The arrival of the Romans in Northern Britain heralded a technological revolution in ceramics. It was the Romans who brought the potters wheel and the kiln, supplanting the native traditions of hand built, coiled pottery and open "bonfire" firing. At a leap, pot making went from being a domestic craft to a full blown industry.
In Celtic Britain, with its relatively small scattered farming communities, there had been little need for pottery production on an industrial scale. It is almost certain that individuals would have made pots for their own personal use or that of their community. It is suggested that Cartimandua's decision to make a pact with the Romans was partly influenced by her admiration of imported pottery.
There is increasing evidence for pottery producion in the North of England, with sites such as Sedgefield yielding pottery kilns, tile making at Brampton and temporary kilns in marching camps near Otterburn. As far as possible my work is based on actual excavated evidence and it is my aim to further our understanding of that evidence by experimentation.
Replica of Piercebridge type Head pot by Graham Taylor.
Segedunum Roman Kiln Reconstruction by Graham Taylor
