Fabric 43.1 - South Gaulish samian ware (La Graufesenque)


Hard, smooth fabric with abundant inclusions of fine limestone (0.1-0.5mm)and occasional fragments of rounded quartzite (<0.5mm) found in the paste and on the underside of footrings.
Pinkish-brown throughout.

43 1
Fabric 43.1 South Gaulish samian ware 		Roman samian view 2 fabric 43
A range of Samian ware found in Worcestershire 		Roman samian fabric 43
A range of Samian ware found in Worcestershire

Manufacture
Mould-made; decorated wares were mould-made, plain wares appear to have been made on the wheel (Webster 1996, 4-5).
Decoration
Glossy red slip covering entire body, except for interior of closed vessels (Tyers 1996, 112). Plain forms were sometimes decorated using barbotine or roulettes, decorated forms were mould decorated (Webster 1996, 5).
La Graufesenque (Roman Gaul), FRANCE
This fabric was widely distributed throughout the western Meditterranean, North Africa, Gaul, Rhineland and Danube provinces and Britain. The ware is also found in the Eastern provinces and beyond, with examples from India and Sudan (Tyers 1996, 112). This was the most common samian fabric found on Deansway, Worcester (Dickinson 2001, 48-49). However, this was not the case on other sites in the city such as Sidbury (Dickinson 1992, 57-58).
Roman (Early 1st to early 3rd century)
The major period of export to Britain runs between c.AD 40-100 (Tyers 1996, 112).

Texture & Colour

Hardness
Hard
Feel
Smooth
Fracture
Conchoidal
Surface treatment
Glossy red slip

Core colour
Pink

Inclusions (2)

DB ID Modified Description Frequency Size Sorting Rounding
202 0 Limestone Abundant Fine
203 0 Quartzite Sparse Fine Rounded

References ()