News from the Committee
   President’s note
   The Study Group Website Manager
Elections 2011
   Treasurer
SGRP Conference Fri 24th to Sun 26th June 2011 Amsterdam
Some recent research
   Roman fish sauce: an experiment in archaeology - by Sally Grainger
   The Roman Society first eNewsletter
Recent Conferences and Workshops by Jane Evans
   The Roman Finds Group
   IFA Conference, Reading
Upcoming conferences, courses and workshops
   SGRP Regional Meeting at the Museum of Harlow - Sat 3rd September 2011
   EMAC 2011-11th European Meeting on Ancient Ceramics, Vienna- 29th of Sept to 1st of Oct 2011
   Kent Archaeological Field School
   Improving historic environment practice-consultation
Names on Terra Sigillata-volume 7 is now published
Contacts

News from the Committee
President’s note
   Thanks to Gwladys for producing another full newsletter. We need nominations for the post of treasurer and someone to come forward to take over Ted’s role as the Website Manager. Both roles are crucial to the Group and its future so please make time to consider how you could help. We realise that a number of members will have difficulty getting to the AGM in Amsterdam. If there are any important decisions to be made, we will make sure information is circulated beforehand. Details of the conference in Amsterdam are included below; it should be a great experience and I look forward to see you there. For our meeting in Amsterdam, Joanna Bird reminded the Committee that it might be a good idea to advise anyone taking pottery to Amsterdam to get some sort of formal note from the museum or unit that owns it, giving them permission to take it abroad for purposes of study. It is doubtful that you will have any problem at customs but it is better to be safe than sorry.
   For those of us who cannot make it to Amsterdam, Chris Lydamore is organising a Regional Meeting on the 3rd of September in Harlow so there is another opportunity for us to meet this year.

The Study Group Website Manager
   As most of you know, Ted Connell has created and looked after the Group’s website for many years. We are all immensely grateful to him for singlehandedly managing this resource. Ted is now ready to step down and hand over the website and its maintenance. The Committee is therefore looking for a Study Group Member, with relevant IT skills and an interest in the future of our website, to take over its maintenance and development. It is not necessary to be elected to become Website manager, it is nonetheless an important post since the manager is involved in every committee meetings, all important decisions taken on behalf of the Group and promotes our Group on the Web. Ted is more than happy to assist with the transition.
If you are interested in this role, please contact Gwladys Monteil before the 20th of June 2011 (gwladys.monteil@nottingham.ac.uk).
If no-one comes forward before the AGM in Amsterdam, the Committee will look at external providers.

Elections 2011
Treasurer
Louise Rayner has now completed three terms in office as Treasurer, making an enormous contribution to the Group. Louise, understandably, now feels that it really is time to pass the post of Treasurer/membership Secretary on. We therefore URGENTLY need nominations for the post of Treasurer, as the post will become vacant at the AGM in June. Please give some serious thought to this.
   You will need good maths skills and a good working knowledge of MS Excel, a familiarity with the workings of SGRP projects and committee work. Year round duties involve paying in subs and cheques, processing new members, checking bank statements, keeping accounts and membership database up to date, preparing interim accounts for committee meetings and presenting annual account at the AGM, liaising with the Secretary and members of the committee as needed and looking after some aspects of the JRPS production and stocks. Louise will do a full handover and will be happy to help the new Treasurer whilst they get into the role.
   If you think you might be interested in taking on the role Louise would be happy to informally discuss the responsibilities involved and provide more information on the specific aspects of the post (louise@lourayner.freeserve.co.uk).
   Please take some time to consider this post, the success and future of the Group depend on the commitment of its members and committee members.

SGRP COMMITTEE NOMINATION PAPERS 2011

SGRP Conference - Amsterdam Fri 24th to Sun 26th June 2011
   organised by the VU University Amsterdam & the University of Amsterdam

Programme

Friday 24th of June
10.30 - 12.20   Welcome and AGM for SGRP members only registration (Allard Pierson Museum) with 
                      coffee/tea and a sandwich

10.30 - 12.20   Registration for non-members in the Oudemanhuispoort 4-6, room F001 (B on map). 
                      Lectures will also take place at this location. 

