Study
Group for Roman Pottery (SGRP)
SGRP Homepage
NEWSLETTER 37
- June 2004
Jane Evans, Hon Secretary SGRP
194 West Malvern Road, Malvern, Worcestershire WR14 4AZ
Remember to use our Web site for
information and queries: WWW.SGRP.ORG
Treasurer and Subscriptions
Please remember
that all subscriptions, requests or queries regarding membership
should now go to Louise Rayner, Flat 2 121 Church Road, Teddington,
Middlesex TW11 8QH.
Committee News
The last committee meeting was held in London on 20th
March, and was well attended. A range of topics was discussed, many of
which will be raised at the AGM in July. These included a proposed
leaflet for the Group, the conference survey (the results of which are
included below), the need for electronic publication, arrangements for
SGRP conferences and forthcoming volumes of the Journal of Roman
Pottery Studies.
This summer two members of the committee (Laura and
Bernard) complete their term of office on the committee. New members
will be elected at the AGM, so it’s time to consider whether you
would like a turn at guiding the Group forward! Nomination slips are
enclosed, and new members will be elected at the AGM. The slips can be
handed to me at the conference, or returned by post. If you are not
attending the conference and want to nominate someone could you also
please telephone (01684 567131) or email me with the details by the
end of Thursday. My apologies that you have received such short
notice.
The Membership
The Group would like to welcome the following new
members: Dave Applegate, David Cudmore, Gordon Hayden and Jane Laskey.
Our thoughts in this newsletter, however, turn particularly to members
we have lost.
This week we received the sad news that John Samuels, a
long standing member of the Group, has died. John started in
archaeology as a school boy, working with Jeffrey May at Dragonby. He
was later involved in writing up the pottery from Dragonby, Rossington
Bridge (with Paul Buckland) and a variety of rural sites in
Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire. More recently he has been better
known as director of John Samuels Archaeological Consultants.
In 2002 we were saddened by the news of Joyce
Pullinger’s sudden death. The committee would like to record
Joyce’s enormous contribution to the Group by placing an obituary
for her in JRPS 14. Below is an obituary for Joyce, written by John
Alexander on behalf of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society; together
with short contributions from Colin Wallace and Steve Willis. If you
have any memories/anecdotes or photographs of Joyce that could be
included please let us know.
OBITUARY: JOYCE PULLINGER 1929-2002 By
John Alexander
Joyce Pullinger will be long remembered in Cambridge
Antiquarian Society. She was active in its affairs for 26 years and,
almost single-handedly over that period maintained its reputation for
carrying out and publishing field research in and around Cambridge. In
the days before full-time archaeologists were employed in local units
she saved and published much evidence that would otherwise have been
destroyed. She may well prove to have been the last of those who,
troubled by the wholesale destruction of archaeological sites equipped
themselves to locate, excavate and publish unrestricted by
governmental restrictions or the need for formal qualifications.
She was born at Middleton St. George Co. Durham, the
youngest of the four children. At the outbreak of war she went first
to relations in Kelso and then to the Hunmanby Hall School. Allergies
forced her to abandon a proposed career in nursing, and in 1948 she
married John Pullinger, withdrawing from a course of study at the
Froebel College, in Bedford.
It was only after 1960 that the care of a large family
(she had eight children) allowed her to develop a career in
archaeology. The skills she developed and the results she obtained
show it to have been much more than a hobby or part-time interest. Her
achievements fall into two periods, between 1961 and ’87 in and
around Cambridge and 1987-2002 in Gwent. When living at Orwell and in
Cambridge she was an active member of the Society, attending courses
on Landscape Studies and showing, in the University’s Field
Archaeology Training Excavations, a marked aptitude for fieldwork.
This was especially noted in the 1960-65 excavations between Castle
Street and Shelly Row inside the walled Roman settlement. Here she
made a major contribution by organising around her other members of
the Society and excavating the 2nd-3rd century
shrine. She found herself especially attracted to ceramics and under
the guidance of Rex Hull, Curator of Colchester Museum and a leading
authority on Roman pottery, she became adept at its interpretation and
dating. Her outstanding achievement however came when development east
of Castle Street, still within the Roman walls, took place. Here only
limited research had been possible before the destruction of the
existing buildings and the construction of the new. Voluntarily for
over two years Joyce carried out the essential daily watching brief
and the negotiating with building contractors which enabled her to
locate and test-evaluate, with the help of the Society’s field
group, evidence of Roman occupation. The results were published by the
Society in 2000 in our joint volume on Roman Cambridge. In the years
before 1987 she became increasingly involved in the affairs of the
Society, serving on its council and as a vice-president. She also
undertook various local projects, most notably at Teversham with Pat
White, and on sites to be destroyed by the M11 motorway. Nationally
she was elected to the Council for British Archaeology and was active
in the Roman Pottery Research Group.
