#FindsFriday Roman pot with graffiti

This #FindsFriday we are looking at some pottery from the St Helena School excavations in October-November 2014.

This particular sherd is a Gallo-Belgic ware, which was imported from the late 1st century BC and continued into the early post-conquest period. It is a nice example of pottery that is known as terra rubra (normally an orange or pink surface), which evidences that trading was likely taking place pre-conquest.

It is a cup base, and its most interesting feature is a graffito ‘X’ on it. There is also the end corner of a potter’s stamp surviving on the base interior. Products like this were normally used as fine tableware for eating and drinking🍴

I wonder why they felt the need to mark this sherd with an X?👀

For more information about the St Helena School 2014 excavations check out CAT Report 825 at: cat.essex.ac.uk