Medieval Ceramics Volume 25: Journal of the Medieval Pottery Research Group

Editorial of Medieval Ceramics 2001

The discovery of great bricks in the fabric of Farnham Castle, and dateable to before 1208, represents its first known use as building material outside East Anglia in a context other than a tile kiln.

A geochemical study was undertaken to evaluate whether it was possible to accurately fingerprint Scottish, post-medieval and later red ware pottery sherds. The primary objective was to establish a set of criteria to distinguish between the pottery sherds on both a site and regional basis as an aid to provenancing. These preliminary investigations also utilised the British Geological Survey’s national geochemical database of stream sediment analyses as an aid to predicting the potential clay source regions. The results of this study clearly demonstrate the potential power of this combined geochemical and statistical approach, and its application to archaeological site investigations.

English tin-glazed earthenware was introduced into this country by immigrant potters from the Netherlands who settled in Norwich in 1567 and moved to London three years later. Netherlands personnel, technology and decorative styles dominated English production till the second quarter of the 17th century. Facing competition from imports of oriental porcelain, tin-glaze potters in the Netherlands introduced a number of technological changes in an attempt to imitate porcelain, bringing about a transition from the traditional maiolica to the new delftware. These changes form the basis for an understanding of developments in England, and are discussed in this article.

In north-western Europe it has long been realised that potsherds should not be used exclusively as a dating tool but also as a means for examining aspects of socio-economic organisation, trade and exchange, dining and drinking habits. In contrast to methodological advances in Europe, medieval and post-medieval archaeology in Greece is still in its dawn. Remains of the post-Roman periods have just begun to be decently excavated and scientifically recorded. On the basis of older and recently published excavations in urban centres (Athens, Corinth and Thessaloniki) and surface surveys in the Greek countryside and other areas in the eastern Mediterranean, this paper offers an overall review of pottery forms and styles found in Greece. Case studies are also used from the late medieval and post-medieval Aegean islands of the Cyclades, examining some first results of the CYREP (Cyclades Research Project) survey research. Medieval pottery research in Greece is discussed in an attempt to examine socio-economic and cultural aspects of post-Roman ceramics in Greece in terms of trade and contacts between East and West, economic and social formation, cultural and/or symbolic meanings and domestic life.

Publication review

Publication review

Publication review

Publication review

List of Officers and Council of the Medieval Pottery Research Group 2001-2002

Regional Group Reports 2001-2002