Ancient Roman pottery

Pottery was produced in enormous quantities in ancient Rome, mostly for everyday uses. It is found all over the former Roman Empire and beyond. Monte Testaccio is a huge waste mound in Rome made almost entirely of broken amphorae used for transporting and storing liquids and other products – in this case probably mostly Spanish olive oil, which was landed nearby, and was the main fuel for lighting, as well as its use in the kitchen and washing in the baths.

Roman domestic pottery is usually divided into coarse wares and fine wares. Coarse wares were everyday jars, dishes, and bowls used for cooking or storing foods, often made and bought locally. Fine wares were more decorative and elegant, used for formal dining and often made in specialized workshops. Some important fine wares, like terra sigillata, were produced in large industrial complexes and traded over long distances within the Roman Empire.

Although there is no direct Roman equivalent to the artistically central vase-painting of ancient Greece, there is a lot of fine tableware and many small figures, often with religious themes. Fine pottery was used widely by people from different social and geographic backgrounds. The quality of fine pottery declined from the 3rd century due to economic and political disturbances, and because glassware was becoming more popular for drinking cups.

Fired clay or terracotta was also widely used in the Roman period for making bricks, tiles, small statuettes, and lamps. Pottery remains an important material for archaeologists to date and understand sites from the Neolithic period onwards. Over the centuries, pottery-making techniques changed, from hand-modelling to the use of molds, helping experts date archaeological areas.

Fine wares

Terra sigillata or red-gloss wares

The term 'fine wares' describes Roman pottery made for serving food and drinks, different from pots used for cooking, storing, or carrying goods. One major type of fine pottery was called red-gloss ware. Made in Italy and Gaul (modern France and Germany), it was widely traded from the 1st century BC to the late 2nd century AD. These pots had a smooth, shiny surface that ranged from light orange to bright red. The colour, texture, and designs helped experts figure out where and when they were made.

Similar pottery called African Red Slip was made much later, lasting until the Islamic conquest. It influenced pottery in the Eastern Mediterranean. Other regions, like Asia Minor and Spain, also had their own versions of fine pottery.

Many of these pots were made on a large scale, with some kilns able to fire up to 40,000 pieces at once. Names of potters and factory owners are often found on the pots. One famous maker was Cnaius Ateius, whose pots were found in many places, from India to Scotland.

Decorations on these pots were often made using moulds. Small stamps or wheels with designs were used to create patterns. Some pots had simple designs like rings on the bottom.

ARS (African Red Slip) ware became very common in the later Roman period. It was made in what is now Tunisia, with similar styles in Egypt. Bowls, dishes, and flagons were common shapes, often decorated with applied designs or stamps. Later designs sometimes included Christian symbols.

Other fine wares

In the later 1st century BC and early 1st century AD, some shapes from Italian fine pottery were copied in north-east Gaul, known as Gallo-Belgic ware. Pots made in many parts of the Roman Empire, including Britain, also had thin walls and were used for drinking and serving food. Different ways to decorate pottery were used, like coloured slips, painting, and textured surfaces.

Lead-glazed pottery was made across the Roman Empire for small, fancy items like cups and lamps. The glaze could be amber, brown, or green. Egyptian faience, made in bright blue, turquoise, or green, continued to be produced in Egypt during the Roman period. Some of these faience pots were very fancy and had many colours.

Coarse wares

Cooking pots

Pottery was very important for cooking food in ancient times. Even though people had metal pots made of bronze or iron, simple clay bowls, pans, casseroles, and jars were cheap and easy to use in every kitchen. From Britain to Egypt, and from Spain to Syria, local traditions of making these simple cooking pots continued for centuries across the huge Roman Empire. Roman cooking pots varied by region, but bowls and pans were common. Some special ceramic pots were made for specific jobs, like a small cheese-press. There were also special black clay pots made in southwest England before the Romans arrived, and they stayed popular during Roman times.

Mortaria

One special type of bowl used in Roman cooking was the mortarium. This was a sturdy shallow bowl with a thick rim that made it easy to hold. It had a rough inside surface, often coated with grit or sand, which helped to crush ingredients when used with a pestle. The mortarium was like a food processor and shows how Roman culture spread. The first mortaria arrived in Britain from France before the Romans took over, and later, local potters made their own versions across the country.

