Papers by Maria Duggan
A fieldwork report of medieval and post-medieval settlement in the Chassenon area in France
Ceramics and Atlantic Connections: Late Roman and Early Medieval Imported Pottery on the Atlantic Seaboard, International Symposium Newcastle University, March 26th-27th 2014, 2020
Since the 1930s there has been a long history of research on imported Mediterranean pottery found... more Since the 1930s there has been a long history of research on imported Mediterranean pottery found at early medieval sites in Britain and Ireland. Nevertheless, it is clear that the limited amount of information available from other regions of the Atlantic seaboard has affected interpretations of this material, particularly influencing the models constructed for contact and exchange in the Atlantic-and between this region and the Mediterranean. This paper will summarise the history of this research in Britain, focusing on the search for Atlantic parallels for the British finds, and the use of Continental data-or its absence-in the formation of models for the transport of these wares. Recent research from the south of Devon will be discussed, specifically to consider the potential of new or reassessed data for re-evaluating connections between southwest Britain, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. This article will highlight the potential of information emerging from the Atlantic region for new understandings of the complexity of exchange mechanisms operating along the western sea-lanes between the fifth and seventh centuries. 1. THE STUDY OF LATE MEDITERRANEAN IMPORTS TO BRITAIN 1.1 AN EARLIER 'ATLANTIC SYMPOSIUM' In September 1959 approximately thirty people, described to be 'mostly professional workers in the period' gathered at the Royal Institution of Cornwall in Truro, Britain, for a conference entitled 'Early Medieval Pottery in the Celtic West of Britain'; the details of this event were subsequently conveyed in a note in Antiquity by Charles Thomas (1960). Eight papers were presented, summarising research on this topic since the end of the Second World War. These were seen by Thomas to represent a 'progress report' rather than a 'final pronouncement on the theme' (Thomas 1960: 59). The subject was introduced by C.A. Ralegh Radford, whose excavations at Tintagel, Cornwall, had led to the first identifications of Mediterranean pottery in the southwest of Britain (see Ralegh Radford 1956). His talk, unsurprisingly, focused on the connection with the 'Celtic Church'; he had interpreted Tintagel as a major monastic site (a model which would later be rejected), and therefore considered the imported amphorae and fine wares as indicators of trade driven by ecclesiastical connections (Ralegh Radford 1956: 59, 68-9). Thomas' review comments that 'within this framework' the other speakers described a complex sequence of Mediterranean imports and local products (Thomas 1960: 59). His own presentation outlined the alphabetic classification system for the pottery-initially developed by Radford, refined by Thomas, and which largely remained in use in British archaeology until Ewan Campbell's 2007 publication-before going on to consider the potential sources for the various wares and their chronology. The imports found in Ireland, principally at Lagore and Garranes, were summarised by Michael J. O'Kelly, while Leslie Alcock discussed the Welsh evidence. Only one presentation considered possible Continental parallels for the British and Irish finds. Bernard Wailes, conducting doctoral research at the University of Cambridge, delivered a paper on examples of contemporary pottery in France, which was reported by Thomas as '…the first coherent account of the pottery of post-Gallo-Roman France, where imprecise differentiation of the various late wares descended from terra sigillata, and confusion with Visigothic wares had obscured the picture.' (Thomas 1960: 59). Phocaean Red Slip ware/Late Roman C/LRC) to North African pottery (amphorae and African Red Slip ware/ARS), was observed to be the reverse of the typical pattern in the West Mediterranean (Fulford 1989: 3). This argued against a model of redistribution from a western or Atlantic port and positioned the inspiration for contact and exchange firmly in the northeast Mediterranean. Trade with Britain-based on the acquisition of tin-was seen to be a 'deliberate objective' of certain voyages from the East (Fulford 1989: 4). Fulford, nevertheless, did raise the possibility of future discoveries along the 'Atlantic seaways', commenting that the absence of equivalent finds was 'puzzling' but might prove a 'temporary aberration' (Fulford 1989: 3). His discussion notes the group of LRC from Conimbriga in Portugal-describing it as the only other 'notable incidence' of LRC on the Atlantic-and mentions a sherd of Late Roman 1 amphora (LRA1) found at l'Île Lavret,
Cornish Archaeology, 2013
Internet Archaeology, 2016
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License Newcastle Univers... more This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License Newcastle University ePrints-eprint.ncl.ac.uk Duggan M. Ceramic imports to Britain and the Atlantic Seaboard in the fifth century and beyond. Internet Archaeology 2016, 41, 3. Copyright: Internet Archaeology is an open access journal. Except where otherwise noted, content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 (CC BY) Unported licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that attribution to the author(s), the title of the work, the Internet Archaeology journal and the relevant URL/DOI are given.
