Page 41 - John Barber's Oakham Castle and its archaeology

Appendix A

The Pottery from John Barber’s Excavation

by Deborah Sawday

Editors’ note: The fabric references in this report, originally written in 1999, were updated by the author in May 2011.

All the pottery (226 sherds, 4478 grams) and ridge tile (18 fragments, 1331 grams) was examined under a x20 binocular
microscope and catalogued by fabric, vessel form and context. Quantification was by sherd/fragment numbers and
weight (grams) (Tables 1 and 2).

Fabric Common Name/Kiln & Fabric Equivalent where known Approx Date Range

(1)
ST2 Stamford ware: fine, fabrics G B/(A) c.1050–12th C
(1)
ST1 Stamford ware: very fine, fabrics B/C c.1150–13th C
(2)
PM Potters Marston ware: Potters Marston, Leicestershire c.1100–c.1300/50+
Coarse Shelly ware (includes sherds previously catalogued as Lyveden/Stanion A
CS (3) c.1100–1400
ware): ?Northants CTS fabric 330
Lyveden/Stanion type: Northampton fabric T6 (11), Lyveden/Stanion ‘A’ ware,
LY4 (3) c.1100/50–1400
Northants CTS fabric 319
(3)
LY1 Lyveden/Stanion type: Lyveden/Stanion ‘B’ ware, Northants CTS fabric 320 c.1200/1225–1400
(4)
NO1 Nottingham Early Green Glazed ware fabric NOTGE c.1210–c.1250
(4)
NO2 ?Nottingham Coarse Sandy Ware NCSW c.1230-c.1280
(4)
NO3 Nottingham Light Bodied/Reduced Green Glazed ware NOTGL/NOTGR early/mid 13th C –
c.1350
(5)
BO2 Bourne A/B wares/type ware c.1250–1450
(5)
BO1 Bourne D ware/type c.1450–1650
Medieval Sandy ware 2: misc. coarse soft fired quartz tempered fabrics, including
MS/ coarse Chilvers Coton fabrics A/Ai and ?Nottingham, Burley Hill/Allestree, Early/mid 13th C –
(6)
MS2 (7) 1400
Derbyshire and Staffs
(5)
CW2 Cistercian ware 2: ?Nottingham/Ticknall, Derbyshire c.1450/1475–1550
(8)
MB Midland Blackware: ?Ticknall, Derbyshire c.1550–1750
(8)
EA6 Earthenware 6: Black Glazed Earthenware 16th C–18th C
SW7 Black Basalt: Etruria, Staffs c.1770/80+

(1) Kilmurry 1980, Leach 1987
(2) Haynes 1952, Davies & Sawday 1999
(3) Northants CTS
(4) Nailor & Young 2001, Nailor 2005
(5) Healey 1973, Young et al 2005
(6) Mayes & Scott 1984
(7) Coppack 1980, Cumberpatch 2002-03, Nichol & Ratkai 2004
(8) Spavold & Brown 2005

Table 1. The Pottery and Tile Fabrics.

The Stratigraphic Record (Tables 2 & 3)

1
The earliest stratigraphic level with pottery, from below the north wall of the kitchen, context A (5), produced a single
sherd of very fine Stamford ware (fabric ST1), dating between c.1150 and 1250. Another copper glazed sherd in the
same fabric was found under the floor of the kitchen, context B (5), together with eight sherds of hand-made pottery in
the Lyveden/Stanion fabrics LY1 and LY4 and Coarse Shelly ware, fabric CS. Fabrics LY4 and CS date from the 12th
century, and LY1 is dated from c.1225. A residual sherd of fine Stamford ware, fabric ST2, dating from c.1050+, and

1 For JLB’s context numbers, see Tables 2 and 3.

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