Fabric and technology
Hard, rough, sandy fabric with irregular or hackly fracture, which can be slightly friable; a range of colours but either orange, through yellow/buff to brown, or shades of grey; abundant clear, colourless or reddish quartz, with sparse coarse (or very coarse) red iron ores, fine white mica and occasional large angular chalk inclusions. Some variants show a pale brown slip over the outer surface. Wheel-thrown. Often with smoke blackened surfaces.
Forms
Principal forms are necked jars with undercut rim and rilled surface, flanged bowls and plain dishes. Minor forms include jugs and moulded-rim jars.
| Form | Portchester | Alice Holt |
|---|---|---|
| Flanged bowl | 87 | 5B |
| Inturned rim bowl | 89 | 5C? |
| Plain dish | 109 | 6A |
| Rilled jar | 137 | 3C |
| Lid | 173 | 7 |
Table 1. Classification of Portchester D ware forms (after Fulford, and Lyne and Jefferies)
Chronology
From early 4th through to the end of the century. Forms 5-10% of late 4th-cent. deposits in London, Surrey and west Kent.
Source
One source is the Overwey kilns, near Tilford (Surrey), but there may be others.
Distribution
Hampshire, Surrey, the London region and Kent.
Aliases
‘Surrey buff ware’ and ‘fabric C’: Lyne and Jefferies 1979. Millet 1979, fabric 2. Regularly misnamed ‘Porchester D’ (e.g. JRPS bibliography vols 1-5).
Aliases
JRPS bibliography fabric pod. Lullingstone fabric 63. Kent coarse fabric 19. Portchester fabric D.
Bibliography
Fulford 1975; Orton in AML 2053 1976, 35. Quantified data in Pomel 1984. For Overwey kilns: Clark 1949, RCHM gazetteer F627-8.
References
Clark 1949. Clark, A. J., ‘The Fourth-century Romano-British pottery kilns at Overwey, Tilford’, SurreyAC, 51, (1949), pp. 29-56.
Fulford 1975. Fulford, M. G., ‘The pottery’ in Excavations at Portchester Castle. Volume I: Roman, ed. B. W. Cunliffe, Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London, 32, Society of Antiquaries, London, (1975), pp. 270-367.
Lyne and Jefferies 1979. Lyne, M. A. B. and Jefferies, R. S., The Alice Holt/Farnham Roman pottery industry, Research reports/Council for British Archaeology, 30, Council for British Archaeology, London, (1979).
Millett 1979. Millett, M., ‘The Dating of Farnham (Alice Holt) Pottery’, Britannia, 10, (1979), pp. 121-37.
Pomel 1984. Pomel, M. G., ‘A study of later Roman pottery groups in Southern Britain: fabrics, form and chronology’, M. Phil. thesis, Institute of Archaeology, University of London, (1984).
AML 2053 1976. Williams, D. F., Angel Court, Walbrook, London. Pottery, Ancient Monuments Laboratory Reports, 2053, English Heritage, London, (1976).
