VESSEL

The pottery associated with the hoard is unusual for a pot found with a coin hoard. Thirty four small to medium sized sherds of pottery weighing 110 gms were found. These are from a Colour Coat beaker. No sherds from the base are present, and there is only one small rim sherd (rim diameter approximately 10 cms). The other sherds are all from the wall of the beaker. The type of fabric the pot is made from is similar to New Forest Wares rather the Oxford Ware. Usually, where Roman coins were deposited inside a pot to be buried, the pot is a coarse kitchen ware; a storage or cooking vessel made in a coarse fabric. This vessel is a fine ware beaker, a serving or table ware. Most hoard pots were buried upright in the ground, so that the base and lower part of the vessel is recovered with the coin hoard. The top lost to ploughing etc. Here no part of the base was recovered. As well as being unusual for being a fine ware pot found with the hoard, this is a comparatively early date for a Colour Coat fine ware. Colour Coat wares are a typical Roman pottery used to make serving vessels. They were made at several different centres across England and in other parts of Europe as well. Colour Coat wares are very common in the 3rd and 4th Centuries AD. However, this Beaker is associated with a mid-2nd Century AD hoard. However, Colour Coats wares started to be made as early as 120-40s AD in some parts of Britain, and this vessel is probably one of these early products.