Crafts and community in the past and present: engaging local communities with their Roman past using ceramic radiography
Lead Research Organisation:
Museum of London Archaeology
Department Name: Research and Education
Abstract
The Crafts and Community project endeavours to provide community groups with practical, experiential insights into Northamptonshire's underappreciated Roman-period industrial heritage based on cutting-edge analysis of ancient artefacts. Working with the Northamptonshire Archaeological Resource Centre (ARC), Cranfield University, and local master potter Rob Bibby, the project will conduct a short programme of academic research utilising MOLA's AHRC-funded digital x-ray system to investigate the production methods used in making Roman pottery associated with the Upper Nene Valley potteries in the modern county of Northamptonshire. Radiographic analysis of Roman ceramic vessels from this industry - currently held by the ARC - will be analysed to reveal traces of the methods used to make these objects, which represent an important and ill-understood innovation characteristic of the first generations of the Roman occupation of the area. In so doing, this part of the project will form its own academic output in the form of peer-reviewed, published research contributing to ongoing discussions of the changing early Roman rural economy. The results of the analysis will also be the basis for a series of four half-day workshops - facilitated by master potters, archaeological ceramics experts, and cutting-edge 3D printing technology - on Roman pottery-making, giving participants from the local area a feel for what daily working life was like in this period of the distant past. Participants will have the opportunity to design their own experiences within these workshops, and to have their own workshop-made pottery x-rayed like the archaeological finds. The results of the research and engagement activities will be presented in a pop-up exhibition at the ARC at Chester Farm Estate, Wellingborough, which participants will help to design along with MOLA and ARC staff.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Adam Sutton (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Sutton AD
New data on the development of potting techniques in the early Roman period: the case of Upper Nene Valley wares
in Journal of Roman Pottery Studies
| Description | Radiographic analysis of Romano-British Upper Nene Valley pottery revealed, in detail for the first time, the wide variety of techniques used in making Romano-British ceramics. Particularly interesting was the observation that coil-building - an unsophisticated technique typical of British prehistoric pottery - continued to be popular amongst Romano-British potters despite their also having extensive skill with the potter's wheel. This draws into question accepted understanding of the Romano-British economy, as this challenges the conclusion that the potter's wheel was accepted so widely in Roman Britain because of its advantages in facilitating fast and efficient production methods. New models of the economics of Romano-British ceramics now need to be made which acknowledge the coexistence and economic compatibility of 'low tech' and 'high tech' methods, and which can allow consideration of the various social networks through which craft knowledge moved in the past. These research outcomes will be detailed in a forthcoming publication under review for the Journal of Roman Pottery Studies: 'New data on the development of potting techniques in the early Roman period: the case of Upper Nene Valley wares.' Additionally, significant engagement outcomes were achieved by this project. These chiefly comprise a set of four Roman pottery-making workshops (with content tailored towards local audiences and based on the analysis described above) and a pop-up exhibition (presenting the results of the project to local audiences) at the Chester House Estate, Wellingborough. These both succeeded in reaching their target audiences. The workshops succeeded in providing local audiences with the opportunity to creatively learn about ancient pottery-making in their area, with many having minimal prior experience of archaeology and thereby gaining a greater appreciation for Northamptonshire's Roman past. While take-up of the offer to x-ray participants' workshop-made pots was low in practice (despite initial enthusiasm in the sessions themselves), small numbers of participants' workshop-made pots were submitted for x-ray as a further element of the engagement activities offered. The exhibition is estimated to have presented the results of the project, and the aspects of local heritage which are involved in it, to several hundred more people, predominantly from local audiences. |
| Exploitation Route | Archaeologists interested in the economics of Roman Britain can now use the outcomes of this project to reconsider their existing models for technological change in the Roman period. Current understanding relies heavily on economic models not supported by the data produced and published in this study, and so specialists can use the discussion and recommendations made in the project publication to begin thinking about new theoretical models and empirical studies which build upon this one. The latter may include further radiographic and/or other technological studies of Roman ceramics and material culture, aimed towards characterising the heterogenous production practices in evidence. These can be considered as significant of past economic and working practices, and in so doing we will be able to achieve a richer, more accurate, and more nuanced understanding of the significance of technology in Roman Britain. Additionally, further work could see this project as prompting a search for signs of the ways that systems of craft knowledge moved around, with significant implications for our understanding of how community and identity worked in the distant past. Further, this study could be used as a prompt for more direct engagement between heritage science and public engagement. This project has further proved the concept that programmes of archaeological science can feed directly into outputs other than academic papers, and can also be used as the basis for activities oriented towards non-specialist audiences. Such activities could form part of local heritage initiatives or social prescription programmes, for instance. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Education,Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://www.mola.org.uk/blog/crafts-and-community-roman-and-modern-northamptonshire |
| Description | The workshops run as part of the project led to a demonstrable increase in participants' general feelings of their own wellbeing. Numerous individuals also attended who professed to have minimal prior experience with local archaeology and heritage (but an interest in it), and these people left the sessions reporting feeling positive about their experiences as a way to learn creatively about local heritage. As described above, the results of this study challenge current understanding of the economic basis of Roman Britain, and it is hoped that the publication of the project's results in an appropriate specialist venue will prompt further debate and work to deconstruct current orthodoxy and develop alternative understandings. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Title | New data on the development of potting techniques in the early Roman period: the case of Upper Nene Valley wares - ceramic radiography dataset |
