Dating and interpreting the past in the western Roman Empire

Essays in honour of Brenda Dickinson

David Bird

• Publisher: Oxbow Books
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN: 9781842179543
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Roman Ancient History
• Index: History

This volume presents a collection of more than 30 papers in honour of one of Europe's leading scholars on Roman pottery, Brenda Dickinson. Divided into thematic sections, papers are mostly concerned with her principal area of study, samian, but also touch on Brenda's other interests, with investigations into, for instance, the likely species of Lesbia's pet bird (Catullus) and language and style in the "British" speeches in Tacitus. Papers in the section on potters and potteries examine the evidence for the work of a number of important samian potters, aspects of pottery production and its organisation and a potter's eye view of the approach to reproducing samian. Further papers are concerned with decoration, stamps and other marks, especially with evidence for previously unrecognised or little known potters, stamps and decorative features; the recognition of locally produced unguentaria from London; and the existence of makers' marks on textiles. The final section considers the use of samian and other pottery in illuminating aspects of life and death, including consideration of the likely expenditure involved in the inclusion of samian in burials and what the pots actually meant to the people who used them; the possible use of old vessels by plate spinning entertainers; and aspects of cooking methods and the composition and useage of possible dining services.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Contributors
• Abstract
• Résumé
• Zusammenfassung
• Foreword by Michael Fulford
• A bibliography of the works of Brenda Dickinson compiled by Louise Rayner
• Editor's preface by David Bird
• 1 Vocal iso(n) (Eno Koço)
• 2 Lesbia's pet bird (W Geoffrey Arnott)
• 3 Britons speaking in Tacitus (R H Martin)
• 4 A northern odyssey: the first 26,000 samian vessels, and still counting (Margaret Ward)
• 5 Calibrating ceramic chronology: four case studies of timber building sequences, and their implications (Raphael M J Isserlin)
• 6 The portrait of the potter Calus: a potter priest at La Graufesenque? (Allard Mees)
• 7 The origins of the samian form Dragendorff 37: 'The weight of the evidence' (G B Dannell)
• 8 Un décorateur de Montans méconnu: Salvius (Thierry Martin)
• 9 'Servus VI': potier(s) décorateur(s) de Lezoux (Richard Delage)
• 10 Balancing between tradition and innovation: the potter EBËRËS and the mould-decorated beakers from the Argonne (Johan Deschieter, Wim De Clercq and Fabienne Vilvorder)
• 11 Der Wandertöpfer CINTVGNATVS (Ingeborg Huld-Zetsche, with Pia Eschbaumer and Manuel Thomas)
• 12 Eine Terra-Sigillata-ähnliche Keramikproduktion des 3. Jahrhunderts in Augusta Raurica (Debora Schmid and Verena Vogel Müller)
• 13 Reproducing samian pottery: ideas and practical experience (Gilbert Burroughes)
• 14 Arena scenes with bulls on South Gaulish samian (Joanna Bird)
• 15 An elegant fowl (Vivien Jones)
• 16 Les estampilles graphomorphes et anépigraphes du Rozier (Ariane Bourgeois and Michel Thuault)
• 17 Vases moulés avec marque intradécorative du groupe D d'Espalion (Aveyron, France) (Jean-Louis Tilhard with Philippe Sciau and Yoanna Leon)
• 18 The influences on the designs of the potters at Lezoux (Robert A Pitts)
• 19 New Central Gaulish poinçons (Robert Hopkins)
• 20 'Is your figure less than Greek?' Some thoughts on the decoration of Gaulish samian ware (Janet and Peter Webster)
• 21 Some samian potters' signatures from the North of Britain (Felicity C Wild)
• 22 Senex, samian and saffron - solution in sight? (Ralph Jackson)
• 23 Coarseware mortaria found at La Graufesenque and nearby Millau (Kay Hartley)
• 24 A roller-stamped unguentarium from the City of London (Fiona Seeley)
• 25 Makers' marks - on textiles? (John Peter Wild)
• 26 The occurrence and use of samian ware in rural settlements in the Upper Thames Valley (Paul Booth)
• 27 Alphen aan den Rijn-Albaniana and the dating of the Roman forts in the Rhine delta (Marinus Polak, Ryan Niemeijer and Ester van der Linden)
• 28 Costing the (figured) earth: using samian to estimate funerary expenditure (Edward Biddulph)
• 29 Aspects of the use of samian pottery in Romano-British funerary practices (Hilary Cool and Ruth Leary)
• 30 Lamplighters and plate-spinners: the final phase of use for some samian vessels from Kent? (J M Mills)
• 31 Graffiti on samian in London (Charlotte Thompson)
• 32 The sizes of samian vessels and dining: evidence from Roman London (Gwladys Monteil)
• 33 Stuffed dormice or tandoori chicken in Roman Britain? (Margaret Darling)