Latest news:
May 2009 (2): Volume 4 of "NAMES ON TERRA SIGILLATA" is available
For those who do not know yet what is this monumental publication, let's have a look on the description below (news October 2008-1).
No spécific agreement with our site this time but an early publication is available for £65 until the end of August 2009 (add the change and the shipping price).
You just have to send a mail to Sarah She will explain to you what to do for ordering. Good reading !
May 2009 (1) : Gallo-roman potters from Dinsheim-Heiligenberg
We are please to present you this exposition that will belong from May the 15th to July the 20th this year at the "musée de la Chartreuse" in Molsheim in France: De Terra Sigillata, the story of the samian ceramic and gallo-romans potters of Dinsheim-Heiligenberg.
Just have a look on this picture. Don't miss it !
October 2008 (2): Helping tool for style research concerning cental gaulish potters
The book from GB Rogers : Poteries sigillées de la Gaule Centrale, published in 1999 by the french "revue Site", is an inescapable source for those who desire to know more concerning a shard coming from these production sites.
Figure-types and decorative details are indexed for all potters from Lezoux and Les Martres-de-Veyres, mainly from the second century.
This tool is to gain time.
Get the "Index of figure-type on terra sigillata, Felix Oswald, 1937" in one hand and "Poteries sigillées de la Gaule centrale, I-Les motifs non figurés,1975" in the other.
Identify each types with those books and enter your data in your selection.
You will get the potters name who used your types and with several of it, you may find out the style of one potter
Here is it. Have a good use of it and don't hesitate to mail us your eventuals remarks ...
October 2008 (1): Volume 3 of "NAMES ON TERRA SIGILLATA, an index of makers'stamps & signatures on Gallo-Roman terra sigillata" de Brian Hartley & Brenda M.Dickinson should be published in late November
It is the product of 40 years of study. All the volumes will record over 5000 names and some 300 000 stamps and signatures on terra sigillata (samian ware) manufactured in the first to the third centuries AD in Gaul, the German provinces, and Britain.
This is the first catalogue of its type to appear since Felix Oswald's index. Volumes 1 (A-AXO) and 2 (B-CEROTCUS) have already been published in June.
In keeping with the "The Institute of Classical studies university of London", vous may buy volume 3 to the special price of 65 Pounds instead of 80 (add the change and the shipping price) if you order before the end of january 2009.
You have just to send a mail to Anastasia and to mention "Spécial offer from the terra-sigillata.org website negociated with Daniel"
One more we have got to say that we do not have any financial interest in this case.
August 2008 (2): The potters' names and stamps search engine has been revised (again...)
Simplified search engine concerning potter's name and stamps: It is the one directly available on all the pages in the left side strip. It never consider
the potter's name or the stamp you submit is complete. It do not take into account the conventional characters used for the stamps like braces {} indicating linked letters or the dots or the "&" witch is used for patterns. Only alphabeticals characters and the "/" (line change) are taken into account
It is stil possible to include one or several stars (*) if one or several letters are missing or unreadable.
For example if you submit "AFR", the search engine will propose the solution AFR / SEX as well as OFAFRAN or S{EXAF}RI. You will obtain the same result if by submitting A.::{FR}&
Advanced stamps search engine: It is available in the left side strip by a link. It always consider that the characters you submit correspon to full stamps unless you use the sign % to indicate a number of unknown characters
. Two options are availables: "Only retrograde" and "To take into account the conventionals signs". First option allow you to limit the search to the retrogrades stamps.
The second one can to be used to look for a stamp including linked letters or dots or a figures
Examples: You have got a incomplete stamp like I{MA}. Si vous submit %I{MA}%, le search engine will give you back more than 300 solutions. But if you select the option "To take into account the conventionals signs" you will obtain less than 20.
Lets have a look on the detailled instructions for a complete description of the possiblities.
June 2008 (2): A small milestone on our data bases concerning potters and stamps:
We have so far focused on quantity over quality, mainly using the Oswald stamp index. This in order to make the search engine as effective as possible, as quickly as possible.
The document, published by Felix Oswald in 1937, is unique because of the quantity of information it presents but will need to be restudied.
This enormous work is underway. First, we compared the list of Oswald potters' with that which relates solely to the production sites in France, DAF6
(See references) and we added the words "Not in DAF6 !" or "Not in Oswald 1931 !" These indications point to a possible error or omission in the Oswald index of stamps.
June 2008 (1): Les céramiques sigillées d' Espalion (Aveyron - France)
Publications concerning samian ware are rare and need to be reported as it is with pleasure (and without having any financial interest in this case) that we can announce the forthcoming publication by the ADRAHP:
"The ceramics sigillées of Espalion" by Jean-Louis Tilhard. The book will be drafted before and 31 January 2009 and the printing is scheduled for early 2009. You can download the form adhoc by clicking on the following links:
The front and the back.
What'sabout...
Samian ware is a Roman or Gallo-Roman ceramic made with thin clay. Firing gives it a red brick colour. Moulds are decorated with hollows and large figures in relief
Pieces of Samian ware can be quite easily found in the countryside.
They can be identified easily and correspond to a precise period of history.
Archeologists are very interested in it because it is a useful aid to dating excavations.
A considerable amount of study has been performed around the world allowing, in a lot of cases, only a small decoration on a piece of ceramic to determine the production site, the date of production and the potter's name.
G's Juju
collection
Why
this site ?
The purpose of this site is to exchange information and to
collect data
Information
exchange:
To
identify the style of a piece of samian ware:
If, like us, you have found a piece one day, you may be interested to know more about it. In that case don't hesitate to send us a mail
with pictures, sizes and the find-place and we will try to answer you.
To identify a stamp:
You may use the search engine on the stamps database, or the stamps list.
These two lists have been established in compliance with a database created by the site administrators. They are 'work in progress' and therefor constantly being updated
In case you don't find what you are looking for, we recommend that you send us a
mail
with pictures and sizes in order to identify the potter.
In all cases don't forget to tell us the result of your research (see below).
To
collect datas:
The ultimate purpose of this site is to collect data concerning Samian ware pieces found by private individuals and to establish a database, including pictures and all information given by users.
This database will be available for everybody and especially by archeologists. If you own a piece of Samian ware, we invite you to enrich this site by sending us a
mail with the
following information:
The
find'place
(country, region, city...),
the
potter's name if you already know
it,
Pictures
(jpeg if possible) with an element in order to get
the size of the
piece on the picture
and if you want it a
pseudo
name which will identify you as the
finder. Then your piece of Samian ware will be integrated into the database and published on this site (The accurate find-place will only be available for archeologists).