Файл:Roman pottery from Britain.jpgA selection of pottery found in Roman Britain. The two black vessels shown at the back left are of black-burnished ware
Black-burnished ware is a type of Romano-Britishceramic. Burnishing is a pottery treatment in which the surface of the pot is polished, using a hard smooth surface. The classification includes two entirely different pottery types which share many stylistic characteristics. Black burnished ware 1 (BB1), is a black, coarse and gritty fabric. Vessels are hand made. Black burnished ware 2 (BB2) is a finer, grey-coloured, wheel thrown fabric.
Decoration on both types includes burnished lattice or, additionally, in the case of bowls and dishes, a wavy line design. Standard forms across both types include jars with everted rims and bowls with upright or flat flanged rims.
Black Burnished Ware 1
Black Burnished Ware Category 1 (BB1) is made from a clay body that has a coarse texture. The clay body can contain black iron ores, flint, quartz, red iron ores, shale fragments, and white mica.[1] BB1 can be grainy and black or dark gray in appearance. These wares are formed by hand.
BB1 wares were manufactured in the Dorset area and distributed throughout Britain.[2] The distribution of BB1 wares dates primarily to the mid-second to fourth centuries AD. Forms include bowls, dishes, and jars.[1]
Black Burnished Ware Category 2 (BB2) is greyer in color and has a finer texture when compared with BB1.[4] It is a “hard, sandy fabric, varying in colour from dark-grey or black with a brown or reddish brown core and a reddish-brown, blue-grey, black or lighter ('pearly grey') surface.”[5] The clay body can contain black iron ore, mica, and quartz, all in a matrix of sediment.[5] These wares are thrown on a fast potter's wheel.
BB2 wares were manufactured on both the Essex and Kent sides of the Thames Estuary.[6][7][8] The distribution of BB2 wares occurred from AD 140 through to the mid third century AD in south-east England and the northern part of Britain.[5]
↑ 1,01,1Tyers, P A. "South-east Dorset black-burnished 1." Potsherd. Accessed February 21, 2011. Last modified December 28, 2010. http://potsherd.net/.
