Roman Pottery from Excavations in Colchester, 1971-86

With contributions from Joanna Bird, Philip Crummy, G. B. Dannell, A. Desbat, Brenda Dickinson, P. P. A. Funari, C. J. Going, K. F. Hartley, Philip M. Kenrick, V. Rigby, Graham Webster and D. F. Williams. The publication of 'Colchester Archaeological Report 10' is a landmark in Colchester pottery studies. It is also an important event which brings to an end a large co-operative venture lasting many years. The authors, Robin Symonds and Sue Wade, not only invested a considerable amount of personal energy and commitment in the task — well beyond that usually expected in a normal 'nine-to-five' job — but were also remarkably successful in inspiring others to do the same. Countless people, from volunteers to those on job-creation schemes (through the Manpower Services Commission), joined in at various stages of the work to play their parts in bringing about a successful conclusion to the project. This report deals with the Roman pottery excavated by the Colchester Archaeological Trust between 1971 and 1986. The total amount of pottery involved is estimated to be 15 tonnes. All of the pottery has been catalogued, although owing to various limitations only 5.687 tonnes has been subjected to detailed analysis.