Continental Potters? First-Century Roman Flagon Production at Duxford, Cambridgeshire

Abstract

Excavations in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, in 2013, revealed six early Roman (a.d. 50–80) pottery kilns. The kilns were used for the production of flagons, specifically collared and ring-necked varieties. Flagons are generally scarce in contemporary domestic assemblages in Cambridgeshire, often only occurring in ‘special’ contexts, such as burials, while collared flagons are closely associated with military consumption. The excavations also produced a large, significant assemblage of perforated kiln plates. The technology and repertoire of vessels suggest that manufacture was conducted by non-local potters for a specialist market. The site forms part of a group of other early Roman kiln sites in the Cambridge environs and adds to the growing picture of pottery production in the decades following the Roman Conquest.