Potsherd: Atlas of Roman Pottery

Wilderspool mortaria

Mortaria manufactured at Warrington (Ches/GB) with distribution in north-west England, north Wales and southern Scotland during 2nd century AD.

Fabric and technology

Fairly sandy fabrics with abundant quartz inclusions, varying from pink through to orange-brown, often with a blue-grey core; multicoloured (red, brown, white and black) trituration grit. Wheel-thrown.

Forms

Mortaria with bead and rolled flange.

Stamps

The Wilderspool potters Austinus, Docci.. and DIS/LDB moved subsequently to the Carlisle (Eden Valley) region, where they produced very similar mortaria. It is not always possible to distinguish Wilderspool and Carlisle products on fabric grounds alone, but different dies were used in the two workshops.
The potter Nanieco probably originated in the Mancetter-Hartshill potteries. The Scottish potter Emi.., who probably operated from the Newstead area, produced mortaria with the same rim forms as DIS/LDB and Doccius, and probably trained in their Wilderspool or Carlisle workshops.


Potter	Date

AMENUS	-
AUSTINUS	115-165	-> Carlisle
BRICO	-
C.C.M	-
DECANIO	130-165
DECMITIUS	-
DIS/LDB	120-150	-> Carlisle
DOCCI..	120-155	-> Carlisle
MIMICIUS	-
NANIECO	-	<- MHMO ?
OVID[I]US	-
REBDECUS(?)	125-160

Table�1.��Principal Wilderspool mortarium potters

Chronology

Hadrianic and Antonine.

Source

Wilderspool, Warrington (Cheshire).

Distribution

North-west England, the northern frontier zone, including the Antonine Wall; a few in north Wales.

Aliases

JRPS bibliography fabric wpm.

Bibliography

For the Wilderspool kilns: RCHM gazetteer F240; Hartley and Webster 1973. The principal potters, and their Eden Valley connections, are discussed in McCarthy 1990, 260-262; Hinchcliffe et al. 1992, 73.

References

Hartley and Webster 1973.
Hartley, K. F. and Webster, P. V., 'Romano-British pottery kilns near Wilderspool', ArchJ, 130, (1973), pp. 77-103.
Hinchcliffe et al. 1992.
Hinchcliffe, J., Williams, J. H. and Williams, F., Roman Warrington. Excavations at Wilderspool 1966-9 and 1976, Brigantia Monograph, 2, Dept. of Archaeology, University of Manchester, Manchester, (1992).
McCarthy 1990.
McCarthy, M. R., A Roman, Anglian and Medieval site at Blackfriars Street, Carlisle: Excavations 1977-79, Research series, 4, Cumberland And Westmorland Archaeological and Antiquarian Society, Kendal, (1990).