The image for today, for Day 297 of the VM_365 project, is of eight sherds of Roman samian pottery , which were present in the collection of paper bags storing finds from a site archive from 1964.  There are lots of  types of pottery present in the archive box dating from the Iron Age and Roman periods and these will give us clues as to the nature of the site  that was excavated there. Yesterday’s post showed three sherds of Roman Mortaria, a distinct type of kitchen ware, from three different vessels.

The imported high quality samian pottery above represents foot rings, rims and body sherds, mainly from plain cups and bowls although there is also one small decorated sherd. One of the sherds has a makers stamp reading ‘ERICIM’ impressed in the base (image right). Although re-analysis by a modern pottery specialist might bring to light up to date information discovered through research since the dig,  the excavator was knowledgeable and had done some research identifying the potter as Ericus I, possibly from the Lezoux area of central Gaul and dating the sherd to between 80-120 AD.

Examples of rare decorated samian sherds from the same region have featured on Day 175 and Day 179 of the VM_365 project.