Medieval Pottery Produced at Hawkley,

Hampshire
Ben Jervis Archaeological Report 28
By Ben Jervis MA PIFA.

INTRODUCTION
This report describes an assemblage of pottery collected through surface collection near Hawkley in
Hampshire. The sherds are generally heavily abraded, but some are clearly wasters. All of the
pottery is in a single fabric, described below. A range of vessel forms are present, including bowls,
jars, jugs and curfews. A group of ceramic building material was also present, but is not discussed
here.

THE POTTERY
The pottery is all in a single fabric, a harsh sandy ware which is oxidised throughout with common
sub-rounded, medium sized quartz grains with occasional gritty material. The assemblage consists of
a total of 329 sherds, weighing 4.9kg. The majority are from jars, with other forms being rare (table
1).

Form SC SW Rim%
Bowl 7 135 23
Curfew 4 91 2
Jar 127 2138 606
Jug 3 75
Tripod jug 3 80
Unid. 185 2427 12
Total 329 4946 643
Table 1: Quantification by Vessel Form.

Bowls

Amongst the assemblage of bowls there is no consistency in form, with 6 different rim forms being
present amongst the 7 examples present (table 2). There are three examples of hammerhead rims, 2
are rounded, everted forms and 1 is a flat topped, straight edged form, which has thumb
impressions along the top edge. There is one example if a simple, inturned, rounded form and 2
thickened forms, one of which has an internal lip. There is also one example of a clubbed form with a
rounded profile. One example has a partial, exterior, clear glaze.

Curfews

There are 4 examples of curfews within the assemblage. One rim sherd is present, a thickened, flat
form. There are 3 curfew handles, one is a strap handle and 2 are rod handles. The strap handle has
stick-end (stabbed) decoration. None of the sherds are glazed.
 Rim Form SC SW Rim%
Clubbed, rounded, everted 1 12 2
Hammerhead, flat upright 1 61 2
Hammerhead, rounded 2 31 7
Simple, straight edged, inturned 1 15 5
Thickened, rounded, everted, internal
lip 1 12 5
Thickened, straight edged 1 4 2
Total 7 135 23
Table 2: Quantification of Bowls by Rim Form.
Jars

The assemblage is dominated by jar fragments and these would appear to be the main product of
the production centre. There are two broad groups of rim forms present (table 3). The first are
simple everted forms, in which both rounded and straight edged profiles are present, with the
rounded form being more common. The second, and most common form, are thickened, everted
forms with an internal lip, again rounded and straight edged forms are present. There are 3
examples of thickened, everted rims with a rounded profile, and one with a straight edged profile,
which do not have an internal lip. The only other form present, and only in small quantities, is the
hammerhead rim. Again, both rounded and straight edged versions are present. There appears to be
some standardisation in vessel size, with most vessels having a rim diameter between 220-240mm
(table 4). Vessels are rarely glazed, 2 examples have partial, exterior, clear glazes and 2 have partial,
interior, clear glazes. On sherd possibly had an interior white slip.

Form SC SW Rim%
Hammerhead, rounded, everted rim 4 82 27
Hammerhead, straight edged, everted 8 132 49
Simple, rounded, everted 19 315 77
Simple, straight edged, everted 11 221 73
Thickened, rounded, everted 3 74 26
Thickened, rounded, everted, internal lip 43 695 193
Thickened, straight edged everted, internal
lip 31 459 146
Thickened, straight edged, everted 1 55 15
Shoulder 7 105
Total 127 2138 606
Table 3: Quantification of Jars by Rim Form.

Total
Rim Diameter (mm) 180 200 210 220 240 260 280 Rim%
Hammerhead, rounded, everted rim 10 10 5 25
Hammerhead, straight edged, everted 22 10 12 5 49
Simple, rounded, everted 8 21 18 8 55
Simple, straight edged, everted 39 16 10 65
Thickened, rounded, everted 18 8 26
Thickened, rounded, everted, internal lip 29 10 10 47 27 22 10 155
Thickened, straight edged everted, internal
lip 21 46 36 10 7 120
Thickened, straight edged, everted 15 15
Total 39 79 10 188 122 55 17 510
Table 4: Quantification of Jar Rim Diameters by Form (Rim %)
Jugs

Jugs were only identified by their bases. There are three examples of a flat base with pulled feet, a
further example of a flat base and 2 examples of a slightly sagging base, which has thumb
impressions. Two of these examples have partial, external, clear glazes.

Undiagnostic Sherds (table 5)

A total of 185 sherds could not be confidently assigned to specific vessels forms. These include one
example of a simple, upright, rounded rim and 5 small rim fragments whose form could not be
determined. There are 4 strap handles and 4 rod handles, probably all from jugs, and a further
example of a handle join for a rod handle. A further handle sherd which was too abraded to
determine its form was also present. One of the rod handles has been stabbed and one has been
slashed. Three of the strap handles are stabbed and 1 is slashed. There are 117 body sherds and a
further 8 sherds from the lower parts of vessels. The majority of body sherds are undecorated, but
there are 4 examples with applied pellets, 3 have been combed, 2 have thumbed applied strips and 1
has stabbed applied strips. Two base forms are present. The most common (43 examples) are
slightly sagging bases with an obtuse basal angle. These are probably jar and bowl bases. One
example has an exterior white slip. There is also a flat base with a right basal angle. Sherds are rarely
glazed, 12 body sherds have partial, clear, exterior glazes. Five bases have a partial, clear, internal
glaze and 1 has an exterior glaze.

Form Decoration Glaze SC SW

Simple, upright, rim Undecorated Clear, internal, partial 1 7
Unidentifiable Rim Undecorated Unglazed 5 42
Slashed Unglazed 1 23
Rod handle Stabbed Unglazed 1 28
Undecorated Unglazed 2 46
Slashed Unglazed 1 9
Strap handle
Stabbed Unglazed 3 54
Unidentifiable Handle Undecorated Unglazed 1 10
Handle join (rod) Undecorated Unglazed 1 28
Applied pellets Unglazed 4 31
Combed Clear, exterior, partial 3 20
Stabbed applied
strip Unglazed 1 3
Misc. Body
Thumbed applied
strip Unglazed 2 26
Clear, exterior, partial 9 162
Undecorated Unglazed 98 1026
Clear, interior, partial 1 6
Lower body
Undecorated Unglazed 7 80
Exterior white slip Unglazed 1 17
Clear, exterior, partial 1 26
Sagging, obtuse base
Clear, interior, partial 5 99
Undecorated Unglazed 36 671
Flat, right angled base Undecorated Unglazed 1 13
Total 185 2427
Table 5: Quantification of Sherds of Unidentified Form.
SUMMARY
The production centre at Hawkley appears to have produced a range of utilitarian vessels including
bowls, jugs and curfews, although the most common vessel forms are jars. These are sparsely
decorated or glazed. All of the vessels were produced in a single fabric, and there appears to have
been some standardisation in the forms produced, particularly amongst the jars. These wares have
rarely been identified in excavations, so it is difficult to know when the production centre was in
operation. The ware has been identified in Petersfield and in an unstratified assemblage from nearby
Liss. On stylistic grounds, it is likely that the pottery dates from the 13th-14th century.