| Description | Dataset recording analysis of x-rays of Roman pottery vessels made in the Upper Nene Valley (Northants.) region during the 1st-3rd centuries AD, and deriving from the collections of the Northamptonshire Archaeological Resource Centre. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Dataset used as the main resource in production of publication 'New data on the development of potting techniques in the early Roman period: the case of Upper Nene Valley wares'. Dataset also crucial in establishing techniques to be explored in project public engagement activities. |
| Description | MOLA-Chester House Estate Research and Engagement Partnership |
| Organisation | Northamptonshire Archives |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Collaboration on the Crafts and Community project involved the purchase of exhibition materials including a portable 'pop up' display cabinet and several display boards, which are now used in the museum space at the Chester House Estate. Additionally, MOLA provided funded time to assist with outreach events associated with the Crafts and Community project, such as evening talks. Chester House Estate volunteers, and students affiliated with the Estate, attended heritage-based workshops associated with the project. Subsequent to the Crafts and Community project, the MOLA-Chester House Estate collaboration has continued with several new initiatives, including MOLA providing specialist services to Chester House Estate/University of Leicester archaeological excavations, and the development of further forthcoming research and engagement opportunities. |
| Collaborator Contribution | For Crafts and Community, the Chester House Estate contributed the time of the Archaeological Archives Curator, which took the form of exhibition text writing, labal-making, and proofreading, as well as general support and coordination of engagement aspects of the project. |
| Impact | All project outcomes, including the project publication 'New data on the development of potting techniques in the early Roman period: the case of Upper Nene Valley wares', can be considered collaborative efforts. This is particularly the case with the exhibition 'Crafts and Community in Roman and modern Northamptonshire', which was a joint output built on the resources of both organisations. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | MOLA-Cranfield University Research Partnership |
| Organisation | Cranfield University |
| Department | Cranfield Forensic Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Provision of archaeological materials for masters student dissertation project. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of 3D scanning and printing services and technical support. 3D scans and prints were used in engagement activities associated with the project. |
| Impact | 3D scans formed part of the digital aspects of the exhibition 'Crafts and Community in Roman and modern Northamptonshire' |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Chester House Estate evening talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An evening talk which took place as part of the Chester House Estate evening heritage talks series in July 2022. The talk presented the Crafts and Community project up to that point, including the archaeological research and the pottery-making workshops. A large audience made up predominantly of locals with pre-existing interests in archaeology was in attendance, as well as professional archaeologists from the local area. A similar future talk has been planned based on the success of this one. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Crafts and Community summary blog post |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Blog post presenting and publicising the results of the Crafts and Community project, including 3D scans and aspects of the archaeological interpretation. The post was publicised on social media by MOLA and the Chester House Estate in advance of opening the project's pop-up exhibition, and will have reached several thousand people via Facebook and Twitter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.mola.org.uk/blog/crafts-and-community-roman-and-modern-northamptonshire |
| Description | Pop-up exhibition: Crafts and Community in Roman and modern Northamptonshire |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Pop-up exhibition presenting results of the archaeological research alongside the Roman pottery-making workshops. Intended to inform local (Northamptonshire) publics about interesting and underappreciated aspects of their heritage. Over the period December 2022-March 2023, it is estimated that several hundred people will have viewed the exhibition, with around 50 of these engaging with the materials to the extent of scanning a QR code taking them to further (online) information. During an opening event in December 2022, attended by MOLA archaeological specialists and involving artefact handling sessions facilitated by the Northamptonshire Archaeological Resource Centre (ARC), numerous groups of people of all ages engaged with the archaeology both factually (e.g. asking questions and having conversations with MOLA archaeologists) and creatively (e.g. by taking part in pot-decorating drawing activities), and there were numerous questions about how people may attend similar events in future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| URL | https://www.mola.org.uk/blog/crafts-and-community-roman-and-modern-northamptonshire |
| Description | Roman pottery-making workshops |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Members of the general public and students of local special educational needs schools attended Roman pottery-making workshops run by the Woodnewton Pottery (Northants.) and co-designed by MOLA archaeological specialists. Attendees totalled 17 individuals (7 members of the general public, 8 students, and 2 teachers) supported by MOLA and Woodnewton Pottery staff. Workshops comprised two sets of two workshops, each set attended by a different group who attended sessions on subsequent weekends in June 2022. Participants who had variable levels of experience with archaeology were taught to make pottery using the methods employed by Roman potters inhabiting the region 1,900 years ago. Each participant was able to make and decorate several pots which were then fired so that they could take them home. As well as that, the free-form format of the sessions allowed a lot of discussion to take place about local archaeology, heritage, and crafts, with participants able to informally discuss aspects of these with MOLA specialists. Evaluation of the workshops has shown that participants learned a lot from their sessions, enquired about similar future events, and generally experienced a measurable increase in their personal wellbeing. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.mola.org.uk/blog/crafts-and-community-roman-and-modern-northamptonshire |