Medieval Ceramics Volume 41: Journal of the Medieval Pottery Research Group

The assemblage of pottery recovered from Tresco Channel, Isles of Scilly, is by far the largest underwater find of medieval ceramics ever made off British waters and is arguably one of the most important medieval pottery finds of recent years in the British Isles. The collection is dominated by Trench wares, with about half the sherds coming from the Saintonge, about 20% from the lower Seine Valley/Normandy, and a little from Brittany. English pottery makes up most of the other material, the principal sources being central southern England (probably representing trade with Southampton) and the Bristol area, but there are also finds from Cornwall, the Exeter area and other sites in south-west England. Current dating of some of the ware types represented is not entirely consistent; a case is made for dating most of the material to c 1250-80, with some earlier sherds. Programmes of ICP analysis have been carried out on the Saintonge and northern French wares - the former the most substantial programme of chemical analysis of such imports undertaken in the UK. Petrological and ICP analyses also throw light on a number of classes of southern English medieval pottery. The find offers dramatic physical evidence for the role of the Isles of Scilly in the medieval shipping routes between France, Britain, Ireland and Iberia, for which some documentary evidence also survives, while the associated wooden bale pins link the deposit to the wool trade. The pronounced concentration of sherds in a single place, and the fact that all the Saintonge wares which were sampled display a specific chemistry indicating that they come from the same group of kilns, favour the explanation that most of the ceramics represent a single event - either a shipwreck or the loss or disposal of a cargo. So far, however, only limited evidence for the presence of a ship has been found.

This paper discusses a small assemblage of pottery recovered during archaeological monitoring in Brandling Street, Oakivellgate and Church Street, Gateshead. Most of the group comprises sherds from large 15th-century bunghole jugs or cisterns in a fabric known as 'later medieval reduced greenwares' (Fabrics 1 and 3), some of which are definitely wasters. These are discussed in detail, while the other medieval and later fabrics are summarised. Apart from some burnt surfaces no further structural evidence related to pottery manufacture was found during fieldwork, but as the wasters are from ashy deposits it is felt that the entire group of 'later medieval reduced greenwares' sherds represents local production somewhere in the vicinity of the site. As a review of the evidence for pottery manufacture in the North-East shows this to be very scant, this assemblage is of great interest and will help us understand local production in the late medieval period. Initial WDXRE was carried out on four wasters, confirming that the composition of the fabrics is almost identical and providing a reference point for future studies.

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