Roman pottery

Roman pottery, like any piece of earthenware which may be found buried in the ground, can
be analysed according to a number of very basic features:
1. Stamps - stamps, if present, are the most reliable
source of information about origin. Stamps also allow a
clearer understanding of the geographic provenance and
distribution of pottery styles. The stamp would
normally be placed on the underside of the pot and give
the name of the owner of the pottery, ie the
manufacturer. The image to the right shows an example
of Roman pottery stamp.
2. Surface decoration - decoration is heavily driven by
local tastes and is therefore a good indicator of
provenance. The surface decoration of Roman pottery was more inclined towards
relief work, coloured slips, finishes and glazing. The romans were less inclined
towards the intricate painting of Greek and Etruscan vases
3. Shape and form - these are generally driven by regional preferences, although strong
demand could actually attract copy-cat potters. Although not strictly Roman, an
interesting example is the Etruscan city of Vulci in central Italy, where it is said that
more Greek pottery has been found than in the whole of Greece (possibly an
exageration). Many exquisite pieces of "Greek" pottery seem to have been
manufactured locally, often by immigrant Greek potters.

4. The material itself, type of clay. Clay would usually be sourced, refined and worked
locally. Analysis of the material gives an idea of possible provenance or at least an
indication of whether the piece was manufactured locally or not. The clay and its
degree of refinement, as well as the manner of firing, define the final texture and
colour of the pot.
Roman pottery (earthenware) can be generally split into three main areas of use and
decoration:

Amphorae: pottery was used to store, carry and ship products. This type of roman
pottery was generally undecorated although the finish might suit the type of product
the amphora was meant to carry. They were often stamped with a maker's signature to
show provenance.
Coarse ware pottery was used for everyday necessities. As the name implies its finish
went as far as satisfying utilitarian needs. Coarseware pottery was extremely common.
Fine ware roman pottery combined functional and decorative requirements. It might
therefore be painted or even glazed.

Roman Pottery: Fineware

Fineware pottery was regarded as being less prestigious or luxurious by Roman civilization
than it had been by the Greeks and Etruscans. In fact we don't see the same level of trade of
those famous Greek black and red figure vases which the Etruscans were so fond of. Nor of
the fine Etruscan black "Bucchero" wares which which were so fine and resilient that they
rang almost like metal when flicked with a finger. The reason for this decline was partly
driven by taste but also by the increasing wealth in late republican Rome which allowed a
growing market for extremely fine silver and glass wares with highly elaborate relief work.
This was particularly the case in Rome itself, where wealth grew to the highest level. The fine
ware pottery market remained stronger in other parts of the empire and with time Gaul
became an important and artistically influential production centre.
The range of fineware pottery shapes is obviously dictated by its use: as special show case
pieces, as vessels for cosmetics or to be used on special occasions and dinners. Of course,
glass and silver were particularly suited to these areas of luxury merchandise just as they are
today. The influx of glass and silver ware negatively impacted the range of fineware pottery
and the range of shape and form. In fact there is evidence of shapes which evolved as a
consequence of glass-making which were then copied by the potters. For example there's a
second century pear-shaped jug with relief work in the British Museum which is extremely
similar to earlier first century glass work. Another example of glass making influence on
pottery includes a faceted surface rather like cut glass facets on goblets and round vessels.
This tendency more or less dates to the fourth century.
As a result of this, the level of roman fine ware pottery was relatively basic with its prestige
eroded by a tendency for mass production. Painted artwork on fineware pottery was reduced
to geometric patterns and designs. The appeal of "fine ware" was limited to craftsmanship,
shape and surface texture.
A possible exception to this is what is known as Arretine work, made in potteries at present
day Arezzo, near Florence in central Italy. In this case the figurative painting on the pottery
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surface was replaced with actual sculptural relief work which could be stamped in moulds and
applied to the surface of the vase before painting and firing.
Aretine Roman Pottery
Aretine roman pottery also known as "terra sigillata" provides a good example of the marriage
of Greek stylistic influence with existing
craftsmanship and it reached its greatest period of
popularity during the age of Augustus. The Greek
naturalistic approach to art was applied to vase
forms and colours which were closer to Italic taste
and manufactured with a mould.
In contrast to the Greek love for a black glaze,
which allowed the artist to reserve the natural red
ground as a base colour for expressive artwork
and figures, the Romans developed a preference
for a unified red, shiny, glaze which lent itself
well to the relief figure decorations.
Arretine pottery was widely appreciated across
the Mediterranean and was imitated in pottery
centres across Italy, Asia Minor and Gaul, so much so that its production more or less shifted
to Gaul.
On a more modern note: The industrial revolution of the 19th century allowed the Arretine
result to be copied and mass-produced in England by potters such as Wedgewood. It remains
extremely popular even today.
Gaulish and North African Fine ware (roman) pottery
The work of southern Gaul imitated and took over the Arretine style and by the middle of the
first century made it its own. Gaulish produce was generally heavier and with a higher gloss
finish. Some fifty years later Gaulish work was superceded by the work of north African
potteries which also produced red wares although the finish was generally less glossy or even
matt. The general term for it is "African Red Slip" or "ARS".
Roman Pottery: Coarse ware
Roman coarseware was just that: coarse. The intended
use of this type of pottery was to be found in
everyday needs, especially in cookery. Given the use
was put to and its tendency to chip and break in the
kitchen meant that it was produced cheaply and in
greater volumes.
This meant that the clay used was less refined and
included rougher (coarse!) inclusions and impurities.
The walls would tend to be thicker in order to make
the wares more resistant to kitchen use. From a materials point of view it is likely that the

