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INTRODUCTION
This report summarises a small, unstratified collection of pottery recovered during building works at
Winchester St, Overton. The group consists of 200 sherds, ranging in date from the early medieval-
post medieval periods (table 1). Because the assemblage is unstratified, only a very basic
characterisation can be undertaken.
Flint and Sand Tempered Wares (including Kennet Valley A ware) are common in north Hampshire,
and particularly in the Kennet Valley (Vince et al 1997). They date from at least the 11th-12th century
and may date as far back as the 9th-10th centuries. There are 28 sherds present in the assemblage
here. Most of these could not be assigned to a particular vessel form, but one sherd, a clubbed rim
with a rounded profile, is probably from a bowl. All of the sherds are undecorated and unglazed. Five
fabrics are present:
Fabric FMQ1 is unevenly fired, with colours ranging from grey to orange. There are abundant, angular flint
inclusions and moderately abundant, sub-rounded, medium sized quart grains. This may be a Kennet Valley
type (Lorraine Mepham pers. Comm.).
grey core.
Fabric FMQ3 is grey throughout. Inclusions consist of moderately abundant, sub-angular flint with moderately
abundant medium sized, sub-rounded quartz. Some sherds are more consistently fired with buff surfaces and a
Fabric FMQ10 is a reduced sandy ware with common, medium sized, rounded quartz grains and common
angular flint fragments, some of which are iron stained.
Fabric FMQ11 has common, medium sized, rounded and sub-rounded quartz grains with occasional flit
fragments, some of which are patinated. The sherds generally have oxidised surfaces and a reduced core.
Fabric CQf2 is a very coarse white/greyware with abundant sub-angular flint fragments and coarse sized quartz
grains.
There is also a single sherd of a fine sandy ware with flint inclusions, which is possibly of early
medieval date. It has a clear, partial, exterior glaze. The fabric can be described as follows:
Fabric FQargf1 is a very fine, oxidised ware with fine, occasional, iron rich flecks and large flint fragments.
Wessex Coarseware
There are 30 sherds of Wessex Coarseware, representing 12 vessels. This is a coarse sandy ware,
most common in west Hampshire, although its distribution does stretch across north Hampshire. It is
found, for example, at Kingsclere, Long Sutton and Odiham Castle. Although some sherds fit
together, it has not been possible to identify any vessel forms within the assemblage. All are
unglazed and undecorated. A single fabric is present:
Fabric MQ1 varies is colour from black to orange. Vessels are generally handmade. There are abundant sub-
angular/sub-rounded, medium sized quartz inclusions which are densely packed. This is the most abundant
ware in this group.
There is a single, undiagnostic, sherd of Fine Sandy Ware, which may date to the early medieval
period, on the basis of its occurrence in early medieval deposits elsewhere. Such fabrics are fairly
ubiquitous however, and this sherd may date to the 13th-14th centuries:
Fabric FQ4 is a fine, wheelthrown sandy ware which is oxidised throughout. The only inclusions are parse fine
quartz grains.
Summary
The pottery present in this assemblage seems fairly typical of that from assemblages south of the
Kennet Valley, with a mixture of Wessex Coarseware and Flint and Sand Tempered Wares (including
some of Kennet Valley type) being present.
This is the most abundant ware in the assemblage, with 83 sherds being present, representing a
maximum of 59 vessels. Of these vessels, 2 are jars, the remaining 57 had no diagnostic sherds
present. The sherds are all unglazed and undecorated. This is the most common coarseware at sites
in north Hampshire and therefore its abundance here is unsurprising. One fabric is present:
Fabric MQcf1 varies in colour from brown to grey. Inclusions consist of common sub-rounded, medium sized
quartz which is often milky. There are angular flint fragments and abundant rounded voids from leached out
chalk temper.
Surrey Whitewares
Two types of Surrey Whiteware are present. There are 4 sherds of Coarse Border Ware, a hard
buff/whiteware with coarse quartz inclusions and occasional mica and flint. It is common in
assemblages in east Hampshire and was produced at centres such as Ash in Surrey (Pearce and Vince
1988, 9). Three of these sherds have a bright green, external glaze. The other 2 sherds are finer
whitewares, possibly of Cheam or Kingston type (Pearce and Vince 1988, 9-10). These sherds have
an external bright green glaze and at least one of them is from a jug.
Summary
The types of pottery present here are typical of assemblages from north Hampshire. It ios possible
that the Surrey Whitewares were sourced direct from the manufacturer, or were redistributed
through centres such as Newbury. It is interesting that the wider range of sandy wares, present for
example, in Kingsclere, are not present, and this may be due to the small size of the assemblage. The
Kennet Valley B ware vessels are likely to have been produced fairly locally.
Wessex Redware
Wessex Redware is a common type of pottery in west Hampshire, which probably dates to the late
14th or early 15th century. The type here is a finer variety, also known from nearby Kingsclere and
Andover. All of the sherds are undiagnostic in terms of form, are unglazed and undecorated. The
fabric can be described as follows:
Fabric FQ14 has oxidised surfaces with reduced core. Inclusions consist of common fine sized, sub-rounded
quartz grains.
There is a single sherd of Transitional Sandy Ware. These well fired, fine, wheelthrown types are
most common in the south and east of the county, as further north their place tends to be taken by
Surrey products.
Fifteen sherds of Border ware are present. This is a hard, well made whiteware, produced at several
centres on the Surrey/Hampshire border. All of the sherds are undiagnostic in terms of form.
There are 3 small sherds of Tudor Green, a very fine whiteware produced at several centres on the
Surrey/Hampshire border. Two of the sherds are probably from jugs.
Summary
This small group of later medieval pottery and early post medieval pottery illustrates that pottery
was sourced from several centres in this period. Surrey products may have been traded directly, or
perhaps through centres such as Newbury, whilst other types are likely to have been sourced from
the south and west. Due to the lack of diagnostic sherds it is not possible to discuss developments in
ceramic form.
CONCLUSIONS
The lack of temporal context and the low number of diagnostic sherds limits the value of this
assemblage. We can however determine that the early medieval part of the group corresponds with
other early medieval assemblages from north Hampshire. The medieval wares illustrate that most
pottery was sourced locally, but that pottery was also sourced from a number of other centres. The
differences in the assemblage, when compared with other assemblages from north Hampshire may
be illustrative of different patterns of supply, possibly related to trade routes between larger centres
in the area.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Pearce, J and Vince, A. 1988, Surrey Whitewares, London and Middlesex Archaeological Society.
Vince, A, Lobb, S, Richards, J and Mepham, L. 1997, Excavations in Newbury, Berkshire 1979-1990,
Wessex Archaeology Report 13.