An edited volume of Internet Archaeology (Vol 41). This open access group of papers presents a va... more An edited volume of Internet Archaeology (Vol 41). This open access group of papers presents a variety of arguments relating to the use of Romano-British pottery in the fifth century AD.
The articles in this issue offer important new insights into the use of Roman pottery during the 5th century, addressing themes such as
- Was 'Romano-British' pottery produced during the 5th century?
- If 'Romano-British-pottery' was produced during the 5th century how can its production be demonstrated?
- Was 'Romano-British' pottery used during the 5th century? If it was, then were the vessels carefully curated heirlooms or fragmentary sherds imbued with some social significance?
This issue strikes at the heart of our perceptions of the ‘end’ of Roman Britain and provide a single location where current thinking is brought together.
Contents
Introduction. Romano-British Pottery in the Fifth Century by James Gerrard
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.9
Fifth Century Pottery in Devon and North East Cornwall by Paul Bidwell
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.1
Two Important Stamp Motifs in Roman Britain and Thereafter by Diana C. Briscoe
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.2
Ceramic Imports to Britain and the Atlantic Seaboard in the Fifth Century and Beyond by Maria Duggan
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.3
Defining Fifth-century Ceramics in North Hertfordshire by Keith J. Fitzpatrick-Matthews
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.4
The Black Burnished Type 18 Bowl and the Fifth Century by James Gerrard
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.5
Odd Goings-on at Mucking: interpreting the latest Romano-British pottery horizon by Sam Lucy
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.6
The end of Roman Pottery Production in Southern Britain by Malcolm Lyne
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.7
Coinage and Collapse? The contribution of numismatic data to understanding the end of Roman Britain by Philippa Walton and Sam Moorhead
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.8
Archaeological Journal, 2012
ABSTRACT Excavations at Meadowsfoot Beach, Mothecombe, south Devon, between 2004 and 2011 focused... more ABSTRACT Excavations at Meadowsfoot Beach, Mothecombe, south Devon, between 2004 and 2011 focused on two main areas. In the first, evidence for occupation in a sand dune included successive hearths and imported early medieval finds. In the second, three phases of early medieval structures were uncovered, along with more imported finds including amphora sherds. At least one of the structures was very large, and is presently unique in Devon. The landscape context of the site is considered along with the impact of sea-level change and coastal erosion. The paper concludes with a discussion of the site and its relationship to post-Roman networks of trade and communications with late Antique Atlantic Europe and the Mediterranean. We argue that Mothecombe helps us towards a better understanding of these networks by furnishing new insights on their social foundations in western Britain.
