Medieval Ceramics Volume 30: Journal of the Medieval Pottery Research Group

Excavation along a gas pipeline route through central Lancashire has revealed a previously unknown pottery production site of 13th to 15th century date. The site, which lies south of the river Ribble, comprised oval gullies, representing possible truncated clamp kiln bases, together with associated ditches and pits and over 10,000 sherds of pottery. Three distinct areas produced evidence of pottery production, over a distance of nearly half a kilometre and suggesting a widespread industry. Most of the recovered pottery was utilitarian, but examples of this material have been recognised in Wigan and Lancaster, while parallels are seen in an area stretching from Lancashire to north Wales. Excavated kilns and associated pottery assemblages are rare both in Lancashire and north­ west England as a whole. This makes the excavations at Potter Lane of particular importance, given the date range, the area over which the finds were made, and the possibility of contemporary settlement adjacent to the remains.

The wreck of a small boat found in the Ligurian sea (north west of Italy), known as ‘Leudo del Mercante’, and its cargo of pottery represent a unique case study of ceramic provenance and dating that can help in providing further insight about the coastal trade performed by minor ships in the Mediterranean regions. In this paper we review archaeological investigations on pottery and present results of instrumental analyses both on the cargo and on parts of the wooden hull. Our aim is to confirm the origin of the pottery and to try to solve the fundamental issue of dating. Elemental analysis of pottery was performed using PIXE (Particle Induced X-ray Emission); dating of wood samples from the hull was performed by radiocarbon Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS). Both kinds of measurements were performed at the LABEC laboratory in Florence. The elemental composition of ceramic bodies shows that the pottery could have been produced in the area of Savona or Albisola, not far from the shipwreck site. With the detailed archaeological study of the cargo and using radiocarbon data, we can deduce that the boat was built, sailed and sunk most probably during the first half of the 16th century.

A small excavation in Homem de Christo Filho Street in Aveiro, an important medieval Atlantic maritime port, led to the discovery of a typical late 15th-century two compartment house. It was located in the city’s centre where the merchants’ houses were located. Hundreds of pottery vessels were recovered giving the insight to what type of pottery was being used on daily activities in late medieval times, from locally produced pottery to Spanish imports.

Publication review

Publication review

Regional Group Reports 2006-8

Accounts for the Medieval Pottery Research Group for the year ending 31 January 2006

Preliminaries (i.e. coverpage, contents) of Medieval Ceramics 2006