When she and her husband moved in 1987 to Stroat near
Chepstow there was no diminution in her concern for archaeological
rescue work. She and John, whose surveying and photographic skills had
long supported her, were founder-members of the (Forest of) Dean
Archaeological Group, and located, excavated and arranged the
scheduling and preservation of a previously unknown megalithic tomb
and other sites.
As one with whom she worked closely for many years I had
many opportunities to observe her ability and dedication. She
continued the tradition of those who, like Cyril Fox forty years
earlier, demonstrated when they came to be field archaeologists in
their thirties and forties that they could contribute as much if not
more than those with longer service but less local knowledge. Her
achievements should long be an inspiration to those, who like the
present Cambridge Archaeological Field Group, wish to carry out field
research in ways and in areas beyond the remit of professional units.
Colin Wallace and Steve Willis have contributed the following personal
memories of Joyce:
Colin Wallace: Joyce attended many Study
Group and Regional Group meetings in the 1980s and 1990s, keeping us
up to date with the progress of the reports on the Cambridge Roman
town excavations, published after some difficulties in 2000.
Those of us working in East Anglia know of her other reports,
like that on the Harston Obelisk kiln [excavated in advance of the
M11) and on the site at Cottenham, illustrated in her own distinctive
style. Harston Obelisk, with its evidence for the transfer of an
Oxfordshire potter into East Anglia, is her other claim to an enduring
contribution to the literature on Roman British archaeology alongside
Cambridge. Her move to the Forest of Dean saw her crisply
completing a report on the long-neglected amateur excavations of the
Boughspring villa, amongst other contributions. For me, she was
a friendly presence, offering a link back to some of the great names
of the past, like M R Hull, while reminding me that the achievements
of the rescue pioneers of the 1970s (on whom we rely for so much) were
not gained without great struggle. It was good to see at the
Writtle meeting in 2000 a pile of copies of the Roman Cambridge volume
for sale at last.
Steve Willis: The
Study Group has been profoundly saddened by the loss of Joyce
Pullinger who was for years one of our core members. Joyce will be
remembered by the Group with great affection and respect. She was a
tremendous enthusiast, and a warm and easy conversationalist on many
topics from Roman pottery, archaeology and beyond. Joyce always had
time and encouragement for new and younger members of the Group and
perhaps her background engendered an air of approachability and
practicality that were indeed demonstrated in her actions and work.
Reflecting back on the Annual Group Conferences through the 1980s and
1990s, and upon the many regional meetings of the East Anglia and East
of England Regional Group, that were so popular either side of 1990,
one remembers Joyce as always in attendance, often in the company of
John; reference to attendance lists confirms her admirable year on
year presence around the venues, contributing and, like us all,
learning.
Joyce gave so
much to archaeology and in particular to Roman pottery studies,
beginning at a time when both were in most marked need of advocates
and dedicated practitioners. Joyce published a considerable amount.
She was driven by her commitment to archaeology and pottery, to which
she gave up so much of her time, in what was, by any standards, a busy
life. It is recorded in our Journal, some years ago now, that without
Mrs Pullinger' s efforts we would know little of the Roman pottery of
the Cambridge area. The recent appearance of the volume on Roman
Cambridge confirms both the importance of this site and of Joyce's
research. Fittingly, in the mid 1990s Joyce helped to draft of the
Group's Research Framework document for the Study of Roman pottery in
the East Midlands and East Anglia.
It is appropriate that Joyce should have developed a
distinct career in Roman archaeology given her origins. Born at
Middleton St. George one wonders whether, if she had stayed in the
village, she would have transformed our knowledge of this
archaeologically promising but little researched area of the middle
Tees valley as she had done in the case of Cambridge and its
hinterland. The village is located by the point where the Roman road
known as Cade's Road (the only other known Roman road north in the
North Yorkshire - County Durham region other than Dere Street) crosses
the Tees and where Joyce's combination of observation, recording,
field-walking and study, would doubtless have been substantively
rewarding.
Joyce was such a
familiar presence among us at so many meetings that we cannot be other
than diminished by her passing. Likewise her drive, and her commitment
to fieldwork, pottery study and report preparation, often in the face
of limited resources, were exemplary, and, it should be stressed, were
so needed in the subject.
On the move…….
Our
congratulations to Steve Willis who, on August 1st, starts
a new job as Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Kent. Steve
- we look forward to some enthusiastic young students coming into
pottery studies (no pressure!). Steve will let us know his new contact
details when they become available, and they will be included in the
next membership list. If any other members are ‘on the move’
please let me know.
