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Newsletter are published three times a year, in April, August and December. The following newsletters are available online:
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No. 85 – December 2016
No. 33 – April 1999
Council News
Council met on the 10th February at the British Museum. The Secretary reported that he was unable personally to take up the invitation to attend the Council meeting of the Society for Medieval Archaeology. He sent instead a report of the Group’s activities together with assurances that we are willing to continue a closer association. The Secretary also reported that this meeting was his last, after a period of ten years as both an ordinary member and as Secretary. He thanked all those who had made his various tasks easier and acknowledged the enthusiasm and commitment of his colleagues over the years.
The Editorial Committee once more reported at length. Volume 21 of Medieval Ceramics should be published soon and may be enclosed with this Newsletter. Volume 22 is currently giving fewer problems and the Editors are aiming for publication in early summer. So far, two papers have been submitted which will go in volume 23, and a publication date coinciding with next year’s conference is a possibility.
The Occasional papers series is also occupying the Editors’ attention as we now need to approach English Heritage with costs for the publication of Paul Blinkhorn’s analysis of Ipswich Ware and we are also expecting a first draft of the Trondheim Redwares publication. Comments upon the Minimum Standards have also been received and a publication draft should soon be with the external editor. This will hopefully be in print this year and distributed free to all members, perhaps with the autumn Newsletter.
The build-up to the 1999 conference at Sheffield is encouraging and we are all looking forward to meeting with the Prehistoric Ceramics Research Group over what should be a very fruitful and thought-provoking two days. Council also turned its attention to next year’s conference. This will coincide with the Group’s 25th anniversary and we would like to put on a celebrationof 25 years of pottery studies. Watch this space!
Further plans for our 25th anniversary were discussed including the suggestion of a conference T-shirt! We mainly concentrated on the suggestions from our 25th Anniversary Working Party who had gathered together costings for the production of a postcard. Council has decided to produce a single image to put onto a celebration postcard. The inspiration for this came from the superb coverphotograph John Allan supplied for Everyday and Exotic Pottery. Our idea is to compose a similar shot of a ‘ceramic super-group’ composed of the greatest, most representative, most spectacular pots in the country (and abroad if that is possible). The Secretary will receive nominations and arrange for the collection of the vessels and their photographing. It was thought that it might still be possible to put together a touring exhibition as part of our celebrations but we need to find someone to organise this. Such an exhibition might consist of the same pots that appear on our postcard. Are there any volunteers? One further suggestion was that the Group needs a new, simpler logo for letter-heads and to go on the back of the postcard. See elsewhere in this Newsletter.
Finally, nominations for the new Council were discussed. The arrangement regarding the Editors’ posts, as set out in the last Newsletter, are going ahead. Katherine Barclay and Mike Hughes will be co-opted onto Council for a period of six months each in order to stagger the terms of office served by both editors. Further details of nominations to Council are enclosed with the Newsletter.
The next Council meeting is set for the middle of June where Lorraine Mepham will be Secretary; if you have any comments or wish to raise any issues please write to her.
Duncan H Brown, Secretary
Regional Groups: Mellor Report
In the August 1998 newsletter it was noted that I, as regional groups officer, should undertake to review the recommendations of the Mellor Report which remained after the work of the implementation committee. To this end I wrote to the various regional groups suggesting that one of their roles might be to consider sections 8.3 and 8.4 of the report with a view to compiling regional surveys of ceramic potential and lists of key unpublished sites and assemblages. I received two replies, both noting the importance of the Mellor report proposals and the importance of the tasks. It seems, however, that the scale of the task is probably too great to be undertaken without adequate funding and support. In addition, issues of inter-regional compatibility in the type of data recorded and the format in which it should be presented, require some sort of national co-ordination. Both points seem entirely reasonable. If anyone has any comments or further suggestions about ways in which these issues might be addressed then I would be pleased to hear from them.
Ceramics and related courses
Materials and Technology
A week-long course (28th June–2nd July 1999) run by the Dept. of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford. The course can be taken as part of a postgraduate programme or Continuing Professional Development (CPD) if required (this assessed option costs £290, unassessed is £220). Places are limited to 20 participants. The course covers the technology of ceramics, glass, and metals. It will examine the practical and chemical processes involved in the conversion of raw materials to final product. For further details contact John McIlwaine, Co-ordinator for Continuing and Professional Education, Dept of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, tel 01274 235428, fax 01274 235190
Meetings and Conferences
Majolica and glass: from Italy to Antwerp and beyond
See previous newsletters for more detail. The conference will take place in Antwerp on 3rd-5th June 1999, and the fee will be approximately 1500 BEF. For further information contact Stad Antwerpen, Archeologie, Godefriduskaai 36, B-2000 Antwerpen, Belgium, tel/fax +32 3 232 9208.
Mineralogy of ceramics ancient and modern
There will be a meeting on this subject of the Applied Mineralogy Group at the Mineralogical Society, 41 Queen’s Gate, London SW7 on Thursday 17th June 1999. For further details, contact Andrew Middleton, Dept of Scientific Research, British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG, tel 020 7323 8342
5th European Meeting on Ancient Ceramics (EMAC 99)
The main scope of the meeting, to be held in Athens on 18th-20th October 1999, is the presentation and discussion of recent developments in the field of ceramic studies, with special emphasis on integrated approaches of scientific and archaeological/typological methods. There are also five proposed topics: methodological considerations; chemical, physical and mineralogical characterisation for provenance and technology; study of kiln material and reconstruction of kiln function; data handling; developments on dating. Deadline for abstracts is 31st May 1999. Contact EMAC 99, c/o Laboratory of Archaeometry, Institute of Materials Science, NCSR Demokritos, Aghia Paraskevi, 15310 Attiki, Greece, tel +30 1 650 3392, fax +30 1 651 9430
Miscellaneous Items
Pots required to form a ceramic ‘Supergroup’
As part of the Group’s 25th anniversary celebrations, we want to produce a postcard portraying a Ceramic Supergroup. We are looking for the most spectacular, representative or extraordinary pots; about a dozen to twenty of them to be photographed together in a one-off gathering. Vessels will be brought together at a museum under a recognised loans system (which should assuage concerns over security and validity) and photographed by a professional. The resultant image will be sold as a postcard by the MPRG at our conferences and other gatherings. We would also like to display the pots together at our 25th Anniversary Conference in May of next year, when the postcard will first appear.
Anybody wishing to offer candidates for the Ceramic Supergroup, or who wish to make further enquiries, should write to Duncan Brown at Cultural Services, Southampton City Council, Solent House, Town Quay, Southampton, SO14 0EF. Enclose a photo or reference to a publication if you can. We are not looking for nominations, only offers from those who are in a position to loan the actual vessels.
The deadline for offers is the 30th June 1999.
Competition! Design a Logo
The MPRG is looking for a new logo to appear as part of our 25th Anniversary celebrations. The logo will be used on letter-heads, appear on the back of our postcard, become the wallpaper for the Group’s web-site and appear anywhere else we can put it. The competition winner will receive a bottle of Champagne, to be presented at our conference next year.
The winner will be decided by the Council of the Medieval Pottery Research Group and their decision is final. The winning design will become the property of the MPRG for copyright and all other purposes.
The deadline for competition entries is the 30th September 1999. Send your designs to Lorraine Mepham, Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 6EB.
Exhibition
Old Crocks and New Pots
Grosvenor Museum, Chester, 1st May-25th July.
Taking as its starting point surviving pottery from Chester’s past, this exhibition looks at how modern potters have re-interpreted traditional techniques to produce new pottery for use today. Work by John Hudson, Andrew MacDonald, Steve Harrison and various other potters will be featured. There will be prehistoric to 17th century ceramics on display, and repro and contemporary pots for sale.
Julie Edwards
Lion Salt Works & salt glazing
The Lion Salt Works Trust in Northwich, Cheshire, have recently been involved in producing salt for pottery glazing by artist potter, Steve Harrison. A sponsor is being sought to underwrite the production costs for a complete kiln of salt glazed stoneware pots, including bellarmine copies. Further information is available in their free newsletter – contact them at Lion Salt Works Trust, Ollershaw Lane, Marston, Northwich CW9 6ES, tel/fax 01606 41823.
New CBM Group
Archaeological Ceramic Building Materials Group
This new study group was established at a recent meeting held at the Museum of London. It has been set up as a forum to organise research into archaeologically derived ceramic building materials (cbm), and related artefacts, obtained through excavation and survey. It covers material from the late Iron Age to the post-medieval period. The group intends to:
- produce guidelines and standards for the retention and recording of CBM
- develop minimum collections policies (both on site and for museums)
- encourage the formation of a national reference collection
- promote continental links with those involved in working with CBM
- liaise with related groups
If you are interested in joining, or would like further information, please contact Sandra Garside-Neville, Archaeological Ceramic Building Materials Group, 63 Wilton Rise, York YO24 4BT, tel 01904 621339.
Staffordshire Ceramics – reports on a conference and a course
Pots, People and Processes, Stoke-on-Trent, 24th-26th April 1998
A joint conference of the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology and the Northern Ceramics Society: The aim of the conference was to present a range of new workin post-medieval ceramic history and archaeology to a mixed audience of archaeologists, museum curators and collectors. As organiser, my primary aim – unstated – was to stress the importance of archaeology in the study of ceramics with a view to influencing approaches to ‘ceramic history’. New work there certainly was, with 30 papers being presented in a packed two-and-a-half days. Most of the speakers came from an archaeological background, but the range of subjects included kilns and firing technology, the evidence from a variety of production sites including the pottery producing centres of Buckley and Ticknall, consumption and marketing, and a more theoretical approach to the analysis of ceramics.
There was a definite bias towards the refined wares of the 18th and 19th centuries, which simply reflected the nature of the work being undertaken and the expanding interests of the archaeological community. The archaeology of a major 19th century pottery factory – J & P Bell’s Glasgow factory – provided a remarkable focal point for the second day, and was a clear statement of the potential of the archaeology of the recent past. Julie Edwards and Keith Matthews developed this theme in concluding with their discussion of the excavations at Hamilton Place, Chester, and the ceramic finds from 19th century dwellings which were demolished in 1939.
The conference brought together around 150 people from all walks of life, whose common interest was ceramics, all of whom left with the knowledge that their subjects could be approached from many different angles, all of which were valid. Indeed, the great achievement of the conference was the enthusiasm generated and the communication amongst the group. We might have allowed more time for questions, but this would have been at the expense of information.
Synopses of the papers are available from David Barker at the Potteries Museum, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 3DE (please include A4 or A5 SAE or international reply coupon), and it was important that everyone present had the best value for money.
David Barker
Staffordshire Ceramics, first session 15th-16th March 1999
An English Heritage-sponsored course at the Potteries Museum: A small group of Prehistoric, Roman and post-Roman pottery specialists with a wide range of ceramic experience attended the first of two courses run in the same week. We were all made to feel very welcome by David Barker and his team.
The course started at a relatively leisurely pace, covering early post-medieval yellow wares from the Staffordshire and Midlands areas, and making brief comparisons with material from the Surrey-Hampshire border. Other ‘coarse’ wares including slipwares and Midlands Purple Ware were also covered in depth, with samples being passed around and compared with similar material oflater dates.
Mention Staffordshire ceramics, and I immediately think of the slip-decorated press-moulded flatwares and hollow wares of the late 17th and 18th centuries. We looked at both common and rare forms of these and compared them with samples of similar wares made in Bristol.
