Medieval Pottery from Northumberland and Tyne & Wear - A Sub-Regional Research Review

English Heritage summaries. 2007/2008

Despite the publication of several assemblages over the last 4 decades our understanding of the nature and development of medieval pottery across Northumberland is still poor.  Various specialists have worked in the area without significant cross referencing to previous work. As a result there is still no coherent picture of the development of medieval pottery in the area.  With the development of PPG16 some specialists have been able to see a larger number of sites however these assemblages have tended to be small and there has not been the scope or funding to revisit material from other sites.  This deficit of understanding has resulted in serious limitations to the contribution that the pottery assemblages have been able to provide to our interpretation of sites being excavated as part of developer led projects. 

This project will carry out an assessment of 61 medieval ceramic assemblages from Northumberland.  The main objective is to identify which assemblages/groups of pottery from the county may be used in a subsequent study to develop an accessible type-series for the county to be used as a solid foundation upon which a range of thematic studies can be developed. 

The assessment process will:
• Focus on identifying overall quantities of the main fabric groups highlight closely dated groups, broad differences/similarities between assemblages and the rationalisation/cross-referencing of differing fabric names between previously published assemblages.
• Earmark closely dated groups of pottery which can act as foundations for the understanding of larger groups of less well-dated pottery from the surrounding region.
• Identify which assemblages are best suited to developing a type-series for the county, address current geographical and chronological lacunae of knowledge, and be suitable for inclusion within a range of future thematic studies.
• Evaluate each assemblage in terms of its potential to contribute towards addressing thematic research issues including;
a) the variation in nature between the pottery used on upland and lowland/coastal sites,
b) the relationship between rural sites, the rural market centres, the larger urban centres and their hinterland.
c) Variation in local/regional patterns of consumption, disposal and social variations in assemblages which might reflect differences in diet wealth and status.
d) The interaction of castle, town, village and monastery by study of ceramic assemblages from the different sites in a close proximity.

A draft assessment report will be produced and used as the focus for a regional pottery seminar to be attended by other interested regional and national specialists.  On the basis of the outcome of this seminar a final report will be produced.  This report will; provide a brief assessment of each of the assemblages included in the project, identify the suitability for their use in subsequent studies based on the aims of the project, briefly outline the broad regional type and Ware trends identified, and the research and management issues raised by the study.  Part of the conclusions and recommendations of the final report will be a updated project design for the second stage/synthesis project.

The project is being undertaken by Andrew Sage who was previously funded by English Heritage as a trainee specialist as part of the project to record and write up the medieval pottery from Castle Excavations, Newcastle upon Tyne, and has since worked on other assemblages from developer-funded excavations within the city and in Northumberland.

This page was published on 02/07/2008