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inclusions would make the wares more likely to break and therefore also contributing to a
need for greater thickness of clay.
Firing was less careful and generally done in a closed furnace, which would tend to consume
less fuel. The "reducing" atmosphere in these ovens ie smoky and short of oxygen, tended to
make the baked clay go brown/black in colour. Darker patches on the earthenware surface
would also arise where one pot touched another in the furnace.
The general size, weight, finish and shape of coarse ware was strongly driven by the utensil's
intended use. Pots for storage, cooking, eating and so on all had their particularities. A rough
grain surface on a plate intended for semi-liquid poultices would hardly be impermeable and
certainly not easy to clean! A "slip" would generally be used to provide a smoother finish
when required.
Roman Pottery: Amphoras
I think we all know what an amphora looks like and plenty of them have been found under the
sea in the remains of cargo holds of sunken ships. Superficially we would tend to classify
roman amphorae in a single class of shape which allowed them to be easily stacked in a ship's
hold (which wasn't square!).
In reality, amphoras have a large variety of shapes and sizes. The different shapes and features
on amphoras were strongly tied to location of manufacture, type of produce to be carried and
the year(s) of manufacture. Just to give a feel for what I mean: a "Haltern 70" is not a type of
gun but a type of amphora, produced in Spain. It is tall and cylindrical with a collared rim, a
spike at the bottom and grooved handles. The surface texture is rough. A "Dressel" amphora
on the other hand... You get the picture.
The systematic study of shape and the makers' stamps has helped archaeologists to define a
clear picture of mercantile trade routes. In Rome itself there is a whole hill called "Testaccio"
entirely made up of the millions of shards of amphoras used to import goods. Given the
difficulty of eliminating earthenware waste dedicated workmen were employed to lay the
shards in progressive layers. Monte Testaccio is now covered in trees and parkland but
various areas have been excavated and "revisited" as veritable geological layers of mercantile
history.
We have collected further information and images about Roman Amphoras on a separate
dedicated page.
Manufacture of Roman Pottery
The manufacture of roman pottery was much the same as that of other civilisations and in fact
pretty much the same as it is today.
roman pottery was made by one of four methods. Methods could also be combined.
1. The coil method: where a long sausage of clay is coiled over itself and then smoothed
over. This method is extremely versatile and simple and hence frequently used for
home-made coarse ware. The pot could also be finished off on the potter's wheel,

