report 6 15 the hundred

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Post-Roman Pottery from 15 The

Hundred, Romsey, Hampshire

Ben Jervis Archaeological Report 6

By Ben Jervis MA PIFA

INTRODUCTION

Test Valley Archaeological Trust undertook excavations behind 15 The Hundred, Romsey, during

June and July 1990. The earliest feature on the site was ditch of possible Anglo-Saxon date. There are

several medieval pits and structural features, which had largely been cut by post-medieval pits. A

total of 3079 sherds of pottery were recovered, principally of medieval and post-medieval date. The

pottery has previously been briefly assessed by Ian Scott and Charlotte Matthews, but this is the firstattempt at a formal pottery report. It is one of a series of reports on post-Roman pottery from

Romsey, produced as part of the authors doctoral research.

The types mentioned here are defined in Jervis, B. Forthcoming “Medieval Pottery from Romsey: An

Overview” and fabric descriptions have been lodged with Hampshire Museum Service.

SITE PHASING

Although a matrix and summary report have been produced, no final stratigraphic phases have been

determined, according to the information in the site archive. Features were assigned either an

Anglo-Saxon, medieval or post-medieval date. Following pottery spot dating an attempt was made

to date features, but a high level of residuality appears to have hindered this process. For the

purposes of this report I have defined 10 phases based upon the summary report and matrix. These

can be summarised as follows:

Phase A: The Saxon ditch.

Phase A1: Postholes running alongside the ditch which may or may not be contemporary.

Phase B: Medieval pits in the southern part of the site.

Phase C: Medieval pits at the eastern side of the site.

Phase C1: Medieval pits cutting those dating to phase C.

Phase D: Medieval structural features, of undetermined relationship to the pits.

Phase D1: Structural features assigned to the medieval period on the basis of the site matrix.

Phase E: Post Medieval/Early Modern. Based on the report most of these features would seem to

date to the 19th century.

Phase F: Topsoil



SUMMARY OF THE CERAMIC ASSEMBLAGE

The assemblage consists of 3079 sherds, weighing 36.5 kg (table 1). Around half of the sherds (but

only a quarter by weight) are of Wessex Coarseware, a coarse, sandy ware similar to products

produced at Laverstock near Salisbury, and common throughout the Test Valley. This is also the most

common fabric in the assemblage from excavations at 11 The Hundred and is common in all

medieval assemblages from Romsey. The remainder of the material would appear to principally be

Ware SC%geSC SW

%geSW

Roman 66 2% 344 1%

Flint tempered ware 18 1% 202 1%

Flint and sand tempered ware 276 9% 4058 11%

Flint and sand tempered ware (Newburytype) 13 <1% 115 <1%

Flint tempered with coarse sand and chalk 1 <1% 6 <1%

Chalk tempered ware 5 <1% 37 <1%

Crystalline tempered 1 <1% 5 <1%

Wessex Coarseware 1430 46% 9059 25%Fine sandy ware 113 4% 1006 3%

FQ2 2 <1% 10 <1%

Laverstock-type Ware 98 3% 554 2%

Local Whiteware 5 <1% 64 <1%

South Hampshire Redware 31 1% 265 1%

Southampton Sandy Ware 23 1% 95 <1%

Dorset Red Painted Ware 5 <1% 21 <1%

Dorset whiteware 1 <1% 10 <1%

FEQ3 1 <1% 3 <1%

ARG1 2 <1% 70 <1%

FQ4 1 <1% 5 <1%

FQarg2 17 1% 238 1%

FQfeq1 1 <1% 11 <1%

MQ3 21 1% 106 <1%

MQ4 270 9% 2273 6%

FQFfe2 2 <1% 5 <1%

Late medieval sandy ware 3 <1% 9 <1%

Misc. Medieval 157 5% 1634 4%

Westerwald Stoneware 12 <1% 370 1%

Border Ware 3 <1% 10 <1%

Tudor Green 8 <1% 31 <1%

Post Medieval Redware 14 <1% 906 2%

Post Medieval Sandy Ware1 <1% 5 <1%

Verwood 158 5% 10430 29%

English Stoneware 14 <1% 280 1%

Tin Glazed Ware 4 <1% 16 <1%

Porcelain 10 <1% 28 <1%

Creamware 75 2% 815 2%

Refined Earthenware 126 4% 2154 6%

White Stoneware 70 2% 557 2%

Modern 21 1% 726 2%

Total 3079 36533

Table 1: Quantification of the Pottery from 15 The Hundred by Sherd Count and Sherd Weight.