12.30              Start of conference
12.30 - 12.35   Welcome (Julie Van Kerckhove and Mark Driessen)

Session 1: Production sites on both sides of the Channel and the distribution of their wares
Chair: Steven Willis
12.35 - 13.05   The city of Forum Hadriani: a supply base for the military on the Dutch coast
                         (Julie Van Kerckhove and Mark Driessen)
13.05 - 13.35   The North-Menapian coastal pottery tradition in the Roman period: a military-native interaction? 
                         (Wim De Clercq & Sofie Vanhoutte)
13.35 - 14.05   The distribution of Northern French pottery to Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands: a distinct
                         choice of forms and categories (Sonja Willems/Stéphane Dubois/Cyrille Chaidron)
14.05 - 14.30   The Lower Nene Valley Ware: a major local and regional production centre (Rob Perrin)
14.30 - 15.00   tea and coffee

Session 2: Production and distribution of samian ware
Chair: Louise Rayner
15.00 - 15.30   A third century samian shop group from Nantes (Loire-Atlantique, France) 
                         (R. Delage, G. Monteil, N. Rouzeau & J. Pascal)
15.30 - 15.45   A late samian dish from Surrey (Joanna Bird)
15.45 - 16.15   Getting Samian Ware to Britain: routes and transport possibilities (Allard Mees and Geoff Dannell)
16.15 - 16.45   Distribution of terra sigillata from La Graufesenque to the Northern Provinces
                         (Allard Mees and Rien Polak)

16.45-18.45:    time to check in at hotel before meeting at 18.45 at the entrance of Allard Pierson Museum
                         to walk to venue for dinner at 19.00
19.00              dinner at Haesje Claes 

Saturday 25th of June
Lectures will take place in de Oudemanhuispoort 4 
Session 3: The major wares in the Rhineland and Eifel region
Chair: Michael Gechter
  9.00 -   9.30   Cologne products (Constanze Höpken)
  9.30 - 10.00   The pottery of Donnius Maximus at Bonn (Jennifer Morscheiser) (amended 20-06-2011)
10.00 - 10.30  The latest Roman pottery production at Mayen/Eifel (Germany). Archaeological findings and
                         scientific analysis results (Lutz Grunwald)
10.30 - 11.00   tea and coffee

Session 4: Pottery production in the Batavian and Tungrian civitates and
                      pottery consumption in the Dutch river area
Chair: Marleen Martens
11.00 - 11.45   Fluctuations in Roman pottery production in Nijmegen
                         (Harry van Enckevort, Elly N.A. Heirbaut, Joep Hendriks)
11.45 - 12.15   Early Roman pottery production in the civitas Tungrorum: towards an integrated approach
                         (Barbara Borgers)
12.15 - 12.45   A chronology of late-Roman ceramics imported to the Dutch River Area.
                         The case of Wijk bij Duurstede-De Geer (Stijn Heeren)
12.45 - 13.45   lunch

Session 5: Pottery consumption in Britain and methodology in pottery studies
Chair: Gwladys Monteil
13.50 - 14.20   Trends in the presence of amphorae at sites in Roman Britain (Steven Willis)
14.20 - 14.50   Sub-Roman pottery production in South-eastern Britain (Malcolm Lyne)
14.50 - 15.20   Methodologies shedding light on the deposition of Roman pottery: Case Studies from
                          the Lincolnshire Wolds (Emma Jackson)
15.20 - 15.50   Roman pottery studies in Britain: current practice and future strategies (Jane Evans)
15.50 - 16.35   Tea and coffee

16.35 - 17.45   workshop/studying pottery production.
    The following delegates have agreed to bring pottery from production sites: Sofie Vanhoutte/Wim De Clercq (North-Menapian ware), Sonja Willems/Stéphane Dubois/Cyrille Chaidron (Northern-France), Sibylle Friedrich (Urmitz), Lutz Grünwald (Mayen), Barbara Borgers (Tienen, Vervoz, Grobbendonk, Kontich), Annick Lepot/Else Hartoch/Fabienne Vilvorder (Tongeren), Harry van Enckevort/Joep Hendriks/Elly Heirbaut/Ryan Niemeyer (Nijmegen). The following delegates have agreed to bring pottery from consumption sites: Julie Van Kerckhove (Forum Hadriani), Stijn Heeren (Wijk bij Duurstede-De Geer).

