Cornwall during the Iron Age and - Cornwall Archaeological Society

More documents

Recommendations

Info

• III MI MI Cm Fig 6 El van handled bowl mortaria and weight from Trethurgy Round, 4th or 5th centuries AD. All '4. Throughout the Roman period pottery was imported into Cornwall, from as close as Devon and as far away as Spain. Continental amphorae representing consignments of wine and oil (eg at Castle Gotha; Saunders and Harris, 1982, 135) are being increasingly identified as research progresses on their pattern of import into Britain. Local wares are becoming far better understood from the work of Bidwell at Exeter (1979; forthcoming). Grey wares and black-burnished ware copies made in the Exeter area have been identified at Carvossa, Kilhallon and Trethurgy. Black-burnished wares from Dorset (BB I) became the predominant pottery at Exeter in the mid-3rd and 4th centuries and it is to this period that the majority of Cornish BB1 pottery belongs. South Devon ware, with a distinctive granitic fabric, was probably manufactured somewhere in the Dart valley. Again, it is much more common at 128
Exeter in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD than in the preceding period, and has the same pattern of occurrence in Cornwall. Significantly, South Devon ware forms include large jars with cordons and their increased import in the later Roman period may have reinforced the local Cordoned Ware tradition. Oxford wares have been identified on a number of sites such as Trethurgy and Porthmeor and probably reached Cornwall during the 4th century AD (Young, 1977, 239). Imported artefacts of comparatively high value may have had a long life and their use for dating the archaeological contexts from which they are recovered needs consideration. It may seem obvious on a small excavation to use a piece of Antonine samian to date the site. At Trethurgy, sixty samian sherds from a minimum of fourteen vessels were found, despite the complete excavation. The largest quantity of samian came from the 4th century midden which was the earliest context to produce Oxford Ware on the site. In turn, some of the best pieces of Oxford Ware were found in the deliberate infill of a structure which contained post-Roman import wares and should date to the 6th century AD. Fine wares could thus be deposited perhaps two centuries after their manufacture, which increases the difficulties of producing a dateable sequence for the Cornish gabbroic wares of the Roman period. About 95% of all pottery from Roman Cornwall is gabbroic. The as yet unlocated Iron Age pottery centres, presumably on the Lizard, continued, gradually influenced by Roman forms. A brief period of experiment in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries has already been mentioned with reference to finds from Carvossa. Thereafter the principal products were simple jars, some with cordons, which gradually got larger and more poorly made. Bowls and dishes were introduced during the 1st century AD with St Mawgan-in-Pydar Type R (Threipland, 1956, 66), and continue with flat, 'pie dish' rims starting in the 2nd century. These develop into 'grooved' or 'proto-flanged' forms by the late 2nd century and into flanged bowls by the late 3rd. This sequence appears at first sight to copy that of Dorset black-burnished bowls, but similarities are general rather than precise. It is more likely to be a general reflection of stylistic trends, with the flanged bowls influenced by metal forms such as the Hallivick pewter bowl. There is no definite evidence for the use of the potter's wheel. Well-made vessels, highly fired and of well-levigated clay, represent careful application of traditional techniques. Roughly-made jars and bowls, of a type often labelled 'hand-made' in contra-distinction to 'wheel-made' occur throughout the period. They are certainly present from the earliest contexts at Trethurgy. The proportion of roughly-made forms increases in the later Roman period. At Trethurgy and at Grambla (Saunders, 1982), occupied throughout the 5th century AD, there were no detectable changes in form, and it is only in the 6th century that Roman-type gabbroic pottery becomes scarce. The potting centres may have continued during the 5th century because they were less dependent on a monetary economy than kilns in other parts of the country. Other economic activities are less easy to identify. Most domestic sites produce evidence of small-scale metal working. The manufacture of some stone mortaria took place on domestic sites (unfinished examples are known from Castle Gotha and Trethurgy), although a greisen handled bowl mortarium has been found as far afield as Richborough (Roach Smith, 1850, 104). The production of salt has been demonstrated on the Lizard, at Trebarveth in the 3rd and 4th centuries (Peacock, 1969a), and at Carngoon Bank (from at least the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD (McAvoy, 1980). A major and distinctive feature for Cornwall was the production of tin. This is generally considered to have been of little importance during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, when Iberian mines were supplying the Empire's needs. (Could this factor have anything to do with the suggested dislocation of Cornish settlement patterns in the 2nd century AD?). In the 3rd century the Iberian mines were in decline, tin was increasingly used in coinage, and in Britain the demand for tin went up becaue of the growing 129
Page 1 and 2: CORNISH ARCHAEOLOGY No. 25 (1986) 5
Page 3 and 4: pottery from Trevelgue confirms the
Page 5 and 6: enclosure was apparently scantier.
Page 7 and 8: een occupied entirely within the La
Page 9 and 10: 420±70 be (HAR —238) suggested a
Page 11 and 12: it is only reasonable to accept tha
Page 13 and 14: whose ancestors had occupied hillfo
Page 15 and 16: AL •r, .4 •eakitiocto dp° •
Page 17: Fig 5 Trethurgy Round Period 2 c. A
Page 21 and 22: The question of Late Bronze Age and
Page 23 and 24: McAvoy, F., 1980. 'Excavations of a

Cornwall during the Iron Age and - Cornwall Archaeological Society

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?