making it difficult or impossible to distinguish from a pot "thrown" on a wheel. A

broken shard of pottery made with this method will tend to show uneven thickness.
2. The pinch-pot technique: the name says it all.
3. "Thrown" on a potter's wheel with a heavy fly-wheel to keep it going at constant
speed. The result tends to be very even, except in points where there is a strong change
in direction, such as between the base and body. Finger prints or lines are common if
the finished pot wasn't rubbed down before firing.
4. With a mould: a carefully measured weight of clay would be laid into a pre-fabricated
mould. This allowed many identical pots to be made in batches.
Roman pottery decoration
Roman pottery lacked the intricate painterly decoration loved by the Greeks and Etruscans.
The most common form of decoration was through a simple "slip" painted over the surface of
the pot before firing.
A Slip Surface:
A slip is a thin watery slurry of refined clay which fills and smoothes over any coarse gaps in
the pot's surface. The benefit is great both aesthetically and in terms of practicality given that
the pot is rendered more impermeable and easier to clean.
The slip could be rubbed over with bone or wood so as to align the particles into an even
smoother burnished surface or polished to a glossy shine by rubbing it with a fine abrasive
such as ash. The slip itself could be made of a different type of clay so as to give a different
colour although excessive differences in the material's properties could lead to cracking or
peeling of the surface.
Glazing:
Glazing wasn't very frequent, in fact it is quite rare, but it
could give some extremely attractive effects and colours
which had a vitreous (glass-like) appearance. The
technique wasn't a roman invention and in fact it is likely
have pre-dated roman civilisation. It was particularly
popular in the 1st century BC.

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The colours tended to be either blue-green or light honey

brown although other colours could also be achieved. The
technique relied on combining metals such as silver or
copper with lead salts, which provide a melting point low
enough to be reached in the firing oven.
These powders could be sprinkled onto the surface of the pottery or even suspended in water
and painted on. Copper gives a strong green. Ferrous compounds tend to go red or brown. The
method of firing is important and the result is affected by temperature and amount of oxygen
present in the oven.

Painting:
Painted pottery wasn't a big hit with the Romans and painted
decoration tended to be restricted to geometric patterns, lines and
dots applied in basic earth colours. The type of pottery to which
was applied would tend to have been fine ware or in any case to
wares manufactured with refined clay capable of giving a
sufficiently smooth surface.

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Relief:
At its most basic, relief work could be much the same as we seen on tribal African wares
nowadays: with various geometric patterns or bumps or grooves and so on. At its best, the
Romans had a strong taste for a figurative shallow relief which might either be made with a
mould and applied to the surface of the pot or alternatively which could be drawn directly
onto the surface by squirting a semi-thick clay through a nozel, a little like toothpaste.
Roman Glass
Glass blowing was developed around the first century BC and soon spread to other parts of
the Roman world. Glass vessels remained a luxury item until the second and third centuries
AD by which time they had become relatively common and of everyday use.
The Romans developed the art of glass making to an extremely high level of craftsmanship.
Before that glasswork depended on an opaque translucent material known as "glass paste".
During the Roman epoch the purity of glass was greatly improved and the inclusion of
definite metal impurities allowed manipulation of its colour and translucency. This material
was used to make wares of different shapes and sizes with relief sculpture in the classical
style.
This form of art was extended to the production of true art works in the form of glass tablets
with sculptural relief of figures and mythological events much in the same vein of cameo
work done on shells or Aretine pottery ware.
Further extensive information regarding Roman Glass and pottery has been collected on a
dedicated page about Roman glassware.