17.45 - 18.45   Time to return to hotel before meeting at 18.45 at the entrance of Allard Pierson Museum to walk
                         to venue for dinner at 19.00
19.00              gin tasting and dinner at De Admiraal

Sunday 26th of June
08.15   All gather at entrance Allard Pierson Museum and receive a packed lunch (museum closed on Sunday)  
08.30   Departure for Woerden 08.30 
09.00   Arrival Woerden: introduction by archaeologist Tom Hazenberg. Tom will explain about the excavation of Roman castellum at Woerden and a Roman river freighter found during the research in Woerden. Woerden is situated on the river Oude Rijn, near the confluence with the former Linschoten stream. Near this confluence was a natural levee a castellum was built. The first phase was built in the AD 40s, it was rebuilt around AD 70. During construction work on a new underground parking facility the remains of numerous old Roman buildings and a Roman river cargo ship were found. 
09.45  The participants will be divided in two sub-groups. Group A (28 pers.) will depart for the harbour. Group B (28 pers.) leaves by bus for the Grecht. 
10.00  Group A will embark for a ‘river cruise’ aboard the copy of the Roman riverfreighter De Meern 1. Group B goes by bus to guest farm De Boerinn for coffee and Dutch farm cake in the Grecht area. Here they get an impression about the Dutch wetland area.

In 1997 a Roman ship was discovered at a large building project at De Meern near the city of Utrecht. And not just a ship, but a real wreck in mint condition. It was the 15th Roman river ship found in The Netherlands, and the best one yet. The six ships of Zwammerdam (three kanoos and three big freighters) all had been dismantled by the Romans, but De Meern 1 was still intact. More intact, even, than the ships recently found in Pisa, or the 5 transporters found in Mainz. The ship was once 24.6 metres long and 2.7 metres wide. It had a hole for a mast on the bow and a cabin for the captain on the stern, in which cooking took place. The woodwork was very luxurious (little doors, cupboards, adorned walls and bedding). This is a very surprising find, for until now it was assumed that all ships were built in Germany, floated downriver and were scrapped there. De Meern 1 seems to point to a more continuous use. The river Rhine was 30 metres wide and 2 metres deep at the point where the ship sank, which would make manoeuvring tricky. No local shipping, then? But during research in the months after its salvage, the conclusion was that this was a local ship after all, built of local trees, and probably scrapped after the end of its natural life. The ship itself was made of large planks of oak, which were nailed together with iron nails. The bottom was flat for docking on the riverbank. The base of the ship was originally constructed out of three locally grown oak trees of at least 40 metres long, which had been cut down between AD 142 and 154. Aboard in the small kitchen several finds – pottery and shoes and sandals – pointed to a more continuous use between AD 180 and 200. After the discovery of this ship in 1997 the decision was made to cover it up again to raise funds so an excavation could be carried out properly. By the year 2000 it turned out that the ancient riverbed still carried water – water with too much oxygen. Due to this the ship would decay quicker than assumed. In 2003 the ship was excavated and lifted completely to the Dutch Institute of Marine Archaeology (NISA) in Lelystad. Here it was soaked for years in a bath of ethyleneglycol so it will be conserved for future generations and is one of the most extraordinary examples of our marine heritage. 

11.00   Change of groups. Group A arrives at guest farm De Boerinn for coffee and Dutch farm cake. 
                                      Group B embarks at the copy of De Meern 1. 
11.45   Group A drives back by bus to Woerden 
12.00   Both groups gather in Woerden 
12.15   Embarking bus for return to Amsterdam 
13.00   Arrival in Amsterdam at entrance of Allard Pierson Museum and Conference closes

Acknowledgments
The conference organizers wish to thank the following institutions for their help and contributions:
Universiteit van Amsterdam
University of Kent
VU University Amsterdam
CLUE
Study Group for Roman Pottery
ACVU-HBS (Archeologisch Centrum Vrije Universiteit - Hendrik Brunsting Stichting)

As the SGRP-conference 2011 will take place in Amsterdam we will follow a programme around a theme broad enough to interest all delegates, whether they are working in the UK, the German Rhineland, the Low Countries or in France. This theme will be: ‘pottery productions transported by the North Sea and the river Rhine’. Lectures will mainly be focussed on the production of pottery and the trading routes/mechanisms of these productions. A workshop will be organised where pottery (production material) will be displayed so delegates will have an opportunity to handle a range of fabrics that they might encounter on their excavations.
   The conference organisers and the Study Group for Roman Pottery Committee have made considerable efforts to keep costs down by sourcing grants and help across the board. We particularly wish to thank the Universiteit van Amsterdam, the VU-Free University Amsterdam, ACVU-HBS (Archeologisch Centrum Vrije Universiteit-Hendrik Brunsting Stichting) and the University of Kent for their contribution.

