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Dr
David
Williams
Dept of Archaeology
University of Southampton
Avenue Campus
Highfield
Southampton
SO17 1BJ
England
Tel: 080 593032
A thick, very rough fabric, greenish-grey (5Y 7/2) in colour and containing frequent large rounded rock fragments up to 5 mm across, many of which are colourless volcanic glass or grey, black and red scoriaceous lava.
The fabrics can be divided into two main groups (A and B) and several sub-groups. In the Group A, the matrix is calcium-rich to iron-rich and the (natural?) temper is abundant and poorly-sorted. The lower granulometric fraction is rich in quartz, feldspar, and mica grains and calcareous microfossils, while the coarser inclusions (up to 1 mm across) are mainly formed by acid metamorphic and basic volcanic rock fragments. The provenance of the raw materials could be localised in north-east Sicily. In the Group B, the matrix is carbonate-rich. The inclusions are more or less abundant and well-sorted. The lower fraction is composed of quartz grains and microfossils, while the coarser one (over 1 mm across) is formed by volcanic elements, including obsidian and pumice fragments. The volcanic temper is probably from Lipari, but the provenance of the carbonate-rich (marine) clay is unknown (Capelli & Borgard, In press). Claudio Capelli
Equivalent to: LIP AM 1 of the National Roman Fabric Reference Collection (Tomber & Dore, 1998: 99)
i Richborough 527