of 12th

-14th

century date, consisting of early medieval chalk and flint tempered types and medieval

sandy wares including Laverstock-type ware, South Hampshire Redware and sherds of Dorset type

(Dorset Whiteware and Red Painted Ware). There are a small quantity of sherds which appear to

date to the 14th

-16th

centuries (MQ4, FQfe2, late medieval sandy ware), on the basis of excavations

elsewhere in Romsey. The bulk of the post-medieval material is 18th

-20th

century in date. The

industrial period vessels consist principally of refined earthenware, creamware and Staffordshirewhite salt glazed stoneware. Post medieval earthenwares are also present in the form of Verwood

and Post Medieval Redware, with a small number of sherds of Border Ware and Tudor Green also

occurring. There are 66 sherds of residual Roman pottery which will not be discussed. These

primarily consist of Grog Tempered and New Forest types.

The pottery will be discussed by site phase in order to better understand the dating and formation

processes of features. The presence of further groups may also help to refine the date of some

types. The assemblage will also be compared with that from 11 The Hundred.

PHASE A

A single small sherd of fabric FQ2 was recovered from the fill of the Saxon ditch (table 2). This sherd

is potentially of Anglo-Saxon or Saxo-Norman date, based on the presence of similar wheelthrown

sandy wares in later Anglo-Saxon assemblages in Winchester.

PHASE A1

Only 3 very small sherds were recovered from the postholes running alongside the ditch (table 2).

These are all of Wessex Coarseware and are likely to date from the 12th

-14th

centuries. Therefore it is

not possible to date these postholes any more closely on the basis of the pottery.

PHASE B

A total of 1257 sherds were recovered from the medieval pits in the southern part of the site (table

2). Over half the sherds (56%; 41% by weight) are of Wessex coarsewares, typical of the 12th

-14th

centuries. A further 14% (31% by weight) are flint and sand tempered wares and these sherds have ahigh ASW (19g). There is a distinctly early medieval flavour to the assemblage, with large sherds of

flint tempered ware and 80 small sherds of Fine Sandy Ware also being present. There are some

later elements, including sherds of various medieval glazed wares (Laverstock-type, South

Hampshire Redware. Local Whiteware, Dorset Whiteware and Southampton-type Sandy Ware).

There are some intrusive elements; small sherds of Westerwald-type stoneware, Late Medieval

Sandy Ware, Post Medieval Sandy Ware and Verwood. There are 144 small sherds of MQ4, some of

which may be intrusive. There are a small number of sherds of less closely dated wares:

FEQ3: A sandy fabric which is brown/orange throughout with moderately abundant, rounded, medium sized,

iron stained quartz grains. At 11 The Hundred this was most abundant in contexts seeming to date the late

14th-15th centuries. Only a single small sherd is present here and this may be intrusive.

ARG1: An oxidised fabric with a fairly fine matrix, the only visible inclusions are large clay pellets. Two large

sherds are present in the Phase B assemblage, suggesting that they may be contemporary with these deposits.

FQ4: Is an oxidised, wheelthrown ware. The only inclusions are sparse, fine sized quartz grains. Only 1 small

sherd was recovered, so it is not possible to provide a date for this ware, however at 11 The Hundred it was

suggested that a 13th

-14th

century date may be appropriate for this ware.

FQarg2: An oxidised sandy ware with common, sub-rounded, fine sized quartz grains and occasional oxidised

clay pellets. At 11 The Hundred it was suggested that this ware may date to the 14th

-15th

centuries. There are10

sherds but all are small. Seven larger sherds were recovered from phase C1, so these sherds may be intrusive

here.



ase: A A1 B C C1 D D1 E

re SC SW ASW SC SW ASW SC SW ASW SC SW ASW SC SW ASW SC SW ASW SC SW ASW SC SW ASW

man 27 115 4 4 29 7 16 53 3 7 35 5

nt tempered ware 12 141 12 4 48 12 1 8 8

nt and sand tempered ware 171 3184 19 3 81 27 53 507 10 13 81 6 14 71 5

nt and sand tempered ware (Newbury type) 4 19 5 1 61 61 1 2 2 3 17 6 1 5 5

nt tempered with coarse sand and chalk

alk tempered ware 3 14 5 2 23 12

ystalline tempered 1 5 5

ssex Coarseware 3 15 5 706 4257 6 25 207 8 170 1712 10 102 858 8 2 14 7 353 1620 5

