THE 1963 EXCAVATIONS AT ERLESTOKE DETENTION CENTRE 



119 



cup shaped vessel, perhaps a crucible (Fig. 2: 1), and 

 body sherds from a wide mouthed bowl decorated with 

 fingertip impressions. A sherd from a wheel-turned jar 

 with a swollen rim close to a bead rim is of Late Iron Age 

 or Early Roman date. 



2. Oolite grit tempered wares (143 sherds). In 

 quantity these constitute the principal fabric type on the 

 site. Most of the sherds derive from large jars with plain 

 rims (Fig. 2: 2), although one has a flattened rim with 

 shallow fingertip decoration beneath it. One body sherd 

 from a carinated bowl has spaced fingertip decoration. 

 Another similar sherd is decorated with oblique parallel 

 lines around the upper zone of the vessel (Fig. 2: 3). 



3. Sandy fabrics (70 sherds). The sherds come from 

 a wide range of vessel forms including wide mouthed 

 storage jars (Fig- 2: 4) and carinated bowls. Some of the 

 rim sherds are plain or turned slightly upwards with a 

 swollen rim akin to a bead rim. Four rim sherds have 

 fingertip decoration around the rim while other body sherds 

 have finger impressions around the shoulder (Fig- 2: 5). A 

 few sherds have All Cannings Cross type incised decoration. 

 One small body sherd has a pattern of stamped concentric 

 circles which were possibly originally infilled with a white 

 paste (Fig. 2: 6). One shows a pattern of 'concentric' 

 diamonds (Fig. 2: 7) and is similar to a 'waster' with the 

 same pattern found at Cold Kitchen Hill in Brixton 

 Deverill. A sherd from a carinated vessel is decorated with 

 a pattern of oblique lines or triangles (Fig. 2: 8). 



4. Fine, red-finished wares (10 sherds). The 

 proportion of fine wares in the assemblage is small. They 

 include a single body-sherd from a scratched-cordoned 

 bowl (Fig. 2: 9) and four sherds from shallow, wide- 

 mouthed furrowed bowls (Fig. 2: 10-12). One sherd has 

 a partially smoothed edge where an attempt has begun, 

 perhaps in Roman times, to make it into a counter or 

 similar object (Fig. 2: 13). 



5 . Glauconitic sand gritted ware ( 1 sherd) . A single, 

 well-finished body sherd (Fig. 2: 14) has glauconitic sand 

 in the temper and comes from a jar with small, neat 

 fingertip impressions around the body of the vessel. 



6. Shell-tempered fabrics (23 sherds). Sherds with 

 temper of shell and finely ground limestone constitute a 

 major element in the assemblage. Most are very well 

 finished. The rim sherd from a shallow wide-mouthed 

 bowl (Fig. 2: 15) may alternatively have been a steep- 

 sided lid or cover. A small rim sherd (Fig. 2: 16) has a 

 broad but shallow groove under the rim. 



7. 'Saucepan' forms. Two rim sherds are from 

 straight-sided vessels in the 'saucepan' tradition of the 

 Middle Iron Age. One has a simple bead rim created by a 

 shallow groove under the rim, and is tempered with crushed 

 flint (Fig. 2: 17). The other has a rim in a similar form but 

 is made from a smoother, more sandy mix (Fig. 2: 18). 



Romano-British Pottery 



The Romano-British pottery from Erlestoke 

 consists of 3150 sherds (69.5kg) the majority of 

 which are unsourced Romano-British grey ware 

 body sherds. Many are quite large, over 5cm. Over 

 75% of the sherds cannot be assigned to any area 

 or feature, having only a general site identification 

 number. There does not appear to be a 

 concentration of any single fabric within a specific 

 area. 



Early forms include several sherds of Gallo- 

 Belgic derived platters. Savernake wares are the 

 most common of the fabrics from known sources 

 numbering 14% (26% by weight) of the total 

 assemblage. These wares have been analysed by 

 Robert Hopkins who reports that the majority of 

 the vessels are grey wares. Although there is a 

 minimum of 50 vessels represented, the forms are 

 almost exclusively restricted to small, medium, and 

 large storage jars, the exception being a butt beaker. 

 The full report is in the archive. 



Black-burnished products (plain-rimmed 

 dishes, conical flanged bowls, and cooking pots) of 

 the mid 2nd through the 4th century account for 

 4% of the total sherds. There is a mid-late 2nd 

 century sherd from the kilns at Caerleon and two 

 sherds of South-west white-slipped ware, both from 

 different mortaria. Three sherds of 'Rhenish' ware 

 represent three different vessels. 



Third-4th century products of the Oxford kilns 

 include mortaria, and sherds from several colour- 

 coated bowls. New Forest wares are few, seven 

 sherds from 3rd-4th century flagons and beakers. 

 There are a few late 4th century grey wares. 



As a whole, the Romano-British assemblage 

 indicates activity at Erlestoke Detention Centre 

 from perhaps the immediately pre-conquest period 

 through to the late 4th century. The quality of the 

 pottery does not suggest anything other than a 

 comparatively low status rural site. The number of 

 Savernake vessels may reflect intensity of use in the 

 lst-2nd centuries AD. 



Samian Ware 



by Robert Hopkins 



The samian assemblage from Erlestoke is relatively 

 small (23 sherds) with only two mid-late 1st century 

 vessels, one Hadrianic, while the bulk of the vessels 

 reaching the site were made c.AD 140-200. The 



