WINCHESTER A CITY IN THE MAKING Archaeological excavations between 2002 – 2007 on the sites of Northgate House, Staple Gardens and the former Winchester Library, Jewry St is is one of the 19 specialist reports provided with the above publication Oxford Archaeology Monograph ISBN 9780904220629 Section 1.3 Medieval Pottery by John Cotter Excavations in Winchester 2002-07 Medieval pottery Section 1.3 Medieval Pottery by John Cotter Contents Introduction and quantification Summary of potential Methodology Detailed catalogue selection strategy Ceramic Phasing Traditional ceramic phasing The site ceramic phasing Fabric codes: Checklist Catalogue of fabrics and forms (in alphabetical order) Fabric MAB Fabric MAD Fabric MADW Fabric MAF Fabric MAQ Fabric MAV Fabric MBEAU Fabric MBK Fabric MBN Fabric MBX Fabric MCK Fabric MDF Fabric MDG Fabric MDL Fabric MFGY Fabric MFI Fabric MFS Fabric MGR Fabric MGV Fabric MMG Fabric MMH Fabric MMI Fabric MMK Fabric MMQ Fabric MMR Fabric MMU Fabric MNG Fabric MNV Fabric MNVY Fabric MNX Fabric MOE Fabric MPAF Fabric MPIN Fabric MSH Fabric MTE Fabric MWW Fabric MZM Fabric PMED Fabric UNID Fabric WWX Interpretation: The pottery in its site context Interpretation: Pottery fabrics (and fabric groups) by property and phase 1 Excavations in Winchester 2002-07 Medieval pottery Glazed wares: Chronological development and distribution on the site Interpretation: Vessel forms by property and phase Oil lamps: Their possible significance Other vessel forms Vessel forms analysis: General conclusions General conclusions Bibliography Appendix 1: List of codes used in the computer catalogue Appendix 2: Dyepots or madder-stained pottery Appendix 3: Characterisation Studies of Winchester Ware from Winchester by Alan Vince Tables 1. Overall quantification of pottery by phase 2. Winchester Ceramic Phases (Traditional) 3. Winchester Fabric Groups 4. Fabrics count by Phase 5. Fabrics weight by Phase 6. Fabrics EVEs by Phase 7. Vessel forms (MAV) 8. Rim forms quantifications (MAV fabric) 9. Vessel forms (MBX) 10. Rim forms quantifications (MBX fabric) 11. Tables showing relative proportions of decorated sherds in MBX. A: as a proportion of all MBX sherds; B: As a proportion of all decorated MBX sherds 12. Tables showing relative proportions of decorated MBX sherds (excluding rim thumbing). A: as a proportion of all MBX sherds; B: As a proportion of all decorated MBX sherds 13. Quantity and distribution of crucible fragments across properties and phases 14. Quantification of rims on jars and spouted pitchers in Winchester Ware (MWW) 15. Simplified list of pottery for 10 sampled properties (and street surfaces = *other) by A: Sherds; B: EVES and C: Weight 16. Simplified list of all catalogued pottery by street frontage 17. Simplified list of pottery quantities by phase 18. Quantities of each fabric group in each phase for the entire site (sampled assemblage) 19. Quantifications of each fabric group in each phase for frontage BE (Brudene Street East) in the Discovery Centre 20. Quantifications of each fabric group in each phase for frontage BW (Brudene Street West) in Northgate House 21. Quantifications of each fabric group in each phase for frontage SE (Snitheling Street East) in Northgate House 22. Relative quantities of glazed wares on each of the phased properties 23. Summary of vessel types present (NB. EVEs is the most relaibale indicator here) 24. Overall quantifications of vessel form by phase 25. Quantifications of vessel form in each phase for frontage BE (Brudene Street East) in the Discovery Centre 26. Quantifications of vessel form in each phase for frontage BW (Brudene Street West) in Northgate House 27. Quantifications of vessel form in each phase for frontage SE (Snitheling Street East) in Northgate House Charts 1. Fabric MAQ: Rim Diameters 2. Fabric MAV: Rim Diameters 3. Fabric MBK: Rim Diameters 4. Fabric MBX: Rim Diameters 2 Excavations in Winchester 2002-07 Medieval pottery 5. Fabric MMU: Rim Diameters 6. Fabric MOE: Rim Diameters 7. Fabric MSH: Rim Diameters 8. Fabric MTE: Rim Diameters 9. Fabric MWW: Rim Diameters 10. Fabric MZM: Rim Diameters 11. Relative quantities of pottery on each street frontage and in each phase (EVEs only) Figures 1: Post-Roman pottery: MAB (1), MAD (2-6), MAF (7), and MAQ (8-12) 2: Post-Roman pottery: MAQ (13-19) and MAV (20-26) 3: Post-Roman pottery: MAV (27-34) 4: Post-Roman pottery: MAV (35-46) 5: Post-Roman pottery: MAV (47-53), MBEAU (54-5), MBK (56-61) and MBN (62-4) 6: Post-Roman pottery: MBX (65-86) 7: Post-Roman pottery: MDF (87), MDL (88-91), MFI (92), MMU (93-101) and MNG (102) 8: Post-Roman pottery: MOE (103-5), MPAF (106), MPIN (107), MSH (108-114) and MTE (115-8) 9: Post-Roman pottery: MTE (119-124) and MWW (125-132) 10: Post-Roman pottery: MWW (133-7), MZM (138-147), UNID (148) and WWX (149-150) Appendix Table A1 Quantification of Madder-stained sherds 3 Excavations in Winchester 2002-07 Medieval pottery Introduction and quantification The Northgate House (NH) and Discovery Centre (CC) sites produced a combined total of 21,222 sherds of post-Roman pottery with an estimated weight of 362.047 kg. (based on an average sherd weight of 17.06 g). 