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THE WILTSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY MAGAZINE 



CONDITION 



The later Roman ceramics (CP4) are in a generally 

 good condition with many sherds exhibiting fresh 

 breaks and little sign of abrasion prior to deposition. 

 Numerous cases of conjoining sherds were 

 encountered although no significant spatial 

 patterning was observed. The only exception being 

 F4225, a pit sealed by and including midden 

 material. This pit produced a significant and 

 regionally important group of very late Roman 

 ceramics (see below) with conjoining sherd present 

 both within the pit and from adjacent midden 

 sample areas. This pit is also partially sealed by 

 midden deposits, and contained a coin of Arcadius, 

 (SF 276; AD392-402 (see coin report) and is 

 therefore of prime importance in dating the overall 

 late Roman assemblage and the site. 



The Oxford colour coat wares are generally in a 

 good condition although some have lost much of 

 their colour coat. As a consequence it is likely that a 

 number of vessels may have had white-painted 

 decoration that has not survived. This will have some 

 chronological implications as the use of this medium 

 is largely encountered after C.AD325-350 (Young 

 1977, 133) and on certain forms present at Wayside 

 Farm, only after c.AD350.This is discussed further 

 below in conjunction with the association with 

 significant quantities of rosette stamped vessels. 



All of the coarse grey ware sherds in fabrics GS1 

 and GS2 are also in a fresh condition and would 

 suggest a relatively short period of deposition. An 

 observation confirmed by other artefact groups. 



THE LATER ROMAN FINE AND 

 NON-LOCAL WARES 



The Fine Wares 



This is undoubtedly the most important component 

 of the Wayside Farm assemblage and it has 

 implications for the understanding of early 5th 

 century Romano-British ceramics in Wiltshire. The 

 homogeneous nature of the midden deposit and 

 the internal consistency of the non-ceramic 

 artefactual data in pointing to an early 5th century 

 deposition date make this a group of great regional 

 significance. The non-local products include a 

 substantial proportion of Oxfordshire colour coated 

 fine wares that, when viewed with the coarse wares 

 (including Alice Holt and South Midlands shell- 

 tempered wares), provide a further insight to a 



ceramic supply pattern that is drawing upon 

 relatively distant production centres to the east and 

 north-east. The surprisingly low proportion of New 

 Forest products in comparison to other late sites in 

 Wiltshire underscores this geographical bias in the 

 late Roman supply pattern to the region. It may 

 also have a chronological implication. 



The fine wares are dominated by products of 

 the Oxford industry (Young 1977; 2000) and of the 

 identifiable forms, those that post-date C.AD340/350 

 form a substantial component of the assemblage. 

 Of especial interest are the hemispherical vessels 

 decorated with rosette and demi-rosette stamps. 

 These vessels, Young (1977) forms C78-9, C83 and 

 C85 only become common after C.AD350 (ibid, 1 66- 

 170) and the necked bowl of the C75 series is later 

 than C.AD325. The condition of the colour-coat 

 surface on the Oxford products from Wayside Farm 

 is not good and it is highly probable that further 

 chronological details, such as applied white paint 

 decoration, will have been lost. On those forms where 

 it was identified, notably C50 and C52, the traces of 

 decoration were faint and fragmentary. This is 

 unfortunate, as, in common with the stamped vessels, 

 this is a trait that only becomes common after the 

 middle of the 4th century. 



The New Forest products, although not as 

 common as those from the Oxford region, also 

 display typologically late characteristics where the 

 form can be attributed. The majority of the 

 identifiable New Forest forms are of Fulford type 

 27, the basic indented beaker form dated c.270-400 

 (Fulford 1975; 2000), but are too fragmentary to 

 allow identification of more diagnostic sub-types. 

 However of the other confirmed forms, types 11/12, 

 C.300/350+; 30, C.300/25-400+; 41, C.300-400+ and 

 50-52, C.320/50+ are present, hi terms of the vessel 

 forms, the New Forest examples are all closed forms, 

 being either beakers or flagons/flasks. Fulford ( 1 9 7 5 ) 

 has made a strong case for the decline of the New 

 Forest industry in the late 4th century. The low 

 proportion of New Forest products at Wayside Farm 

 can be interpreted as further evidence in support of 

 an early 5th century date for the midden group. 



The non-local coarse wares 



These comprise 24.5% of the assemblage by weight 

 and 17.37% by sherd number. 



Oxfordshire White-ware mortaria (OX WH) 



The Oxford White-ware mortaria forms, where 

 identifiable, are all of Young type M22, including 



