Post-Roman Pottery from The Printing

Works, Church St, Romsey, Hampshire

Ben Jervis Archaeological Report 9
By Ben Jervis MA PIFA

INTRODUCTION
This report summarises the small quantity of Post-Roman pottery recovered from an archaeological
evaluation carried out at the former printing works site, Church Street, Romsey. The excavations
were carried out in 1993 by Hampshire Archaeology.

The only features uncovered were a wall and cellar, both of post medieval date. A total of 69 sherds
were recovered principally from layers.

The types mentioned here are defined in Jervis, B. Forthcoming “Medieval Pottery from Romsey: An
Overview” and fabric descriptions have been lodged with Hampshire Museum Service.

THE POTTERY
Most (20) sherds are of Verwood-type and date from the 17th century onwards (table 1). The bulk of
the pottery is post medieval in date, consisting of post medieval sandy wares, Brown Glazed Wares
(Alderholt type), English Stoneware and a sherd of Post Medieval Redware with slip-trailed
decoration. Imports are present in the form of 2 sherds of Rhenish stoneware, 1 of Raeren type and
2 of Westerwald type. With the exception of the English Stoneware and Refined Earthenware, all of
these types date to the 17th century.

Six sherds of late medieval (14th-15th century) are present, in the form of sherds of MQ4, MQ3 and
FQfe3. Five sherds of FEQ3 may also be contemporary with this material, on the basis of a small
quantity of sherds excavated at 11 The Hundred. Three medieval types have not been recognised
elsewhere in Romsey and are described below:

FQarg3 is a wheelthrown grey/buff sandy ware. Inclusions consist of abundant fine quartz with occasional iron
rich clay pellets.

MQfe4 is brown/orange throughout. Inclusions consist of common rounded black iron ore with abundant
rounded quartz grains.

ARGmq1 is pinkish buff throughout. There are occasional sub-rounded, medium sized quartz inclusions and
common sub-rounded, iron rich clay pellets. The type sherd has a partial glaze.

Other types are present of known 12th-14th century date. These consist of 3 sherds of Laverstock-
type ware, 9 sherds of Wessex Coarseware,3 sherds of Fine Sandy Ware and 4 sherds of Flint and
Sand Tempered Ware. The assemblage is principally of 17th century date, although some 14th-15th
century types are present. Earlier material is uncommon and sherds are generally small, suggesting
that it is residual.
Feature 1 5 7
Context 2 5 15 Total 7 Total
Ware SC SW SC SW SC SW SC SW ASW SC SW ASW SC SW
Flint and sand tempered ware 1 4 1 4 4 3 15 5 4 19
Flint and sand tempered ware (Newbury type) 1 2 2 1 2
Fine sandy ware 3 10 3 3 10
Wessex Coarseware 1 13 1 3 2 16 8 7 34 5 9 50
Laverstock-type Ware 1 18 1 18 18 2 8 4 3 26
ARGmq1 2 19 10 2 19
FQarg3 1 6 6 1 6
MQfe4 1 9 9 1 9
FEQ3 5 23 5 5 23
MQ3 3 31 3 31 10 1 2 2 4 33
MQ4 1 8 1 8 8 1 8
FQfe3 1 4 4 1 4
Post Medieval Sandy Ware 2 25 2 25 13 2 25
Post Medieval Brown Glazed 1 14 1 14 14 1 14
Post Medieval Redware (Slipped) 1 26 1 26 26 1 26
Verwood 12 210 6 45 18 255 14 2 20 10 20 275
Raeren-type Stoneware 1 10 10 1 10
Westerwald Stoneware 2 28 2 28 14 2 28
Refined Earthenware 1 15 1 15 15 1 15
English Stoneware 1 9 2 33 1 11 3 44 15 4 53
Flower Pot 2 29 2 29 15 2 29
Total 1 9 27 415 11 98 38 513 14 30 162 5 69 684
Table 1: Quantification of the Pottery from the Printing Works Site by Feature.
POTTERY BY FEATURE
The fill (2) of the cellar [1] contained a single sherd of English Stoneware. This suggests that the
cellar was filled in the 18th-19th centuries.

Contexts (5) and (15) are topsoil and sub-soil respectively. The largest and most abundant sherds are
the 17th century types; Verwood, 2 sherds of Westerwald Stoneware and the sherds of Post
Medieval Redware and Post Medieval Sandy Ware. There are also large sherds of 19th-20th century
date, of Refined Earthenware and industrially produced flower pot. All of the material in the topsoil
(a garden soil) is residual and earlier material is also present. This includes small sherds of later
medieval types MQ3 and MQ4, as well as a moderately sized sherd of Laverstock-type Ware and
small sherds of Wessex Coarseware. A small sherd of flint and sand tempered ware was also present.

Context (7) is a further layer. This was a dark soil layer which contained roof tile, animal bone, burnt
flint, slag, glass and 30 sherds, principally of medieval date. These sherds are generally very small,
demonstrating that they are likely to be residual within this soil layer. The types present are
principally of 12th-14th century date and include Flint and Sand Tempered Wares, Wessex
Coarseware, Fine Sandy Ware, Laverstock-type Ware, FEQ3, MQ3 and sherds of the 3 new wares
described above. It can be suggested by their occurrence in this layer, which contains no earlier
material and little intrusive, later, material that these date to the 12th-14th centuries. Two sherds of
Verwood-type are intrusive, whilst a sherd of Raeren-type stoneware is also likely to be intrusive.

SUMMARY
The vast majority of the material in the assemblage was recovered from redeposited layers. The
topsoil and sub-soil can be spot-dated to the post-medieval period, with sherds generally dating to
the 17th century. The dark soil layer (7) contains small sherds of 12th-14th century pottery. Whilst
these are likely to have been reworked, the lack of intrusive material suggests a medieval date for
the development of this layer, perhaps indicating horticulture on the site during this period. There
are sherds of 3 new types not previously identified in Romsey and it can be suggested that all are
likely to date to the 12th-14th centuries on the basis of their presence on layer (7).