The conference
   The conference will take place in the Allard Pierson Museum (Oude Turfmarkt 127, Amsterdam-see A on map), see http://allardpiersonmuseum.nl and in the Oudemanhuispoort 4-6 (see B on map).
   Both museum and lecture hall in the Oudemanhuispoorrt are within walking distance of the hotel.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some recent research

Roman fish sauce: an experiment in archaeology- by Sally Grainger
Many of you are I am sure aware of my work in Roman food. I have been demonstrating Roman food techniques and studying the ancient texts concerning the recipes and wider food ways of Rome for many years. Experimental archaeology has also played its apart in this research. I recognised that I needed to acquire wider skills in archaeology, particularly since I wished to get to the bottom of the problems associated with understanding Roman fish sauce. It was clear that wider knowledge of fish sauce amphorae, the processing sites in Spain and North Africa, fish bone studies and also shipwreck archaeology was required.
   Consequently I acquired an MA in Archaeology at the University of Reading and in the summer of 2009 I began extensive experiments to manufacture various kinds of Roman fish sauces and salted fish in order to observe the products in manufacture and the residue formation for my dissertation. This observational study would I hoped answer some of the more complex questions concerning fish sauce and particularly, in relation to the SGRP, the purpose and function of the various different amphorae shapes associated with fish products.
   Among the many questions to answer, I hoped to be able to determine the nature of allec: the fish sauce residue and consider its role in the function of the hollow spike associated with the Dressel 7-11 and Beltran 2B forms of amphorae. Why some of these distinctive amphorae could also come with solid spikes was of particular interest.

 
Fig. 1 The two types of Beltran 2b spikes: hollow and solid.
http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/archive/amphora_ahrb_2005/drawings.cfm?id=44

When allec was considered a paste suitable to serve at dinner parties and also as a food for slaves, how could it apparently contain large amounts of bone rendering it unfit for consumption? This type of fish sauce debris (in the form of sardine, anchovy, mackerel, sprat and herring bones) is often found identified in ship wreck amphorae and also associated with amphorae at processing or distribution sites throughout the Roman world. Fish bone experts, assuming fish sauce was a clear bone free product, have questioned why this cheap and commonplace product was being shipped so widely when it appears so economically irrational (Van Neer and Ervynck 2002: 208). These questions as well as the wider issue of how to distinguish between the different types of fish sauces served as my main aims in conducting the project. It was also my objective to merge all the literary and archaeological evidence in a synthesis of fish sauce knowledge.

Fig 3 The bones have been filtered from this protein rich sardine sauce and the allec or 
fish paste floats above the liquid which has a high density.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

News and Updates

The Roman Society first eNewsletter
   The Roman Society's Archaeology Committee is currently preparing the 1st issue of a biannual eNewsletter that will be sent out to all Society members by email and also made available through the Society's website. We would like the eNewsletter to include a variety of features about the history, archaeology, literature and art of the Roman world, including new discoveries and research, forthcoming exhibitions, lectures and conferences, as well as archaeological excavations in Britain and beyond.
   If you would like to inform fellow members about something newsworthy related to any aspect of the study of Rome and the Roman Empire, please send a summary to: office@romansociety.org. The editors request that contributions are informative yet succinct and that, where possible, items include an image or two as well as links to websites where members will find further information. The deadline for submission of items for the 1st issue is Monday 6 June.
   Peter Guest & Fraser Hunter, Editors

Recent conferences and workshops by Jane Evans
   The Roman Finds Group held their spring meeting at the Museum of London on 19th March. The meeting, titled ‘Life in Roman Britain- every object tells a story,’ marked the publication of ‘Roman Artefacts,’ edited by Lindsey Allason-Jones, to which the speakers were all contributors. Themes ranged from domestic life, through lighting and heating to medicine and death, and covered a range of materials...everything but pottery! There was an opportunity to look round the Roman galleries and, of course, buy the book! The day proved very interesting and was enjoyed by those who attended. It reminded me that it would be interesting to have more joint meetings. But the day ended on a more dispiriting note, with Jenny Hall discussing the potential of the Roman gallery, but also hinting at the very real impact of cuts.

Upcoming conferences, courses and workshops

SGRP REGIONAL MEETING AT THE MUSEUM OF HARLOW- Sat 3rd of September 2011
   Chris Lydamore writes: We will be looking at pottery from the late Iron Age through to the early Saxon period from the South Essex/Herts area. So far the confirmed speakers are Isobel Thompson, Amy Thorpe, Sally Grainger, Nicky Metcalf, Lyn Blackmore and Simon West. We will also have table displays of local RB pottery.
   Further details will be released when the final programme is settled.

