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Class : Fine wares
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Source : Gaul
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Distribution in Britain
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| Distribution summary |
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Illustration
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Source of ware
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Roman Pottery in Britain (Tyers 1996)
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This ware is discussed on p.144-145 of Roman Pottery in Britain (1996).
Fabric code : EPON
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National Roman Fabric Reference Collection (Tomber & Dore 1998)
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Cross-reference from this group to fabric descriptions published in
The National Roman Fabric Reference Collection (1998):
- EPO MA
- Céramique à l'éponge Marbled ware p.56
Illustrations of these fabrics are available only in the printed catalogue: R. Tomber & J. Dore,
The national Roman fabric reference collection. A handbook
Museum of London Archaeology Service, London. MOLAS monograph 2. (1998). |
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| Summary |
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A range of fine slipped wares decorated with darker marbled or
sponged patterns, produced in western France and distributed
across western and northern Gaul and southern Britain during the 3rd
and 4th centuries AD. |
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Fabric and technology
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A pale creamy-yellow fine-textured fabric (7.5YR 7/6) with a smooth
glossy yellow-orange or reddish-brown slip, variable in thickness.
Wheel-thrown. Upon this is superimposed (in a darker slip) a blurred
floral or star pattern, or a simpler marbled effect, hence the
French name 'sponged ware'.
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Forms
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Raimbault (1973) defines twelve principal types. Some are derived
from late sigillata prototypes. A general affinity with other
late Roman red-slipped traditions of eastern Gaul and Britain.
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Type
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Form
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Prototype
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I
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Shallow plate
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II
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Hemispherical cup
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III
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Hemispherical bowl
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IV
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Hemispherical bowl
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V
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Straight-sided bowl
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Drag. 44/45
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VI
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Flanged bowl
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Drag. 38
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VII
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Necked bowl
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VIII
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Large beaker
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Déch. 72
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IX
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Small beaker
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X
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Flagon
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XI
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Pinch-mouthed flagon
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XII
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Face-jug
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Table 1. Classification of la cramique
l'ponge forms (after Raimbault)
The bowls (V-VII) and jug (X) are the commonest forms, and the
most common in Britain.
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Chronology
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Production commenced in the early 3rd cent., but initially only
for a local market. Wider distribution dates to the 4th cent.,
but production may continues until c. AD 450.
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Source
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Western France, perhaps near Civaux (Vienne) where there is a
particularly wide range of forms and decorative types.
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Distribution
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Common in western France, between the Loire and Gironde and scatter
of findspots in Brittany and Normandy (as far as the Seine), the
Channel Islands and southern Britain.
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Aliases
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Caister-on-sea fabric EPON-32. Chelmsford fabric
22. Gloucester fabric TF12M. Kent fine fabric 6.
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Bibliography
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The original typology is Raimbault 1973; British finds listed
by Fulford (1977, 45-7, Appendix 2) and the northern French and
British distribution described in Galliou et al. 1980. Simon-Hiernard
(1991) discusses source, dating and distribution.
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References
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Fulford 1977.
Fulford, M. G., 'Pottery and Britain's foreign trade in the later
Roman period' in Pottery and early commerce. Characterization
and trade in Roman and later ceramics, ed. D. P. S. Peacock,
Academic Press, London, (1977), pp. 35-84.
Galliou et al. 1980.
Galliou, P., Fulford, M. G. and Clement, M., 'La diffusion de
la céramique "à l'ponge" dans le Nord-Ouest de l'empire
romain', Gallia, 38, (1980), pp. 265-78.
Raimbault 1973.
Raimbault, M., 'La céramique gallo-romaine dite "à l'ponge"
dans l'ouest de la France', Gallia, 31, (1973),
pp. 185-206.
Simon-Hiernard 1991.
Simon-Hiernard, D., 'Du nouveau sur la céramique à l'ponge' in
Actes du Congrès de Cognac, 8-11 mai 1991. Société Française
d'tude de la Céramique Antique en Gaule., ed. L. Rivet, SFECAG,
Marseille, (1991), pp. 61-76.
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| Updates and new references |
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Bibliography
A paper by Sireix and Convertini (1997)
makes an important contribution to the study of these wares.
It is suggested that in addition to the production at Civaux,
near Poitiers, there is a centre producing marbled wares,
principally flanged bowls (Raimbault VI) in the Bordeaux area.
It is further suggested that many specimens of 'la céramique à
l'éponge' from the Loire, Brittany and southern Britain are
from the Bordeaux region rather than from Civaux. It is
suggested that two groups should be distinguished in future -
the `céramiques marbrées d'Aquitaine'and the `céramiques à
l'éponge du Centre-Ouest'.
References
Sireix and Convertini 1997
Sireix, C. and Convertini, F., `La céramique à l'éponge de la région bordelaise: la céramique marbrée d'Aquitaine' in Actes du Congrès du Mans. 8-11 mai 1997. Société Française d'Étude de la Céramique Antique en Gaule, ed. L. Rivet, SFECAG, Marseille, (1997), pp. 321-324.
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