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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 November 2011
In the past our recognition of Gaulish pottery in Britain has been largely confined to products of Central, Southern and East Gaul. It is significant that this pottery is, almost without exception, oxidized and/or colour-coated; the study of grey wares has traditionally lagged behind that of the more classical slipped table wares, and this has resulted in a somewhat uneven picture of Roman trading patterns. Coarse grey pottery, with its more utilitarian function, has not proved easy to define and date on stylistic grounds, and ‘miscellaneous grey wares’ have often been dismissed as the products of unknown local kilns, or, as form and fabric analysis have improved, described as unprovenanced imports. In the last ten years we have become increasingly aware of the complexities of the coarseware industry, and more receptive to the possibilities of long distance and inter-provincial trade. Gillam, Farrar and Webster have drawn attention to the evidence for large scale transportation of coarsewares by sea and Fulford has demonstrated that the products of larger British coarseware industries, Alice Holt/Farnham ware, and Black-Burnished ware 1 and 2, are found in small but significant quantities in Northern France. This paper describes a greyware type which was imported from Northern France into Britain. It stems from research on the late second-/early third-century pottery from New Fresh Wharf, London (B.R.), and the coarseware industry of Gaul (P.T.) and accordingly incorporates two sections reflecting these different aspects, with a concluding discussion by both authors on the British distribution.
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