e sandy ware 80 639 8 2 7 4 7 85 12 3 6 2 14 226 16

2 1 7 7 1 3 3

verstock-type Ware 51 340 7 2 11 6 10 49 5 3 24 8 31 128 4

cal Whiteware 1 28 28 4 36 9

uth Hampshire Redware 21 225 11 4 18 5 3 10 3 3 12 4

uthampton Sandy Ware 5 15 3 3 20 7 1 9 9 13 49 4

rset Red Painted Ware 5 21 4

rset whiteware 1 10 10

Q3 1 3 3

G1 2 70 35

4 1 5 5

arg2 10 83 8 7 155 22

feq1 1 11 11

3 7 32 5 4 45 11 1 2 2 9 27 3

4 144 1148 8 34 639 19 17 111 7 63 295 5

Ffe2 2 5 3

e medieval sandy ware 1 2 2 1 4 4 1 3 3

sc. Medieval 1 2 2 14 68 5



Table 2: Quantification of Wares By Phase (excluding topsoil and unphased features)

sterwald Stoneware 9 242 27

rder Ware 1 6 6

dor Green 7 30 4 1 1 1

st Medieval Redware 14 906 65

st Medieval Sandy Ware 1 5 5

wood 1 3 3 148 10184 69

glish Stoneware 2 125 63 9 85 9

Glazed Ware 1 5 5 3 11 4

rcelain 10 28 3

eamware 75 815 11

ined Earthenware 117 1832 16

ite Stoneware 70 557 8

dern 21 726 35

and Total 1 7 7 3 15 5 1257 10368 8 37 396 11 322 3495 11 152 1173 8 3 16 5 1007 17961 18



MQ3: Is an oxidised ware with sparse, medium sized, sub-rounded quartz inclusions. Although this ware was

recovered at 11 The Hundred, it was not possible to assign a date to it. Here sherds are present in phase B and

Phase C1. The sherds from phase C1 are larger, so it is possible that this fabric dates to the later part of the

medieval period.

There are 2 pits in this phase, features 36 and 65. Pit 65 is the earliest in the sequence. The lowest

fill of pit 65 (171) was a silty loam, sealed by a gravel layer (170), which contained no pottery. Themost common pottery in context (171) is flint and sand tempered ware (table 3). There are 102

sherds with a very high ASW (27g). There is also one large sherd of flint tempered ware and 39 large

sherds of Wessex Coarseware. Five large sherds of Laverstock-type ware may also be contemporary

with the deposit. On the basis of the flint and sand tempered wares, a Saxo-Norman date seems

appropriate for the deposit, with the Laverstock-type ware suggesting an early 13th

century date. A

large sherd of MQ3 may be intrusive, but it is possible that this too could be contemporary, although

larger sherds were generally recovered from phase C1. Eleven small sherds of MQ4 are probably

intrusive and the same may be true of 2 small sherds of South Hampshire Redware.

Layer (169) is another layer of silty loam. This only contained 11 very small sherds, of Wessex

Coarseware and MQ4. The upper fill is context (66). This contained 556 sherds, with an averagesherd weight of 6g, suggesting a great deal of the material is residual or redeposited. Although there

are 396 sherds of Wessex Coarseware, these are very small and likely to be residual, or redeposited.

Three large sherds of Fine Sandy Ware are present, which brings the longevity of this ware into

question. There are 9 large sherds of Laverstock-type ware, one large sherd of Local Whiteware and

18 sherds of South Hampshire Redware (ASW: 12g). Two large sherds of ARG1 may also be

contemporary. There are 69 sherds of MQ4 (ASW 10g). This upper fill then would appear to date to

the latter part of the 14th

century, with a mix of typical mid-14th

to early 15th

century wares being

present.

Context: 171 169 66 Total

Ware SC SW ASW SC SW ASW SC SW ASW SC SW

Roman 4 14 4 9 57 6 13 71

Flint tempered ware 1 63 63 11 78 7 12 141

Flint and sand tempered ware 102 2703 27 29 234 8 131 2937

Chalk tempered ware 1 4 4 1 2 2 2 6

Wessex Coarseware 39 892 23 3 13 4 396 1862 5 438 2767

Fine sandy ware 24 337 14 3 8 3 3 69 23 30 414

Laverstock-type Ware 5 83 17 9 86 10 14 169

Local Whiteware 1 28 28 1 28

South Hampshire Redware 2 11 6 18 213 12 20 224

Southampton Sandy Ware 3 12 4 3 12

ARG1 2 70 35 2 70

FQarg2 3 24 8 3 24MQ3 1 13 13 1 3 3 2 16

MQ4 11 57 5 5 17 3 69 682 10 85 756

Verwood 1 3 3 1 3

Total 190 4177 22 11 38 3 556 3423 6 757 7638

Table 3: The Pottery from Pit 65.

