Reconstructed Mortarium, essential Roman Kitchen equipment.
For VM_365 Day 101, our image is of this Roman Mortarium dating from the later 2nd to the early 3rd century, was reconstructed from sherds that were recovered from the dump of broken vessels at the Fort House Roman building at Broadstairs. Almost all of the vessel was present, giving a very good indication of how it would have looked in use, recreated here with the addition of rough flint cobble to act as a pestle and some dried herbs in the bowl.
The Mortarium has an outside diameter of 240 mm was made of a silty buff-pink fabric, fired to a cream colour. The inside surface is roughened with the addition of small flint ‘trituration’ grits, which assisted with the process of grinding herbs, grains or perhaps even meat into liquids or pastes. The spout could be used to carefully pour off any liquid from the bowl.
The maker used a herringbone stamp on the flange to mark the vessel as a product of his kiln. A similar vessel, which was dated to around 140-200 AD, was found at the site of a Roman pottery kiln, near the Dane John mound in Canterbury.
From the sorting and refitting of the mass of pottery from the Kitchen dump, some very distinctive vessels began to emerge and although every sherd was present, some vessels were represented by enough pieces to make a substantial reconstruction.
In the image today the full circuit of the rim of a very large vessel has been assembled. In the tray to the right, the sherds from another nearly complete mixing bowl were gathered together, ready to be re-fitted.
With substantial elements reconstructible, the vessels could be identified very precisely…
Each of the sets of sherds that had been lifted from the deposit was carefully washed and then laid out in piles that represented an individual vessel. Of course there were stray sherds, pieces of the puzzle each vessel had become that didn’t belong in the set they had been put with when lifted. Each unknown sherd could be tested against the vessel groups and if possible placed with the right set.
Inevitably there were sherds missing from some vessels and others that seemed not to belong to any of the large sets. Each isolated sherd represents another interesting vessel in itself but a single fragments is perhaps not as impressive as the near complete examples that were gathered together in the process.
Once each group had been assembled, with as many sherds as could be located, the job of examining, identifying and counting the pots could begin…
The archaeological sequence tells us that the buildings may have been abandoned in the later 3rd century, as the stone lined cellar we excavated had been at least partly filled in with a yellowish gritty deposit. Later on a deep ditch or pit had been cut from ground level through the backfill of the cellar.
We can say that this happened around 300 AD because of the ceramic material that was found at the base of the pit. Covered by a sticky dark soil deposit with many oyster shells contained in it was a dense mass of pottery sherds and large sections of vessels. The sherds lay over several large rounded boulders of the type used to build the walls of the cellar, which may have come from the demolition of the upper parts of the structure, tipped in before the pottery was dumped.
Our image today shows the layer of sherds after they had been isolated and defined carefully by the archaeological team. A close look at the image shows how many different types of vessel were represented.
As the vessels were removed, each group of sherds or distinctive vessel was surveyed to locate its position and then the sherds were carefully removed. Our pottery specialists examined and dated each of the vessels, concluding that they formed a very tightly dated group, which we can say form the archaeological evidence were certainly all dumped in the pit or ditch at a very similar time, if not all at once.
Although little was left of the building we excavated, a deposit like this has the potential to tell a detailed micro-story in the history of the structure and consideration of each of the vessels and the group itself gives valuable insights into the use and eventual abandonment of the site. Our initial interpretation form the vessels recovered are that they are the contents of a Kitchen, with the vessels representing part of a working set of crockery that were probably in use together.
Over the next series of VM_365 posts we will explore more of the detail of this interesting discovery, the connections between them and the stories they generate about this important site.
Our post today for VM_365 Day 91 comes from an exciting weekend field trip by the Trust and friends to the Ramsgate Tunnels.
The letters arranged on the wall at the entrance to the chalk passage are from the sign for the Tunnel Railway, as the complex of railway lines and stations came to known.
The site combines a significant experience of the industrial archaeology heritage of the Ramsgate area, with a site associated with the defences of the coastal region in the First and Second World War. A complex of passages, cut into the chalk to create air raid shelters for thousands of people, encircle the town of Ramsgate and the Ramsgate Tunnels experience allows a long section of the air raid shelters to be explored.
Within the tunnels is preserved the record of the many amateur urban explorers who explored the tunnels while they were closed to general public access. The names, slogans and dates scribbled and painted on the walls show how the Ramsgate tunnels remained in the consciousness of local people, their fascinating history waiting to be brought to life as a very popular public attraction.