The first evening was rounded off with an excellent Chinese meal in a local restaurant (the second group sampled an Italian establishment), and a brief session in the bar of the motel where accommodation had been arranged for the course.
The second day was more intensive, covering material which many of us had less or no experience of, the refined wares (earthenware, stoneware and porcelain) of the 18th and 19th centuries. Common types were looked at, including the decorative techniques of transfer printing, under- and over-glaze painting, enamelling, and applied relief moulding.
Although there was a huge amount of information to cover, with several participants suggesting a three- rather than two-day course in future, the excellent handouts prepared by the tutors helped considerably and will be constantly referred to when working on assemblages of this fascinating period of ceramic history.
Further courses will be run if Sarah Jennings receives enough letters from those interested in attending. Write to her at CAS, Fort Cumberland, Eastney, Portsmouth, PO9 4LD, fax 01705 838060.
Sue Anderson
No. 35 – December 1999
Council News
Council met on 13th December at the British Museum. Unfortunately due to illness and other commitments the turnout was low, but surviving members managed to work through a fairly full agenda.
The bulk of the meeting was, as usual, devoted to the work of the Editorial Committee. Volume 22 of Medieval Ceramics should be with the typesetters in January, with an estimated publication date in spring 2000. Papers (including some presented at the 1999 Sheffield conference) have already been received for Volume 23, which is well advanced; it is hoped to publish this later in 2000, but the Editorial Committee would welcome further offers of papers or shorter articles for this volume. The Guide to the Classification of Medieval Ceramic Forms is still selling steadily, and there has been progress on other projected Occasional Papers. Trondheim Redwares should be completed and published in 2000, and the Ipswich volume has also reached the final stages of preparation for publication. Work on the Minimum Standards document has temporarily halted but offers of help to incorporate suggested amendments and additions should speed things up – this document too should be completed early in 2000. The Bibliography is well in hand.
Council recognises that MPRG may not have been doing enough in the way of self-publicity. We need an updated and accessible web site, a new and more eye-catching publicity leaflet, and a new logo. Chris Cumberpatch has offered to take this matter forward, and an appeal from him can be found elsewhere in this newsletter. This publicity drive would be well timed to coincide with our 25th Anniversary celebrations next year, and the production of our pottery ‘Supergroup’ postcard (more news on this elsewhere).
Preparations for next year’s conference are well advanced. The venue is Oxford, the dates 29th-30th March, and the theme is a retrospective look at medieval pottery studies over the last 25 years, looking at how we have advanced and, hopefully, how we can continue to advance in the future. Preliminary publicity for the conference will be distributed with this newsletter, or very shortly afterwards. Council is pursuing invitations from Raeren and from Dublin for 2001 and 2002 respectively.
Council would like to take the opportunity to wish all members the best for the festive season, and here’s looking forward to the new millennium and our 25th anniversary!
Lorraine Mepham, Secretary
IMPORTANT: Change of Address
The MPRG address is changing from the British Museum to c/o Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent ST1 3DW
This will take immediate effect, although mail will still be forwarded from the British Museum for a limited period.
EGM
The EGM, which is to be held in order to present the MPRG accounts for the past two years to members, will be combined with the spring meeting of SEMPER, for which a provisional date of Saturday 11th March 2000 has been set, with a venue in Aylesbury. Members will receive firm details nearer the date. SEMPER is organised by Anna Slowikowski, St Mary’s Archaeology Centre, St Mary’s Street, Bedford, MK42 0AS, tel 01234 270002.
Publicity
The year 2000, as our 25th anniversary, is an appropriate time to think about publicity for the Group, and how we can raise public awareness of our aims and activities. An important part of this must be the updating and maintenance of our web site. We are aware that there have been access problems with this, and Council is investigating how we can improve the web site to incorporate more (and regularly updated) information, and to enable easier access.
We are also looking at producing new publicity flyers for distribution, and as part of this we need a new logo. A recent competition to design a new logo sadly elicited no response (where are all you budding designers?), but we are trying again. We want something simple and eye-catching, which captures the spirit of the MPRG (if that’s not too much to ask). Please send your designs (or indeed any other ideas for publicity) to Chris Cumberpatch, 22 Tennyson Road, Lower Walkley, Sheffield S6 2WE, tel/fax: 0114 231 0051.
Journal (Medieval Ceramics)
We are keen to encourage a wide range of contributions from members and others, dealing with all kinds of ceramics from the Saxon, medieval and early post-medieval periods (up to c1700). This includes production and building materials, as well as vessels of an infinite variety of forms (as demonstrated by the MPRG Guide to the Classification of Medieval Pottery Forms). All contributions will be considered on their own merits, and main articles will be subject to peer review. If, however, you have a smaller contribution to make, you might like to consider submitting it for inclusion in Compendiario. This provides an ideal forum for the exchange of ideas and information on individual items and groups of interest, or for the publication of interim notes and even offers the opportunity to draw attention to unusual pots which may be difficult to identify and parallel. The editors welcome all contributions, although they reserve the right to direct authors elsewhere when appropriate.
Please direct all texts for and correspondence regarding volume 23 to Jacqui Pearce, Hon Editor Medieval Ceramics, c/o Museum of London Specialist Services, 46 Eagle Wharf Road, London N1 7EE, tel 020 7566 9325
Meetings and Conferences
Current Approaches to Medieval Archaeology
Department of Archaeology, University of Durham, 15th-16th April 2000.
There is a call for abstracts for papers based on current research on the following themes: Archaeology and History; Scientific methods and applications in Medieval Archaeology; Architecture; The Construction of Identity; Landscape and Settlement; Artefact Studies. Offers are also invited from anyone wishing to organise a session on any other topic. Please send paper abstracts and session proposals to: Current Approaches to Medieval Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, University of Durham, The Science Site, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, email med.conf@durham.ac.uk, web www.dur.ac.uk/~drk8zz1/. Deadline end Jan 2000.
British Archaeological Association Meetings 2000
2nd Feb. ‘Auxerre, Dijon and Clamecy: gothic architecture in Burgundy’ by Dr Alexandra Kennedy.
1 March. ‘Salisbury Cathedral West Front: recent recording and research’ by Jerry Sampson, Tim Ayers and Eddie Sinclair.
5 April. ‘Early Christian Archaeology in Europe: some recent research directions’, by Michael J Jones.
3 May. ‘English Historical Brickwork since Nathaniel Lloyd’ by Terence Paul Smith, followed by President’s Reception.
Meetings held at the Society of Antiquaries of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1V 0HS, with tea from 4.30pm, and lecture from 5.00pm. Non-members are welcome, but should sign the visitors’ book.
Pottery illustration: information wanted
In November 1992, a joint meeting was held of the Association of Archaeological Illustrators and Surveyors and the Prehistoric Ceramics Research Group at the Institute of Archaeology in London (the papers from this conference are published as AAI&S Technical Paper No. 13, Aspects of Illustration: Prehistoric Pottery).
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the illustration of prehistoric pottery and the possible failings of current methods, as well as discussing ideas about possible drawing styles and conventions used to present this information.
I am currently studying my third and final year BA in Archaeological Illustration at Swindon College, and my final project concerns the illustration of ceramics for publication, the investigation of new methods of ceramic illustration and trying variations on the current established methods.
While the 1992 meeting focused on prehistoric pottery, I am looking at an entire range of ceramic illustration (prehistoric through to mid-medieval) and how the work of the archaeological illustrator can aid the specialist and the researcher by focusing on their particular needs and what they can use from the page of illustrated pottery. This, along with the ever-widening range of new media available to the illustrator and the archaeologist, means the restrictions in recording and printing material are much smaller (and cheaper too). This means that more attention could be paid to the details that academic drawing of pottery sometimes cannot show clearly (use residue, sooting, environmental effects) as well as manufacturing techniques.
Although photography can never replace measured academic drawing, digital photography could be used to show fabric composition or be used to produce ‘realistic’ reconstructions of incomplete vessels, as well as to pay attention to staining or marking within the fabric of the pot.
I stress this is not change for change’s sake but a real attempt to approach this subject from a more ‘graphic’ angle and to complement not replace the traditional methods. I need to contact specialists, Finds Officers, and researchers across the various fields in archaeology to discuss their own particular needs and if they feel the current systems fail or indeed succeed in certain areas. I would be grateful for any correspondence with your views or simply to show interest in the project, and I would like to send out examples of my work as it progresses along with a simple questionnaire/reply form to provide any comments on it.
If you can help, please contact me, Peter Lorimer, at 50 Graham Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN1 2HA, tel 01793 611368.
New Books
• John Dwight’s Fulham Pottery: Excavations 1971-79
Chris Green, 1999. English Heritage Archaeological Report 6. ISBN 1850745994. 380 pages. £25.
Excavation of a pottery first established in the 1670s, and producing stoneware in the early years. The report concentrates on this early period, although later wares are also covered, and illustrates the wide range of vessels produced at this important factory.
‘Old and New Worlds. Historical/Post-Medieval Archaeology Papers from the Societies’ joint conferences at Williamsburg and London 1997
Geoff Egan and Ronn Michael (eds), 1999. Oxbow Books. 408 pages. ISBN 1900188929. £40.
This compilation of papers presented at the 30th anniversary conference of the Society for Historical Archaeology and the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology is divided into five main sections: Approaches to the evidence; Communities of the Old and New Worlds; Bridge and Divisions: crossing the seas and military operations; Manufactured Goods: production, movement and consumption; Humans, animals, plants and landscapes. ‘Manufactured Goods’ is the section most relevant to MPRG members, and contains papers on British pottery of the 15th-19th centuries.
• Die römischen und mittelalterlichen Töpfereien in Mayen, Kreis Mayen-Koblenz.
Mark Redknap, 1999. Berichte zur Archäeologie an Mittelrhein und Mosel vol. 6, Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier. ISBN 3-923319-41-X. 400 pages. Price 135DM.
A corpus on the Roman and medieval pottery industry at Mayen in the German Eifel, launched by the Oberbürgermeister of Mayen at Genovevaburg Castle on 5th October 1999, as part of the seventh Mayen ‘Buch und Kulturwoche’.
Mayen is remarkable for the continuity of pottery production evident there for over a millennium. The wares were widely distributed during the late Roman and Carolingian periods, reaching England, The Netherlands and Scandinavia. They are easily identified by their volcanic suite of inclusions, and form an important indicator of economic activity between the 4th and 14th centuries.
The volume (entirely in German except for a four-page English summary) includes information on kilns as well as full descriptions of fabrics, forms and dating from the Roman to the medieval periods in Mayen, and short papers on neutron activation analysis of Mayen and Tating Ware, and medieval pottery from Urbar.
The book is available from the publisher: Landesamt für Denkmalpflege, Abteilung Archäologische Denkmalpflege, Amt Koblenz, Festung Ehrenbreitstein, 56077 Koblenz, Tel. 02 61 73626, Fax 02 61 703360.
Mark Redknap is interested in any information on the occurrence of Roman and medieval Mayen ware, and record forms can be obtained from him at Dept of Archaeology and Numismatics, National Museum & Gallery, Cathys Park, Cardiff, CF1 3NP, Wales.
