Shelly-sandy ware(SSW) is a type of medieval pottery produced in Great Britain. The pottery fabric is tempered with both sand and shell, most commonly quartz sand and ground-up shell. The fabric is generally dark grey in colour with brown oxidised surfaces. SSW was typically handmade until the potters transitioned to wheel-thrown pottery production. The pottery was manufactured and distributed primarily from 1140—1220 AD in the Greater London area.
Shelly-sandy ware was first produced in the Greater London area between 1085 and 1108 AD. The introduction of the mixed sand and shell ware was the beginning of a movement away from purely shell-tempered wares towards entirely sand tempered wares. The shell-and-sand tempered wares produced during this time period developed in parallel with London-type wares, primarily London greyware (LOGR). After 1140 AD, SSW became the most abundant pottery available in London, and continued to be produced until 1220 AD. The source of shelly-sandy ware has not been determined, but the distribution of the pottery was primarily concentrated in London and the surrounding areas. [1] [2]
Shell-tempered wares in medieval Britain include three fabric groups: entirely shell-tempered, shell-and-sand tempered, and sand-with-shell tempered. Shelly-sandy ware is defined as both shell-and-sand tempered and sand-with shell tempered wares. [2] Shelly-sandy ware produced in the Greater London area was typically created with both quartz sand and ground-up shell or whole shell as temper. The fabric is generally dark grey in colour with brown oxidised surfaces. [3] Undefined shell is the most common shell type found in shelly-sandy ware. Oyster shell is also common and specimens of gastropods have been identified in some pottery fragments. The shells are often worn down and stained light brown. [2]
Analysis of pottery fragments found in archaeological excavations indicate that the clay from which the SSW fabric was created was originally rich in organic matter. Organic inclusions include wood fragments, roots and stem, leaf, and seeds. Organic inclusions were often combined with tiny crystals of iron pyrites. Quartz grains up to 0.5mm across are also included in the fabric. The quantities of sand and shell vary quite a bit in individual items. In some pottery fragments, sand grains are not easily seen. In other samples, the quartz has a more course texture. [2]
"The range of SSW forms produced is similar to earlier medieval pottery types. Jars and cooking pots are the most common forms, followed by bowls and dishes. Curfews (fire covering, inverted bowls) were occasionally made. Deep and wide bowls and dishes were manufactured in all sizes. These items generally have the same rim form as jars and are thinly walled. Spouted pitchers were commonly produced. The majority of dishes are medium sized (240—300mm) and usually have flaring walls with straight sides. Handled bowls and dishes are rarely seen. [2] [4]
Decorative elements include three techniques: application, incision, and impression. Slight horizontal bands on the pottery surface is often visible, probably the result of the pot being wiped as part of the finishing process. Applied strips is a common SSW decorative element, although the strips were probably used to strengthen the pot. Strips were usually applied vertically at regular intervals. Carved wavy lines, the quickest and easiest form of decoration, are more typically found on large bowls and dishes and less often on jars. Most SSW items have only one form of decoration, but when two decorative techniques were used, thumb impressions are always one of the techniques. Thumbing was also a popular means of embellishing the rims of the larger bowls. [2]
Shelly-sandy ware was first introduced when handmade pottery was slowly becoming outdated in London and wheel-thrown pottery was increasingly being manufactured. SSW can be considered transitional ware in this regard, as both production types were produced. Analysis of SSW pottery finds suggest that the most common method of production was to form the bases by hand. The body of the item was then constructed by hand or on a turntable. The neck and rim were finished either on a turntable or on a wheel. None of the examples found have been trimmed by a knife. [2]
SSW generally has a reduced light grey core and margins, which become progressively more red towards the surface. The surfaces are usually a dull, light brown. The exterior and interior of the objects are typically the same colour. The pottery was fired at moderate temperatures, probably between 700—800 °C. The colour of the surface was most likely accomplished by partially removing oxygen while the pottery was cooling. Shelly-sandy ware was not typically glazed. Some pottery shards of jars and dishes have been found that have splashes of clear glaze, although these items are relatively rare. [2]
Terra sigillata is a term with at least three distinct meanings: as a description of medieval medicinal earth; in archaeology, as a general term for some of the fine red Ancient Roman pottery with glossy surface slips made in specific areas of the Roman Empire; and more recently, as a description of a contemporary studio pottery technique supposedly inspired by ancient pottery. Usually roughly translated as 'sealed earth', the meaning of 'terra sigillata' is 'clay bearing little images', not 'clay with a sealed (impervious) surface'. The archaeological term is applied, however, to plain-surfaced pots as well as those decorated with figures in relief.
