Post-Roman Pottery from Narrow Lane,

Romsey, Hampshire
Ben Jervis Archaeological Report 10
By Ben Jervis MA PIFA

INTRODUCTION
This report discusses the post-Roman pottery from excavations at Narrow Lane, Romsey in 1981 by
Test Valley Archaeological Trust. These excavations revealed a series of post-medieval and medieval
garden soils, overlying a thick, dark layer containing metal working debris. It has been tentatively
determined that the iron working activity dates to the Anglo-Saxon period. This layer overlay a series
of features of Roman and Iron Age date.

This report uses the data collected by Dr. Andrew Russel who first spot-dated the pottery from the
site, but sherds have been re-assigned to a new fabric series defined by the author. The reason for
this is that several different fabric recording systems have been used for material from Romsey. Dr.
Russel’s system splits the fabrics into many types, meaning that it is a simple task to amalgamate
them into new types. This was carried out by Helen Rees, however her types, particularly for the
later medieval pottery have been determined as not being defined enough, meaning that a middle
ground has been sought. 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.

This report only deals with the Anglo-Saxon, medieval and post-medieval pottery from the site,
those interested in the Roman and prehistoric pottery should refer to the report in the site archive
(Rees 1990). Whilst the analysis is quantitative, it should be noted that several post-medieval
features are simply recorded as having ‘lots’ of post-medieval pottery. Therefore, for the later
features a full quantitative analysis has not been possible. It may be worth re-assessing the pottery
from these layers in the future. The report will first present a brief overview of the pottery types
present, before discussing the post-Roman pottery present as residual material in Roman deposits,
material from the iron working layers, material from Anglo-Saxon features not associated with the
iron working activity and, finally, material from later deposits.

OVERVIEW OF THE ASSEMBLAGE

Given that the bulk of the features are of Roman date, it is unsurprising that the vast majority of the
pottery is Roman in date (table 1). These account for 1362 of the 1749 sherds from the quantified
assemblage. The next most common ware is Wessex Coarseware, a common 12th-14th century type
in Romsey, whilst flint and sand tempered wares are also common. Seven sherds each of mid-Saxon
Organic tempered ware and the coarser flint tempered ware, similar to that from the latter phases
of Hamwic, are present. There are also a small quantity of chalk tempered wares, identified as a
major component of some Anglo-Saxon assemblages from Romsey (Lorraine Mepham, pers. comm).
There are 22 sherds of fine quartz tempered ware, a type identified in Winchester, of which
Michelmersh-type ware is one variant. There are a small quantity of later medieval glazed sandy
wares including Laverstock-type ware, South Hampshire Redware and Southampton-type Sandy
Ware, all can be dated to the 13th-14th centuries. Sherds of 14th-15th century sandy wares MQ3 and

Ware Name SC SW
Prehistoric 2 28
Roman 1362 20175
Mid Saxon Organic Tempered 7 72
Flint tempered ware 7 66
Flint and sand tempered ware 38 431
Flint and sand tempered ware (Newbury
type) 16 129
MQargf1 12 83
Flint tempered with coarse sand and chalk 14 114
Chalk tempered ware 5 49
FQc1 1 5
Wessex Coarseware 122 1058
Fine sandy ware 22 210
FQ2 1 14
FQfeq1 2 11
Laverstock-type Ware 17 123
South Hampshire Redware 5 66
Southampton Sandy Ware 6 48
MQfe2 3 15
MQfe3 1 21
MQ3 1 4
MQ4 11 74
Misc. Medieval 15 115
Border Ware 5 29
Post Medieval Redware 9 133
Tudor Green 2 27
Verwood 24 178
Tin Glazed Ware 1 5
Misc. Post Med "Lots" "Lots"
Modern "Lots" "Lots"
Unid. 4 27
Total 1743 23448
Table 1: Pottery Types Present at Narrow Lane (from site archive data).

MQ4 are present in very small quantities. A range of post-medieval types are present, including
sherds of Verwood-type, Post Medieval Redware, Border Ware and Tudor Green, as well as sherds of
Tin Glazed Ware.

MEDIEVAL POTTERY FROM PREHISTORIC AND ROMAN FEATURES

Features of prehistoric and Roman date (phases 1-3) contained 672 sherds, 641 of which were
prehistoric and Roman in date (Table 2). Sherds of both periods are large (ASW 18g). Sherds of
medieval date are considerably smaller. The earliest wares present are 3 small sherds of mid-Saxon
organic tempered ware and 5 sherds of coarse Flint Tempered Ware. Six sherds of Flint and Sand
Tempered ware of ‘Newbury type’ are present along with 4 sherds of Flint and Sand Tempered ware,
a type dated to the Saxo-Norman period in Romsey. Twelfth-thirteenth century types are
represented by sherds of Wessex Coarseware and Laverstock-type ware whilst a single sherd of Fine
Sandy Ware is also present. There is clearly an intrusive element in these early features
demonstrating that later gardening activity on the site disturbed these features.
 Ware Name SC SW ASW
Prehistoric 1 18 18
Roman 640 11687 18
Mid Saxon Organic Tempered 3 18 6
Flint tempered ware 5 31 6
Flint and sand tempered ware 4 39 10
Flint and sand tempered ware (Newbury
type) 6 30 5
Flint tempered with coarse sand and chalk 1 10 10
Wessex Coarseware 6 41 7
Fine sandy ware 1 4 4
Laverstock-type Ware 1 3 3
Misc. Medieval 1 3 3
Unid. 3 24 8
Total 672 11908
Table 2: Pottery from Roman Features.

