Internet Archaeol. 17. Willis. Samian and formal/monumental religious sites

12.2 Samian and formal/monumental religious sites

12.2.1 The presence of samian at formal/monumental religious sites

Several noteworthy instances of samian ware recovered in association with formal religious foci can be outlined here. They imply levels of use of samian in and around religious structures and space, suggesting that in some cases it will have been employed in various religious actions.

Rocester Shrine Excavations at Orton's Pasture, Rocester, in Staffordshire, 1990-6, investigated enclosures to the south of the known early Roman fort (Ferris et al. 2000). The layout and recovered material enabled the identification of the site as a precinct and shrine of a deity of the late 1st and early 2nd century AD, probably associated with Roman military personnel of the nearby fort. Among the unusual artefact assemblage was a sizeable assemblage of samian comprising 740 sherds, 339 of which were from Phase 1 contexts relating to the use of the enclosures (Willis 2000b). Samian accounted for around 10% of the total number of sherds from the site. Hence samian was evidently employed in and around the precinct, probably in rituals and feasting, to follow the excavator's line of thinking (Ferris et al. 2000, 72-82). Among the samian associated with the shrine were vessels which had evidently been broken into 'halves' and 'quarters' in a manner that is not normal among samian assemblages. From a ditch section, F609, came parts of a Drag. 15/17 platter which appears to have been broken, presumably intentionally, into a half and two quarters. This feature is otherwise distinctive in having an unusual and evidently selected pottery content (Ferris et al. 2000, 77). Similarly, from pit F603 (just north of F609) came an unusually large proportion of a Drag. 18 platter, approximately half of a vessel; this appeared likely to have been deliberately split in half. At such a site these actions may have had a symbolic meaning.
Carrawburgh Mithraeum Excavations at the mithraeum associated with the military site at Carrawburgh, Northumberland (Richmond and Gillam 1951) yielded two examples of the samian mortarium type, Drag. 45, thought, probably, to be Central Gaulish (1951, 70). Both were broken, though the sherds re-assemble to produce near complete vessels. The suggestion in the report is that these two vessels were in use in the mithraeum. In the report it is stated that, 'Both vessels are in excellent condition' and that, 'Fragments of both vessels were found in each of two separate deposits: some came from just inside and to west of the door ... and others came from the board level of the apse ... The use to which they were put was probably ceremonial rather than domestic, and it may be remarked that their lion-head spouts no doubt gave them a special attraction in the eyes of Mithraists', among whom lion-symbolism was of likely significance (1951, 70-1). These finds seem likely to represent samian items especially selected for use in the mithraeum. Whether they were deliberately broken and/or intentionally deposited at symbolic locations in the building (all of which is possible) is another matter. There is other evidence of potential votive deposits/structured deposition at the mithraeum.
Stonea Grange Temple During the excavations at Stonea Grange, Cambridgeshire, 1980-85, a pit (Pit 10) adjacent to the site of the temple, and believed to lie within temple precincts, contained an unusual group of samian vessels. These included complete and semi-complete examples, apparently discarded in a single event, and 'would still have been serviceable at the time of deposition' (Jackson and Potter 1996, 219; cf. pl. XXI). The date of deposition was believed to be early 3rd century (1996, 219). In her report on these vessels, Johns noted, 'little or no signs of use' with 'one exception, a large portion from a small Dr. 38 which was heavily worn and also broken and riveted before it was discarded' (Johns 1996, 409). A full list of the samian present in this group is not published in the report, although all items mentioned evidently occur in Lezoux samian and date to the second half of the 2nd century. Certainly present are: Drag. 18/31 x 1; Drag. 31 x 2; Drag. 33 x 3; Drag. 37 x 1 (rivet repaired); Drag. 38 x 2 (one repaired); Walters 79 'several'; and Ludowici Tx x 1. The pit was 1.4m deep and differed in form from other pits excavated at Stonea. It also yielded pipeclay figurine fragments, 15 limestone tesserae, oyster shells and other finds. It is interpreted as relating to a 'final use'/closure horizon at the temple, and is dated to the early 3rd century (Jackson and Potter 1996, 220). Again this suggests a fairly firm association between a temple site and samian ware in some way (though it is possible that this deposit does not relate to the temple). It is also possible, likely even, that this is a structured deposit, and votive (cf. Jackson and Potter 1996, 220).
Brigstock Shrines At Brigstock, Northamptonshire, two shrines, one polygonal, the other circular, were excavated in 1961 (Greenfield 1963). The shrines were constructed in a rural setting in the early/mid 3rd century and continued in use through to the 4th century (Greenfield 1963). A quantity of associated objects were recovered from the circular shrine, many evidently votive.
Sherds from nine samian vessels were recovered from the area. They were reported by Brian Hartley, all being examples of Central Gaulish ware that would normally be dated to the 2nd century (Hartley 1963). It is possible that some might derive from activity or occupation preceding the identified shrines, but this is not necessarily so, as the currency of some Central Gaulish items extended into the 3rd century AD (cf. Section 5.8); an earlier phase in the 2nd century might also have had a religious purpose, since a radical change in function is unlikely at the same location. All nine vessels were plain forms: a Drag. 33 cup from metalling outside the polygonal shrine, a Drag. 31R bowl from a pit also outside this shrine, a Drag. 31 dish from the drainage gulley outside the circular shrine, plus two examples of Drag. 31, two of Drag. 31R and two examples of Drag. 33 from overlying layers (Hartley 1963). None of the find-spots/contexts of these samian items seems especially sensitive or symbolic. There were no instances of stratified samian from deposits within the shrines, whereas other material types were present in such contexts, evidently being votive items.

All of the vessels with surviving foot-rings (three) showed examples of 'owner's marks' (Hartley 1963), these marks being within the area defined by the footring; significantly, Ferris noted in the case of the Orton's Pasture shrine (cf. above) that there was a correlation between samian with 'owner's markers' and selected pottery deposition (Ferris et al. 2000, 77).

Hence at Brigstock samian seems likely to have been an accoutrement used in and around the special activities at this site. Apparently, though, it did not have a major role in activities at the shrines. The modest amount of samian may be a function of the chronology of the shrines, beginning as they apparently do, after the main floruit of samian exportation to Britain. There is an indication of an unusually frequent marking of vessels for whatever reason.
Great Chesterford, Temple Precinct A Romano-British temple lies approximately 1km east of the Roman town at Great Chesterford. This site had seen various interventions in the 19th and 20th centuries. Between 1983-8 a rescue excavation investigated part of the area of the main temple structure and in particular the precinct of the temple (Miller 1995). The site appears to have been established as a temple from the mid to late 1st century and extends through the Roman era. From the 1983-8 excavations, which examined c. 7% of the precinct interior, a large artefact assemblage was recovered which included 737 sherds of samian from hundreds of vessels extending from the mid 1st century to the mid 3rd (Willis 2003). Further work is required to understand the activities behind the deposition of all the material culture at this site but perhaps some of the samian relates to feasting in the precinct area, or possibly derives from votive offerings, or is even the debris of retail. Whatever the case, samian was a strong aspect of the processes occurring in the vicinity of the temple in this case.
This review of samian at various formal religious sites has shown that samian is, in some instances at least, such as at Rocester and Great Chesterford, prominent at such sites, not excluded from them. The nature of the finds of samian from Carrawburgh, Brigstock and Stonea indicates that they were being selected and/or employed in specific ways relating to symbolism or ritual within the locus of these religious sites.