Fig. 231.
The Romano-Salopian potteries—the works which produced such a large quantity of vessels from the clay of the Severn valley, probably in the neighbourhood of Broseley, which bed is still worked for fictile purposes—were, there is reason to believe, much less extensive than either of those spoken of, but yet they must, from the large quantity of examples which have been dug up at Wroxeter, have been of some considerable extent. Of these wares, “two sorts especially are found in considerable abundance; the one white, the other of a rather light red colour. The white, which is made of what is commonly called Broseley clay, and is rather coarse in texture, consists chiefly of rather handsomely shaped jugs of different sizes, of mortaria, and of bowls of different shapes and sizes, which are often painted with stripes of red and yellow. The other variety, the red Romano-Salopian ware, is also made from one of the clays of the Severn valley, but it is of a finer texture, and consists principally of jugs not dissimilar to those in the white ware, except in a very different form of mouth, and of bowl-shaped colanders.”[45] A group of vessels of the Salopian ware is here given ([fig. 232]). These examples are all from Uriconium (Wroxeter), and have been found in the cemetery there. They are cinerary urns which have, of course, contained the ashes of the dead, and domestic vessels which have been buried along with them.
The pottery of the New Forest bears in some respects a striking resemblance to that from Castor. The clays there found were white and fawn-coloured.[46] The Yorkshire productions present some peculiarities in pattern which will be noticed later on, and those of Oxfordshire are somewhat similar to the Castor ware. Of other pot manufactories it will not be necessary to speak in this work.[47]
The sepulchral urns—those which were intended to receive the burnt bones of the dead—vary much in size as well as in form, material, and ornamentation. Many are of globular form, and of a dark bluish-grey colour in fracture They are somewhat coarse in texture, and are thrown on the wheel. The engraving ([fig. 234]) exhibits one of these vessels. When found, it was, like the others I am about to notice, filled with burnt bones. The engravings (figs. [235] and [236]) show two urns containing human remains, the smaller one of which, found at Little Chester, is formed of a black clay, mixed with small pieces of broken shells—a kind of pottery much used for sepulchral purposes. The larger urn is of a hard and compact clay, and is beautifully “thrown” on the wheel. These examples are entirely devoid of ornament. A good example of this form will be seen in the centre of the group ([fig. 230]), but in this instance the urn is covered with a reticulated ornament. Examples whose forms partake a little more of the jar shape will be noticed on [fig. 232], and others are given on [Fig. 233], Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 6. [Fig. 237] is from Little Chester, and is formed of a fine reddish-brown clay, and is ornamented with “slip” in an unusual manner. It measures 3½ inches only in height, and the same in diameter at the mouth. When found, it was filled with burnt bones, among which were some small fragments of bronze ornaments, which had evidently been burned along with the body. The next examples (figs. [238], [242], [248], and [249]), are of a different character, both in ornamentation and in colour of clay.
Fig. 232.
Fig. 233.
Fig. 234.