• Looking for something to spend those Christmas book tokens on? Oxbow Books are currently offering several books at reduced prices, including Old and New Worlds (see above) for £20 (SPMA members), Maiolica in the North for £22.50 (normally £25), John Dwight’s Fulham Pottery (see above) for £20, and Cities in Sherds 1 & 2: finds from cesspits in Deventer, Dordrecht, Nijmegen and Tiel (1250-1900) by Michiel Bartels for £54 (normally £60). Contact them at Park End Place, Oxford, OX1 1HN, tel 01865 241249, fax 01865 794449, email oxbow@oxbowbooks.com.
No. 39 – April 2001
Secretary’s Notes
Council met on 25th January at the Museum of London. The first main agenda item concerned the President’s chosen discussion topic – the relationship of ceramics with other artefactual and environmental categories. Clive’s introductory paper is included elsewhere in this Newsletter, in order (it is hoped) to stimulate further debate. Council’s discussion involved the sharing of experiences of working on integrated projects. These projects are, however, still very much in the minority, and we need to consider ways in which the situation might be improved before ceramic specialists become further isolated from the post-excavation process – suggestions included a one-day conference and the provision of dissertation topics for MA students.
Alejandra Gutierrez is pressing ahead with the survey of the state of ceramics teaching and research. Higher Education institutions have already been circulated with a questionnaire, and UK MPRG members should receive the second questionnaire with this Newsletter – do please take the time to complete it if you can. Hopefully the results of the questionnaires will help to raise awareness of medieval ceramics within Higher Education institutions, perhaps leading to a greater number of courses offered, and more research (and henceforth perhaps more younger members joining MPRG).
All members should now have received their copy of Medieval Ceramics Volume 22/23 (if you have not please contact the Assistant Treasurer – see contact details at the end of this Newsletter), and the Editorial Committee are already well ahead with the preparation for Volume 24, which should appear in summer 2001. There is as yet no firm news on other publications (Ipswich Ware, Trondheim Redwares), but the Minimum Standards document is going through final editing, and may be out in time for the May conference. We are meanwhile investigating the possibility of putting back numbers of Medieval Ceramics on the Internet, with the help of ADS (Archaeology Data Service).
We are now looking forward to our annual conference in Edinburgh in May, and we look forward to seeing as many members as possible there. Book now if you haven’t already done so! Preparations are also under way for a three-day conference in Dublin in 2002, probably in September but the dates have yet to be finalised.
The next Council meeting is scheduled for 21st June; if you have any comments or wish to raise any issues, please contact me before then.
Lorraine Mepham, Secretary
Treasurer’s Notes
The Treasurer, Bob Will, has been sorting out the MPRG mailing list as it appears to have been getting out of control recently. Please tell him if you know of anyone who is a member but isn’t receiving either the newsletter or the journal.
Overseas members please note that eurocheques are no longer available and that banks are adding high bank charges for processing cheques. Girobank transfers appear to be the cheaper option.
Please remember to send in your subscriptions, which were due in February, if you haven’t already done so. Thanks.
Note Bob’s new address: GUARD, Dept. of Archaeology, The Gregory Building, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ.
Regional Groups
SEMPER
?June, West Stow, Suffolk.
The long-running saga of the next SEMPER meeting continues! Due to foot and mouth restrictions, the venue is currently closed but will hopefully be accessible again by mid-June. Watch for news on the arch-pot and britarch email groups, and via the post. As previously advertised, the theme will be ‘Saxon pottery’ and will be held at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village (am Early Saxon, pm Middle-Late Saxon, with an opportunity to visit the Saxon village and museum at lunchtime), and SEMPER members will be mailed when details are finalised.
For further details, contact Sue Anderson or Anna Slowikowski, tel 01234 270009).
Meetings and Conferences
Supernovas and Black Holes: regionalisation in portable antiquities of the medieval period
15th May, Society of Antiquaries, London
A one-day conference of the Portable Antiquities Scheme and the Finds Research Group 700-1700. There will be papers on detector finds in Romney Marsh, medieval seals, heraldry in use, a view from an area not covered by the scheme, settlement patterns in Lincolnshire from metal-detected finds, recognising regionalisation in medieval portable antiquities, ‘all objects of all categories are made in all places at all times?’, and 19th century catalogues and the implications for regionalisation. For further information contact Quita Mould, Eastmoor Manor, Eastmoor, Kings Lynn, Norfolk PE33 9PZ, tel 01366 328910.
Viking Period Settlement in Britain and Ireland
4th–7th July, Cardiff University
The biennial conference of the Society for Medieval Archaeology will be held at the Centre for the Study of Medieval Society and Culture, Cardiff University, and the National Museum of Wales.
For further details contact Prof John Hines, Centre for the Study of Medieval Society and Culture, Cardiff University, PO Box 909, Cardiff, Wales, CF1 3XU.
International Medieval Congress
9th–12th July, University of Leeds
Information on the conference is available online, or by contacting the International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, tel 0113 233 3614.
Medieval Europe 2002
10th-15th September, Basel, Switzerland
Call for Papers and 1st Announcement
The theme of next year’s conference is ‘Centre – Region – Periphery’. Registration for papers or posters, with title and abstract, should be submitted by 1st May 2001. Further details from Medieval Europe Basel 2002, c/o Archaeologische Bodenforschung, Petersgraben 11, PO Box CH-4001, Basel, Switzerland. Fax +41-61-267 23 76, web www.mebs-2002.org.
Ceramics Courses
Medieval Imported Pottery
10th-11th and 12th-13th September, University of Southampton
Subject to confirmation, two English Heritage-subsidised two-day practical training sessions will be held at Southampton this Autumn. They will follow the same format as previously, with lectures on, and handling of, pottery from Northern Europe, France and Iberia. The course will be taught by Duncan Brown and Alan Vince, with geological input from David Williams. These excellent and very popular courses are likely to be booked up quickly.
For further information or to book a place, please write to Sarah Jennings, English Heritage, Fort Cumberland, Eastney, Portsmouth PO9 4LD, fax 01705 838060.
MPRG Website
The new MPRG website is now online, providing information about publications and the MPRG conference, as well as up-to-date news, pottery links, and a contents list for all volumes of Medieval Ceramics. There will soon be a noticeboard for members to post queries, calls for help and items of news. Keep watching! The address is www.medievalpottery.org.uk.
Discussion Paper
These brief notes are intended to provoke discussion rather than point to any definite conclusions. The view expressed are entirely personal.
The fundamental unit of archaeological interpretation is the assemblage, and the basic tool of interpretation is the comparison of assemblages. Study of archaeological ceramics has so far concentrated mainly on the definition individual objects (vessels, sherds) and their characteristics (fabric, form, decoration, etc). This is a necessary stage for the discipline to pass through, but the time will come when much of this work will be considered to be ‘done’ (ie all common fabrics and forms will have been defined, sources sorted out, etc). We should therefore be thinking now about what comes next, or we face further diversion of resources as our task is perceived by others as ‘done’, or at least downgradeable to a purely technical task of sorting.
So – what comes ‘next’? Comparison of ceramic assemblages is seen in work at the ‘cutting edge’, eg that of Duncan Brown, and I have discussed elsewhere the issues of quantification needed for an appropriate level of comparison. But ceramics are only part of almost every archaeological assemblage, which are likely to comprise other classes of artefact (building material, ‘small finds’, etc) as well as ecofacts (animal bones, etc). Comparison of assemblages of small finds has been carried out at (eg) Winchester and York, and of animal bone assemblages at several places (eg London).
What I have not seen, but which seems the logical next step, is whole-assemblage comparison, including all classes of objects within as assemblage. This could open up a new dimension of interpretative possibilities – for example, do our ideas about ceramic ‘status’ correlate with those based on the supposed relative status of different parts of the body of animals consumed for their meat? The theoretical obstacles, such as the relative weighting of complete and incomplete ‘objects’, can now be overcome statistically (e.g. through Pie-slice). The major obstacles appear to be organisational, at both the local and at the institutional level. At the local level, different specialists prepare their archives and their reports, and never, so to speak, the twain shall meet. It may not even be possible to integrate their work if, for example, they have been using different software packages to catalogue their materials. At an institutional level, there is no collaboration between organisations that might be able to catch a vision, organise flagship projects, and influence the way the work is done on the ground. Is it time to be approaching other ‘umbrella’ organisations such as the Finds Research Group and the Association of Environmental Archaeologists, and bodies such as MoLSS which might have the data for such projects?
Clive Orton, MPRG President
New Publications
Scientific Analyses of Archaeological Ceramics
Katherine Barclay, 2000. Oxbow Books, £4.95, ISBN 1842170317.
This handbook sets out the range of information which might be sought in ceramic analyses and will be a useful resource tool for archaeologists, museums and specialists, who need to be familiar with terms and methods used by scientists in order to judge whether possible applications of science are likely to be meaningful. (Information from Oxbow Book News 47, Spring 2001).
Standards in Action. Working with Archaeology Book 3.
C Longworth and B Wood (eds), 2000. Society of Museum Archaeologists and MDA. A4 paperback, 60 pages. ISBN 1900642077. £15.
This is a set of guidance notes intended as a reference guide for anyone working with archaeological material which will eventually be deposited in a museum.
The book is divided into two main parts, the first a list of 30 ‘notes’ which cover aspects such as access and use, repositories and the archive, backlogs, ethical and legal issues, catalogues and recording, and selection and dispersal. The second part is entitled ‘Questions and Answers’ and consists of a series of flow-charts which present advice for a given set of scenarios, the outcomes of which are cross-referenced to the notes or to other published standards. There is also a glossary and a list of useful organisations. The document forms part of SPECTRUM, the UK documentation standard for museums.
Inevitably, given the originators of the document, most of these ‘questions’ relate specifically to museum workers, although a few mention ‘field archaeologists’ and the list of acknowledgements (presumably consultees) is also heavily biased towards the museums sector. However, archaeologists in all areas of the field need to be aware of the issues raised, as they affect the way we work and the archives we generate.
Standards in Action neatly summarises and draws together a range of earlier guidelines, such as those of the UKIC, MGC, Museums Association and SMA, and provides a useful reference for dealing with the main problems of archaeological archives.
Cera¡mica Nazara y Marina
Transfretana 4, Ceuta, 31 May–2 June 1999. Published 2000. 376 pages, 26 plates. (€12.02 euros).
Collection of ten papers on ‘Hispano-Moresque’ pottery in Granada, Almeria, Malaga and North Africa. Available from Pórtico LibrerÃas, Muñoz Seca 6, 50005 Zaragoza, Spain, fax +34 976 35 32 26.
MPRG Bibliography
It is a pleasure to announce that the Bibliography has now been published in its entirety on the Internet.
There are over twelve thousand records from Britain, Ireland and offshore islands in the database. A main query page allows users to ask complex questions such as ‘select all the reports from excavations in Scotland which include clay pipes’ (this returns 841 records) or ‘select all the sites from Norfolk where dating includes Middle Saxon’ (92 records) or ‘select within the grid square SJ 4066 all the reports from sites of type – Castles and Naval Earthworks’ (6 records). Users can choose a short, medium or long format for the output that is returned to their screen. Links with explanatory pages provide help with these choices. A further set of more straightforward queries allows searches by author, journal and range of publi-cation years or to find the details of an individual record using the index number.
These latter queries will allow you to check not only your own publications but also those in your geographic region. Despite a great deal of effort we are aware that there are still gaps and the only way we can fill these is for everyone to search for missing references. The main journals were thoroughly searched but it is the one-off monographs and local excavation reports which may have been missed. Instructions for collecting records for the bibliography are given on the web site. We will also be pleased to be informed of any errors in the data. If you have any problems or comments on the website, please email PRT @ Liverpool.
