Fabric and technology
A fine buff-white fabric with a distinctive greenish-tinge (5Y 8/2-9/2) which is usually hard with a fairly clean fracture, although this may have degraded in unfavourable soil conditions. The typical slip is a dark greenish-brown (2.5YR 4/4-4/2) with a lustrous sheen, but may vary from red-brown to almost black. Wheel-thrown.
The commonest decorative technique is a roughcast of quartz sand, which may cover the entire surface of the vessels. A rich variety of rusticated, applied, stamped, rouletted and barbotine motifs are also employed, often in combination with roughcast sand.
Forms
Cups are the commonest type, but beakers occur in smaller numbers and there are other rare forms such as flagons. Some of the rarer cup types imitate the style of contemporary Spanish (SPAN) or Italian colour-coated wares.
Greene’s type-series of Lyon ware covers the principal variations:
| Type | Decoration |
|---|---|
| Cups | |
| 1 | roughcast |
| 2 | rusticated |
| 3 | rounded imbricated scales |
| 4 | applied scales |
| 5 | |
| Beakers | |
| 20 | roughcast |
| 21 | folded and roughcast |
| 22 | rusticated |
| 23 | imbricated scales |
| 24 | |
| 25 | barbotine hairpins |
| 26 | rouletted |
| Flagon | |
| 40 | roughcast |
Table 1. Classification of Lyon ware forms (after Greene)
Chronology
Production of roughcast cups probably commences in the Tiberian period, but the wide distribution of the ware can be dated to c. AD 40-70. Greene suggests that production terminates in AD 69 (Greene 1979). In Britain, Lyon ware is largely confined to pre-Flavian sites, but occurs in small quantities on Flavian foundations, such as York, Caerleon, Chester and Newstead.
Source
Lyon, at the La Butte site.
Distribution
The continental distribution is principally east and north of Lyon, towards the Rhineland and Rhaetia. There are a few vessels from western France, but the fabric is not common south of Lyon.
Aliases
Carlisle fabric 324. Chelmsford fabric 5. Colchester fabric EB. Gloucester fabric TF12H. JRPS bibliography fabric lyc. Leicester fabric C14. Kent fine fabric 11. Sidbury fabric 26. Silchester fabric E26.
Bibliography
The fundamental study of the ware is by Greene (1979). The evidence from Lyon itself has been described by Grataloup (Grataloup 1988), who also gives valuable descriptions of the Augustan-Tiberian precursors of Lyon ware – not found in Britain. The final reports on all the Lyon kiln sites are anxiously awaited.
References
Grataloup 1988. Grataloup, C., Les céramiques à parois fines, Rue des Farges à Lyon, British archaeological reports. International series, 457, Oxford, (1988).
Greene 1979. Greene, K. T., The pre-Flavian fine wares, Report on the excavations at Usk, 1965-1976, 1, University of Wales Press [for] the Board of Celtic Studies of the University of Wales,, Cardiff:, (1979).
