The Distribution of South-East Dorset Black Burnished Category I Pottery in South-West Britain

Abstract

20 40 60 80 100 % SEDBBI early RB late RB all period site date-range FIG. I. Machine-contoured map of the distribution of SEDBB i in SouthWest Britain (quantitative data from Appendix I; quantitative information from Appendix II). (a) Summary of character of quantified sites, (b) Sample size (sherd number), (c) Percentage of SEDBB I in samples, (d) Summary of approximate date-range of sites.

Archaeology and geostatistics

“…The first case study utilises the variogram to characterise spatial dependence in assemblages of Roman pottery from the south of Britain from details collected by Allen and Fulford [1]. Allen and Fulford acquired data on five types of pottery, but of these, only two occur with enough regularity at the sites surveyed to provide a large enough sample for geostatistical analysis.…”

Material Culture Patterns and Cultural Change in South-West Britain

“…Given the Iron Age origins of Severn Valley Ware (Timby 1990), these connections probably pre-date the Roman invasion, when the nearby hillfort at Credenhill was occupied (Wilmott and Rahtz 1985: 119). Nevertheless, the occurrence of SEDBBl, the distribution of which has been linked to the military, specifically Legio II Augusta, by Fulford (Allen and Fulford 1996;Fulford 1996), and the military metalwork mentioned above also suggest links to the military.…”

“…Kenchester is notable as an anomaly in the distributions of stamped tile and various types of pottery (for a detailed discussion of the various pottery types and their distributions see Allen and Fulford 1996). Situated near the edge of the main distributions of tile, approximately 30 kilometres from any other analysed site ( figure 12) and located at the intersection of the road from Caerleon to Wroxeter and the road westwards to Clifford and Clyro, Kenchester appears isolated from other civilian settlements to the east and south-east, although this could partially reflect recovery and site preservation rather than archaeology.…”

“…Kenchester is also atypical with respect to the pottery recovered from the site, based on data collected by Allen and Fulford (1996) on the distribution of various wares in south-western Britain, including south-east Dorset Black Burnished Category 1 Pottery (SEDBB1) and Severn Valley Ware. Kenchester lies outside the main distributions of both wares.…”

Pots for Cash? A Critique of the Role of the ‘Free Market’ in the Late Roman Economy

“…Greater emphasis has been given in recent papers to the role of the state in the movement of various commodities (Fulford 1987: 66-72;Middleton 1983;Reynolds 1995: 106-122;Whittaker: 1983). The work of Allen and Fulford (1996) on Black Burnished Ware in south-western England and building stone in south-eastern England (Allen and Fulford 1999) is particularly relevant in this context. The emphasis placed on what I would term the 'command economy' rather than the market shows at least a willingness to consider alternatives Fulford 1996: 269, 1999: 179).…”