Review of the Conference Questionnaire by
Jane Evans
Only 18 members
replied to the conference questionnaire that went out in December last
year, however those that replied provided many useful comments and
suggestions. The majority (15) wanted the conference to remain an
annual event, though opinions on the timing of the conference within
that were less clear cut. 9 preferred to keep it in the summer, as it
is now, while 6 preferred an Easter conference, as held formerly.
Others expressed a range of views: that the conference date should
avoid school holidays and summer excavation seasons; that winter or
autumn would be good. Another suggestion was that the conference
should be held in the week, rather than at a weekend.
There was no clear
bias for the regional location of the conference, and some felt it was
important that the conference should keep moving around. Finances were
raised as determining factor by some. Unsurprisingly, this seemed to
reflect the professional circumstances of respondents: freelancers
funding themselves from ‘shoe-string’ budgets; those working in
units with a regional bias, who had to justify attendance by the
conference covering a region relevant to their work; those working in
units with a wide geographical coverage who felt almost anywhere was
relevant to their work. The need for a willing, able local organiser
was considered a crucial factor, and in relation to this the decline
in unit/area based specialists was raised as a problem. Good transport
links were also felt to be important, and the accessibility of the SE
to researchers from the continent was noted. From the other end of the
country came the mournful plea that, ‘I suppose Scotland would be
too remote??’
A range of more
specific conference locations in Britain were suggested: Cambridge,
London, Norfolk, Dorset, Bath, Vindolanda, York, Shropshire,
Worcester/The Malverns, Gloucester, Warwickshire, Staffordshire,
Cardiff, Herefordshire, ‘Scotland or Wales!’. The more adventurous
suggested a range of venues abroad: France, Belgium, The Netherlands,
Germany and ‘Trier!’ Others made more general suggestions:
anywhere with pottery that requires attention, and anywhere with late
Roman pottery.
Meeting other
specialists, hearing papers, and viewing pottery (in that order)
ranked highest amongst the reasons for attending the conference. The
opportunity to meet other specialists was considered particularly
important for freelance researchers and non-specialists who feel more
confident asking questions in an informal setting outside of the
talks. The trips received fewer votes (though the ‘fun’ element
was thought to be important, the barbecue in the commanders house last
year being cited as a good example). The AGM received the fewest votes
– one respondent even citing a particularly ‘bloody’ AGM as a
reason for no longer attending!
Conference costs were
raised again amongst ‘additional comments’: the difficulties of
getting Units to pay for attendance, and the even greater difficulty
of freelancers paying for themselves. One suggestion was that the
conference should be cut to 2 days, another that conference fees
should be waived for students.
Various suggestions were made for improving the format of
the conference, some feeling that this was very necessary. One
suggestion was that the Group have joint meetings/days with other
ceramic groups to discuss common themes, such as aspects of training,
professional accreditation, electronic publication/dissemination etc.
Another that days be set aside for in depth discussion of major
ceramic groups, types, and themes such as dating, firing techniques
and terms, general terminology etc. The need for training was noted by
another respondent, who felt that having a clearer learning element,
such as more targeted handling sessions, might make finances for
attending more forthcoming. Other suggestions included having more
variability, combining academic papers, short fun contributions and
sessions with closely defined themes (fine wares, pottery from villas
etc.).
The JRPS also
featured under ‘additional comments.’ There was a call for the
Journal to move away from monographs and single excavation reports, to
an ‘article’ based journal with more theoretical and
policy/practice contributions. Other suggestions included publishing
the conference proceedings and including high quality synthetic topics
of interest to all researchers.
One of the main
aims of the survey was to provide an opportunity for all the
membership (not just those who regularly attend the conferences) to
have a say in what the conference should be. This has been achieved,
although the level of response was low (13% of the membership!). One
respondent noted:
‘Perhaps
if all the participants were more dynamically involved in, and
actively contributing
to,
the conference, we could recreate whatever it was that made us
interested in pottery in the first place,
and thus the Study Group.’
The
committee now has lots of suggestions to take on board when planning
future conferences. Ideas, and offers to host the conference/present
papers, are welcomed, as always, by the committee and can be submitted
via the SGRP secretary. If you do want to become ‘more dynamically
involved,’ remember that nomination papers for committee are
enclosed!
Notice Board
ROMAN KILN FIRING AT MILL FARM BARN, SHOTLEY,
SUFFOLK 29th
July - 1st August 2004
Beryl Hines has sent an
invitation to all SGRP members to attend The East Anglian Potters
Association (EAPA) ‘Potters Camp’ at the end of July:
The EAPA hold a
Potter's Camp every summer at Shotley. About four years ago they built
an 'Oxford' style kiln which has been fired twice, once to get black
ware and once to get reduced cream-coloured ware. This summer
they plan to fire it again and would be very pleased to welcome any
members of the SGRP who would like to come and join them. The
event provides the opportunity to see how this type of kiln works in
practice, perhaps to try out a theory, do some experimental work or
just experience the fun and hard work involved in the firing process!