We are grateful to Susie White and Jenny Woodcock for their greats efforts in collecting, checking and inputting much of the data. English Heritage funded the project and we would like to thank them and particularly Sarah Jennings for her continued support. Many thanks must go to Nick Johnson who has done a tremendous job in getting the interface between the database and website to work efficiently.
Annual Bibliography
The website database will continue to be updated each year as the Annual Bibliography is produced. The production of the Annual Bibliography is no small task and it has been carried out in recent years by Peter Davey and David Higgins. The website gives full details of all the people, including volunteer compilers, who have been involved in the Annual Bibliography since 1984. David Higgins, after a major stint of eight years, has decided to retire from the job of collating and editing the Annual Bibliography. We are very pleased that Liz Pieksma has agreed to take on this task. Peter Davey will continue to oversee the project and maintain the website.
Philippa Tomlinson, Centre for Manx Studies
Student help wanted
A local group in Suffolk has been excavating Priory Farm, Preston St Mary for several years and now has an assemblage of medieval pottery which needs cataloguing. They have no funds, but hope a student may be interested in undertaking the work as part of a dissertation or post-graduate project, preferably in contact with the Suffolk Unit. Please contact Adrian Thorpe, Priory Farm, Preston St Mary, Sudbury, C010 9LT, tel 01787 247251 for further details.
No. 38 – December 2000
Council News
Council met on 24th October at the Museum of London. The main agenda items were editorial matters, and the discussion of proposals for our annual conferences in 2001 and 2002. The Editorial Committee has been working hard to ensure that the next volume of Medieval Ceramics (the joint volume 22/23) will be published by the end of the year. If all goes according to plan you may receive the volume at the same time as this newsletter. The next volume (24) is under way, and it is hoped to get this out in time for the 2001 conference, of which more news below. Work on our other forthcoming publications (Ipswich Ware, Trondheim Redwares and Minimum Standards) is also moving on.
The next two years offer exciting prospects for our annual conference. Proposals and a draft programme were submitted at the meeting for the 2001 conference: this will be in Edinburgh in May. It will be a weekend conference, with one day of papers and one day of pottery viewing. Further details can be found in the enclosed flyer. Clare McCutcheon presented her proposals for a 3-day conference in Dublin in 2002 (probably September), with a suggested venue of Trinity College and the National Museum. The conference will focus not just on pottery but a range of material types, and aims to put Ireland back on the map of European medieval pottery studies. Nothing more has been heard about the proposed conference in Raeren.
The Group has been concerned for some time over the apparent lack of teaching and research in medieval pottery (and indeed in ceramics generally). Alejandra Gutierrez has now bravely volunteered to investigate this matter further, and to this end will be carrying out a survey of university departments, and also preparing a register of expertise from MPRG members, to identify those who might be prepared to teach. This sounds like a very useful first step towards filling that gap, and perhaps encouraging future medieval ceramic specialists.
MPRG now has a permanent web address (www.medievalpottery.org.uk); this immediately redirects to the current web site. We have also been in contact with ADS (Archaeology Data Service) in York, regarding the possibility of putting Medieval Ceramics Vols 1–10 on the Internet. ADS have responded encouragingly, but we would need to scan and edit the volumes.
The next Council meeting is scheduled for 25th January; if you have any comments or wish to raise any issues please contact me before then. And finally, a reminder that at the 2001 AGM, our Vice-President (David Barker) and one Ordinary Member (Sara Lunt) will be retiring. If you feel the urge to fill one of these posts, or know someone who might, please contact me.
Lorraine Mepham, Secretary
MPRG Conference 2001
The Millennium Conference of the MPRG will be held at the Edinburgh City Arts Centre on 11th-13th May 2001. The Conference is over three days, but starts late on Friday and finishes early on Sunday to allow for travelling time.
On Friday 11th, there will be a reception at the City Arts Centre from 6pm, followed by George Haggarty’s lecture on the importance of Edinburgh, Leith and the Lothians in the development of the Scottish industrial ceramic industry.
Most of the papers will be given on Saturday 12th, and will cover Historic Scotland and the study of Scottish medieval ceramics, Scottish fabrics and production centres, the Scottish Redware project, shell-tempered wares in Scotland, the Scottish White Gritty project, and medieval Hebridean pottery.
On Sunday 13th, there will be a viewing of the pottery assemblages recovered from recent archaeological excavations in Leith, Edinburgh and other Scottish sites, followed by a discussion of the material with the aim of setting it into its European trade context and economic significance.
See the enclosed flyer for full programme and booking details.
Regional Groups
North-West Group
Saturday 27th January, Giffords, Chester
A meeting of the North West Region MPRG will be held on Saturday 27th January 2001 at the Gifford offices in Chester. If you would like to attend please contact Julie Edwards (see below). Apologies for short notice.
The group is planning two other meetings for 2001. The first will be on Saturday 31st March at the Potteries Museum, Stoke-on-Trent where we will have the opportunity to see recently excavated medieval and early post-medievalpottery from Burslem. A second meeting has been provisionally set for Saturday 6th October at Liverpool Museum and the subject for the day will be Buckley wares.
If you would like to be placed on the group’s mailing list to receive further information about these meetings, please contact Julie Edwards, c/o 27 Grosvenor St, Chester CH1 2DD.
SEMPER
?March, West Stow, Suffolk.
The last SEMPER meeting (September) had to be postponed due to the petrol crisis, so it will now be held in March (date to be confirmed). It will be on the theme of ‘Saxon pottery’ and will be held at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village. The meeting should follow the same format as previously published (am Early Saxon, pm Middle-Late Saxon, with an opportunity to visit the Saxon village and museum at lunchtime), and SEMPER members will be mailed soon. For further details, contact Sue Anderson or Anna Slowikowski, tel 01234 270009.
Meetings and Conferences
British Archaeological Association Meetings 2000-2001
Society of Antiquaries, London.
Meetings are held in the rooms of the Society of Antiquaries of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London from 4.30pm. Non-members are welcome, but should sign the visitors’ book.
- 7th Feb. ‘The ins and outs of English Parish Churches: doors and porches in the 12th century’, Dr Carol Davidson Cragoe.
- 7th Mar. ‘Letters and Words: a new look at English medieval inscriptions’, Rev Jerome Bertram.
- 4th Apr. ‘Medieval Stained Glass: recent and future trends in scholarship’, Prof Richard Marks.
- 2nd May. ‘The Arts in Roman Britain’, Dr Martin Henig. Followed by the President’s Reception.
The Archaeology of Reformation (c1480-1580)
15–17th February, BM, London.
A joint conference of the Societies for Medieval and Post-Medieval Archaeology. The following themes will be covered:
- 15th Feb. ‘Public Worship and Iconoclasm’, and ‘Private Devotion and Resistance’
- 16th Feb. ‘Dissolution Landscapes’, and ‘Corporate Charity and Reformation’.
- 17th Feb. ‘Secular Power and Iconography’, and ‘Death, Burial and Commemoration’.
Conference fee £55 (members), £75 (non-members), or £30 per day. For further details, contact Prof Roberta Gilchrist, Dept of Archaeology, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 218, Reading, RG6 6AA, tel 0118 931 6381.
Viking Period Settlement in Britain and Ireland
4th-7th July, Cardiff University
The biennial conference of the Society for Medieval Archaeology will be held at the Centre for the Study of Medieval Society and Culture, Cardiff University, and the National Museum of Wales.
For further details contact Professor John Hines, Centre for the Study of Medieval Society and Culture, Cardiff University, PO Box 909, Cardiff, Wales, CF1 3XU, see also www.medarchsoc.uklinux.net.
Ceramics Courses
A practical guide to Staffordshire (and related) ceramics of the 17th–19th centuries
Two EH-subsidised two-day practical training sessions will be held at The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, on 5th-6th and 7th-8th March. The courses will focus upon the identification, dating, terminology, and significance of Staffordshire earthenwares and stonewares of the 17th to late 19th centuries. For further information please contact David Barker, The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 3DE, fax 01782 232500.
A one-day course on medieval and post-medieval pottery, organised by the Society of Museum Archaeologists, will also be held in Stoke, on 27th March. Contact Tim Bridges at Worcester City Museum and Art Gallery, Foregate Street, Worcester, WR1 1DT, tel 01905 25371.
Dayschool: 7000 years of ceramic art
24th February, University of Birmingham
Details from the School of Continuing Studies, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, tel 0121 414 3413 or 414 5606.
New Annual Ceramics Journal
In July 2001, the Chipstone Foundation of Milwaukee will introduce a new full-colour annual publication that examines the role of historical ceramics in the American context. Ceramics in America is an interdisciplinary journal intended for collectors, historical archaeologists, curators, decorative arts students, social historians, and contemporary studio potters. The first issue reflects this diversity. In addition to heavily-illustrated articles by noted American and British ceramic scholars and a private American collector profile, each issue will contain New Discoveries, Book Reviews, a Checklist of Articles and Books and an Index.
The first issue will include papers by Ivor Noel Hume, Bly Straube, Ann Smart Martin, Ellen Paul Denker, David Barker, Michelle Erickson & Robert Hunter, Jonathan Rickard & Don Carpentier, George L Miller & Robert Hunter, J Garrison & Diana Stradling, and Troy D Chappell.
For further information, see future MPRG Newsletters or contact University Press of New England, 23 South Main Street, Hanover, NH 03755-2055, USA. Tel 00 1 603-643-7100.
New Publications
The Limehouse Porcelain manufactory. Excavations at 108-116 Narrow Street, London, 1990.
Kieron Tyler and Roy Stephenson, MoLAS Monograph 6, published by MoLAS / English Heritage (£16.50).
This publication summarises the archaeological sequence and the history of the pothouse. It includes the only definitive listing of all the pottery forms recovered from the site. Illustrated throughout in colour. Review by Chris Cumberpatch forthcoming in Rescue News.
Post-Roman pottery from excavations in Colchester 1971-85
John Cotter, Colchester Archaeological Trust, Colchester Archaeological Report 7 (£36)
This is, to a large extent, both a typology and a synthesis of medieval and later pottery in north Essex. At over 400 pages long, with over 1,700 pottery illustrations plus maps, diagrams, and photographs, it is undoubtedly the largest publication on post-Roman pottery from Essex, as well as one of the largest urban assemblages to be published from south-east England in recent years. As such, it should prove an invaluable reference work, not just to ceramic researchers in Essex, but also to researchers in East Anglia and south-east England generally, as well as those with wider interests in imported wares or other socio-economic aspects of pottery studies.
The reports deals with nearly 100,000 sherds (2 tonnes) of post-Roman pottery from the excavations in Colchester between 1971 and 1985. To fill gaps in the excavated material, the study also draws on some largely unpublished material in the Colchester Museum.
The sites, methodology and previous work are detailed in the first chapter. This is followed in Chapters 2 to 6 by a typology of English wares, most of which are of local origin. Accounts of local wares of the 11th to early 16th centuries form the core of the work. Particular attention is given to the Middleborough kilns (c1175-1225) and the 13th- to early 16th-century Colchester-type ware industry – the local manifestation of the ‘East Anglian redwares’ tradition which includes a high proportion of vessels with exuberant slip decoration. The production of roof-furniture, particularly louvers, was an important element of the Colchester-type ware industry, and the report includes two of the most complete and highly-decorated louvers published in Britain recent years. The account of the important but poorly-understood Hedingham fine-ware industry is likewise the most comprehensive overview published to date.
