Late Iron Age and Roman Pottery, Waulud’s Bank, Luton
© Katie Anderson
The assemblage from this collection totals 91 sherds of pottery, weighing 2387g and broadly
dates from the Late Iron Age to the late Roman period (approximately AD0-AD400). The
assemblage comprises primarily coarseware vessels with a smaller number of finewares. No
imported wares were recorded.
Late Iron Age
Two Late Iron Age vessels were identified, comprising one sandy jar and one grog-tempered jar
(grog is fired clay/pottery which is crushed up and added to wet clay as a ‘temper’). Both of the
jars have combed decoration on the body which was a very common form of decoration for Late
Iron Age pots. These two vessels are ‘coarsewares’ which means that they are slightly coarse to
touch and would have been used for domestic activities such as food storage and/or cooking.
Although we do not know exactly where these vessels were produced, it is likely that they were
made within the local area (up to 10 miles away). These vessels were handmade and would have
been fired in a bonfire.
Early Roman
A small quantity of early Roman pottery was recovered, dating approximately AD43-100. This
included a sherd from a beaker with a beaded rim (39) which is one of the earliest examples of a
‘fineware’ vessel in this assemblage, and would have functioned as a tableware; used for
drinking and serving. Three difference coarseware jars were also recovered (17), (18) and (43).
These vessels would have been used for storage and/or cooking. As with the Late Iron Age
pottery, most of the vessels dating to this period were coarsewares which are likely to have been
made locally. The main difference between this group and the Late Iron Age group is that these
vessels were made on a potter’s wheel and were fired in a kiln, rather than in a bonfire.
Mid to Late Roman
Most of the pottery from this assemblage is mid-late Roman; 46 sherds, weighing 1638g and
dating approximately AD 150-400. The pottery from this period is more mixed, with a higher
percentage of fineware vessels, which represented 46% of the pottery from this period. Pottery
dating mid-late Roman comes from a wider number of sources, some of which are from outside
of the local area. 15 sherds (394g) were from Harrold, Bedfordshire, approximately 30 miles to
the north of Wauluds Bank which was a pottery industry that produced shell-tempered pottery
from the mid-late Roman period. Nine sherds of pottery (306g) were from the Much Hadham
kilns in Hertfordshire. These products are ‘red-slipped’ wares which were British imitations of
Samian pottery, which was made in France. The Hadham wares were made between AD200-400
and included two bowls and two dishes. Three mortaria were also recorded, which were large
bowls with grit on the interior, and were used like a pestle and mortar, for grinding up herbs and
spices. Three further mortaria from kilns in Oxford were also recovered, comprising one redslipped ware, which is very similar in fabric to the Much Hadham products. These vessels
travelled the furthest distance from where they were made to where they were used, although the
Oxford pottery industry was one of the largest and most successful later Roman pottery
industries and its wares are found all over Britain.
The final industry present in this assemblage is Nene Valley, which was based in and around
Peterborough. Six sherds weighing 119g were identified, all of which were colour-coated wares,
which occur in a variety of colours. A bowl, and dish and a beaker were recorded, as well as
several body sherds. These are fineware vessels which would have been used for the serving of
food and drink.
Summary
Overall the assemblage recovered from the various phases of archaeological investigation
suggest that Wauluds Bank was occupied from the Late Iron Age through to the later Roman
period, although most of the pottery dates 2nd-4th century AD, suggesting that this is when the
site peaked.
The fabrics identified were predominately local wares, although there were a small number of
vessels from further afield. The range of vessel forms implies that this was a domestic
assemblage, with a range of vessels for the storage, preparation and serving of foods and drinks.
Roman Tile
A small assemblage of Roman tile, totalling eight pieces, weighing 453g was also recovered
from the archaeological investigations. No tile forms could be identified, however, the material
collected is indicative of a building in the vicinity. Tile is often associated with fairly high-status
buildings such as villas, rather than being used for small households.
There are four main types of Roman tile;
1. Tegula – These were the primary roof tiles.
2. Imbrex – These were roof tiles that cover the flanges on the tegula.
3. Box Flue – These were used to move hot air around a building- forming a Roman
‘central heating system’
4. Floor – These were used to make floors, in the same way tiles are used today.