All archaeological projects, including the re-analysis of pottery in curated collections, should be supported by a project design. Where the recovery and/or analysis of pottery is anticipated, it is important to follow the points set out in the Toolkit to ensure that pottery work is properly resourced and carried out by appropriately experienced personnel (pottery specialists) with clear aims and objectives.
Project planning should involve the production of a project proposal or brief, which sets out the context, aims and purpose of the intended project. In development control terms, this is a project brief. This is followed by a project design, which may be referred to by different names depending on where the work is taking place – for example, written scheme of investigation (WSI), method statement, programme of works, etc. These documents describe the methodology to be followed, strategies for recovery, sampling and selection, the resources required and a timetable for completion (see The project design, below).
A pottery specialist should be involved in the creation of a selection strategy as part of the project design (see the Toolkit for Specialist Reporting for guidance). If significant pottery evidence is revealed unexpectedly you will need to amend the project design and selection strategy in consultation with a pottery specialist. Seek specialist input throughout the lifecycle of the project.
Tasks for project planning
During project planning the project executive should
- reference sites or pottery assemblages previously recovered from within or close to the project location that will inform the planned project
- require the use of recognised standards and guidance (ie this Toolkit) for all tasks related to pottery
- ensure local and national requirements are met for the use of local, regional or national fabric and form series identified by the pottery specialist and that these are referenced appropriately (eg Tomber and Dore 1998 for the Roman Pottery Fabric Reference Collection and the MLPRG's Classification of Medieval Ceramic Forms)
- ensure the project complies with the relevant regional and national regulations and requirements with regard to the recovery of archaeological material (eg The Treasure Act 1996)
During project planning the project manager should
- identify and contact an appropriately experienced pottery specialist to join the project team; more than one specialist may be required for multi-period projects
- ensure that provision is made for the pottery specialist to familiarise themselves with the character, date, quantity and distribution of pottery previously retrieved from the project area, and ensure access to local type series
- consult with the identified pottery specialist to develop a strategy for the collection, sampling, selection, recording, processing and analysis of the pottery assemblage (as per the Toolkit for Selecting Archaeological Archives)
- consider the application of scientific techniques such as petrographic or chemical analysis of fabrics, organic residue analysis and radiocarbon dating; using these techniques will require specific collection methods for samples and the involvement of different specialists
- ensure that effective communications are established with and between the project team so that information and interpretations may be exchanged, especially when several pottery specialists are working on the same project
- identify the repository that will receive the project archive, in accordance with recognised archive standards. A copy of the archive compilation and transfer standards required by the repository should be obtained and understood; this will inform the management and treatment of pottery assemblages during recovery, analysis and archiving. This may include how to clean, mark or label, package and box pottery, as well as the management of the documentary archive.
The project design
A project design should comply with all relevant CIfA Standards and guidance to be fit for purpose – see the Standard and guidance for the collection, documentation, conservation and research of archaeological materials (PDF, CIfA 2014a) and the Universal guidance for archaeological excavation (PDF, CIfA 2023) for further information and examples.
Things to include in relation to finds and, more specifically, pottery assemblages, are
- details for adequate resourcing (in terms of time, budget, facilities and equipment) of the pottery specialist for recording, analysis and reporting; site visits by the pottery specialist, attendance at project meetings and visits to pottery type series and comparative collections and assemblages, may also be required
- the types of scientific applications likely to be used and how they will be resourced
- a strategy for excavating buried features; from a pottery research point of view, it is best to excavate 100% of all features and recover for analysis 100% of the pottery present in each contextual unit. In practice 100% recovery is rare. Any collection strategy based on recovering less than 100% of the pottery present (for instance in large industrial dumps of wasters) should, therefore, be developed by the relevant project personnel, including the project executive, the pottery specialist and the repository curator, following specialist assessment of the significance of the material. Any such strategy will affect the quantity of pottery collected for analysis and the pottery specialist should be consulted during its formulation to ensure that it reflects properly the potential of the project with regard to the pottery research aims
- an archive selection strategy for all recovered material, in accordance with the requirements of the project archive repository and based on advice from the pottery specialist. The aim is to compile a project archive that includes all material with potential to inform future research and other enquiries. It is recommended that all stratified material be retained in the archive, although in very large assemblages, such as those from pottery production sites, it is recognised that this is unrealistic. It should also be recognised that some assemblages will contain material that may not seem relevant to the aims of the project but could be of interest to pottery researchers, such as locally made 19th- or 20th-century pots bearing the names of local traders. Selection strategies should therefore be agreed and recorded between the project executive, the project manager, appropriate specialists and the repository curator in accordance with recommendations in the Toolkit for Selecting Archaeological Archives
- a data management plan (DMP) that sets out procedures for making digital material secure and accessible, as per the Toolkit for Managing Digital Data (Dig Digital). Almost every archaeological project produces digital material and it is important that this is managed effectively to ensure its security and accessibility. Pottery analysis is often conducted by specialists working outside the organisation managing the project, frequently in a freelance capacity. Specialists should be included in the DMP and required to follow protocols for backing up, file naming, structure and format. The DMP should also identify the Trusted Digital Repository that will curate the project digital archive. The standards required by the repository should be referenced in the DMP and all external specialists made aware of them.