The camp runs from 29th July until 1st August, though the first
day will be spent setting up. They expect to pack the Roman kiln on
Friday and plan to fire it over Saturday. These
kilns cool down very slowly so unfortunately they won’t be able to
open it until the following weekend. Other kilns will be packed
and fired over the course of the camp so there will be a lot going on -
a great group of people and a good party is promised! Participants
can come for the whole four days or just for a day or two.
Many come with their tents but some people use the B and B's
in the area. Previous camps have been extremely popular so
participation by potters is limited to 50 this year.
The range of other
activities includes: soda Firing, salt firing, wood firing, smoke
firing, gas fired reduction, Raku firings, ‘crazy experimental
firings,’ the opportunity to use a jigger and jolley and slab
roller, try Impact Moulding or learn how to throw pots.
The fee for participating potters, including all
materials, will be £40, and for students and non potting partners £20.
With so much pressure on kiln space, they are unable to accept single
day bookings this year, but visitors are welcome to attend free, as
observers at any time. For more details contact Beryl Hines . . . .
TREASURES OF TUSCANY: THE ETRUSCAN LEGACY
edited by Elizabeth Goring
Members
may be interested to hear about the publication of a book accompanying
the exhibition ‘Treasures from Tuscany: the Etruscan Legacy’ which
opens on 13th July at the Royal Museum, Edinburgh (cost £25). Shown
for the first time in the UK, the exhibition gathers almost 500
objects from the finest collections in Tuscany, depicting Etruscan
life and death. The objects include: Ceramics (both imported and
locally made); life-size sarcophagi and cinerary urns; rich and exotic
tomb finds of bronze, amber, gold; silver and ivory; objects from
temples and sanctuaries, including architectural reliefs and beautiful
bronze figures. The editor, Elizabeth Goring is curator of the modern
jewellery collection at the National Museums of Scotland.
videos DEMONSTRATING THE MANUFACTURE OF POTTERY
The SGRP still has copies of
the following two videos, available for members in the U.K. to
borrow, for just the cost of package and posting:
Manufacturing Techniques in the
Production of Samian Pottery
A
video (in English) produced by Freie Universität Berlin in 1988/93;
demonstrating the techniques used to mass produce samian. There are
two short films of 30 minutes each on one tape. One shows the
reconstruction of a large kiln for firing samian, in a chamber of 64
cubic metres. More than 30,000 individual vessels could be fired at
once - thanks to a clever combination of pipes and inserts –
confirming the quantities recorded on pottery platters excavated near
kilns. The film focuses on the most delicate phase of production:
preparations for loading the kilns. The other film demonstrates how
the decorations on relief bowls were made. It covers the main steps in
the manufacturing process: the creation of picture stamps and their
use in decorating the mould from which the bowls are made.
Traditional pottery making in the West Balkans
This
film, made by Richard Carlton of Newcastle University, comprises
exerts of footage of potters in Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia. Most were
taken just before the Croatian and Bosnian wars, though some date from
during and after that period. The video was taken mostly on Super VHS
format, with some on 16mm, and some on VHS. The video shows a
selection from about 20 hours of footage, covering the broadest range
of techniques and the greatest number of potters. Although there are
aspects that unite most of the potters in the region (use of
hand-wheel, preference for calcite temper) it is the differences that
in many ways are most interesting and significant. The video moves
from south Croatia, north and eastwards into Bosnia and Serbia. Each
segment focuses on different processes or techniques, although there
is inevitably some cross over.
If you would like to borrow either video please
contact Jane for further details.
BLOOD AND SANDALS
"Jason
Foss" fans will be pleased to hear that a fifth novel,
"Blood & Sandals" is published this week….including a
Roman headpot scene. See www.docmonaghan.com
for details!
CONFERENCES
SGRP CONFERENCE
Bookings
for the 2004 conference are now closed as all places are filled. The
programme is looking very tight and promises to provide an enjoyable,
and educational, weekend.
PREHISTORIC CERAMIC RESEARCH GROUP AND PREHISTORIC
SOCIETY joint conference, University of
Bradford, 22nd-24th October
S.G.R.P. Website (www.sgrp.org)
Remember, If you
would like to add an item to the Queries/Research section, or have any
suggestions as to how the website many be developed, please contact
Ted Connell 01474 872763, ted.connell@btinternet.com
Please remember to keep your contact
details up to date, including any new e-mail addresses. The
secretary’s contact details can be found at the beginning of the
Newsletter.
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The Group would welcome
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Group members
and those interested in aspects of pottery of the Roman period. Please
send details too
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