deliberacy?
If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers
Posts: 1
Threads: 0
Joined: Apr 2010
12th November 2014, 07:03 PM
As an example of non-identification of AS pot, I had occasion to be working 'away' ('nother unit) on a site on a motorway scheme where we had a couple of grub huts, one with a load of pot in. When the management plus pot person came visiting to stand around the hole, after examining the contents of the finds-tray, the comment was along the lines of "oh, we've always called that stuff Bronze Age".... :-(
Why does pottery become scarce during the Saxon/Anglian period...
