128 Notes on a Late Celtic Rubbish Heap, near Oare. 



Pottery. 



The mound contained such a large quantity of pottery that it 

 was found impracticable to carry it all away; therefore only rim 

 pieces, bases, and ornamented or otherwise characteristic pieces 

 were kept, even these filling four large baskets, each as much as 

 a man could carry. 



By thus taking the rims only into account it was thought that 

 as good an idea of the numbers, shapes, and descriptions of the 

 pottery generally could be gained as by dealing with a greatly 

 increased number of small and uncharacteristic sherds. 



Taken as a whole the pottery may be roughly divided into two 

 classes : that which is probably of native manufacture, and that of 

 foreign importation. 1 The quantity of the latter is small in pro- 

 portion to that of the former, there being only seventy-eight foreign 

 fragments (and these not all rims) against eight hundred and 

 sixty-three native. Of these eight hundred and sixty-three pieces 

 five hundred and sixty-four all belonged to one type of vessel, 

 namely, bowls with a perfectly simple or slightly beaded rim (PL 

 IV., A. and C. ; PI. VII. H. and ¥.). It seems, therefore, that bowls 

 were more commonly used than any other form of earthenware 

 vessel by the people who accumulated this rubbish heap. 2 



These bowls are of not inelegant outline, with slightly contracted 

 mouth, beaded rim, and with a shoulder more or less rounded from 

 which they taper to a base often small in proportion to the size of 



1 Some years ago pottery kilns were discovered at Broomsgrove Farm, in 

 Milton Lilbourne parish, near Pewsey. This would not be much more than a 

 mile from Withy Copse. Some of the pottery from the kilns is not unlike 

 that from the mound, and it seems not unlikely that it may have been made 

 in these or neighbouring kilns. General Pitt-Rivers identified the pottery 

 from the kilns as Romano-British, but there may have been kilns on the 

 same site for a long period. Wilts Arch. Mag., xxvii., 294. 



2 General Pitt-Rivers found it a common type at the Romano-British 

 villages of Woodcuts and Rotherly, but scarce at Woodyates. Excavations, 

 vol. III., pp. 17, 53. Evidence led him to the inference that bead rims may 

 have been in earlier use than other kinds of vessels (at the villages) and that 

 they were apparently in commoner use among the poorer than among the 

 richer inhabitants. Excavations, vol. II., 144-5. This is what might be 

 expected with a vessel of native type. 



