Late Mesolithic, Middle Bronze Age and Late Iron Age/romano-british Activity at Crowdhill, Fair Oak, Eastleigh

Nine areas, totalling 1.3ha were excavated after evaluation and desk-based assessment at land near Crowdhill, Eastleigh (NGR 448830 119560). Features were densest in Areas 1 and 2, with evidence dating from the Palaeolithic to the early Romano- British period. Three pieces of flint from a Long Blade assemblage were recovered, probably from a small localised scatter. A core tool rough-out, probably for a Mesolithic tranchet axe, was found in a pit with charred hazelnut shells from which two radiocarbon dates were obtained. Two cremation graves, each containing urned deposits, and an urned 'cenotaph' provide information about the inhabitants of the area although contemporary settlement evidence is lacking. By the Late Bronze Age there was evidence for settlement in the form of a pit containing flint-tempered pottery, worked flint and burnt flint along with charred cereal grain. A radiocarbon date was obtained on charred cereal grain from this pit confirming its age. There was sparse evidence for occupation in the late prehistoric period but by the early Romano-British period a number of ditches and intercutting pits as well as artefactual material (pottery, ceramic building material, fired clay and saddle quern fragments) indicates the presence of a small rural settlement in the vicinity of the site.

Building Britannia: Pre-Flavian Private and Public Construction across Southern Britain

ABSTRACT Excavation of the Roman tilery at Little London, Pamber, Hampshire, has prompted a reassessment of the dating of relief-patterned tile, assigning the bulk of production to the Claudio-Neronian period rather than the late first to mid-/late second century. This material has been privileged for retention in excavation archives but can now be seen as a proxy for the manufacture of a much wider range of ceramic building material, typically discarded on site, which, in the case of products from Little London and pre-Flavian Minety (Wiltshire), travelled distances of up to 100 km. Redating implies more extensive public and private building in town and country south and east of the Fosse Way before the Flavian period than has previously been envisaged. While private building included the construction of bath-houses, heated rooms and the provision of roofing materials, public building, we suggest, provided tabernas et praetoria along the principal roads of the province. In the private sphere such building provides a possible context for Dio Cassius’ mention of the recall and confiscation of large loans made to Britons before the Boudican rebellion. Finally, consideration of fabric needs to be added to the criteria for retaining ceramic building material in excavation archives.

Wear Resistance Improvement of Equipment for Production of Building Ceramics by Hardfacing with Flux-Coerd Electrodes based on Fe-Ti-B-C System

In this work were analyzed factors that leads to wearing of equipment of production engineering, construction, oil and gas, woodworking, tillage industries. Was established that traditional hardfacing materials based on the Fe-Cr-C system are not effective for improvement of abrasion resistance of elements of equipment for production of ceramic building materials due to working conditions. The aim of this work was to increase a durability of that equipment by using of flux cored electrodes with reaction components that provide “in-situ” synthesis, which leads to fine-grained structure of refractory borides and carbides and their solid solutions with increased hardness. Powders of Ti, Mo, B4C and their combinations were used. Structure of the hardfacing coatings were investigated by method of metallography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Using of pure metal powders led to forming a fine-grained structure with refractory borides and carbides and their solid solutions. It was investigated that the offered material based on Fe-Ti-Mo-C-B system used for increasing the wear resistance of extruder-screw for production of ceramic building material can increase the TBO period in 2.2-2.4 times in comparison with serial hardfacing materials based on Fe-Cr-C system.

The Quantification and Interpretation of Ceramic Building Material (CBM) Assemblages in Britain

Quantification of assemblages of ceramic building material (CBM) is now normal excavation practice, but there is insufficient standardisation of methodology and little study of the validity or uses of these analyses. Consequently, it is difficult to interpret confidently the resulting analyses or make comparisons between sites. This paper suggests a simple approach and tests its validity empirically in urban environments where the high level of constructional churn should generate assemblage homogeneity. It then shows how the results can help with site and building interpretation.

Ceramic Building Material from the Roman Forts on the Colchis Coast

The article collects the modest evidence available on the use (and possible production) of ceramic building material by the Roman army in Colchis, using it as a backdrop for presenting the exceptional richness, in quantity as much as diversity, of the finds from Gonio/Apsaros. The signatures on these products add to the value of this assemblage. Part 1 of the article presents documented examples of stamps on bricks, roof tiles and ceramic pipes from the Gonio/Apsaros fort and links them to the construction projects of specific Roman army units in the Cappadocia province. The results of laboratory tests conducted on samples of ceramic products and raw clay from Gonio, presented in Part 2, distinguish between two reference groups for the production of which clay from near the fort was used. However, it has not been possible to indicate the specific deposits of such raw material used by the Roman army.

A Petrographic Analysis of Ancient Jordanian Ceramic Building Materials

Although ceramic building materials (CBM) such as brick, pipe and roof-tiles were commonly used in the classical world, these types of artifacts have received only cursory study by modern scholars. Past studies have focused almost entirely on the inscriptions or decorations displayed on a small subset of CBM while ignoring the more crucial questions such as their composition and fabric. The goal of this research project was to decipher the similarities and differences in ancient Jordanian CBM using both a historical and scientific approach. This study was a continuation on the typology created by Humayma Excavation Project archaeologists (Reeves and Harvey) based on samples of CBM from Humayma and other Jordanian sites. The Humayma archaeologists have been developing typologies for each class of ceramic building material based on macroscopic differences in form and fabric. In order to test and refine the typologies created, a chemical and petrographic evaluation of these ceramic buildings materials was undergone. Geological laboratory evaluations were conducted in order to investigate whether these typologies were differentiable on a scientific level. The principal purpose of this project was to analyze ancient bricks and tiles in order to refine a diagnostic tool for dating the phases of occupation of the Nabataean to Early Islamic site of Humayma. Additionally, this research project examined CBM from other Jordanian in order to address questions of production and distribution.

THE ROMAN CERAMIC MATERIAL FROM FIELD WALKING IN THE ENVIRONS OF NEPI

This paper explores the ceramic assemblage of the Nepi Survey Project from the third century bc to the seventh century ad. The surface collection allows the detailed characterization of chronology, ware, fabric supply and functional characteristics. The assemblage shows a settlement explosion in the early second century bc, with another major rise from the Augustan period. The sharp decline in the late second to early third centuries ad is visible here, as it is throughout the region. The later peaks of the late fourth to mid-fifth and the mid-sixth centuries ad conform to the late Roman sequence from Mola di Monte Gelato. The dominant pottery class is oxidized coarse-wares, at 73%. The distribution of the different fabrics, including some of regional supply, suggests a number of different marketing mechanisms. Fine-wares and terra sigillata combined at 3% is what would be expected in the fringes of the Empire. The amphora class makes up over 5% of the assemblage, with the most variety exhibited at large villas and suburban halos. The most important supply originated from North Africa, with fish sauce as the main import. The functional analysis allows the definition of a ritual structure in the proximity of the cemeteries of the Massa area with highly varied types related to eating and drinking. The ceramic building material shows the importance of Campanian contacts, although the lack of imbrices suggests that many tile scatters derive from reused material.