Medieval Islamic pottery occupied a geographical position between Chinese ceramics, the unchallenged leaders of Eurasian production, and the pottery of the Byzantine Empire and Europe. For most of the period it can fairly be said to have been between the two in terms of aesthetic achievement and influence as well, borrowing from China and exporting to and influencing Byzantium and Europe. The use of drinking and eating vessels in gold and silver, the ideal in ancient Rome and Persia as well as medieval Christian societies, is prohibited by the Hadiths, with the result that pottery and glass were used for tableware by Muslim elites, as pottery also was in China but was much rarer in Europe and Byzantium. In the same way, Islamic restrictions greatly discouraged figurative wall-painting, encouraging the architectural use of schemes of decorative and often geometrically patterned titles, which are the most distinctive and original specialty of Islamic ceramics.
Shigaraki ware (信楽焼) is a type of stoneware pottery made in Shigaraki area, Japan. The kiln is one of the Six Ancient Kilns in Japan. Although figures representing the tanuki are a popular product included as Shigaraki ware, the kiln and local pottery tradition has a long history.
Pottery and ceramics have been produced in the Levant since prehistoric times.
Roosevelt Red Ware, also known as Salado Red Ware and Salado Polychrome, is a late prehistoric pottery tradition found across large portions of Arizona and New Mexico. The tradition involves the combination of red, white, and black paint in varying configurations along with compositional and morphological characteristics. This ceramic tradition begins about AD 1280-1290 and lasts until at least AD 1450 based on tree-ring dating.
Pottery was produced in enormous quantities in ancient Rome, mostly for utilitarian purposes. Some of this pottery has been uncovered into the 21st century in the former territory of the Roman Empire, as well as in other parts of the world, especially in waste mounds such as Monte Testaccio.
Black-burnished ware is a type of Romano-British ceramic. Burnishing is a pottery treatment in which the surface of the pot is polished, using a hard smooth surface. The classification includes two entirely different pottery types which share many stylistic characteristics. Black burnished ware 1 (BB1), is a black, coarse and gritty fabric. Vessels are hand made. Black burnished ware 2 (BB2) is a finer, grey-coloured, wheel thrown fabric.
Mississippian culture pottery is the ceramic tradition of the Mississippian culture found as artifacts in archaeological sites in the American Midwest and Southeast. It is often characterized by the adoption and use of riverine shell-tempering agents in the clay paste. Shell tempering is one of the hallmarks of Mississippian cultural practices. Analysis of local differences in materials, techniques, forms, and designs is a primary means for archaeologists to learn about the lifeways, religious practices, trade, and interaction among Mississippian peoples. The value of this pottery on the illegal antiquities market has led to extensive looting of sites.
Kapilavastu Museum is a cultural and religious museum in Tilaurakot, Nepal. Kapilavastu is the ancient city of the Sakyas, Sakyamuni Buddha son of Suddhodhan. There are more than 136 archaeological sites in the territory of ancient Kapilavastu. Tilaurākoṭ, Niglihawa, Gotihawa, Arorakot, Sisahaniyakot, Chhetradehi, Sagrahawa, and Pipari, etc. are enriched with ancient art remains and monuments that are discovered. Archaeological findings of Tilaurākoṭ and of other sites are kept in the Kapilavastu Museum.
