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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.148-150 of Roman Pottery in Britain (1996).
Fabric code : LYON
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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):
- LYO CC
- Lyon Colour-coated ware p.59
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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Cups and beakers in a fine pale colour-coated ware with darker
colour-coated, decorated with barbotine or rough cast, produced at
Lyon (Rhône/FR) and widely distributed across Gaul, the Rhineland and
Britain during the 1st century AD. |
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Fabric samples Scale (when present) in cm.
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Fabric and technology
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A fine buff-white fabric with a distinctive greenish-tinge (5Y
8/2-9/2) which is usually hard with a fairly clean fracture, although
this may have degraded in unfavourable soil conditions. The typical
slip is a dark greenish-brown (2.5YR 4/4-4/2) with a lustrous
sheen, but may vary from red-brown to almost black. Wheel-thrown.
The commonest decorative technique is a roughcast of quartz sand,
which may cover the entire surface of the vessels. A rich variety
of rusticated, applied, stamped, rouletted and barbotine motifs
are also employed, often in combination with roughcast sand.
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Forms
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Cups are the commonest type, but beakers occur in smaller numbers
and there are other rare forms such as flagons. Some of the rarer
cup types imitate the style of contemporary Spanish (SPAN) or
Italian colour-coated wares.
Greene's type-series of Lyon ware covers the principal variations:
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Type
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Decoration
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Cups
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1
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roughcast
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2
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rusticated
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3
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rounded imbricated scales
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4
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applied scales
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5
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Beakers
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20
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roughcast
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21
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folded and roughcast
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22
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rusticated
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23
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imbricated scales
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24
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25
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barbotine hairpins
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26
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rouletted
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Flagon
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40
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roughcast
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Table 1. Classification of Lyon ware forms
(after Greene)
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Chronology
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Production of roughcast cups probably commences in the Tiberian
period, but the wide distribution of the ware can be dated to
c. AD 40-70. Greene suggests that production terminates in AD
69 (Greene 1979). In Britain, Lyon ware is largely confined to
pre-Flavian sites, but occurs in small quantities on Flavian foundations,
such as York, Caerleon, Chester and Newstead.
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Source
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Lyon, at the La Butte site.
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Distribution
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The continental distribution is principally east and north of
Lyon, towards the Rhineland and Rhaetia. There are a few vessels
from western France, but the fabric is not common south of Lyon.
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Aliases
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Carlisle fabric 324. Chelmsford fabric 5. Colchester
fabric EB. Gloucester fabric TF12H. JRPS bibliography
fabric lyc. Leicester fabric C14. Kent fine fabric
11. Sidbury fabric 26. Silchester fabric E26.
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Bibliography
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The fundamental study of the ware is by Greene (1979). The evidence
from Lyon itself has been described by Grataloup (Grataloup 1988),
who also gives valuable descriptions of the Augustan-Tiberian
precursors of Lyon ware -- not found in Britain. The final reports
on all the Lyon kiln sites are anxiously awaited.
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References
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Grataloup 1988.
Grataloup, C., Les céramiques à parois fines, Rue des Farges
à Lyon, British archaeological reports. International series,
457, Oxford, (1988).
Greene 1979.
Greene, K. T., The pre-Flavian fine wares, Report on the
excavations at Usk, 1965-1976, 1, University of Wales Press
[for] the Board of Celtic Studies of the University of Wales,,
Cardiff:, (1979).
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| Updates and new references |
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Bibliography
The kiln material from La Butte (Lyon/FR), excavated in 1965,
has now been published in detail
(Desbat 1997).
It is suggested that production of colour-coated fine wares
may have commenced at Lyon by c. AD 20-30, and perhaps
continued until c. AD 100-120, although the wide distribution
of the ware, to the Rhineland and Britain for instance, seems
to have ceased somewhat earlier.
The distribution of Lyon ware (p. 11) has now extended
somewhat beyond that presented by Greene in 1979 and there are
now specimens from south and west of Lyon. The bias towards
the Rhine frontier and Britain remains however.
The production of colour-coated cups and beakers at the La
Butte site is evidently associated with a workshop producing
oil lamps in a similar fabric (pp. 12-29), and small `amphora
stoppers' and mortaria in coarser wares (pp. 29-31).
References
Desbat 1997
Desbat, A., (ed), `Les productions des ateliers de potiers antiques de Lyon. 2e partie: Les ateliers du Ier s. après J.-C.', Gallia, 54, (1997), pp. 1-117.
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