#FindsFriday – Samian Ware

Happy #FindsFriday, today we have decided to talk about decorated Samian pottery.

Samian ware is high-quality pottery, used during the Roman period in Britain. It is characterized by its bright red colour and decorative patterns. The majority of Samian ware found in Britain is from the late 1stcentury AD to the late 2ndcentury AD. Samian ware was made in moulds with designs on them, then fired in a kiln. The moulds were handmade and often contained a maker’s stamp so the wares from different producers would have been different.

In the mid to late 2nd century AD there was an attempt made by a group of Samian pottery makers to start making these wares in Colchester, however it was a complete disaster! There are many reasons why, such as: other potters making a collective effort to keep it out of the market, the inferior clay causing poor quality decorated Samian ware, or just people’s perception that something made here was not as desirable as something imported.

Hence, the decorated Samian pottery found in the UK is mainly South Gaulish (modern day France). This was mostly imported from La Graufesenque in Gaul, which is interesting as it shows how prevalent the trade of goods was between Britain and the other provinces in the Roman empire.

Having read this, who do you think would’ve owned decorated Samian pottery?

Written by work experience student Richard