Ancient Roman Paintings

Paintings and in particular frescoes (or Frescos) were a favourite method of interior
decoration within buildings of ancient Rome. Particularly within the houses of the rich. The
art of painting walled surfaces was inherited in part from the Greeks and in part from the
Etruscans who as early as the 8th century were already painting the interior plastering of their
tombs (nothing remains of Etruscan housing and a few remains have been found of their
temples). Certainly temple buildings would also be painted.
The painters of such work were by and large foreigners likely of Greek background but as
with all situations where artists find themselves in a market thriving in liquidity and
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commissions much innovation followed. The art produced was a mixture of the artists'
abilities and the purchaser's tastes so that a great variety of work was produced and innovation
ensued. Some examples of innovation in ancient roman art and painting include the
introduction of landscapes and idyllic settings, often with small figures dominated by the
monumental setting (also mentioned by Vitruvius in De Architectura), another example might
include still life work (I have no references or proof - it's a suggestion worth following up, not
to mention the love of portraiture such as is seen in various techniques, for example gold leaf
portraiture on glass or encaustic (wax) on wood such as found in north Africa, not to mention
the portraits on fresco in Pompeii are all amazing.
As is always the case, some artistic innovations had their detractors, for example Vitruvius
wasn't very taken with the growing appreciation for fantasy creatures and settings which
became increasingly frequent in 3rd and 4th style Roman painting.

Ancient Roman Colours

The principal colours used by the Romans for their paintings were ocre (an earthy
yellow), blue (very difficult/expensive to make), red also known as Pompey Red and
black. These colours were used to mix a range of tones and other colours as necessary.
The manner in which they obtained these colours is still under investigation,
particularly the means of achieving the distinctive Pompeii Red. The raw materials
were mineral, animal and vegetable matter. For example the powder of charred bones is still
used to make an excellent black. Roman chroniclers mention 7 mineral colours and 9 mixed
colours.

But if we wish to go into a little more detail of what was available during the age of Roman
rule....
The earliest palette was made of basic earthy colours: red earth (called Burnt Siena during the
Renaissance), yellow earth (Raw Siena, a Renaissance name and colour actually) and carbon
black (charcoal). By the fourth millennium BC Egyptian artists had increased the range of this
basic pallette to include some bright colours, especially malachite (green) and azurite (blue)
obtained by crushing the minerals. Brighter forms of red extracted from cinnabar (a type of
rock) and yellow made from arsenic. Egyptian artists also added a range of vegetable dyes as
well as other ground materials such as glass.
Greek artists added other colours to this range including colours such as red, white and green
from Lead and Copper salts.
The available pallette at the time of the Romans would therefore have been something like the
following:
Black, Lead White, Chalk white, Raw Siena, Burnt Siena, Malachite green, Azurite (like
French Ultramarine blue), Cinnabar red, Orpiment yellow, Cerulean blue (the name comes
from the latin for sky), Indigo, Rose Madder, Verdigris green and Vermilion (a good
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component for painting skin tones especially if mixed with a little Burnt Siena and Orpiment
Yellow.
Clearly the more brilliant colours tended to be the most expensive and difficult to
manufacture. The colours were extremely durable because of the fresco technique utilised to
apply them to the surface (usually a wall with fresh plaster). Some examples available today,
such as the garden painted in the villa of Livia at the gates of Rome or the Boscoreale villa
removed to the Metropolitan museum are still astounding for their brilliance and variety of
shades notwithstanding the effects of time.