Pit 65 is cut by pit 36. The lowest recorded fill is context (163), however the exact nature of this

deposit is unclear. It contained 21 sherds (ASW: 8g) all of which could potentially be residual (table

4). Layer (157) was a silty loam, which contained a large quantity of roof tile. There were only 4 small

pottery sherds. Three sherds of Wessex Coarseware may be residual, whilst a sherd of Post Medieval

Sandy Ware may be intrusive. Layer (156) is a redeposited gravel layer, also with a large quantity of

roof tile. Only 2 small sherds were recovered, which are likely to be residual. The top fill was a thick

layer of silty clay loam (context (71)). Sherds are generally very small (ASW: 5g). The 59 sherds of



Context: 163 157 156 152 71 Total

WareS

C

S

W

AS

W

S

C

S

W

AS

W

S

C

S

W

AS

W

S

C

S

W

AS

W SC SW

AS

W SC SW

Roman 14 44 3 14 44

Flint and sand tempered ware 6 54 9 1 2 2 33 191 6 40 247

Flint and sand tempered ware (Newburytype) 4 19 5 4 19

Chalk tempered ware 1 8 8 1 8

Wessex Coarseware 9 62 7 3 10 3 5 11 2

25

1

140

7 6

26

8

149

0

Fine sandy ware 3 28 9 47 197 4 50 225


South Hampshire Redware 1 1 1 1 1

Southampton Sandy Ware 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3

Dorset whiteware 1 10 10 1 10

FEQ3 1 3 3 1 3

FQ4 1 5 5 1 5

FQarg2 7 59 8 7 59

MQ3 5 16 3 5 16

MQ4 59 392 7 59 392

Late medieval sandy ware 1 2 2 1 2

Tudor Green 7 30 4 7 30

Post Medieval Sandy Ware 1 5 5 1 5

Total 21

17

7 8 4 15 4 2 8 4 8 17 2

46

5

251

3 5

50

0

273

0




MQ4 are slightly larger (ASW: 7g) and there are also sherds of FQarg2 (ASW: 8g). It is possible that

these later types are contemporary with the deposit, but all of the material is likely to be

redeposited.

The two pits appear to have different depositional histories. Pit 65 appears to have a secondary

waste deposit, mixed with some redeposited material. This was sealed by a gravel layer with

subsequent dumps consisting principally of redeposited material. Pit 36 also appears to have been

filled with dumped redeposited soil. Very little animal bone (4 pieces) was recovered from pit 36,

and 27 from pit 65. These do not appear to be typical rubbish deposits. Rather, the pits appear to

have been sealed with redeposited soil, containing a mixture of residual pottery.

PHASE C

Phase C consists of medieval pits in the eastern part of the site. These earlier pits contained only 37

sherds (table 2). There are large sherds of flint and sand tempered wares, with smaller sherds of

Wessex Coarseware and Laverstock-type ware. The absence of later sandy glazed wares suggests a

12th

century date is appropriate for this phase. There are two pits, feature 144 and feature 174, each

with a single fill, which had been truncated by later pits.

Pit 144 had a burnt fill (145) with cessy patches. There were 19 sherds present (table 5). They are all

small (ASW: 3g), but, with the exception of 2 very small Roman sherds, are of early medieval date,

with Wessex Coarseware being most abundant (12 sherds).

Context: 145

Ware SC SW ASW

Roman 3 5 2

Flint and sand temperedware 1 2 2

Wessex Coarseware 12 39 3

Fine sandy ware 1 2 2

Laverstock-type Ware 2 11 6

Total 19 59 3

Table 5: The Pottery from Pit 144

The fill of pit 174 (176) contained 18 larger sherds, including 1 residual Roman sherd (table 6). The

remaining sherds are all typical early medieval types (Wessex Coarseware and flint and sand

tempered wares). These larger sherds may be the remains of a secondary, rather than tertiary waste

deposit.

