Name/Title
Pottery / bowl / fragmentEntry/Object ID
X.FRA 1327Description
Fragment of a bowl of Samian ware, decorated with the figure of a gladiator marching to combat, from the Roman site at Newstead (Trimontium)Use
Samian ware (or 'terra sigillata') pottery was imported in to Romano-Britain from Gaul, generally. It was produced on an industrial scale and exported across the Roman empire, where it was favoured for its use as a fine tableware.
Samian ware comes in a range of glossy red finishes (or sometimes black). They could be plain, but were often decorated with typical Graeco-Roman patterns and figures, such as egg-and-darts, flora or fauna, or scenes from myth.
The Trimontium site has a large collection of Samian ware, but also shows evidence of the fort making its own pottery (known as coarse-ware).Context
Pottery could be made local, which is typically coarse ware, or imported, like Samian ware. Trimontium has a large collection of samian ware, but also shows evidence of the fort making its own pottery (coarseware).Collection
National Museums Scotland, James CurleCategory
Samian ware, Fragment, Bowl
Food Preparation & Storage, Pottery
Made/Created
Time Period
1st - 2nd Century ADLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
PotteryNomenclature Primary Object Term
FactoryNomenclature Primary Object Term
FragmentNomenclature Sub-Class
Industrial StructuresNomenclature Class
StructuresNomenclature Category
Category 01: Built Environment ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 10: Unclassifiable ObjectsGetty AAT
Concept
bowls (vessels), Samian ware, sherdsOther Names and Numbers
Other Numbers
Number Type
Previous Accession NumberOther Number
V.15.89Provenance
Provenance Detail
1905 - 1911 ExcavationsAcquisition Method
FoundNotes
James CurleResearch Notes
Research Type
ReferencePerson
James CurleNotes
Curle, James, and Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. A Roman Frontier Post and Its People : The Fort of Newstead in the Parish of Melrose. (Page 225 Fig. 9.)
'92. Small fragment. A gladiator marching to combat, slight variant of Type Déchelette 586. Lezoux. (Page 225, Fig. 9.'Notes
For further information on Samian Ware