Fabric 12 - Oxidised Severn Valley ware
This fabric description applies to locally produced Severn Valley ware. Soft to hard fired, fine fabric containing common mica, occasional quartz grains(<0.5mm), clay pellets (1.5mm), fragments of black or brown fine-grained rock (<1.0mm), iron ore and unidentified soft, white inclusions, possibly decayed feldspar (<0.5mm).
Usually reddish orange but may be brown and sometimes with a reduced core.
Usually reddish orange but may be brown and sometimes with a reduced core.
Manufacture
Wheel-thrown
Decoration
Generally consisting of a combination of cordons, grooves and pattern burnishing. Less frequent occurrence of white slip or red/brown colour-coats, often combined with rough-casting, rouletting, rustication and mica dusting.
Malvern, WORCESTERSHIRE
The manufacture of this ware in Malvern is only part of a widespread regional tradition of similar vessels, with production known to have taken place at various sites covering a wide area along the Severn Valley from Shepton Mallet in the south and as far as Wroxeter in the north (Bryant 2001, 24). Severn Valley ware vessels in Fabric 12 are found in great quantities on all Romano-British sites in Worcestershire and are the products of a number of kilns. The neutron activation analysis of selected sherds from Deansway (Bryant and Evans 2001) and Sidbury (Evans 1991) in Worcester, confirmed the assumption that a large number of sherds from Worcestershire were produced in the Malvern area. Known kiln sites in this area include Great Buckmans Farm/Newland Common and Hygienic Laundry, Malvern Link and Newland Hopfields, Great Malvern.
4 related kilns
The manufacture of this ware in Malvern is only part of a widespread regional tradition of similar vessels, with production known to have taken place at various sites covering a wide area along the Severn Valley from Shepton Mallet in the south and as far as Wroxeter in the north (Bryant 2001, 24). Severn Valley ware vessels in Fabric 12 are found in great quantities on all Romano-British sites in Worcestershire and are the products of a number of kilns. The neutron activation analysis of selected sherds from Deansway (Bryant and Evans 2001) and Sidbury (Evans 1991) in Worcester, confirmed the assumption that a large number of sherds from Worcestershire were produced in the Malvern area. Known kiln sites in this area include Great Buckmans Farm/Newland Common and Hygienic Laundry, Malvern Link and Newland Hopfields, Great Malvern.
4 related kilns
Roman (Mid 1st to 4th century)
Hardness
Hard
Feel
Smooth
Fracture
Conchoidal
Surface treatment
Burnished or a white or brown slip
Core colour
Light grey
Int surface colour
Orange
Ext surface colour
Orange
| Description | Frequency | Size | Sorting | Rounding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mica | Moderate | Well-sorted | Flat | |
| Quartz | Sparse | Fine | Well-sorted | |
| Black or brown inclusions | Sparse | Medium | Ill-sorted | |
| Clay pellets | Sparse | Coarse | Ill-sorted | |
| Iron-rich pellets | Sparse | Ill-sorted | ||
| White inclusions | Sparse | Fine | Ill-sorted |
- TS28
- Hurst, J D and Rees, H, 1992 'Pottery fabrics; a multi-period series for the county of Hereford and Worcester, in Woodiwiss, S (ed); Iron Age and Roman salt production and the medieval town of Droitwich'
- Hurst, J D, 1992 'The pottery: Friar Street, in Woodiwiss, S (ed); Iron Age and Roman salt production and the medieval town of Droitwich'
- Bryant, V and Evans, J, 2004 'Iron Age and Romano-British pottery in Dalwood, H and Edwards, R (eds); Excavations at Deansway Worcester 1988-89. Romano-British small town to late medieval city.'
- Evans, C J, Jones, L and Ellis, P, 2000 'Severn Valley Ware Production at Newland Hopfields. Excavation of a Romano-British kiln site at North End Farm, Great Malvern, Worcestershire in 1992 and 1994'
- Evans, J, 1992 'The pottery in Darlington, J and Evans, J Roman Sidbury, Worcester: Excavations 1959-1989'
- Griffin, L, 2002a 'The pottery in Edwards, R; Griffin, L and Dalwood, H, Excavations on the Site of the New Police Station, Castle Street, Worcester'
- Timby, J, 1990 'Severn Valley wares: a reassessment'
- Rees, H, 1992 'The pottery, Old Bowling Green, in Woodiwiss, S (ed) Iron Age and Roman salt production and the medieval town of Droitwich.'
- Tomber, R and Dore, J, 1998 'The National Roman Fabric Reference Collection. A Handbook.'
Published fabric code: SVW OX 1 and 2, p. 148-9 - Webster, P V, 1976 'Severn Valley ware: a preliminary study' ( PDF Download)
- Rawes, B, 1972 'Roman pottery kilns at Gloucester'
- Waters, P L, 1976 'Romano-British Pottery Site at Great Buckman's Farm'
- Evans, J, 1991 'Neutron Activation Analysis of Severn Valley wares: analytical assessment programme'