Context: 175

Ware SC SW ASW

Roman 1 24 24

Flint and sand tempered ware 2 79 40

Flint and sand tempered ware (Newburytype) 1 61 61



Total 18 337 19


PHASE C1

Phase C1 consists of 2 pits which cut the phase C features. These contained 322 sherds (table 2), half of which are Wessex Coarsewares. Whilst sherds of early flint and sand tempered wares are present,



they are generally small and potentially residual from the earlier phase C features. There are also

small sherds of a number of glazed sandy wares of 13th

-14th

century date. The largest sherds are

fragments of FQarg2 and MQ4, whilst there are 3 intrusive post medieval sherds. It is unclear if

sherds of MQ3 are contemporary or not. Two other fabrics are present:

FQfeq1 is buff throughout, with abundant, sub-rounded fine sized quartz grains with occasional sub-rounded

iron stained quartz. Four sherds are present in this phase (ASW: 11g). It’s date is currently u nclear, however

similar fabrics occur in early medieval deposits in Christchurch.

FQFfe2 is a fine sandy ware with angular flint inclusions and pieces of red iron ore. Only 2, very small, sherds

were recovered, both from this phase. Therefore it is impossible to provide a date for this ware.

Whereas phase C1 is characterised by flint and sand tempered wares with Wessex Coarsewares,

phase C1 is characterised by the presence of typical later medieval sandy wares, MQ4 and FQarg2.

There are 13th-14th century elements, possibly residual from disturbance by later pit digging.

The earliest pit in this phase is feature 29, which cuts both of the phase C pits. It has two main fills

contexts (200) and (120), although pottery was only recovered from (120) (table 7). Fill (172) is likelyto be a mix of context (200) and context (176), in the earlier pit 174. This context contained only 5

small sherds, generally of 12th

-13th

century date. The context number (200) was assigned after

excavation, explaining why there are no finds from it.

Contexts (126) and (127) are defined as interfaces between fills (200) and (120) and it is likely that

their fills contain a mixture of material from both deposits. Context (127) contained 42 sherds, with

a relatively high ASW (18g). These include 2 very large sherds of MQ4 and a large sherd of MQ3.,

with an exceptionally large sherd (82g) of FQarg2. All are likely to be 14th

-15th century in date. There

are smaller sherds of earlier types, including South Hampshire Redware, Local Whiteware and Fine

Sandy Ware, which may be residual. Twenty-three relatively large (ASW: 17g) sherds of Wessex

Coarseware and 10 of flint and sand tempered ware (ASW: 16g) were also present. These may alsobe residual, perhaps from context (200) or from pit 174. Layer 126 only contained 5 sherds, including

3 large sherds of Wessex Coarseware (ASW: 51g) and a sherd of Flint and Sand Tempered Ware.

There was much confusion in the recording of the lower fills of pit 29. Clearly there is a residual

presence in the assemblage, caused by the cutting of two earlier pits, but it is possible that some of

this typically ‘earlier’ material is 14th

century in date, which appears to be the date of these deposits,

on the basis of the larger sherds of later types which are present.

The latest fill is context (120). This contained 120 sherds with an ASW of 8g. The earliest pottery

consists of 5 small sherds of Roman types, which are residual. This is also likely to be true of 27 small

sherds of Flint and Sand Tempered Ware (ASW: 7g) and 2 sherds of Chalk Tempered Ware (ASW:

12g). There are 65 small sherds of Wessex Coarseware (ASW: 8g), 3 of Fine Sandy Ware (ASW: 14g)and 2 of Laverstock-type ware (ASW: 4g). All of these, along with 1 small sherd of South Hampshire

Redware, may be residual. Of the types believed to be later (14th

-15th

century) in date, the most

common is MQ4 (20 sherds; ASW 12g), with sherds of MQ3, FQfeq1 and FQarg2 also being present.

It is likely that the vast majority of material recovered from this pit is either residual from the

disturbance of earlier features, or was redeposited. The character of the pit appears to be mainly

14th

-15th

century in date, when residuality is accounted for, but there are some indications that the

earliest fill could date from the earlier part of the 14th

, or even the latter part of the 13th

, centuries.

Pit 29 is cut by pit 173. The lowest fills are clay silts with cess patches. The earliest context with

pottery is context (175) (table 8). This contained 18 sherds. The largest, and latest, are 2 sherds of

MQ4 (ASW 124g). There are also large sherds of earlier types present, 8 sherds of Wessex



