Romano-British Pottery at Mellor

Click to enlarge image of fragments of Roman Pottery Click to enlarge image of fragments of Roman Pottery
Roman pottery has been found almost every year of excavation. The early assemblage was examined by Ruth Leary of Nottingham University and the following edited extracts are taken from her report:
From 1998 to 2001 a small abraded collection of pottery was recovered from the site which comprised of:
  • Three undiagnostic grey ware sherds
  • One sherd of Derbyshire ware
  • Fifteen quartz-tempered orange ware, including the rim and base of a small everted-rim beaker and a bifid-rim vessel of uncertain form
  • Ten scraps of fired clay, probably not pottery
  • Two fragments of Orange tile, possibly tegula or a later tile
  • One sherd of a samian from the footring base of a bowl or dish.
    • The Orange ware compares with fabrics produced at Derbyshire sites such as Derby Racecourse during the late first to mid second century and found at Chesterfield



    Click to enlarge image of Roman Artefacts from 2003 Click to enlarge image of sherds of Amphora Click to enlarge image of Base of Roman Pot Click to enlarge image of Black Burnished Ware Click to enlarge image of Cream Buff Ware Click to enlarge image of Briquetage fragments










    In 2003, the 5 metre stretch of Trench 18 produced an abundance of finds of Roman finds. These included quern stones used to grind corn, 221 sherds of Romano-British pottery and around 40 scraps of Briquetage, a type of pottery used in the salt trade. Most of this came from the top two fills of the ditch, which seem to indicate a deliberate back filling at some later date.

    Expert analysis tells us that the pottery, which included Samian ware, comprised a wide range of types coming from distant sources including the Cheshire Plains, the area around Belper in Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and possibly mortaria from Widerspool.

    The vessel types indicate a date range from the late 1st Century AD to at least the middle of the 3rd Century. This still does not confirm that the Romans themselves used the site, but the indications are that during at least part of this period Mellor was seen as a High Status site, having contact with and possibly trading with the Romans in Britain.

    With Thanks to Ruth Leary and Margaret Ward


    Read the Full Report on the Samian Ware at Mellor 1998-2003 by Margaret Ward
    Read about the Roman Coins and Roman Brooches
    Find out what this tells us about the Romano British Period at Mellor