Today’s image for VM_365 Day 90 shows another brooch from Abbey Farm Villa, Minster. This equal ended brooch was found in the subsoil above buildings found on the southern side of the villa complex along with a small quantity of 2nd century pottery.
Over time this copper alloy brooch has become corroded but we can still see that it has a rectangular plate with lugs. The centre has three equal sized rectangular cells filled with enamel; the bottom cell is coloured red, the middle cell is now empty and the top cell appears to have been green or yellow enamel. Either side of the enamelled cells is a side panel with a beaded rim and rectangular lugs at the corners. This type of brooch was widespread in the 2nd and early 3rd century.
Today’s image is of a 2nd/early 3rd century brooch from Abbey Farm Roman Villa, Minster-in-Thanet. It was found in the upper fill of a well shaft which had been deliberately backfilled with large amounts of pottery and domestic rubbish. The pottery from the well shaft dates to the 2nd century with a few sherds as late as the early 3rd century.
The brooch is equal ended with a rectangular plate and two circular lugs. The projections are moulded and decorated with two sets of concentric circles and are broken at either end. In the centre of the brooch is a rectangular cell which was filled with enamel, now coloured yellow. The lugs are also decorated with two circular yellow enamelled cells.
References
Parfitt, K. 2007. The Roman Villa at Minster-in-Thanet. Part 4: The South-West Buildings, 6A and 6B. Archaeologia Cantiana CXXVII, 261-296.
Thistle or rosette brooch of 1st century date from Minster in Thanet
Today’s image for VM_365 Day 88 is of a brooch from the 1st century AD, which was found in the excavations at the Abbey Farm Villa at Minster in Thanet. This type of brooch has a cast thistle or rosette form with elaborate relief decoration. A cylindrical roll of metal covers the spring for the fastening pin at the back of the brooch.
This type of brooch was first made in the first half of the 1st century AD, before the Roman conquest of Britain. The rosette or thistle brooch was commonly used on the continent, particularly in Gaul and on the German frontier, as well as in southern Britain before the Roman invasion. This type of brooch is occasionally found on sites that date from shortly after the Roman Conquest and often accompanying burials of the early conquest period.
They may have lasted into the Roman period as family heirlooms, because of their particularly fine style and quality.
Reference
Bailey, J. and Butcher, S. 2004. Roman Brooches in Britain. Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London No. 68. London.
Box stores Roman samian vessels from Drapers Mills, Margate
Today’s VM_365 image is of a collection of whole vessels and large sherds made from a disticnctive type of Roman pottery called samian ware.
This selection comes from the archive of the excavation carried out at Drapers Mills near Margate between 1959 and 1961 by Mr Joe Coy. The site is known to have been the location of a major Roman building, probably a Villa, which has produced many interesting finds such as the boxer’s head shown in an earlier post.
Over the years the Trust for Thanet Archaeology has acquired the archives of several early excavations carried out by some of the pioneering archaeologists in Thanet. Although we have been supported with donations from our wish list and with funding for storage material, we have limited resources to do everything we might to understand and examine in detail all the material we have in storage.
When we are able to open up and examine the contents of a box, it can reveal hidden treasures like this group of samian vessels and sherds. Samian was a high status product, manufactured in very large quantities from the early 1st century to the mid 3rd century AD. Samian producing kilns were located in southern and northern France and later in southern and eastern Germany, which were part of the province of Gaul.
Now this important group of material has been rediscovered, it can be examined and dated using up to date knowledge of the production centres and manufacturers. As more is learned from the material archives, the real significance of the Roman sites we have identified in the map of Roman Thanet becomes clearer.
Today’s image shows a fragment of a 14th century glazed medieval floor tile found in 1979 during excavations at Salmestone Grange, Margate by the Isle of Thanet Archaeological Unit.
Salmestone Grange was a Benedictine Monastic Grange founded in the 12th century by the Monks of St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury. The Grange operated as an administrative centre for their large estate, part of which covered most of Thanet. The Grange was also occasionally used as a retreat for the Monks.
The excavations, carried out in 1979, were located in the now ruined south western end of the domestic range, in the area of the garderobe and dormitory built in the 14th century by Thomas Ickham, Sacristan to the Abbot of St Augustine’s.
Our post today for 