Context: 172 127 126 120 Total

Ware SC SW ASW SC SW ASW SC SW ASW SC SW ASW SC SW

Roman 5 13 3 5 13

Flint and sand tempered ware 1 4 4 10 158 16 1 18 18 23 170 7 35 350

Chalk tempered ware 2 23 12 2 23

Wessex Coarseware 2 16 8 23 386 17 3 153 51 65 509 8 93 1064

Fine sandy ware 2 10 5 3 43 14 5 53


Local Whiteware 2 22 11 2 22

South Hampshire Redware 1 6 6 1 5 5 1 2 2 3 13

FQarg2 1 82 82 1 1 1 4 29 7 6 112FQfeq1 1 11 11 1 11

MQ3 1 26 26 1 3 3 2 29

MQ4 2 77 39 20 247 12 22 324

Total 5 34 7 42 766 18 5 172 34 127 1057 8 179 2029




Coarseware (ASW: 21g) and 4 of Flint and Sand Tempered Ware (ASW 20g). The remaining sherds

are very small and likely to be residual. Given the very large size of the MQ4 sherds, we could argue

that all of the pottery except these is either residual, or redeposited. Layer 130 is a cess layer in the

upper part of the pit. It contained 24, generally very small, sherds (ASW: 7g), although amongst

these were 1 large sherd of FQarg2 (43g). This pit would appear to have functioned as a cess pit. Itwas not used to dispose of domestic waste in any quantity. Most of the pottery is either residual

from the earlier pits which this feature cuts, or was redeposited to seal the cess deposits. Layer (30)

consists of material slumped into the top of the pit. It consists of 101, generally small, sherds (ASW:

8g). This primarily consists of residual pottery and even sherds of late medieval types are small.

There are large sherds of English stoneware. This layer is very mixed and is likely to have

accumulated over a long period, slumping into the top of the pit and becoming compacted over

time.

Context: 175 130 30 Total

Ware SC SW ASW SC SW ASW SC SW ASW SC SW

Roman 1 4 4 10 36 4 11 40Flint and sand tempered ware 4 80 20 5 23 5 9 54 6 18 157

Flint and sand tempered ware (Newbury type) 1 2 2 1 2

Crystalline tempered 1 5 5 1 5

Wessex Coarseware 8 164 21 15 90 6 54 394 7 77 648

Fine sandy ware 2 32 16 2 32


Local Whiteware 1 6 6 1 8 8 2 14

South Hampshire Redware 1 5 5 1 5

Southampton Sandy Ware 3 20 7 3 20

FQarg2 1 43 43 1 43

MQ3 2 16 8 2 16

MQ4 2 247 124 3 11 4 7 57 8 12 315

FQFfe2 2 5 3 2 5

English Stoneware 2 125 63 2 125

Tin Glazed Ware 1 5 5 1 5

Total 18 512 28 24 167 7 101 787 8 143 1466


This phase would appear to date to the 14th

-15th

centuries on the basis of the pottery present

in these features and particularly the differences present in the levels of fragmentation. Both

pits were principally filled with redeposited material and their interpretation is further

hindered by confusion within the site records.

PHASE D

This phase consists of a number of medieval structural features, principally beam slots and

postholes. These do not generally have secure stratigraphic associations. A total of 152 sherds were

recovered from these features, (ASW: 8g) (table 2). The pottery generally consists of Wessex

Coarseware (53% of sherds). Given the small ASW and the nature of the features, much of this

pottery may be residual. Posthole 7 contained 55 sherds, principally of 12th

-13th

century date,

including small sherds of Wessex Coarseware and larger sherds of Laverstock-type glazed ware and

Flint Tempered Ware. A small sherd of MQ4 may be intrusive. Postholes 105 and 108 both contain

larger sherds of Wessex Coarseware. It is possible that these larger sherds were used as packing for

the postholes, whilst the smaller sherds present in most of the features represent either residual

material or redeposited sherds, present in the soil used to pack the postholes. These deposits then



are not secure groups, but their general character suggests they date from the 12th

-14th

, rather than

14th

-15th

centuries.

PHASE D1

A further group of 2 postholes have tentatively been assigned to phase D on the basis of the site

matrix. These features contained only 3, small medieval sherds between them (table 2).

PHASE E

A total of 1007 sherds were recovered from features of probable Post Medieval (18th

century

onwards) date (table 2). There is a clear split evident in the level of the fragmentation of the earlier

(medieval) wares and the later, Post Medieval wares. For example, whilst Wessex Coarseware

accounts for 35% of the sherds, it only accounts for 9% by weight. In contrast, Verwood-types

account for 15% of sherds, but 57% by weight. The fills of a few selected pits will be summarised

below.

Pit 110 cuts the medieval (Phase B) pit 36. It has a single fill (111) which contained 451 sherds, with

an exceptionally low ASW (5g) (table 9). All of the material in this pit is of medieval date and is likely

to be redeposited. Pit 110 was probably a cess pit and this may account for the redeposited fill.