Painting Techniques of the Ancient Romans

The raw colour powders were bound in much the same way as today: through
mediums such as animal glues, egg yolk or gum extracted from plants to form a sort of
tempera medium. These were particularly necessary if the paint was to be applied on
top of a dry surface rather than being applied through the more durable techniques of
fresco.
The techniques used to paint the frescoes have been handed down to us by writers such as
Pliny the younger and the architect Vitruvius. As a small testimony of the influence of Roman
thought and technique on art through the ages we should remember that Vitruvius was the
source of inspiration for Leonardo's studies on human proportion and the famous drawing of a
man inscribed in a circle and square, known as Vitruvian man.
The base for these paintings clearly had to be perfectly clean and smooth. This was obtained
through repeated layering of plastering and fine sand which would be finally polished with a
fine layer of marble dust which was rendered compact and hard.
The surface would then be dampened before the colours could be applied. The colour would
be absorbed into the smooth compact, but porous, surface layers and become a permanent part
of it. The finished painting would then be polished to a shiny finish probably through the
application of oils and a final wax seal.
A more secure and longer lasting method employed a lime based mortar achieved from a long
process of soaking the lime. The mortar would be applied in a smooth layer and the colour
immediately applied whilst the surface was still damp. A rough drawing could be scratched on
top of the plaster for the more difficult figures and forms before applying the paint.
The chemical process within the lime mortar ensured that the colour was perfectly bound to
the wall. Polishing would be as described above. This method of fresco (an Italian word
meaning "fresh" or "cool") is exactly the same as the fresco method utilised a thousand years
later during the Renaissance by artists such as Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel.
The artist had to be extremely skilled as mistakes could not be rubbed out but would have to
be scraped out and re-plastered. He also had to be very fast in order to complete the plastered
area before it dried out. As a result, only sections of wall would be plastered and painted at
any one time and the resulting "joints" would have to be perfectly matched up and/or hidden
as part of the geometrical composition of the painting. Plastering and painting would normally
be executed in horizontal sections starting from the top of the wall so as not to spoil areas
below.
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Given the lengthy and complex procedures involved it is evident that a whole team of men
would be required to undertake the different tasks involved in the process, with each person
specialised in his own particular area.

TWM Archaeology

Vessels
This page is broken into four sections, please use the buttons below to jump directly to the
section of the page you want to look at first.
Function
Roman pottery was made in a range of standard forms. The names used in the database are all
those used by modern scholars and are not necessarily those used by the Romans.
(Click on the images below to enlarge the image in a new window)
Major forms
Flagon
These were used to serve liquids such as water, wine and beer. Other vessels for serving
liquids are jug (with a serving spout) and flask (without a handle).

Beaker
This term is used of vessels mainly used for drinking. They vary greatly in size. Some hold
only as much as a modern coffee cup, and others as much as a pint glass. They are often
covered with a coloured slip and are decorated. Other forms of drinking vessels are the cup
(with a wide mouth like a bowl, but a small diameter) and tankard (with a handle).

Storage jar
These are large vessels, usually with quite a narrow neck, that may have been used for storing
food or liquids. Some were used to collect water from wells.

Cooking pot or jar

Some of these vessels were used for boiling water or cooking food over an open fire. The pot
was placed on the hearth with the wood or charcoal piled round it to its widest point for
maximum heat.
Examples of these vessels without sooting or signs of burning may have been used for storing
food such as pickled vegetables and preserved fruits.

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Small jar
This has the shape of a cooking pot but is the size of a beaker. They rarely show signs of
burning. Some have a handle and would have been used for drinking (tankard), so perhaps
examples without handles were also used for drinking. Others may have been used to store
food.

Bowl and dish

A bowl is deep with tall sides and a dish is shallow with low side walls. Some were used as
table ware for serving food. Others have sooting and were clearly used to cook food in a fire.
Another form is the platter (large diameter and low sides).

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Mortarium
This is a Latin word for mortar, as in pestle and mortar. It was used for grinding up food
such as herbs, and as a general mixing bowl. Small stones (called trituration grits) were
deliberately added to the inside surface to help grind the food.

Lid
Shallow lids with a central handle were sometimes used with cooking pots, but they are not
common. Sometimes stone discs were used instead.
Amphora
This is a Latin term for large containers used to transport food round the Empire. The main
types of food carried in them were olive oil, wine and fish-sauce. Unlike the other vessels
described above, amphorae were bought for their contents. In modern terms an amphora is a
coke bottle, not a cup. The coke bottle gets thrown away after it has been emptied, while the
cup is used again and again.

