Medieval Ceramics Volume 40: Journal of the Medieval Pottery Research Group

This paper focuses on late medieval (late 13th- to 15th-century) ceramic drinking vessels and related forms from Vilnius. The archaeological record from this period is very diverse and locally produced artefacts are abundant. Imported pottery, which mostly comprises vessels associated with storing, serving and consuming drink, is less common, but nonetheless provides valuable information on social and economic conditions in Vilnius during the medieval period. Following an introduction to the historical context, the sources and use of these imported wares, which include rare finds of Golden Horde ceramics, is discussed. As most excavated pottery is of local production, with only a small proportion of imported vessels, this suggests that new traditions were only adopted by a minority, while the rest of the community kept to their established ways. If so, vessels can be taken as evidence for the meeting of different cultural traditions.

Teteghem is situated in the maritime plain of Northern France, just 3km from the Belgian border and historically within the County of Flanders, an environment with variable sedimentary deposits such as clay and sand suitable for pottery production. Recent archaeological surveys and excavations have yielded evidence for pottery and tile manufacture on two sites dating to the 12th and 14th centuries, and, more unusually, for the production of bricks and brickware objects on the later site. This paper presents the finds from these sites, with a summary of the fabrics, forms and decoration represented and a more detailed consideration of the brickware objects; the discussion places these artefacts in their north-west European context.

This article sets out to map and explain the distribution of stoneware in the Low Countries during the period 1200-1600, using a selection of over 500 assemblages representing 30,000+ vessels (now available online: see Appendix 1). This exceptionally big dataset generates solid evidence for the distribution of stoneware outwards from an epicentre: the closer a town was situated to a stoneware production centre in the Meuse-Rhine area, the more frequent the appearance of stoneware. It also shows clearly how the ceramic record reflects the effect of contemporary trade routes: Langerwehe products were distributed along the Meuse and are most common in towns close to this river, while stonewares from Siegburg/Bruhl are dominant in towns connected with the Rhenish network. Documentary evidence is used to demonstrate how the inland occurrence of Rhenish stoneware is also governed by the Rhenish wine trade network extending from Cologne to Nijmegen and beyond, and how changing patterns in consumer demand affected this trade. Finally, some suggestions are made for future research.

Publication review

Publication review

Regional Groups Report 2018-19

Preliminaries (i.e. coverpage, contents) of Medieval Ceramics 2019