Laure SORNIN-PETIT LATE-ROMAN GRANULAR-WARE POTTERY FROM THE ÎLE-DE-FRANCE: A Comparative Analysis of Eight Regional Sites

Abstract

During the late-Roman period and early Medieval periods, granular pottery was a typical ware in northern Gaul and particularly in the Île-de-France region where it appeared in the 4th century. Easily identified by its granular surface containing numerous calibrated quartz grains, most often only millimetres in size, this pottery type was rapidly adopted for culinary purposes. Two recently-excavated pottery workshop sites at Villeparisis and Vanves have provided an opportunity to re-assess this particular ware. The present study takes into consideration eight excavated settlement sites in the Ile-de-France (Jouars-Pontchartrain, Epône, Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche, Maule, Saint-Pathus, Lieusaint, Gonesse, Paris) and data from field-walking on the Saclay plateau. The study has enabled identification of five main technical groups and several rare or unknown types, as well as providing insight into distribution and function.

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