Context: 111

Ware SC SW ASW

Roman 5 26 5

Flint tempered ware 1 8 8

Flint and sand tempered ware 12 61 5

Flint and sand tempered ware (Newbury type) 1 5 5



Laverstock-type Ware 29 118 4

South Hampshire Redware 3 12 4

Southampton Sandy Ware 13 49 4

Dorset Red Painted Ware 5 21 4

MQ3 9 27 3

MQ4 57 277 5

Late medieval sandy ware 1 3 3

Tudor Green 1 1 1

Total 451 2281 5


Pit 110 is cut by pit 37. This contained two fills, (92) and (38), although only (38) contained pottery

(table 10). Two large sherds of Verwood and smaller sherd of Refined Earthenware are probably

contemporary, whilst 2 small sherds of Roman and medieval pottery are probably residual. This filllargely consisted of demolition rubble, probably relating to the demolition of outhouses.

Context: 38

Ware SC SW ASW

Roman 1 7 7

Misc. Medieval 1 5 5

Verwood 2 152 76

Refined Earthenware 1 7 7

Total 5 171 34


Pit 47 is a brick lined pit, with a more typical 19 th century fill. This contained 73 large sherds,principally of Refined Earthenware and Verwood, with sherds of Post Medieval Redware and



Porcelain also being present (table 11). Like the fill of pit 110, this layer contained a large quantity of

rubble.

Context: 48

Ware SC SW ASW

Post Medieval Redware 5 717 143

Verwood 11 2878 262

Porcelain 7 24 3

Refined Earthenware 50 1427 29

Total 73 5046 69


The fill of pit 132 (134) is earlier in date, probably dating to the mid-late 18th

century. This contained

5 large sherds of Westerwald Stoneware, 44 sherds of Creamware and 54 sherds of Staffordshire

White Salt glazed stoneware, along with Verwood and 3 sherds of English stoneware (table 12).

Context: 134

Ware SC SW ASWWesterwald Stoneware 5 229 46

Verwood 3 21 7

English Stoneware 3 40 13

Creamware 44 535 12

White Stoneware 54 435 8

Total 109 1260 12


The remaining Post Medieval features consist of postholes related to boundaries and structures.

Both groups post date the medieval features on stratigraphic grounds. All of the pottery from these

postholes is of medieval date, except for 1 sherd of Porcelain from context (86). No feature has an

ASW of greater than 3g, so all of this pottery is probably residual. Ditch 202 probably also dates to

the Post Medieval period, although only 2 sherds were recovered, small fragments of Laverstock-

type and Verwood wares.

VESSEL FORMS

Due to the fragmentary nature of the assemblage it has not been possible to assign the majority of

sherds to a vessel form. Flint tempered, Southampton-type Sandy Ware and ARG1 were only present

as jars (table 13). A wider range of vessel forms were present in other coarse types, there are Flint

and Sand Tempered ware bowls, although the vast majority of identified forms were jars. Wessex

Coarsewares were present in the most diverse range of forms, including bowls, often with thick,

hammerhead rims, jars, jugs and tripod pitchers, sherds of the latter two types often being partially

glazed. Fine sandy ware jugs, jars and tripod pitchers were also present. Glazed sandy wares such asLaverstock-type Ware, South Hampshire Redware and Local Whiteware were, unsurprisingly, only

present in the form of jugs. Like the Wessex Coarsewares, the later sandy ware MQ4 was used to

produce a range of forms including jugs, jars and bowls. This is also typical of later medieval sandy

wares in Southampton. Data for many of the post medieval features was taken directly from the site

assessment database, so vessel forms cannot be accurately summarised. It may be worth selecting

some of these features for further analysis.

A typical range of medieval vessel forms are present, in similar proportions, at 11 The Hundred. As at

11 The Hundred there seems to have been a relatively rapid uptake of serving vessels in the later

13th

century, with jugs generally being from a more diverse range of sources to the plainer, utilitarian

vessels.



