Ancient Roman pottery

Pottery was made in huge amounts in ancient Rome for everyday use. You can find it all over the old Roman Empire and even farther away. Monte Testaccio is a very big waste mound in Rome made mostly of broken amphorae. These were used to carry and store liquids and other goods – probably mostly Spanish olive oil, which was brought there. Olive oil was also used for lighting, cooking, and in the baths.

Roman pottery is usually split into two types: coarse wares and fine wares. Coarse wares were simple jars, dishes, and bowls used for cooking or storing food. They were often made and bought nearby. Fine wares were more beautiful and fancy, used for special meals and often made in special workshops. Some famous fine wares, like terra sigillata, were made in big factories and traded over long distances in the Roman Empire.

Even though Roman pottery did not have the same famous vase-painting of ancient Greece, there were many nice dishes and small statues, often with religious ideas. Fine pottery was used by many people from different places and backgrounds. The quality of fine pottery got worse from the 3rd century because of troubles in the economy and government, and because glass cups became more popular.

Fired clay or terracotta was also used in Roman times to make bricks, tiles, small statues, and lamps. Pottery is very helpful for scientists who study old places from the Neolithic period and later. Over time, ways of making pottery changed, from shaping it by hand to using molds, which helps experts figure out when and where things were made.

Fine wares

Terra sigillata or red-gloss wares

Fine wares are special Roman pots used for serving food and drinks, not for cooking or storing things. One type was called red-gloss ware. It was made in Italy and Gaul (modern France and Germany) and traded widely from the 1st century BC to the late 2nd century AD. These pots had a smooth, shiny surface that was light orange to bright red. Experts could tell where and when the pots were made by looking at their colour, texture, and designs.

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 in very large numbers, 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 later in Roman times. 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

People in ancient Rome used lamps for light. These lamps burned olive oil or other vegetable oils. Most were made from fired clay and had one opening for a flame. Some lamps had pictures from stories, daily life, animals, or races on them.

Many lamps were made in workshops using moulds. They often had a space in the middle for the oil and wick. Some lamps were shaped like animals or other fun forms.

Terracotta figurines

People across the Roman Empire made small statues from clay, called terracotta figurines. They were often used for religion, like gifts to temples or decorations in homes. Some were toys for children. These figurines were usually made in moulds and painted bright colours.

Different places had their own styles, 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 liked more.

Brick, tile and other architectural ceramics

Bricks and tiles made from fired clay were very important in Roman buildings. They were used for walls and roofs. Roof tiles had special shapes to fit together and keep rain out. Some tiles had pictures or symbols on them.

Clay tiles were also used in heating systems and for pipes to carry water. Small pieces of tile were sometimes used in pictures on floors.