14,516 sherds came from NH and 6,706 from CC. All of this material was briefly examined, spot-dated and recorded to assessment level. A sampling strategy of the most secure deposits was implicated (see methodology below) and this resulted in a detailed catalogue of 14,766 sherds weighing 251.891 kg with a total EVEs of 158.98. It is this detailed catalogue, or sample, which forms the statistical basis of this pottery report (an extra 26 sherds from the broadly phased Phase 4 on NH have usually been dropped from discussion and phase-related tables but are occasionally shown in fabric-related tables). An additional 138 sherds from ‘non-sampled’ or unphased contexts on the site were also catalogued in detail because of their intrinsic interest, usually because they had been selected for illustration or included rare fabrics not represented in the main sampled database. The data from these however were not used in any statistical calculations but are occasionally mentioned in the text. Of the detailed catalogue total of 14,766 sherds, 10,766 came from the larger NH site and 4,000 from the CC site. The average sherd weight is 17.06 g. On NH however it is 16.34 g. and on CC it is 19 g. The difference is almost certainly explained by the preponderance of pits on CC, which tend to produce larger better- preserved sherds, whereas NH comprises both pits and a much higher survival of horizontal stratigraphy (layers) which tends to produced smaller sherds. Pottery of the 9th to 14th centuries, and particularly the 9th to 12th centuries, dominates the excavated assemblage. A single sherd of early-mid Saxon organic- tempered pottery hints at earlier though superficial post-Roman activity in the area but it is unlikely, on the basis of pottery types present that significant occupation of the site commenced much before c 850. The marked tail-off of pottery during the later 13th and 14th centuries is almost certainly due to the conversion of most of the site to gardens, certainly by the 15th century, and its survival in this state almost untouched until the 19th and 20th centuries. Post-medieval pottery (16th-20th century), for example, comprises only a tiny fraction of the assemblage recovered from NH (along with only 12 pieces of clay tobacco pipe) and this must reflect a dearth of later activity. The adjacent CC site presents a similar picture apart from a small early 19th- 4 Excavations in Winchester 2002-07 Medieval pottery century pottery group sealed by the building of the new library in the 1830s. Details of the small post-medieval pottery collection remain in archive and are not treated in any significant way in this report. Although figures for quantification in this report relate only to post-Roman pottery the site also produced significant quantities of Roman pottery, much of it residual in post-Roman contexts. On NH Roman residuality stands at 30% (sherds) of the total excavated ceramic assemblage from post-Roman contexts, while on CC it stands at 25%. Again it is probably the higher survival of layers on NH which explains the higher proportion of residual Roman sherds. In Saxon-Norman contexts (9th-12th century) Roman residuality stands at 32% on NH and 27% on CC and in medieval contexts (13th-15th century) stands at 22% on both sites. Because of the longevity or continued production of the main late Saxon wares into the early medieval period (11th-12th or even early 13th century) and their typological conservatism it is not possible to calculate the degree of late Saxon pottery residual in early medieval contexts (Phase 5 - c 1050-1225) although this figure could be fairly high in some cases (eg. occupation layers) but perhaps negligible in others (eg short- lived pits with contemporary fills). However, by Phase 6 ( c - 1225-1550), when the late Saxon and Saxon-Norman wares had definitely ceased production these types still comprised two-thirds, or 68%, of all post-Roman pottery sherds in Phase 6 contexts (Phase total 2,371 sherds), meaning that only one third (32%) of all post-Roman pottery from these contexts was actually contemporary, and if Roman residual pottery is taken into account this figure is even lower. By Phase 6, however, human occupation, and presumably pottery disposal, on the site was significantly reduced and this factor must surely contribute to the exaggerated figures for pottery residuality during this phase. In complex urban excavations such as this, and where the main pottery types are not closely datable, residuality levels, though not always easy to establish, must be a factor taken into consideration as they will always blur to some degree our picture of what is contemporary and what is not.