- reference to the requirement to publish or otherwise disseminate and the provision for resources needed
- reference to the potential costs of conservation, packing and transfer into curation of the pottery, given that at this stage the size and character of the assemblage will not be known
- the procedure for obtaining transfer of title, as appropriate, depending on site location and the relevant regional and national legalisation and policies
Role of the pottery specialist
The nominated pottery specialist should have appropriate period and regional experience and should advise the project manager to ensure that
- discussions of project-specific strategies and the potential of the pottery assemblage to take into account regional, subject and period research frameworks, with particular reference to those developed by the PCRG, SGRP and the MLPRG
- the project team considers strategies for maximising the potential of the pottery assemblage for elucidating site-specific and wider research questions; these could include, for example, the examination of site formation processes, the use of organic residue analysis to establish the functions of vessels, or the characterisation of pottery fabrics to explore patterns of local, regional, national and international production and distribution and use
- full consideration is given by the project team to the particular problems that may be encountered with ceramic assemblages from sites of particular date and in different areas, and the potential implications of this for the excavation strategy. An example of this is the regional variability in the abundance of Neolithic and earlier Bronze Age domestic pottery, which on many sites in Britain is poorly represented in the archaeological record; on many sites of this period, therefore, 100% excavation of feature fills may be essential to ensure assemblages are sufficiently large to permit useful quantitative analysis
- the project design provides for consultation with relevant national, regional and site-based pottery type series; it is crucial that existing type series and their associated terminology are followed, as this will facilitate future comparative studies of assemblages and sites
- the project design specifies that existing standards for pottery work are applied
- provision is made for comprehensive characterisation, quantification and reporting of all or part of the pottery assemblage in accordance with this Toolkit for pottery work
- the project design includes provision for the application of scientific analytical techniques, such as thin-section analysis, as appropriate
Any programme of work that involves the collection and/or production of information about an archaeological site, assemblage or object in any environment, including in the field, under water, at a desk or in a laboratory. Examples of an archaeological project include: intrusive projects such as excavation, field evaluation, watching brief, surface recovery and the destructive analysis of objects; non-intrusive projects such as landscape or building survey, aerial survey, remote sensing, off-site research such as desk-based assessment and the recording of objects or object assemblages (Perrin et al 2014, 20).
One product of an archaeological project will be an archaeological archive.
A reference collection of specimens of every pottery fabric identified within a specific area, accompanied by a descriptive catalogue.
The Medieval and Later Pottery Research Group – https://www.medievalpottery.org.uk.
Prehistoric Ceramic Research Group – https://www.pcrg.org.uk.
All the pottery collected during an archaeological project.
A document that sets out the scope, aims and rationale for an archaeological project, usually with the purpose of informing the development of a project design or written scheme of investigation.
The person who manages the project and the project team.
An individual who is competent in, and specialises in, characterising, quantifying, analysing, interpreting and reporting on pottery assemblages. A pottery specialist will have developed expertise through the extensive study of pottery, and reporting in reputable, peer reviewed sources, with a demonstrable ability to work unsupervised. Membership of a pottery study group is a valuable way of acquiring and sharing knowledge, while competence can be demonstrated through accreditation by CIfA. Both are recommended.
The document that includes a description of the scope, aims, objectives, tasks, strategies and methods of a project, the personnel involved and the timetable. This document may be called something different depending on the jurisdiction of the work, eg written scheme of investigation (WSI), method statement, programme of works, etc.
The person who instigates or commissions an archaeological project, often in either a planning role or through a funding agency, and who has a primary role in determining the aims and frame of reference.
The people who collectively work with the project manager throughout the course of the project, agreeing the project design and strategies for the completion of project tasks.
Study Group for Roman Pottery – https://romanpotterystudy.org.uk/
A dump of pottery wasted (via failure during firing such as melting, exploding, fragmenting) in the kiln. These can comprise very large numbers of sherds, especially in industrial period contexts, leading to revised fieldwork strategies (see Historic England 2015).