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Minor forms
Tazza
This is an Italian word for cup. It is a small bowl with a pedestal base, used for burning
incense.

Unguentarium
This is a Latin term meaning container for scented oil. In fact, the exact use of these small
vessels is unknown.

Wine strainer
This is a bowl with an integral strainer. Whilst it is known they are connected to drinking,
exactly how they work is unknown.

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Tettine
This a small jar with a thin spout to one side. Suggested uses are as a babys drinking bottle or
as a jug to refill oil lamps.

Decoration
Roman pots could be decorated in a number of ways. These are just a selection of the methods
used.
Burnishing
Burnishing is carried out before the pot is dry enough to fire (leather-hard). It involves
rubbing the surface of the pot to make it smooth and shiny. Large areas, such as the shoulder
of a cooking pot, can be done with a pebble or flat piece of wood, while decorative lines can
be done with a blunt stick.

Grooves
Grooves were added while the pot was still on the wheel. A sharp rod is held against the pot as
it rotates, and cuts a groove into the surface.

Rouletting
Lines of fine indentations are created by running a notched wheel over the surface of the pot.

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Stamping
Individual stamps, or a stamp on a wheel similar to that used in rouletting, are pressed into the
clay while it is still damp.

Colour-coat
A colour-coat is a thin mixture of water and clay (called a slip), often with added
pigments. The whole pot is dipped in this mixture to give the pot a coloured finish. Pots made
of white clay could therefore appear to be black, brown, green, tan or orange when new.

Paint
This is a slip just like a colour-coat, but instead of the whole vessel being dipped in it, lines
and other patterns are added to parts of the pot using a brush.

Barbotine
A thicker mixture of water and clay is added free-hand to the pot to create slightly raised
decoration usually consisting of lines, plants and animals. It was produced in a similar fashion
to the way modern cakes are decorated, being squeezed out of a small opening in a bag.

Rusticated
A thick slip is added to the surface of the pot in irregular patterns, pulled up into rough ridges.

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'Cut-glass'
Incised decoration is cut into the pot when it is leather-hard, before being fired. It takes its
name from its similarity to the modern method of glass decoration.

Life of a pot
First life
After a pot has been made, it may travel hundreds of miles by river or sea to the place where it
will be used.

The pot is used for cooking, eating or drinking, or to store things.

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It can be broken by the heat of the fire while being used to cook food or boil water, or someone can accidentally knock it off a table, or drop it. It can also be thrown out when food has
soaked into the clay walls and turned rancid, making the pot unpleasant to use.

The broken sherds are thrown into a heap in an empty room, or onto a nearby rubbish pile
outside the building. When the pile gets too big, the rubbish is put on a cart or hurdle and
taken further away from the building. The rubbish can be added to a large tip on the outskirts
of the settlement, or it can be thrown into a convenient river or an abandoned building, or it
can be used to manure farm fields. The sherds get mixed in with sherds from other pots.

Second life
The pot remains in the ground until 1800 years later archaeologists dig it up.

Every sherd is washed and marked.

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They are then catalogued. Archaeologists work out which part of the country the sherd came
from, what type of pot it was and what part of the vessel the sherd comes from. Some are
chosen to be drawn.
The sherds are then stored in the museum for any-one who wants to look at them.

Pot drawing
Fragments of vessels are drawn at 1:1 to be published at 4:1.
The diameter of the vessel can be reconstructed by matching the curve of the rim to the curve
of one of the circles of known size on the Rim Diameter Chart.

The left hand side shows a cross-section through the pot to show the wall thickness.
The right hand side shows the outside of the vessel.

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As can be seen, the drawing provides a lot more information about the vessel than the photo.

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