FIELD WALKING
DESCRIPTION OF FINDS
SAXO-NORMAN
In ceramic terms the Saxo-Norman period lasts from 850-1150 AD and includes the Late Saxon period and post-Conquest early medieval period. 44 sherds were found in Bingham of which 75% are Stamford Ware, all identified by Jane Young. The fabric classification for Stamford Ware follows Leach (1987). Other fabrics are named as in Young, Vince and Nailor (2005).
Late Saxon
Four sherds were found that could be dated as late 9th to late 10th century.
Lincolnshire Late Saxon Shelly Ware
Three sherds of this were identified. The fabric is grey with light brown oxidised surfaces. There are abundant white shell fragments and small amounts of quartz, though in one of the sherds most of the shell had been leached or plucked out.Lincolnshire Kiln-type Shelly Ware
One sherd was identified as being from the Silver Street kiln in Lincoln. It is grey with a brown oxidised surface. Most shells have been plucked or weathered out. There is a small amount of quartz, some iron oxide and fragments of mudstone. The sherd is an everted rim with a slightly upturned lip. It measures 22 cm in diameter. (45702).
Stamford Ware
The body is white with one or two oxidised to brown; others have one reduced grey surface. Very fine sand with the occasional large grain has been used as a filler. There are some iron oxide inclusions. The sand content varies and has been used to refine the dating of Stamford Ware. Fabric A is relatively sandy and dates from10th to mid 12th century (1614). Fabric B is smoother and less sandy (3823). It spans mid to late 11th to 12th century.
Wheel marks were noted on an inside surface in some specimens. One handle stub was collected. It was 30 mm wide at the join. There are eight rims, no two alike. Those that could be measured are 12 cm to 18 cm in diameter. There are five clubbed rims (the rim descriptions are those recommended by the MPRG, 1998), one with a groove on the upper surface. One is flat everted, 20 mm wide (rather like post-medieval chamber pot rims) and another narrow everted 10mm wide. The last is a short length of everted rim with a rounded upper surface covered in an impressed diamond pattern (1614). A single sharp-angled base and side make an angle of 130o.
Apart from the handle, which is similar to later jug handles, little can be inferred about form from the sherds, though it is known that jugs, jars and cooking pots were made.
Lincoln Early Shelly Ware
Four sherds of early shelly ware, thought to be 10th – 11th century were collected. They are grey with sparse shells and quartz sand filler. In two of them much of the shell has been leached out.
Sandy Ware
Seven Sandy Ware sherds, including four reduced sandy ware, attributable to late 11th to mid 12th centuries were collected. They are not well enough preserved to identify possible sources. This type of ware continues through to the end of the early medieval period. It is dark grey with oxidised surfaces and is rich in quartz sand. One sherd is a clubbed rim, diameter not measurable.
Other wares
A single sherd of St Neot’s Ware was collected. This is a shell-tempered ware with a punctate brachiopod as the diagnostic fossil fragment. The sherd found was a 30 mm-wide everted rim, but it was too small to measure a diameter. St Neot’s Ware has a date range of late 9th to 12th century, but according to Young, Vince and Nailor (2005) it is not usually found in the south east midlands and further north until the 11th century. A single body sherd possibly of Derbyshire Ware (not to be confused with the Romano-British Derbyshire Ware) was also found. This very sandy varicoloured sherd is pre-Conquest, attributable to the 10th – 11th century.