Books by Maria Duggan
Michel BONIFAY, Centre Camille Jullian, (Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, MCC, CCJ, F-13000, Aix-en-Prov... more Michel BONIFAY, Centre Camille Jullian, (Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, MCC, CCJ, F-13000, Aix-en-Provence, France) Miguel Ángel CAU, Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA)/Equip de Recerca Arqueològica i Arqueomètrica, Universitat de Barcelona (ERAAUB) Paul REYNOLDS, Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA)/Equip de Recerca Arqueològica i Arqueomètrica, Universitat de Barcelona (ERAAUB)
Duggan, M. Links to Late Antiquity. Ceramic exchange and contacts on the Atlantic Seaboard in the 5th to 7th centuries AD, British Archaeological Reports British Series 639, 2018
This publication began as an AHRC-funded doctoral thesis, 'Links to Late Antiquity: Understanding... more This publication began as an AHRC-funded doctoral thesis, 'Links to Late Antiquity: Understanding Contacts on the Western Seaboard in the 5th to 7th Centuries', completed at Newcastle University in 2016. This revised version presents a broad-scale discussion of the evidence for contacts and connections in the Atlantic Seaboard region, based principally on ceramics. It extends knowledge of a category of material with a long history of scholarship in Britain and Ireland: amphorae and fineware vessels of East Mediterranean origin. The presence of this imported pottery at sites in western Britain, such as Tintagel in Cornwall, has frequently been used to suggest direct links between post-Roman Britain and the Byzantine World. This work offers an alternative position-that the wares reflect active and evolving networks of transshipment and exchange operating in the Atlantic Seaboard region between the fifth and seventh century. This first examination of parallel French, Spanish and Portuguese publications provides a fresh perspective on this important group of artefacts for understanding early medieval Britain.
Conference presentations by Maria Duggan
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Papers by Maria Duggan
The articles in this issue offer important new insights into the use of Roman pottery during the 5th century, addressing themes such as
- Was 'Romano-British' pottery produced during the 5th century?
- If 'Romano-British-pottery' was produced during the 5th century how can its production be demonstrated?
- Was 'Romano-British' pottery used during the 5th century? If it was, then were the vessels carefully curated heirlooms or fragmentary sherds imbued with some social significance?
This issue strikes at the heart of our perceptions of the ‘end’ of Roman Britain and provide a single location where current thinking is brought together.
Contents
Introduction. Romano-British Pottery in the Fifth Century by James Gerrard
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.9
Fifth Century Pottery in Devon and North East Cornwall by Paul Bidwell
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.1
Two Important Stamp Motifs in Roman Britain and Thereafter by Diana C. Briscoe
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.2
Ceramic Imports to Britain and the Atlantic Seaboard in the Fifth Century and Beyond by Maria Duggan
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.3
Defining Fifth-century Ceramics in North Hertfordshire by Keith J. Fitzpatrick-Matthews
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.4
The Black Burnished Type 18 Bowl and the Fifth Century by James Gerrard
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.5
Odd Goings-on at Mucking: interpreting the latest Romano-British pottery horizon by Sam Lucy
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.6
The end of Roman Pottery Production in Southern Britain by Malcolm Lyne
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.7
Coinage and Collapse? The contribution of numismatic data to understanding the end of Roman Britain by Philippa Walton and Sam Moorhead
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.8
Books by Maria Duggan
Conference presentations by Maria Duggan
The articles in this issue offer important new insights into the use of Roman pottery during the 5th century, addressing themes such as
- Was 'Romano-British' pottery produced during the 5th century?
- If 'Romano-British-pottery' was produced during the 5th century how can its production be demonstrated?
- Was 'Romano-British' pottery used during the 5th century? If it was, then were the vessels carefully curated heirlooms or fragmentary sherds imbued with some social significance?
This issue strikes at the heart of our perceptions of the ‘end’ of Roman Britain and provide a single location where current thinking is brought together.
Contents
Introduction. Romano-British Pottery in the Fifth Century by James Gerrard
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.9
Fifth Century Pottery in Devon and North East Cornwall by Paul Bidwell
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.1
Two Important Stamp Motifs in Roman Britain and Thereafter by Diana C. Briscoe
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.2
Ceramic Imports to Britain and the Atlantic Seaboard in the Fifth Century and Beyond by Maria Duggan
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.3
Defining Fifth-century Ceramics in North Hertfordshire by Keith J. Fitzpatrick-Matthews
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.4
The Black Burnished Type 18 Bowl and the Fifth Century by James Gerrard
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.5
Odd Goings-on at Mucking: interpreting the latest Romano-British pottery horizon by Sam Lucy
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.6
The end of Roman Pottery Production in Southern Britain by Malcolm Lyne
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.7
Coinage and Collapse? The contribution of numismatic data to understanding the end of Roman Britain by Philippa Walton and Sam Moorhead
http://dx.doi.org/10.11141/ia.41.8