English post-medieval wares are treated in no less detail. The latter includes a study of the numerous tin-glazed drug jars (English and imported) recovered from apothecary dumps during the Lion Walk excavations, together with documentary evidence linking these to named families.
The assemblage of Continental imports is arranged in geographical order in Chapters 7 to 13. Foreign imports are particularly common from the late medieval period onwards, and reflect Colchester’s status as a port. The German stonewares alone constitute one of the richest and most diverse collections from south-east England.
Chapter 14 is devoted to the presentation and quantification of 22 stratified groups of pottery, arranged in chronological order.
An overview of the main trends of pottery supply to Colchester through the ages is provided in the concluding chapter, and the significance of the assemblage is considered in terms of its regional, national and international contexts. There are appendices dealing with documentary evidence for local pottery production and neutron activation analysis of Colchester-type and other Essex redwares.The project and its publication were supported by English Heritage.
Colchester Archaeolological Report 7 costs £36 post free (UK mainland only) and is available from the Colchester Archaeological Trust, 12 Lexden Road, Colchester CO3 3NF.
Please contact the Trust if ordering from abroad as there may be additional charges for postage. Cheques should be drawn in sterling on a British-based bank.
Philip Crummy, Colchester Archaeological Trust
La Manufacture de Meillonnas (Ain) 1760-1870. Catalogue typologique des ceramiques.
Jean Rosen, CNRS, Documents d’archéologie en Rhône-Alpes (DARA) no. 19, CDRom MAC or PC format, (180F + 20F postage)
A typological catalogue of 453 faence forms illustrated by 150 colour photos and 258 drawings, and 213 photos of the archaeological setting, with references. The database can be interrogated by form, function, technique, decoration, date, etc.For more information, or to order, contact Service regional de l’archaeologie, DARA, le Grenier d’Abondance, 6 quai Saint-Vincent, 69283 LYON, Cedex 01, France.
Websites and email
As noted in the Secretary’s Notes, MPRG has a new web address, currently pointed at Paul Miles’ site which he has kindly maintained for us for over five years. Paul will be giving up the site due to pressure of work, and the current Assistant Secretary, Sue Anderson, will be taken over responsibility for maintaining the site. A new version will be up and running soon, probably after the next Council meeting in February. Council would like to thank Paul Miles for setting up and maintaining the site on his personal web space. Please remember to change your bookmark/favourites to: https://www.medievalpottery.org.uk/.
No. 37 – August 2000
Editorial
This edition of the newsletter sees the introduction of our new logo, kindly designed for us by Ivan Cumberpatch (Chris’ dad), to whom Council is very grateful. This has inspired a new look, which I hope members will like.
I am always interested in receiving information for inclusion in the newsletter. News about members’ work, forthcoming meetings, and short articles are all particularly welcome.
Council would like to hear from students undertaking research into medieval pottery, and we would like to include information on this in the newsletter. A thesis abstract could be sent if appropriate. It is hoped to include thesis titles in the Medieval Ceramics bibliography in future.
Secretary’s Notes
Council met on 13th June at the offices of MoLSS in Eagle Wharf Road, London. As usual the agenda was full, and much of the meeting was devoted to editorial matters. The most important of these was the publication programme for Medieval Ceramics. This has slipped over the last two or three years, and in order to get back on track the Editorial Committee has proposed that the next two volumes (22 and 23) should be published together in a joint volume, to appear by the end of the year. Some items already submitted for Vol. 23 will be held over to Vol. 24, which will be the 25th Anniversary issue, and will include papers from the 2000 Oxford conference, as well as the 1999 Bibliography. This volume should appear in time for the 2001 annual conference. The perennial problem faced by the editors of lack of contributions to Medieval Ceramics was discussed; it was suggested that short contributions from regional group meetings could be published, and individual members are again reminded that proposals for contributions are always welcomed. Progress is slow on our other proposed publications (Ipswich Ware and Trondheim Redwares), but the Minimum Standards document is currently going through its final editing.
On the subject of publicity, we now have a new logo, courtesy of Chris Cumberpatch’s father (to whom grateful thanks), which will adorn this and future Newsletters, and which will be used in any other publicity we issue. Following recent discussions on the need for a permanent web address for the Group (our current web address is excellently maintained by Paul Miles, courtesy of the Oxford Archaeological Unit), Council has decided to proceed with acquiring such an address (‘www.medievalpottery.org‘ was suggested as the most obvious), and to see how this works for a year or two. The costs of acquiring a web address fluctuate, but the average is about £50 per year. The advantages of a permanent address are that it doesn’t have to be maintained by one individual, and it guarantees wider inclusion on web search engine lists. It was suggested that back numbers of Medieval Ceramics, particularly those which are now out of print, could be made available on the Web.
We have as yet no news of the proposed conference in Raeren in 2001, but meanwhile an alternative venue has been offered in Edinburgh for spring 2001. This would be a two-day conference, probably over a weekend in May. No theme has been arranged, but a less formal approach than usual was proposed, with a combination of papers and pottery viewing. Clare McCutcheon has confirmed the offer of Dublin as a venue for 2002. The conference could either be in spring or autumn; firm proposals and costings will be presented to the next Council meeting in the autumn. Members who remember the last conference in Ireland (and those who are too young!) will be looking forward to this event.
The President announced that he had been looking for ways in which he could make an input into Council, and in a wider sense find a direction for the Group. He proposed that Council should regularly discuss a broad policy topic that has a bearing on the work of the Group. As the first of these topics, he suggested the relationship of ceramics with other artefactual and environmental categories. Have we as ceramic specialists diverged too much from other specialists? Recent work on prehistoric sites, for example, has demonstrated the success of a more integrated approach to both fieldwork and post-excavation analysis. Council will be discussing this at the next council meeting, and a report will appear in the next Newsletter.
Lorraine Mepham, Secretary
Medieval Ceramics: update on volumes 22 and 23
At the AGM in March, the editorial team outlined their plan to produce two volumes of Medieval Ceramics this year in order to make up for the recent slippage in publication of the journal. Following the suggestion of the typesetters, Avon Dataset, Council has agreed to the publication of volumes 22 and 23 together in one journal. This is intended to be a one-off, combined volume for the years 1998-1999, and will make a considerable saving in production and distribution costs. According to the proposed publication schedule, we will be aiming to distribute the journal early in December – a bumper Christmas offering for members!
We also welcome Lucy Whittingham as the new co-editor and look forward to a profitable working relationship over the next few years. Lucy was elected at the AGM this year as Mike Hughes and Katherine Barclay stood down after completing their term of office. I am sure members would like to thank them for all the hard work, dedication and long hours they have put into the journal, continuing the high standards which were handed on to them when they were elected to office. We wish them both well in all their post-editorial work.
Finally, we welcome contributions from members and non-members alike, subject to peer review, and encourage you to get in touch with the editorial team about any matters relating to Medieval Ceramics.
Jacqui Pearce and Lucy Whittingham, Co-editors
Please contact us at: MoLSS, 46 Eagle Wharf Road, London N1 7ED. Tel: 020 7566 9325 (Jacqui Pearce) or 020 7566 9312 (Lucy Whittingham)
Regional Groups
SEMPER
Saturday 16th September, West Stow, Suffolk.
The next SEMPER meeting will be on the theme of ‘Saxon pottery’ and will be held at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village. The morning session will cover Early Saxon pottery in the South/East Midlands and East Anglia. In the afternoon, there will be short papers on Ipswich Ware and Late Saxon pottery. There will be plenty of time to look around the Saxon village and new displays at lunchtime, and pottery will be laid out for handling. The cost should be about £5 per head, including entrance to the village. Lunch can be taken at the café on site, but is not included in the price. Transport can be arranged from Bury St. Edmunds station if booked in advance. For further details, contact Sue Anderson (see back of newsletter) or Anna Slowikowski (Tel. 01234 270009, email bcas@dial.pipex.com)
London Group
Saturday 14th October, Museum of London.
The theme of the meeting, provisionally, is ‘Medieval Mediterranean and Near Eastern Imports in South-East England. There should be a flyer for this meeting included in this mailing. If not, please contact Nigel Jeffries for information, tel. 020 7566 9312.
Postcards
Batches of cards are held by the Secretary, the Treasurer and Alison Turner-Rugg. These are available at a cost of 50 pence each, or 3 for £1. See contacts.
Meetings and Conferences
Society for Clay Pipe Research – Annual Conference
16–17 September, Stockton-on-Tees.
The sixteenth annual conference of the Society for Clay Pipe Research will be held on the 16th and 17th September 2000 at Stockton-on-Tees. As usual, the formal proceedings will take place on the Saturday with displays and a programme of lectures.
The conference will concentrate on clay tobacco pipes and pipemaking in the North-East and papers have already been offered by Peter Hammond on the nineteenth century Gateshead pipemakers, Rex Key on a recently rediscovered collection of Armstrong moulds from Middlesborough and Susie White on the seventeenth and eighteenth century Yorkshire industry. The displays will include pipemaking tools and equipment held by the Stockton Museums Service. Other papers will include an update by Allan Peacey on the latest discoveries from his research excavation at Pipe Aston in Herefordshire. There will be a conference meal on the Saturday evening and, for those wishing to stay on for the Sunday, a tour of local sites of historical and archaeological interest. The conference fee is £6.50 (excluding food) and all are welcome.
For further details, to book a place or to offer a paper please contact David Higgins at 3 Clarendon Road, Wallasey, Merseyside, CH44 8EH, tel 0151 637 2289 by the end of August.
Finds Research Group meeting – The 14th Century
23rd October, Socociety of Antiquaries, London.
This seminar, at the Society of Antiquaries, will examine the material culture of the 14th century. The programme currently includes: History and economy (Chris Dyer), Art/precious metals (Marian Campbell), Base metalwork (Geoff Egan), Pottery (Maureen Mellor), Glass (Rachel Tyson), Treen (Carole Morris), Numismatics (Nicholas Mayhew), Leather (John Cherry), Technology (Justine Bailey).
For further details contact Geoff Egan, MoLSS, 46 Eagle Wharf Rd, London N1 7ED, tel 020 7490 8447.
British Archaeological Association Meetings 2000-2001
Society of Antiquaries, London.
Meetings are held in the rooms of the Society of Antiquaries of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London from 4.30pm. Non-members are welcome, but should sign the visitors’ book.
- 4th Oct. ‘The settlement at Portmahomack, Easter Ross, and the conversion of the Picts’, Prof Martin Carver.
- 1st Nov. ‘Society Ladies: women in archaeological societies 1840-1940’, Dr Linda Ebbatson.
- 6th Dec. ‘Channel Island Churches: their architecture and archaeology’, Dr Warwick Rodwell.
- 3rd Jan. ‘Apocalypse Illustration in 13th- and 14th-century England’, Prof Nigel Morgan. Followed by the Association’s Twelfth Night Party.
Ceramics Courses
The Archaeology of Ceramics – from Prehistory to 1900
Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke, Ten Saturdays from September 2000 to June 2001, 10.30am–3.30pm.
Tutors: Catherine Banks, Debbie Ford, Jonathan Goodwin, David Barker, Miranda Goodby, and Daryl Baxter.
