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may remind you, was, roughly speaking, about 400 years. This 

 long interval saw the Romans deeply implanting the seeds of our 

 first civilisation, and to their chroniclers of this eventful time we owe 

 the first written records of the history of England. But these 

 early writings, valuable as they are, are sadly incomplete ; and it 

 is the spade of the antiquary which has added a very material 

 complement to the knowledge which we gather from the perusal 

 of classic authors. 



Turning our attention to the pottery of Roman Britain, we 

 find what an enormous influence was exerted by the Romans in 

 this direction. Huge factories of pottery, extending over many 

 square miles, were established in various parts of the island, in 

 which thousands of persons were constantly employed ; and 

 numerous small local potteries sprang into being wherever clay of 

 a suitable quality was obtainable in the vicinity of Roman 

 stations and Romano-British villages. The wares thus produced 

 were of a very varied character, and an endless number of vessels 

 were fabricated. 



The sites of the prmcipal potteries brought to light by the 

 investigations of the archaeologist are three in number, namely, 

 the potteries near Sheerness in the Upchurch marshes on the 

 banks of the Medway, those situated on the banks of the 

 Severn in Shropshire, and those of the ancient city Durobrivae 

 on the river Nen in Northamptonshire. The pottery from these 

 districts exhibits different types and forms which are known 

 respectively as Upchurch ware, Salopian ware, and Durobrivian 

 or Castor ware. Similar wares are found scattered abroad 

 all over the kingdom in connection with Roman and Romano- 

 British remains, and it seems patent that the pols enamating from 

 these centres formed an important trade item with these peoples, 

 who used pottery for a variety of purposes which surpasses even 

 that of the present generation. Further on we shall also see that 

 pottery was imported from the factories of Continental Roman 

 stations. 



The marked superiority of the pottery of Roman Britain 

 over that of the preceding barbaric times, becomes very evident 

 when we examine even a fairly representative collection. Instead 

 of the rude hand-made vessels which were baked in the open fire, 

 we observe graceful and artistic forms which were moulded on a 

 small revolving table or potter's wheel — the orbis or rota figularis 

 of the Romans — and afterwards fired in properly constructed 

 kilns. Many of these kilns in a perfect state of preservation have 

 been laid bare on the sites of the principal potteries. 



With such an array of pots and pans as that produced during 

 the Roman occupation, a difficulty arises in selecting for 

 description such examples as will be of service in a short account 

 of this kind. Our attention, therefore, must be confined to the 

 consideration of a few typical interesting forms and to local finds. 



