VESSEL

Four sherds from a Roman Oxfordshire colour coated vessel, dating to the period AD 260-402. What remains of the vessel are four fragments of the main body, stretching from the rim at the top to what is possibly the base. All the fragments are a pale orange to salmon in colour, with traces of grey (the partially fired clay) and soil present. The fabric is quite soft. Each sherd has decoration incised on it, though it can be seen best on the largest fragment.

The largest sherd is broadly parallelogram in shape, measuring 57.27mm in height and 51.61mm in width. This fragment contains the rim, but not the base. Along the top of the sherd is the rim, measuring 8.46mm in width and 37.58mm in length. It is slightly lipped, and has traces of soil trapped underneath the lipping. The presence of grey on the sherds and in the cross-section could either the slip wearing away to expose the clay underneath. Directly underneath the lipped rim are seven grooves of broadly crescent shapes. Each crescent has approximately eight, evenly spaced incisions within. These cresent shapes measure 14.19mm in height. After this, the sherd bulges slightly outwards. There are two further incised grooves, though these are circular rather than crescent in shape. The sherd then breaks off abruptly. On the back of the sherd there are grooves which correspond approximately to the crescent grooves on the front.

The second largest sherd is broadly triangular in shape, but with a rectangular base, measuring 46.84mm in height and 40.36mm at the widest point, tapering slightly inwards at the base to 37.28mm. This sherd contains what is most likely the base, but not the rim at the top. At the very top of the sherd there is a small fraction of a circular groove. Just before the sherd tapers inwards to the base, there is another grooved circle with incisions, measuring 11.89mm in diameter. The base of the vessel and the back have no further discernible decoration on them.

After this, there are two further sherds, though it is unclear where they fit into the vessel. The larger of the two is triangular in shape, measuring 30.34mm in height and 37.38mm in width, and appears to be a fragment of the lower part of the vessel attached to the base, and part of the base. There is a fraction of a circular incised groove just above the base of the vessel. From this fraction of the circular incised groove the smallest sherd possibly fits in, as this also has a fraction of the circular incised groove. The smallest sherd measures 11.45mm in height and 16.85mm, and is broadly triangular in shape. Aside from the fragment of the circular incised groove, there is no further discernible decoration on either of these two smaller sherds. There are also no visible inclusions on any of the sherds.

In total, these four sherds weigh 34.25g.