86 THE POTTERY 



Durobrivae, in Xorthamptonsliire. Yases of tliis type 

 are found in Northern Gaul as well as in Britain and 

 it is probable that Castor was tbe chief rather than the 

 only centre where such ware was manufactured. There 

 is much variety in the Castor vases but the general 

 characteristics of the fabric may be summed up as being 

 (1) a pale, white to buff or red, clay with black or dark 

 engobe, and (2) ornamentation in relief done either by the 

 " thumb " or the " barbotine " process. In the former 

 process the surface of the vase is worked by the potter's 

 fingers while the clay is still soft into various projections 

 and indentations, sometimes in regular patterns of knobs, 

 semicircles, etc., and sometimes merely producing an ir- 

 regularly broken surface. In the barbotine process the 

 design is executed by applying a thick slip of the same 

 light-coloured clay as the body and thus stands out in 

 relief, and often also in colour, against the dark engobe of 

 the vase. The slip is applied while the clay is still only 

 leather-hard and the vase is afterwards completely fired. 



The date of the ware is uncertain. Much of the char- 

 acteristic " floral scroll " design seems to be derived from 

 late Celtic forms, and it may well be that the ultimate 

 origin both of the design and of the methods of technique 

 is earlier than the Roman conquest. 



The fragments of Castor Ware at Melandra are: — 



1. Lower part of small vase on stem. Bufi clay with brown- 

 black surface. Rough workmanship. Band of floral scrolls 

 round the body in " barbotine " technique. Plate III., 2. 



2. Fragments forming an almost complete vase in form of an 

 open-mouthed jar. Red clay with black engobe. Good work- 

 manship. Tlie rim is reeded on its outer surface. An incised 

 groove ' separates plain band below rim from lower surface 

 ornamented with " thumb " decoration of small irregular 