MEDIEVAL POTTERY FROM THE IRON WORKING LAYER

A total of 630 sherds were recovered from the dark layer of charcoal and metal working debris
which covered the site. A total of 391 of these were of Roman date, possibly illustrating that this
layer developed over several centuries, or possibly indicating a strong residual presence (table 3).
Sherds are noticeably smaller than in the earlier deposits (ASW: 10g). The largest sherds of Anglo-
Saxon date, including 2 sherds of Organic Tempered Ware and 2 sherds of coarse Flint Tempered
Ware. There are 4 sherds of Chalk Tempered Ware and 5 sherds of ’Newbury type’ flint and sand
tempered ware present, as well as 25 moderately sized sherds of Saxo-Norman flint and sand
tempered ware. The fact that these Anglo-Saxon and Saxo-Norman types are present in a less
fragmented state than the later and earlier wares perhaps supports the attribution of an Anglo-
Saxon date for the deposits. There is a great deal of intrusive material, although sherds are generally
very small and a wide range of types are present, all in small quantities. These include 12 th-14th
century types such as Wessex Coarseware, Laverstock-type Ware and South Hampshire Redware, as
well as sherds of various post-medieval earthenwares. Gardening activity in the medieval and post-
medieval periods clearly disturbed this layer, leading to this mixing of material.

MEDIEVAL POTTERY FROM OTHER PHASE 4 FEATURES

Phase 4 is deemed to be of potential Anglo-Saxon date. All but 5 of the 298 sherds from features of
this phase are Roman in date however and sherds are considerably larger than those of later types
(table 4). With the exception of the single small sherd of Organic Tempered Ware sherds are all of
12th-14th century date and therefore are intrusive, given that these features are contemporary with
or pre-date the iron working layer. The pottery suggests a Roman date.
 Ware Name SC SW ASW
Prehistoric 1 9 8
Roman 391 4043 10
Mid Saxon Organic Tempered 2 36 18
Flint tempered ware 2 35 18
Flint and sand tempered ware 25 305 12
Flint and sand tempered ware (Newbury type) 5 88 18
MQargf1 12 83 7
Flint tempered with coarse sand and chalk 8 54 7
Chalk tempered ware 4 46 12
FQc1 1 5 5
Wessex Coarseware 86 744 9
Fine sandy ware 12 105 9
FQfeq1 2 11 6
Laverstock-type Ware 7 50 7
South Hampshire Redware 5 66 13
Southampton Sandy Ware 4 15 4
MQfe2 1 7 7
MQfe3 1 21 21
MQ3 1 4 4
MQ4 9 70 8
Misc. Medieval 9 67 7
Border Ware 4 24 6
Post Medieval Redware 6 100 17
Tudor Green 1 6 6
Verwood 13 103 8
Misc. Post Med 9 57 6
Modern 1 5 5
Total 622 6159
Table 3: Pottery from the Iron Working Layer

Ware Name SC SW ASW

Roman 293 4086 14
Mid Saxon Organic
Tempered 1 6 6
Flint and sand tempered
ware 2 6 3
Wessex Coarseware 1 6 6
Southampton Sandy Ware 1 29 29
Total 298 4133
Table 4: Pottery from Other Phase 4 Features

POTTERY FROM LATER FEATURES

A total of 157 sherds were recovered from later features, principally garden soil layers (table 5). The
medieval pit 9002 only contained a small sherd of Chalk Tempered ware and sherds of Roman
pottery, whilst the post-medieval pit 3063 only contained a single sherd of Flint and Sand Tempered
Ware. The 38 sherds of Roman date are clearly residual and this is demonstrated by their small size
(ASW: 9g). Sherds of most types are very small and this is typical of garden soil layers. The presence
of sherds of Wessex Coarseware and glazed sandy wares of Laverstock and South Hampshire
Redware types implies that this activity dates to at least the 13th century, whilst the presence of
post-medieval types suggests this activity continued into at least the 17th century. A proper analysis
of these layers may provide information on land use in different areas of the site through time, but
such analysis would require full quantification of the post-medieval types present.

Ware Name SC SW ASW

Roman 38 359 9
Mid Saxon Organic Tempered 1 12 12
Flint and sand tempered ware 7 81 12
Flint and sand tempered ware (Newbury
type) 5 11 2
Flint tempered with coarse sand and chalk 5 50 10
Chalk tempered ware 1 3 3
Wessex Coarseware 29 267 9
Fine sandy ware 9 101 11
FQ2 1 14 14
Laverstock-type Ware 9 70 8
Southampton Sandy Ware 1 4 4
MQfe2 2 8 4
MQ4 2 4 2
Misc. Medieval 5 45 9
Border Ware 1 5 5
Post Medieval Redware 3 33 11
Tudor Green 1 21 21
Verwood 11 75 7
Tin Glazed Ware 1 5 5
Misc. Post Med "Lots" "Lots" N/A
Modern "Lots" "Lots" N/A
Unid. 1 3 3
Total 151 1248
Table 5: Pottery from Phase 5 Features

CONCLUSIONS
The bulk of the pottery is of Roman date and there are small quantities of intrusive material present
in Roman layers. Phase 4 features not associated with the iron working layer are probably of Roman
date, based on the ceramic evidence. The larger sherds of Anglo-Saxon pottery present in the iron
working layer suggest that this is indeed of Anglo-Saxon date, with the types present demonstrating
that it accumulated from, perhaps, the 7th/8th-10th/11th centuries. Later intrusive types are present
from disturbance caused by later gardening activity which dates from at least the 13th-17th centuries.
The later types present are all typical of medieval assemblages in Romsey.