Humber ware is a type of Medieval ceramic produced in North Yorkshire, England in the late 13th to early 16th Centuries AD.
The basic chronology of the early town of Manda Island in the Lamu Archipelago of Kenya is divided into 6 different periods, based mostly on the types of imported pottery that has been found in different strata of the excavations. The first period, I, begins in the mid ninth century and is subdivided into four parts, a, b, c, and d, ending in the early eleventh century. Period II has two parts, A and B, though the divide between the two is rather vague and could be entirely arbitrary, and dates from the mid eleventh to the late twelfth for the former, and late twelfth to late thirteenth century for the latter. Period III runs from the late thirteenth century to the fourteenth when Period IV picks up and ends in the early Sixteenth. Period V covers the mid Sixteenth and all of the seventeenth, and the final period covers everything after the Seventeenth century.
Sandy ware, also known as Early Medieval Sandy ware, is a type of pottery found in Great Britain from the sixth through the fourteenth centuries. The pottery fabric is tempered with enough quartz sand mixed in with the clay for it to be visible in the fabric of the pot. Sandy ware was commonly used in Southeast England and the East Midlands.
Shelly ware, is a type of pottery found in Great Britain from the seventh through the twelfth centuries. Shelly ware includes Late Saxon Shelly ware, Early Medieval Shelly Ware, and Lincolnshire Shelly Wares. The pottery fabric is tempered with shell powder or reduced shell. Shelly ware was typically handmade until the tenth century, when potters transitioned to wheel-thrown pottery. Shelly wares were manufactured and distributed in the Upper Thames Valley, southeastern coastal areas of Britain and the East Midlands.
Ancient Egyptian pottery includes all objects of fired clay from ancient Egypt. First and foremost, ceramics served as household wares for the storage, preparation, transport, and consumption of food, drink, and raw materials. Such items include beer and wine mugs and water jugs, but also bread moulds, fire pits, lamps, and stands for holding round vessels, which were all commonly used in the Egyptian household. Other types of pottery served ritual purposes. Ceramics are often found as grave goods.
Cord-marked pottery or Cordmarked pottery is an early form of a simple earthenware pottery. It allowed food to be stored and cooked over fire. Cord-marked pottery varied slightly around the world, depending upon the clay and raw materials that were available. It generally coincided with cultures moving to an agrarian and more settled lifestyle, like that of the Woodland period, as compared to a strictly hunter-gatherer lifestyle.
Surrey whiteware or Surrey white ware, is a type of lead-glazed pottery produced in Britain from the 13th to the 16th centuries. The white-fired sandy earthenware was produced largely from kilns in Surrey and along the Surrey-Hampshire border. Surrey whitewares were the most commonly used pottery in London during the late medieval period. There are four classes of Surrey whiteware: Kingston-type, Coarse Border ware, Cheam whiteware and Tudor Green ware.
Border ware is a type of post-medieval British pottery commonly used in the South of England, London and then later in the early American colonies beginning in the sixteenth and ending in the nineteenth century with a height of popularity and production in the seventeenth century. The lead-glazed, sandy earthenware was produced from kilns along the border between Hampshire and Surrey. There are two classes of Border ware, fine whitewares and fine redwares.
Ipswich ware is a type of Anglo-Saxon pottery produced in Britain between the eighth and ninth centuries AD. Manufactured in the Ipswich, Suffolk area, it is considered to be the first wheel-turned and mass-produced pottery in post-Roman Britain. The pottery is a simple, hard grey ware with little or no decoration. Most vessel types include jars, cooking pots and decorated pitchers. Ipswich ware was distributed primarily in eastern Britain, but was also traded in smaller numbers from Kent north to York and west to Oxfordshire.
Thetford ware is a type of English medieval pottery mass-produced in Britain between the late ninth and mid twelfth centuries AD. Manufactured in Norfolk and Ipswich, Suffolk, the pottery has a hard, sandy fabric, and is generally grey in colour. Most vessel types include cooking pots, bowls, jars, pitchers, and lamps.