81 



from the Satnian factories in Germany and France. The potters of 

 Roman Britain did, however, endeavour to imitate this choice 

 ware by the same process of moulding, but their productions in 

 this direction were comparatively poor. This is known as false 

 or imitation Samian, the red colour of which was produced by 

 dipping the clay into a slip or thick clayey liquid made of sulphate 

 of iron. It is probable that the fragmentary moulds discovered in 

 England were used by the British potters in their attempts to 

 imitate the true Samian. 



The forms and composition of the pottery produced by the 

 Romanized Britons are practically identical with that of the 

 Roman potters. The distinguishing characteristics of the former 

 consist mainly in the ornamental patterns which are in many 

 cases similar to or survival of those on the pottery and other 

 artistic productions of the prehistoric periods. 



But, even with this as a criterion, it becomes a matter of 

 great perplexity to lay down any hard and fast lines of distinction 

 between the pottery produced by the Roman potters and that made 

 by the Britons under the influence of Roman art. 



As the greater number of our local specimens have been 

 discovered associated with interments in the cemeteries of the 

 Romans and Romano-Britons, a short description of the burial 

 customs of these p>eoples becomes a necessity. Until the intro- 

 duction of Christianity in the Third Century, cremation was 

 prevalent among the Romans. The ashes of the dead were 

 carefully collected from the remains of the funeral pile and 

 placed in a special cinerary urn, or, when this was unobtainable, 

 in some domestic vessel,* as may be seen in the examples before 

 you. It was then carried to the local cemetery, which was 

 invariably situated by the roadside outside the precincts of the 

 town or important station, or, in the event of the death occurring 

 in the country, to the burial ground in the immediate neigh- 

 bourhood of the villa or hamlet. The urn containing the 

 cremation was then often buried enclosed in a much larger 

 vessel or in a cofiSn to protect it from the superincumbent 

 earth. A number of vessels of different descriptions were 

 sometimes interred with the one containing the cremation ; 

 these were probably used at the funeral feast or were intended 

 for the use of the spirit of the deceased in the world of the 

 depaited. 



The burial customs of the Britons seem to have undergone 



* At Wilderspool, an outskirt of Warrington, a great deal of 

 interesting Roman pottery was discovered some years ago, among 

 which were two tetinae, or feeding bottles. " When found the mouth 

 of each was covered by a fragment of pottery, and from their upright 

 position and contents, there can be no doubt tliat they contained the 

 ashes of one or more children."— JEWITT, Ceramic Art, p. 41. 