Amphorae

Description and function

Amphorae were containers used in Roman times to carry food over long distances. They were mostly used for liquids like olive oil or wine, but also for fish sauce called garum and fruit sauce. Amphorae were strong, not too heavy, and shaped to fit easily on ships and be easy to handle when unloaded. They were usually two-handled clay jars with a rounded or cylindrical body, different shaped rims, and either a spiked or flat bottom. The spike helped them stand steady on ships and act like a third handle when emptying the container.

Studies on amphorae

The first organized way to group amphorae types was done by a German scholar named Heinrich Dressel. After finding a big group of amphorae in Rome, he collected nearly 200 inscriptions from them and included them in a big book of Latin inscriptions. He made a table to sort the types, which is still used today. Later, other scholars studied amphorae from different places and made their own classifications.

Production

Amphorae were made by shaping clay on a wheel. First, the body of the jar was made and left to dry a little. Then, extra coils of clay were added to make the neck, rim, and handles. Once the amphora was finished, the inside was coated with resin to help keep liquids inside better. We know about these steps mostly from studying how people make amphorae today in some parts of the Mediterranean. Amphorae were often marked with stamps or writings. These marks told about who made the amphora, what was inside, and other important details.

History

The first Roman amphora type, called Dressel 1, appeared in central Italy in the late second century BC. It had thick walls and a red color, but it was very heavy. Around the middle of the first century BC, a new type called Dressel 2–4 became popular. It was lighter and had thinner walls, so more could fit on a ship. In Cuma, southern Italy, another type called cadii cumani was used for carrying fruit until middle imperial times. In central Italy, small Spello amphorae carried wine. On the Adriatic coast, the Lamboglia 2 type, a wine amphora, became common between the end of the second and the first century BC, later developing into the Dressel 6A type.

In the Gallic areas, early Roman amphorae copied older types. True Gallic styles began in workshops in Marseille during late Augustan times. Spanish amphorae became very popular from the late Republican period, especially in Hispania Baetica and Hispania Tarraconensis. The most common Spanish types included Dressel 20 for olive oil, Dressel 7–13 for garum, and Haltern 70 for fruit sauce. In the Tarraconensis region, Pascual 1 was a common wine amphora.

North African amphorae followed older Phoenician styles from Carthage, with small handles attached to the upper body. In Tripolitania and Northern Tunisia, types like Maña C1 and C2 were used. In the Aegean, amphorae from Rhodes were popular from the third century BC for carrying Rhodian wine, developing into the Camulodunum 184 type. Imitations of Dressel 2–4 were made on the island of Cos for wine transport. Cretan amphorae were also used for wine across the Mediterranean from Augustan times to the third century AD. Later, north-African types like African I and II were common from the second to the late fourth century AD. From the fourth to the seventh century AD, types from the eastern Mediterranean, like Late Roman 4 from Gaza, became popular, while Italian styles stopped being made.

Other ceramics

Lamps

Artificial lighting was common in the Roman world. Candles made from beeswax or tallow were used, but lamps fueled with olive oil and other vegetable oils are found in large numbers. Most of these lamps were made of fired clay and had a single nozzle for one flame. Some lamps were decorated with pictures from myths, everyday life, animals, and even public entertainments like chariot racing.

Many of these lamps were made in workshops using moulds to create large numbers of the same design. The lamps often had a central area that could hold the oil and wick. Some lamps were made in the shape of animals or other interesting forms.

Terracotta figurines

Terracotta figurines were made in many parts of the Roman Empire. They were often used for religious purposes, such as gifts to temples or decorations in homes. Some were also used as toys by children. These figurines were usually made in moulds and painted in bright colours.

Different regions had their own styles of figurines, but they often showed gods, goddesses, birds, and animals. For example, in some areas, figurines of Egyptian gods were popular, while in others, local gods were favoured.

Brick, tile and other architectural ceramics

Bricks and tiles made of fired clay were very important in Roman buildings. They were used to make walls and roofs. Roof tiles had special shapes to fit together and keep rain out. Some tiles were decorated with pictures or symbols.

Clay tiles were also used in heating systems and for pipes to carry water. Sometimes, small pieces of tile were used in mosaics on floors.