- Introduction to the course (16th September)
- Prehistoric to Iron Age pottery (23rd September)
- Greek Pottery (21st October)
- Roman Pottery (18th November)
- Saxon and Medieval Pottery (16th December)
- Transition/early post-medieval wares (20th January)
- Field Trip: Walking Tour of Burslem and Factory Tour (17th Feb)
- Slipwares and salt-glazed stoneware (17th March)
- Refined earthenwares and porcelain of the 18th century (21st April)
- High status earthenwares and porcelain of the 19th century (19th May)
- Domestic and export ceramics of the 19th century (16th June)
For further information, please contact: Dept of Continuing and Professional Education, University of Keele, Keele, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, tel 01782 583436.
A practical guide to Staffordshire (and related) ceramics of the 17th–19th centuries
It is hoped that English Heritage will support further training days of post-medieval Staffordshire ceramics in the late Autumn 2000 or early 2001. The proposal is for two two-day practical training sessions to be held at The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, with tutors David Barker, Miranda Goodby, Deborah Ford, Katey Banks.
Last year’s courses focused upon the identification, dating, terminology, and significance of Staffordshire earthenwares and stonewares of the 17th to late 19th centuries. These wares came to dominate the world markets and are consequently common finds on all post-medieval archaeological sites. Participants had ample opportunity to handle examples of the wares and to contribute to discussions.
Last year’s price was £30.00, including 1 night’s accommodation, lunches on two days, teas/coffees, all tuition and information packs. If support is forthcoming, it is hoped that a similar format and price will be possible.
For further information please contact: David Barker, The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 3DE, fax 01782 232500.
MA History of Ceramics
Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent
The course covers issues relating to the history, design, production and consumption of ceramics, with a significant emphasis upon handling and interpretation within a museum environment. The MA Course can be pursued full- or part-time.
For further information please contact Dr Graham McLaren, Staffordshire University, School of Art and Design, College Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 2DE, tel 01782 294565.
MPP Shortlist: Clay Extraction
Angela Simco is preparing a shortlist of clay industry sites as part of English Heritage’s Monuments Protection Programme. This covers all aspects of the subject – extraction and all forms of processing, including pottery production. If you would like to make any suggestions of sites which may be worth considering for statutory protection, please contact Angela Simco, 13 Green Lane, Clapham, Bedford, MK41 6EP, tel 01234 354130.
Websites and email
Alan Vince Archaeological Consultancy (AVAC) includes lots of pottery slides taken at last year’s Medieval Imports course, information about thin-sectioning, and other useful pottery stuff: see www.postex.demon.co.uk.
Spoilheap Archaeology is my personal website and is still very much ‘under construction’, but includes information on pottery, human skeletal remains and burial archaeology. Pottery reports will be added soon, as will pictures of local pottery types.
East Anglian Archaeology now has a website which gives details of all reports and the Occasional Papers series.
A new email group, arch-pot, has been set up for discussion of all archaeological pottery from Britain, prehistoric to post-medieval. At present, it is flourishing with over 100 members and lots of postings. You can look at the message archive at the group’s website, and also join from there.
No. 42 – April 2002
Secretary’s Notes
Council met on 24th January at the offices of MoLSS in London. Unfortunately few Council members were able to attend. Amongst the absentees was the Treasurer, Bob Will, who at least had the good excuse of being in Egypt for four months! Before he left, however, Bob did circulate the latest accounts to Council, and reported that our current financial position is not very healthy. In order to remedy this, Council have been discussing the possibility of raising subscriptions, which was finally agreed in January. The matter will now be brought to members at the AGM in May.
The Editorial Committee reported good progress with the forthcoming volumes of Medieval Ceramics. Volume 24 is now with the printers and will appear in the spring, hopefully in time for the May meeting. Of the papers promised for Volume 25, just over half have been received, and it is hoped to get this volume out before the end of the year. Liz Pieksma, who has recently taken over the organisation of the Bibliography from David Higgins, will be contacting researchers shortly to arrange for a ‘double’ bibliography in Volume 26 (the tight deadline precludes the feasibility of preparing an annual bibliography for Volume 25). The Minimum Standards document (Occasional Paper 2) continues to sell well. Some progress has been made with the Ipswich Ware volume, although the Trondheim Redwares volume will be subject to further delay.
The new All-Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group (APPAG) was mentioned in the last Newsletter; MPRG has made a submission to the Group, drafted by the President.
The website has proved very popular, and has resulted in an increased number of membership enquiries, as well as a growing number of pottery-related enquiries, some of a very diverse nature, to the President.
With this newsletter you should receive publicity for our two meetings this year – first the one-day meeting in London on May 18th, with the theme of Late Medieval and Early Post-Medieval English Slipwares; and second our annual conference in Dublin from 2nd-4th September. We hope that as many members as possible will be able to attend at least one of these events, and we look forward to seeing you there. The AGM will be held at the London meeting in May (details of agenda, minutes etc are enclosed with this Newsletter); please try and attend if you can. Meanwhile ideas for meetings in 2003 are invited.
The next Council meeting is scheduled for 20th June 2002; if you have any comments or wish to raise any issues, please contact me before then.
Lorraine Mepham, Secretary
MPRG Conference – Dublin, 2nd-4th September
We are looking forward to welcoming many members and non-members to Ireland in September. As noted in the August 2001 newsletter, the conference venue is Trinity College Dublin, in the heart of the city, on the site of a former priory, east of the Viking and Norman settlement. The National Museum is close by, and houses a wide range of outstanding displays of prehistoric (lots of gold), Viking (lots of silver) and now a new medieval exhibition (lots of pottery). The National Gallery, with a new wing with Impressionist paintings is also close by. There are many excellent bookshops but we have also secure the services for one day of the primary suppliers of archaeological books in Ireland, publishers of the quarterly magazine Archaeology Ireland and veterans of Wood Quay!
The Director of the National Museum of Ireland, Dr Patrick F Wallace, has invited the conference to a special reception and viewing of the new exhibition ‘Ireland 1150-1650: those who pray, those who fight and those who work’.
Bed and breakfast has been pre-booked in Trinity for c40 people and the cost will be 52.50 euro per night on a first-come-first-served basis. The cost of the conference for members will be 20 euro and for non-members it will be 30 euro. We would very much appreciate it if those travelling could let us know as soon as possible by contacting Clare.
Speakers already confirmed include Peter Francis, whose recent publications are on Irish Delftware and Irish Creamware, primarily on the Belfast potteries. He will speak on Irish delftware both in Belfast, Dublin and further afield. Prof Terry Barry, TCD, will introduce the historical and archaeological setting of medieval Ireland; Rosanne Meenan will give a paper on post-medieval pottery found in recent excavations in Ireland and Clare McCutcheon will give a paper on the medieval continental pottery in Ireland. Several other speakers have been asked to speak on vessels other than pottery and on a variety of subjects of interest to a wider audience. As already noted, the third day will be spent on some more specific pottery projects including handling and identifying some of the later 10th and 11th century pottery from the later Viking levels in the Dublin excavations.
While no catchy theme title has been coined as yet for the conference, for those of you who know the Irish interventions at various conferences, we would like to be able – gently – to show our many friends in the wider world of pottery studies, that there are many interesting parallels and divergences to be found in the study of post-Roman pottery in Ireland, not least the curious case of why the majority of Roman pottery is found in 11th and 12th century levels!! We are open to further speakers and would welcome the wider MPRG membership offering papers to the conference. The only request is that papers should touch even briefly on the island of Ireland.
Clare McCutcheon
Regional Groups
SEMPER
27th April, West Stow, Suffolk
The next SEMPER meeting will, with any luck, be held at West Stow on Saturday 27th April. The theme will be Anglo-Saxon pottery in the region (Early through to Late Saxon). There will be time to visit the Anglo-Saxon village and the new museum. Speakers will include Paul Blinkhorn, Alan Vince/Jane Young, Anna Slowikowski, Sue Anderson and Sue Tyler. The cost will be £5, including tea, coffee and entrance to West Stow.
SEMPER members should receive a mailing soon, or contact Sue Anderson if you want to come. For further details about the group and its activities, contact Anna Slowikowski, tel 01234 270009.
Meetings and Conferences
Post-Medieval Archaeology Society: Cities in the world, 1500–2000
18th-20th April 2002, Southampton
A conference organised by the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology, to be held at the Dept of Archaeology, Southampton University. The conference will examine all aspects of urban life during the last five hundred years, with particular attention to international contexts and comparisons and will include opportunities for looking at the post-medieval and historical archaeology of Southampton, a seaport of world importance in the nineteenth century, and of Portsmouth, the city, naval dockyards and harbour.
For further details contact Adrian Green, Dept of History, University of Durham, 43 North Bailey, Durham DH1 3EX.
Medieval or later rural settlement in Scotland
20th-21st April, Edinburgh
The Spring Conference of the Medieval Settlement Research Group in association with Historic Scotland will be held in the David Hume Tower, University of Edinburgh. Speakers include Olivia Lelong (GUARD), Steve Boyle (RCAHMS) and Robin Turner (National Trust for Scotland), John Atkinson (GUARD), Ross Noble (Highland Folk Museum), Piers Dixon (RCAHMS), Fiona Watson (University of Stirling), Strat Halliday (RCAHMS), and Tim Yarnell (Forestry Commission).
On Sunday Dave Cowley (RCAHMS) will lead a field trip to examine the well-preserved and well-documented pre-Improvement landscape in Menstrie Glen, Perthshire. The trip will depart Edinburgh at about 9.00 am, return by about 4.00 pm. Thanks to a generous grant by Historic Scotland there will be no additional charge for the field trip, but numbers will be limited and places allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis.
Further details are available from Peter Corser, 2/3 Newhouses, Stobo, Peeblesshire, tel 01721 760377.
Getting more for your money: coins for archaeologists
10th June, Colchester
This one-day conference of the Finds Research Group AD700–1700, organised by Philip Wise and to be held at Colchester Castle Museum, aims to provide non-numismatists with a detailed overview of the information that can be obtained through the study of Anglo-Saxon, medieval and post-medieval coinage. In particular it is intended that speakers will explain what makes a coin important during these periods, and how it should be published. Tokens and non-official issues will be included. This is a day not to be missed if you want to gain an insight into this specialist field.
For further information contact: Philip Wise, Museum Resource Centre, 14 Ryegate Road, Colchester CO1 1YG, tel 01206 282928.
Medieval Europe 2002
10th-15th September, Basel, Switzerland
The theme of next year’s conference is ‘Centre – Region – Periphery’. There are eight themes, which are as follows:
- Cultural regions, economic areas
- Innovation, communication, interaction
- Sovereignty and territory
- Structure and topography of the ruling powerIdentity and demarcation
- Settlement in inhospitable regions
- The Regio TriRhena
- New studies of medieval and later archaeology in Europe (poster session)
The detailed programme and the (final) registration forms will be sent out in Autumn 2001 to all who have enrolled by 1st October 2001 via email, fax or post. Contact Medieval Europe Basel 2002, c/o Archaeologische Bodenforschung, Petersgraben 11, PO Box CH-4001 Basel, Switzerland. Fax +41-61-267 23 76, web www.mebs-2002.org.
