Rights Holder: The Portable Antiquities Scheme
CC License:
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Unique ID: IOW-1294B5
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation
An everted rim sherd of a Roman Vectis Ware ceramic vessel found on the surface (AD 43-409).
The breaks are old.
Length: 20.0mm; width: 29.1mm; maximum thickness: 8.8mm. Weight: 6.56g.
'Vectis ware is hand-made, well finished and relatively hard, being barely scratched with the fingernail. Its internal and external surface is partly reddish-yellow (Munsell Color 5YR 6/6), which is the colour yielded by a characteristic oxidised crust which is usually weakly visible due to a more general darkening of the final surface burnishing. The colour produced by burnishing is usually very dark grey (Munsell Color 5YR 3/1) but hints of the reddish sub-surface is ever present in the form of oxidised patches or a general speckling. On a few pots the burnish has seemingly failed and the whole the whole of the surface may be reddened. In such cases the oxidised sub-surface may tend to decay and laminate. A macroscopic examination of the core of a typical Vectis ware sherd reveals 10-20% sub-angular medium quartz sand...The Combley [Roman Villa, Isle of Wight] kiln bars show 20% honey and milky translucent quartz grains but in other variants black morion quartz and shell sea sand have been noted. Vectis ware may be decorated with burnished hatching which, like that on black burnished ware, is frequently difficult to discern. On rare vessels, like forms 30 and 32, comb point decoration is employed' (Tomalin 1987: 31).
Tomalin, D. J. 1987. Roman Wight: A Guide Catalogue. Newport, Isle of Wight: Isle of Wight Council.
Class: Rim sherd
Current location of find: Finder
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: ROMAN
Subperiod from: Early
Period from: ROMAN
Subperiod to: Late
Period to: ROMAN
Date from: Exactly AD 43
Date to: Exactly AD 409
Quantity: 1
Length: 20 mm
Width: 29.1 mm
Thickness: 8.8 mm
Weight: 6.56 g
Date(s) of discovery: Saturday 3rd December 2016 - Saturday 3rd December 2016
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Other reference: IOW2016-1-333
Primary material: Ceramic
Manufacture method: Hand made
Completeness: Fragment
Grid reference source: GPS (From FLO)
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tomalin, D.J. | 1987 | Roman Wight: A Guide Catalogue to 'The Island of Vectis, Very Near Britannia' | Isle of Wight | The Isle of Wight County Council | 31 |