Huntcliff ware

A rim sherd from a Huntcliff Calcite-gritted ware vessel

Huntcliff ware or more correctly 'Huntcliff-type', is a type of Romano-British ceramic.

Use of the term 'Huntcliff ware' is contentious because it suggests the pottery was manufactured at the Roman signal station[1] on the east coast of Yorkshire. No kilns have been found for the calcite-gritted ware industry but an East Yorkshire source is suspected on distribution patterns, possibly in the Vale of Pickering.The term Huntcliff-type refers to the report[2] in which this jar was first recognised as a type.

Industry

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It is a distinctive variety of calcite-gritted ware jar with a curved, everted rim with lid-seated groove, made in East Yorkshire from around AD 360 to the 5th century AD.

Fabric

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This fabric may be dark grey, dark brown or more usually black. It is hard with a hackly fracture and harsh feel. The external surfaces are usually smoothed and knife trimmed near the base. A series of poorly executed parallel grooves on the shoulder are characteristic.[3] It is heavily tempered with crushed calcite. The jar forms have handmade bodies and the rim finished on a potter's wheel.

Notes

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  1. ^ Historic England. "Huntcliff Roman Signal Station (28716)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  2. ^ Hornsby, W., & Stanton, R., 1912, The Roman Fort at Huntcliff near Saltburn, J. Roman Studies, 2, 215-232
  3. ^ "Huntcliff ware on the National Roman Fabric Reference Collection". Museum of London. Archived from the original on 22 December 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2014.