Form: Bowl Jar Jug Tripod Pitcher Unidentified Total

Ware SC SW SC SW SC SW SC SW SC SW SC SW

Flint tempered ware 5 111 13 91 18 202

Flint and sand tempered ware 3 88 69 2704 204 1266 276 4058

Flint and sand tempered ware (Newburytype) 1 61 12 54 13 115

Flint tempered with coarse sand and chalk 1 6 1 6

Chalk tempered ware 5 37 5 37

Crystalline tempered 1 5 1 5

Wessex Coarseware 13 417 150 2881 6 291 11 223 1250 5247 1430 9059

Fine sandy ware7 182 3 120 14 278 89 426 113 1006

FQ2 2 10 2 10


Local Whiteware 4 58 1 6 5 64

South Hampshire Redware 21 219 10 46 31 265

Southampton Sandy Ware 2 18 21 77 23 95

Dorset Red Painted Ware 5 21 5 21

Dorset whiteware 1 10 1 10

FEQ3 1 3 1 3

ARG1 2 70 2 70

FQ4 1 5 1 5

FQarg2 10 211 7 27 17 238

FQfeq1 1 11 1 11

MQ3 3 23 18 83 21 106

MQ4 2 25 28 407 10 450 230 1391 270 2273

FQFfe2 2 5 2 5

Late medieval sandy ware 1 3 2 6 3 9

Total 18 530 264 6434 121 1733 29 579 1908 8951 2340 18227

Table 13: Quantification by Vessel Form (Medieval Wares only).



DISCUSSION

Site Phasing

The stratigraphic phases do appear to have different ceramic characters, but the distinctions

between them have been blurred through the processes of residuality. Pits of phases B and C appear

contemporary. The presence of known types dates these pits to the 12

th

-14

th

. All of these pits appearto have been filled with redeposited material and rubbish deposition is likely to have been a

secondary function. The later (phase C1) pits also contain a high quantity of residual and redeposited

earlier material, but there are some noticeable differences, with later types being more abundant

than in earlier phases and being less fragmented than the earlier ceramic types. There appears to

have been a hiatus in depositional activity in this area of the site in the 15th

-18th

centuries, with the

post medieval pits dating from the 18th

-20th

centuries. This is also true, to a lesser extent, at 11 The

Hundred, although phase 4 here yielded small quantities of Rhenish stoneware and Post Medieval

Sandy Wares.

Ceramic Phasing

When the evidence from both 11 and 15 The Hundred is considered together, we can begin to make

some conclusions about the phasing of the pottery recovered. There is very little material of definite

Anglo-Saxon date, even in features presumed to be of this date. The earliest pottery seems to be

Saxo-Norman, perhaps dating from the 11th

-12th

centuries and consisting of Flint tempered, Flint and

Sand Tempered and Chalk tempered wares, and it is probable that some of the Wessex Coarsewares

also date to this period. These wares were definitely produced in the 13th

century at Laverstock and

their co-occurence here with known 13th

-14th

century types, such as South Hampshire Redware,

Laverstock glazed Wares and Southampton-type Sandy ware, suggests that these coarsewares had a

long period of currency. Although present in later deposits, the finer sandy wares may be of Saxo-

Norman date, belonging to the Late Saxon wheelthrown sandy ware tradition identified in

Winchester, of which the kilns at Michelmersh were a part. On the basis of their occurrence at these

sites MQfearg2, ARGmq1, FEQfqfe1, ARG1 and FQ4 may also date to the 13th

-14th

centuries.

There are only small quantities of later medieval pottery at 15 The Hundred, however greater

quantities were present at 11 The Hundred. MQ4 and FQarg2 can be assigned to the 14th

-15th

centuries with some confidence and it is possible that FEQ3 and MQ3 also date to this phase. At 11

The Hundred a later medieval organic tempered sandy ware (MQorg2) was identified. Sherds of Late

Well Fired Sandy wares, an established type in South Hampshire, are also present in contexts of this

date.

It is not possible on the basis of these sites to discuss the post medieval sequence in any detail, but

typical wares include Verwood, Post Medieval Redware and Staffordshire types, along with small

quantities of Surrey types (Border Ware and Tudor Green).

CONCLUSIONS

This assemblage consists largely of redeposited material and there is a great deal of residuality

present within features. It has however been possible to identify changes in the types present

through the stratigraphic sequence. The assemblage is very similar in character to that from 11 The

Hundred, containing large quantities of Wessex Coarsewares in the form of jars, bowls and tripod

pitchers. There are smaller quantities of medieval glazed sandy wares, with Dorset types (Dorset

Whiteware and Dorset Red Painted Ware) accounting for small proportions of the assemblage here.

The bulk of these vessels are of Laverstock-type or South Hampshire Redware. The late medieval

pottery is less clearly defined than at 11 The Hundred, but on the basis of both sites, the 14th

-15th

centuries appear to see an introduction of well fired sandy wares in which a range of forms were

produced.

report 6 15 the hundred

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