Colchester Archaeological Report 2: The Roman small finds

undertaken (by Buckley and Major) shows that many
Essex Roman settlements have produced lava
querns. It is quite likely that many of these were
marketed through Colchester as an established part
of civil trade, but at this time it is not possible to
comment on how this may have affected existing
trade in native puddingstone querns or how long this
lava quern trade persisted. Peacock (1980, 50)
considers that it was most common in the 1st and 2nd
centuries, as only three examples have been securely
dated to the later Roman period. The extent to which
the Colchester lava querns from 2nd- to 4th-century
contexts represent a continuation of this trade into
the later Roman period rather than just residual
fragments reused or incorporated into later contexts
will only be resolved by further study.
The two puddingstone querns fall within the upper
diameter range for these stones, but otherwise are of
standard bun-shaped form with slightly concave
grinding surface to the upper stone and a narrow
hopper. Rather than a horizontal handle slot cut into
the upper stone both stones have a band above the
rim to hold an iron hoop with a projecting horizontal
handle. 2
A provisional gazetteer of Hertfordshire
conglomerate or puddingstone querns has been
published (Rudge 1968) showing a distribution
principally confined to Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.
Although central to this distribution area, Rudge
observed that the Colchester district was notably
lacking in puddingstone quern finds. This appears to
be borne out by their scarcity from recent excavations
in the town. It could reflect the dependence of Roman
Colchester from the beginning on imported lava
Fig 79 Stone mortars and a fragment from a stone vessel (1:3)
76
querns. Curwen considered the puddingstone quern
to be derived, at least in part, from the pre-Roman
Hunsbury type quern although where datable
associations are available they have always been
Roman (Curwen 1941,20). Rudge (1963,28) believed
that there was strong evidence that production had
ceased within 100 years of the start of the Roman
occupation. However, well stratified puddingstone
querns are rare which makes 2075 (Fig 78), securely
dated to Period 2 predating the destruction of 60/1,
particularly useful as an early form. Even though
puddingstone querns are of a fairly standard form
variations do exist. Whether this is a chronological
variation or whether it represents the products of
different workshops, rather than of a single firm as
postulated by Curwen (1941, 20), may only be
established as a typology based upon stratified
examples is compiled. •
Stone mortars (Fig 79; 2082-2085)
2082 Fig 79 SF LWC 3300, J970. Building debris. Period 2
demolition. Carrara marble. Fragment of the rim with a
grooved pouring lug. The vessel was dished. Internal
diameter at the rim 169.0mm.
2083 Fig 79 SF BKC 5323, N637. Period 6 or later. Stone
unidentified. A complete profile from a straight-walled
?mortarium. No lugs survive. Rim diameter ?340.0mm.
2084 Fig 79 SF BKC 5320, T76 F25. Construction trench of cellar.
Period 5c. Purbeck marble. Fragment of the rim with a plain
lug. Dished. Internal diameter at the rim 148.0mm.
2085 Fig 79 SF IRD 1. Unstratified. Stone unidentified. Large
fragment with complete profile from a dished mortarium
with a grooved pouring lug. Internal diameter at the rim
192.0mm.