EMAC 2011-11th European Meeting on Ancient Ceramics, Vienna- 29th of Sept to 1st of Oct 2011
   The 11th European Meeting on Ancient Ceramics, organized by VIAS - Institute for Archaeological Science, University of Vienna the Departement of EarthScience, University of Vienna and the Natural History Museum Vienna will be held at the Natural History Museum Vienna, Austria.
   For more information: http://emac2011.univie.ac.at/

Kent Archaeological Field School
   Some of the courses and field trips organised by the Kent Archaeological Field School for 2011 might be of interest to some of you (see below for a short selection). For further details on all the courses and trips see their website: www.kafs.co.uk
   1st August to 19th August, Excavation of Roman Town Houses and Cemetery near Syndale, part of the site of the Roman Town of Durolevum.
   The site of the lost Roman town of Durolevum is now established at Syndale, near Faversham. The town appears in the Antonine Itinerary, but its location was later forgotten, until it was rediscovered and confirmed as the site of the town by the activities of the Kent Archaeological Field School. This year we will spend two weeks excavating and recording Roman remains on the west side of the town. KAFS member’s special fee £30 per day, non-members £35 per day.

September 10th, Roman Cookery
   The course, led by food historian Sally Grainger, will introduce students to the art of Roman cooking. Sally is well known for her book 'Cooking Apicius: Roman recipes for today'. Working with replica Roman equipment such as mortarium and testum (a portable oven) the course will demonstrate a number of recipes and allow students to participate in the production of a small Roman feast which can then be consumed. An apron and comfortable shoes are recommended. This is a practical course and numbers are restricted to eight people. The dishes prepared will not be suitable for people who don’t eat fish. Cost for the day is £60 (No discount for members).

September 17th & 18th, How to Identify Roman Pottery
   A course led by Malcolm Lyne is for those who want to distinguish the many types of Roman pottery found on British archaeological sites. On Sunday there will be a hands-on session followed by a visit to the Ospringe Museum to view with Malcolm Lyne Roman pottery from the cemetery of the adjacent Roman town of Durolevum. Cost for the weekend is £75 (10% KAFS members discount).

October 1st & 2nd, Archaeological Drawing
   A beginner’s and refresher course introducing participants to drawing archaeological artifacts. The reasons for drawing artifacts and the principles of archaeological illustration will be explained. There will be practical sessions each day demonstrating how to illustrate pottery, bone, metal and other artifacts found on archaeological sites. Course led by Jane Russell, who was senior illustrator of the UCL Field Archaeology Unit. Cost is £75 (10% discount for KAFS members).

September 23rd, 24th, 25th, Field Trip to Imperial Rome
   An informal tour with Dr Paul Wilkinson of the glories of this ancient capital, centre of one of the greatest Empires in the world.

Improving historic environment practice-consultation
   Recommendations for improving historic environment practice – the Southport Group seeks your views. The Southport Group has launched an online public consultation to gather opinion on a ground-breaking draft report that outlines recommendations and products for improving historic environment practice to ensure delivery of consistent excellence in public benefit.
   The consultation officially launches at the IfA Conference on 13 April and runs until 3 June 2011. All content can be found on the Southport webpage: http://www.archaeologists.net/southport 
   The draft report considers key areas of planning-led investigation of the historic environment, identifies obstacles to optimum delivery in the past, presents a vision for new ways of working under PPS5 principles, and makes detailed practical recommendations to reach that vision. The impetus for change stems from the 2010 publication of Planning Policy Statement 5, which offers an extraordinary and rare opportunity for the historic environment sector to ensure its work is truly driven by the interests of what has been discovered or lost and that its overall purpose is the realisation of public benefit.
   The consultation asks historic environment professionals to provide written feed-back on whether they endorse the report visions, recommendations and proposed products, and to suggest any changes or additional commendations/products before the June deadline. Comments will help to shape the final report due to launch in July 2011.
   Organisations assigned with actions in the report recommendations will be approached over coming weeks and asked if they wish to endorse the visions and commit, insofar as resources allow, to the recommendations subject to any changes they propose. The intention is for key sector bodies to indicate, at the launch of the final report in July, their intention to implement the report's recommendations.
   This is the best opportunity for the sector and those it serves since 1990, and it could well be another 20 years before another chance like this comes along. Please do make this consultation count. Comments on the report should be emailed to southport@archaeologists.net

Names on Terra Sigillata-volume 7 is now published
Supplement 102.7 Names on Terra Sigillata Vol.7 is now published. This volume is priced at £84 full price with an introductory price of £70.
If you would like to order a copy please get in touch with: 
Sarah Mayhew
Publications & Events Assistant
Institute of Classical Studies
Publications Office Rm 243
Senate House South Block
Malet Street
London WC1E 7HU
Tel: 0207 862 8705
Fax: 0207 862 8722

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------