Prehistoric pottery: people, pattern and purpose
12th–13th October, Bradford
The Prehistoric Ceramics Research Group and the Ceramic Petrology Group will be holding a joint conference entitled Prehistoric Pottery: People, Pattern and Purpose. at the University of Bradford. The conference is open to all. Further details are available from Alex Gibson, Chairman PCRG, Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, BD7 1DP, web www.prehistoric-ceramics.org.uk.
Books
David Gaimster has a few copies of his book, German Stoneware, for sale at £20 including postage. Contact him at 5 East Arbour Street, London E1 OPU.
No. 41 – December 2001
Secretary’s Notes
Council met last on 18th October at the Museum of London, discussing editorial matters, forthcoming conferences and other topics.
The Editorial Committee reported that Volume 24 of Medieval Ceramics should be out in time for the spring 2002 meeting (see below). Volume 25 will be relatively short, in order to speed up editing process and to get the volume out in time for the Dublin conference in September 2002. The Minimum Standards document (Occasional Paper No. 2) is now out, and is selling steadily (copies are available through MoLSS – details of how to order have already appeared in the Newsletter and are available on the website).
Council discussed the new government initiative which has been launched on the current state of archaeology in the UK (APPAG – All Party Parliamentary Group). Submissions by individuals and by groups have been sought by APPAG, and it was agreed that the Group should not miss this opportunity to express their views. The President has subsequently drafted our submission.
Many thanks to all members who have responded to Alejandra Gutierrez’s questionnaire on ceramics teaching and research – Alejandra is now pressing ahead with circulating to higher education institutions information about members who have expressed an interest in undertaking ceramics-based teaching. Preparations for our conference in Dublin in September (2nd-4th) are well on course, and details of programme and booking forms will be circulated to members soon. Meanwhile, we are organising a one-day meeting in London in the spring, at which the AGM will be held – advance publicity should accompany this Newsletter. A reminder to those of you who do not currently pay by standing order that subscriptions will be due again at the beginning of February – the usual form is enclosed with this Newsletter.
The next Council meeting is scheduled for 24th January; if you have any comments or wish to raise any issues please contact me before then. Finally, a reminder that at the 2002 AGM, our Treasurer (Bob Will), Assistant Secretary (Sue Anderson) and an Ordinary Member (Alejandra Gutierrez) will be retiring. If you feel yourself able and willing to fill one of these posts, or know of someone else who might, please contact me.
Lorraine Mepham, Secretary
New Council Members
The Council needs three new members from the next AGM, as noted above. If you are interested, you are welcome to contact the officers who are standing down to find out more about the responsibilities of the posts. All three involve attending three meetings a year, usually in London. I can only comment on the Assistant Secretary post, but I have enjoyed my five years very much. The post has consisted of producing three newsletters a year and some occas-ional admin. Please contact me if you are interested.
Sue Anderson
One-day Meeting, London
Council has decided to hold a one day meeting/conference in London on Saturday May 18th 2002 at the London Archaeological Archive Research Centre (LAARC), Mortimer Wheeler House, 46 Eagle Wharf Road, London, N1 7ED. The reasons are twofold. Firstly, some members may feel that two consecutive ‘long-distance’ conferences (Edinburgh last year and Dublin this year) are too much and secondly there is the need to hold an AGM. For one reason or another, the AGM’s of the past two years have been rushed affairs and Council members thought holding one in May was necessary to allow for proper discussion of the Groups affairs.
The provisional working title is ‘Late medieval/post-medieval English slipwares’ but the day will be designed as a leisurely affair, with a few speakers and ample discussion time but will additionally include a tour of the recently-opened LAARC and facilities. The AGM and meetings agenda will be in place for the April newsletter, in the meantime any queries should be forwarded to the organisers, Nigel Jeffries or Lucy Whittingham on 0207 566 9312.
Nigel Jeffries
Regional Groups
SEMPER
27th April, West Stow, Suffolk
The next SEMPER meeting will, with any luck, be held at West Stow on Saturday 27th April. The theme will be Anglo-Saxon pottery in the region (Early through to Late Saxon). There will be time to visit the Anglo-Saxon village and the new museum.
SEMPER members will receive a mailing nearer the time. For further details about the group and its activities, contact Anna Slowikowski, tel 01234 270009.
Meetings and Conferences
Society for Medieval Archaeology: Town and Country 1100-1500
12th-14th April 2002, York
Organised by the Society for Medieval Archaeology, to be held at the University of York. Themes include: inhabiting the medieval town and countryside; producing and consuming in town and country; urban landscapes: landscape archaeology and towns; powers, beliefs and mentalities. Contact Kate Giles, Dept of Archaeology, University of York, King’s Manor, York YO1 7EP.
Medieval Europe 2002
10th-15th September, Basel, Switzerland
The theme of next year’s conference is ‘Centre – Region – Periphery’. There are eight themes, which are as follows:
- Cultural regions, economic areas
- Innovation, communication, interaction
- Sovereignty and territory
- Structure and topography of the ruling powerIdentity and demarcation
- Settlement in inhospitable regions
- The Regio TriRhena
- New studies of medieval and later archaeology in Europe (poster session)
The detailed programme and the (final) registration forms will be sent out in Autumn 2001 to all who have enrolled by 1st October 2001 via e-mail, fax or post. Contact Medieval Europe Basel 2002, c/o Archaeologische Bodenforschung, Petersgraben 11, PO Box CH-4001 Basel, Switzerland. Fax +41-61-267 23 76, web www.mebs-2002.org.
Courses
MA in Material Culture: European Society 1350-1750
Launched last September, this MA programme – one of the first of its kind – is concerned with the nature and role of the material world in late medieval and early modern society. The degree was the idea of Dr David Gaimster, a curator in the Department of Medieval and Modern Europe in the British Museum and for many years Secretary of the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology. Dr Gaimster will be seconded to Royal Holloway’s History Department from January to April 2002 on a Research Exchanges award from the national Arts and Humanities Research Board in order to complete his important project on The Baltic Ceramic Market c1200-1600: Hanseatic Trade and Cultural Exchange.
His idea was taken up enthusiastically by the medieval archaeologist Dr Hugo Blake and the early modern historian Dr Sandra Cavallo, both of Royal Holloway’s History Department, who appreciated the potential to develop an interactive understanding of museum collections, archaeological contexts, and the written sources to explore the historical significance of material culture in pre-industrial western Europe. As well as these three co-directors, who constitute the degree programme team, teaching will be provided by other Royal Holloway historians and by Museum of London staff. Together they have a range of expertise to provide a novel and stimulating MA programme.
Cultural historians have for some time been concerned with the fundamental transformations which may have occurred over this period. These include a shift from collective to individual values and away from traditional ideas of status, increasing commodification and consumption, the emergence of manners and of notions of privacy and intimacy, growing social segregation, and new ideals of family and gender relationships. These debated topics are manifested materially and reflected in different spatial arrangements; but research rarely takes account of both the written and physical evidence.
The novelty of the MA lies in the combination of History and Archaeology. The core course in Historical Methodology (taught by Dr Sandra Cavallo and Professor Lyndal Roper) introduces Historical explanation and Themes important to Renaissance and Early Modern historians. That in Material Culture (taught by Dr Hugo Blake and Dr David Gaimster) concerns the sources, materials and techniques of artifacts, and their interpretation in terms of everyday life and as historical sources. Students take a Skills course in Archaeology, Museology (both taught by and in the Museum of London), and/or in Palaeography. As well two options are chosen from Archaeology of Medieval London (Dr John Schofield), The Material Culture of Domestic Life: European Households 1400-1800 (Dr Sandra Cavallo), The Court in England and Europe 1350-1450 (Professor Nigel Saul), The Court in England and Europe 1450-1603 (Dr Pauline Croft), The Material Culture of Renaissance Italy 1350-1550 (Dr Hugo Blake), and The Italian Book 1465-1600 (Dr Jane Everson). The final element in the degree is the dissertation, an original piece of work based upon individual research in Material Culture, making use of both written and physical evidence. Students may opt for a one day a week internship in the British Museum or the Museum of London.
The programme – which is taught in central London – will provide training for proceeding to research degrees in this field, the intellectual basis for working in the museum world and the heritage industry, and continuing professional development. It is designed to allow different pathways to cater for a variety of backgrounds. It can be taken either full- or part-time. The entry requirement is normally a good honours degree or equivalent in History, Archaeology or a related subject. However, we welcome applications from those with honours degrees in other subjects or appropriate professional qualifications or experience.For further information look at the website or contact Dr Hugo Blake.
For Application Forms and Prospectus: Postgraduate Secretary, Department of History, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX.
Pottery samples wanted
Over the last few years I have been working with the medieval pottery found in Iceland. Since there was never a native production of pottery, everything had to be imported. As research has shown, most of the pottery originates in Germany (Rhenish and lower Saxony stoneware) and England. My work is quite difficult, since we have very little comparative material here in Iceland. So I was wondering whether MPRG members could help.
It would be extremely helpful to build up some kind of reference collection from England, the Netherlands and France in order to identify sherds we find here. Maybe it is possible that somebody has some spare sherds of for example Grimston Ware, Scarborough Ware, Yorkshire Ware or whatever and is willing to send it to Iceland? I would be rather happy about every single sherd! Thank you very much.
Natascha Mehler, Fornleifastofnun Ãslands / Institute of Archaeology, Bárugata 3, 101 ReykjavÃk – Iceland, tel +354 551 1033, fax +354 551 1047, web www.instarch.is.
Relief tile
This tile was found in an ongoing excavation on the site of Sheffield Castle (under the present day Castle Markets). Unfortunately it comes from a 1640s demolition context.
The tile is stamped but not inlaid and has a stylized interlace or fretty design. It has seen considerable abrasion and the green glaze only survives in the depressions. The only other interlace or fretty design tiles I have been able to find seem to be 14th century in date but I would be very grateful if anyone more knowledgeable might be able to comment.
New Publication
Faïenceries françaises du Grand-Est, Bourgogne. Champagne-Ardenne (XIV-XIX siècle)
Jean Rosen. CTHS, 2001.
A regional study of faience and porcelain manufacture and use in Bourgogne and Champagne-Ardenne from the 14th to the 19th centuries. Covers 114 manufacturers, with 500 illustrations in colour.
Price: 60 euros + 3 euros postage and packing.
Order copies from: CTHS, 1 rue Descartes, 75231 Paris Cedex 05
No. 36 – April 2000
Council News
Council met on February 10th at the offices of MoLAS in London, a new venue kindly arranged by Jacqui Pearce. Editorial business occupied a large part of the meeting.
Volume 22 of Medieval Ceramics has been making its way in batches to the typesetters, and now has an estimated publication date in summer 2000. Meanwhile Volume 23 is well advanced, and it is hoped to get this volume out before Christmas 2000, in an effort to catch up with the annual production cycle. In order to speed up the process, the 1999 Bibliography will be held over and published with the 2000 Bibliography in Volume 24, which should appear in spring/early summer 2001.
Our first Occasional Paper, A Guide to the Classification of Medieval Pottery Forms, continues to sell steadily; there has been interest in this volume from the Continent.
Meanwhile this coming year should see the fruition of three other projects: the Occasional Papers on Ipswich Ware and Trondheim Redwares, and the Minimum Standards document.
All these projects mean a heavy workload for the Editorial Committee, and it has been decided to appoint another editor to help Jacqui Pearce and Jennie Stopford (Lucy Whittingham was elected to the post at the AGM in March).
