162 



Boman Pottery — The Ujochurch Ware. 



explore this creek with, any success, you must enter it with a 

 boat at low water, when a large extent of clay is left uncovered 

 on each side the water, which you can only walk upon, cr 

 rather into, with long waterman's boots, and you soon reach 

 the layer of pottery underneath by means of a stick, or, which 

 is the more effective method, by thrusting your hand and arm 

 into the clay, when you may pull up almost as much pottery as 

 you like. As the pottery was first observed and examined 

 here, it has been called by antiquaries Upchurch Ware, though 

 the Eoman potters' works extended over several parishes. 

 The pottery is no less abundant in the creeks and dykes of the 

 Halstow marshes, from Otterham Quay to Stangate Creek, but 



JiainhajTV 



QucctJjcrairflv 



Map of the Upcliurch and Marshes. 



these localities are of less easy access than Otterham Creek. 

 There can be no doubt, not only from the extent of ground 

 covered by the potteries, but from the frequent occurrence of 

 the sort of pottery made here, among Roman remains in 

 Britain belonging to different periods, that these potteries 

 were in full activity during the whole extent of the Eoman 

 period. The site of the kilns was moved as the clay was used 

 up, and at the same time the refuse pottery was thrown on the 

 ground behind them, so that, when at last abandoned, this 

 extensive site presented a surface of ground covered almost 

 entirely by a bed of refuse pottery. It would seem that, to 

 produce its present appearance, the ground must have sunk, so 