Clive Orton has been checking out the MPRG web site, and reported that it is now easily accessible through several search engines in the UK. However, it might be to our advantage to acquire a permanent web address, as this would lead to us being more widely accessible, particularly through non-UK search engines. The Group could buy an address (at present this costs about £50 ayear), and this could then be maintained by anyone.
Just to remind members, our current web address is www.pmiles.demon.co.uk/mprg/mprg.htm, and includes useful contact addresses, details of forthcoming conferences, publications, etc, and links to other selected pot-oriented sites. Visit it today!
Also on the subject of publicity, Chris Cumberpatch submitted some draft designs for notepaper, kindly produced by his father, who is a graphic designer. Council chose one of these designs, which is suitable for conversion into a multi-purpose logo, and it should be launched in the near future.
More publicity will hopefully be provided by our pottery Supergroup postcard, which Duncan Brown was in the throes of organising at the time of the Council meeting – this has now triumphantly appeared, launched at the Conference last month. See elsewhere in this Newsletter for details of how to buy copies.
A report on the 25th Anniversary Annual Conference in Oxford is included below. Future potential venues include Raeren (2001) and Dublin (2002), but a UK meeting may also be scheduled next year.
The next Council meeting will be in June.
Lorraine Mepham, Secretary
MPRG 25th Anniversary Conference Report
As might be expected given the theme, there were many well-known faces present at this year’s conference. Summaries of aspects of the past 25 years of medieval pottery studies were presented by such luminaries as Mike McCarthy, Hugo Blake, John Hurst, Steven Moorhouse, Frans Verhaeghe and Ken Barton, as well as younger generations of pottery specialists.
We were introduced to Oxford by John Ashdown, the City Conservation Officer, who presented interesting slides on the town’s building heritage. Day 1 then began in earnest, with papers on the MPRG itself, the place of pottery studies within medieval archaeology, and 25 years of Saxon pottery.
After lunch, sessions concentrated on theoretical and historical studies, and continental pottery. The Ashmolean welcomed us for a wine reception and pottery exhibition viewing, and then we headed back for the Dunning Memorial Lecture, this year on 25 years of post-medieval pottery by David Barker. Then it was off to Jesus College for the Conference Dinner – producing a certain sense of déjà vu amongst those who had taken lunch at Exeter! Several delegates went on to the pub, and finished off the evening at the College bar.
Day 2 kicked off with a morning reviewing British pottery studies, including Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
The AGM was held at lunchtime, and new Council members were elected: Nigel Jeffries and Debbie Ford as Ordinary Members, Lucy Whittingham as Editor. The afternoon sessions covered CBM and scientific analysis.
The bookstall took over £1000, and the 25th anniversary postcard was launched with some success. These are now available from the Secretary, Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer (see Contacts), for 50 pence each or three for £1.
As well as looking back on the past, there was much optimism about the future of medieval pottery studies, and I look forward to being a part of the next 25 years.
Regional Groups
Active regional groups of the MPRG are still in a minority, although there are signs that interest is reviving. Those who submitted reports to the MPRG AGM this year included include SEMPER, covering the south Midlands and East Anglia, and the North West Regional Group, both of whom have held meetings in the past year.
SEMPER held a meeting at the Buckinghamshire County Museum at Aylesbury in March on the theme of Shelly wares. Material from inside and outside the south-east Midlands was discussed and about twenty people attended. The North West group met in Lancaster in July 1999 – a report on this was included in MPRG Newsletter 34.
Mike Ponsford of the South-West group has reported that work connected with the Bickley Experimental kiln project continued this year. A poster display about the project was on display at the MPRG conference. Mike has plans to organise a meeting to revive the regional group in the near future and anyone interested in this should contact him (address in Medieval Ceramics).
Nigel Jeffries has temporarily taken over the London group and is currently planning a meeting to be held later this year. He will be announcing details of this shortly (see below).
Anne Jenner would like to organise a meeting to discuss forming a group to cover North-East England. Anyone interested should contact her regarding this. It is hoped that a meeting will be held later this year.
Chris Cumberpatch, Regional Groups co-ordinator
London and South-East Group
While Beverly Nenk is on maternity leave, it has been agreed that the contact for the London and South-East group will be Nigel Jeffries. He would to like to get the group active again and has begun making enquiries about arranging a meeting for the group on a Saturday in September, centred around the preliminary working title of Mediterranean and Near Eastern ceramics. The venue is likely to be the Museum of London, to be confirmed in May. Once a venue has been decided, he will contact members of the group with details.
Nigel is in the process of obtaining a membership list but this job would be made easier if members could make themselves known to him either by contacting him through his email address or by telephoning during office hours. Any comments are of course welcome.
Contact Nigel Jeffries, MoLSS, 46 Eagle Wharf Road, London N1 7EE. Tel. 020 7 566 9312. Email njeffries@museumoflondon.org.uk
SEMPER
The next SEMPER meeting will be held in Suffolk, on the theme of Early-Late Saxon pottery in East Anglia and the Midlands, and probably in early September. Watch this space for further details, or contact Anna Slowikowski (01234 270009) or Sue Anderson.
Meetings and Conferences
English Heritage Ceramic Training Courses:
Pottery imported into Roman Britain
Due to popular demand this English Heritage sponsored training course, ‘Pottery imported into Roman Britain’, first taught in February 1999, is being repeated. Designed for practitioners who process Roman pottery, and catering to varying levels of expertise, it aims to familiarise participants with the wide range of imported wares that can be found in Britain.
The course is based upon the National Roman Fabric Reference Collection, supplemented by the Museum of London reserve collections, and is a good opportunity to see essentially all the imports that occur in Britain. Following introductory lectures on amphorae and coarse wares (Roberta Tomber), Gallo-Belgic wares (Valery Rigby) and finewares (Robin Symonds), emphasis will be on the handling of sherds, with a high ratio of tutors to participants. Binocular microscopes will also be available. Because of the wide diversity in imported wares throughout the country, participants are encouraged to bring their own material.
Course enrolment is limited to 15 persons per course and will be held in London on the 12–13th and 14–15th June, at the British Museum Blythe Road premises. A fee of £20.00 will cover all tuition, coffee and lunch on both days. Travel expenses, accommodation and evening meals are not included.
Those interested in attending should write to David Green, Museum of London Specialist Services, 46 Eagle Wharf Road, London, N1 7ED, as soon as possible.
Archaeological Ceramic Building Materials Group
The King’s Manor, University of York
Saturday 30th September 2000
This one-day meeting will include papers on ‘Pre-Conquest’ floor tiles, ceramic petrology in the study of medieval floor tiles, a new approach to dating bricks in standing buildings , and Tarbock tilery (Merseyside) and the 20th Legion. After lunch, there will be further discussion on recording standards for Ceramic Building Material.
There may be visits to the Yorkshire Museum’s floor tile collection and Ann Los’ brick collection in Beverley on the Sunday.
Please contact the secretary asap. if you are interested in either (or both!), or if you would like help in finding accommodation for the weekend.
Contact Sandra Garside-Neville, Secretary, Archaeological Ceramic Building Materials Group, 63 Wilton Rise, York, YO24 4BT.
A possible candle-maker’s trough from Lichfield, Staffs.
A recent evaluation carried out by Marches Archaeology at Greenhill in Lichfield uncovered, amongst other features, a cess pit. This contained a complete unglazed squat whiteware jug, probably dating to the later 14th century, and a substantial portion of another whiteware vessel hitherto unparalleled in this country, which may be a candle-makers’ trough.
The vessel base was c31cm in length and c7cm wide and made from a single slab of clay. The sides of the base were roughly parallel, the ends elliptical. Of the four feet on the base, two were pierced, presumably to aid firing, although why the other two were not pierced is a mystery. On the walls of the vessel there are clear horizontal ridges indicating that the upper part of the vessel was coil-built. Although several sections of the rim survived, it was not possible to reconstruct a complete profile. However, it seems likely that the original height of the vessel was c30cm. One curved end section, a substantial amount of which survived, had a horizontal strap handle c.4cm below the rim and it is likely that there was the same arrangement at the opposite end. A patchy green glaze covered the exterior of the vessel and part of the interior. In places the glaze was discoloured to a dull brown, presumably due to the effects of cess.
The closest parallels for this vessel can be found in Hurst et al (1986, Pottery Produced and Traded in North-West Europe 1350–1650, Rotterdam Papers VI, pl. 22 and fig. 65 no. 223), where they are described as candle-makers’ troughs. They are both Low Countries’ products dating from the 15th–early 16th centuries. They differ from the Lichfield example in having crenellated rims, a reinforcing central rib on the long sides, and no feet or handles. Such a find is very rare in Europe and unique in Britain. The date of this vessel is difficult to establish precisely. Whitewares appear to have been in use from the ?mid-13th century until the 14th century. However, their floruit appears to be the later 13th century and first half of the 14th, since from the later 14th century oxidised red and orange sandy wares become more frequent and usually form the main component of 15th century groups.
It is hoped that residue analysis will confirm the function attributed to the vessel. In the meantime, if anyone has any parallels from Britain or has any other useful observations, I would be glad to hear from them. I would also like to thank Sarah Jennings and John Hudson for their interest and comments.
Stephanie Ratkai, 7 Pinehurst Drive, Kings Norton, Birmingham B38 8TH.
Ceramic News
Scottish White Gritty ware production site at Colstoun, East Lothian
Recent Historic Scotland-funded fieldwork by SUAT Ltd at this scheduled pottery production centre re-exposed the type 3 kiln excavated by Ben Edwards in 1969. Fifteen samples were taken for archaeomagnetic dating by Geoquest Ltd and the last firing date of this kiln has been given as 1320–1350 AD.
A full report on the kilns excavated at Colstoun and the pottery assemblage from the 1969 excavation is being prepared for Historic Scotland.
Derek Hall, SUAT Ltd, Perth, Scotland
Westhorpe Terracottas
A project to record the collection of 187 pieces of architectural terracotta from Westhorpe Hall, Suffolk, collected by Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service (SCCAS) during desilting work in 1991 has recently been approved by English Heritage.
Westhorpe Hall was built for Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, between c.1526 and 1533. Although planned to be his main country residence, the death of his wife Mary Tudor, sister of Henry VIII, in 1533 resulted in financial problems which caused the Hall to revert to the crown soon afterwards. Minor repairs were carried out to the building in the 1540s, but there was little interest or financial support for the house from the crown and it was eventually demolished in the mid eighteenth century.
The hall was a brick and terracotta-built courtyard house. The main elements of the house itself were a gatehouse leading to a courtyard 126 feet square. A survey records a servants’ range to the west of the main house. The moat was approached over a brick bridge of three arches, which is the only Tudor survival.
Lack of funding resulted in minimal work being carried out on this assemblage previously. The funds provided by English Heritage will aid the publication of this important group of terracottas.
Sue Anderson, SCCAS.
Websites
PotWeb
A pilot web page, illustrating the Ashmolean Museum’s collection of Saxon, medieval and later vessels, was previewed at the recent MPRG conference, It is ‘designed to introduce you to ceramic studies as a new way of looking at the past’. Architectural ceramics should be included in 2001.
The authors, Maureen Mellor and Jeremy Haslam, would be grateful for any feedback – visit the site at ashweb.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/PotWeb.
Shapwick Project
The Shapwick Project website has changed and is not the one published in Medieval Ceramics 21. It is now www.wkac.ac.uk/shapwick.